Dark Denmark didn't seem to show any expression at Lithuania's fear. Unlike the movies, the enemy would always show some sort of enjoyment in their victim's horror. Dark Denmark, on the other hand, merely regarded Lithuania with a cool indifferent gaze.
Lithuania backed away so that his right shoulder and arm wasn't directly below the bloodthirsty axe. His first instinct was to flee to the other countries but then that would put them in trouble.
Well, there was no other way to go anymore. Dark Denmark blocked the hallway and the only escape was either to be trapped in the rooms behind him or to flee to the kitchen.
Lithuania decided to give the others a warning so that they could get out of the kitchen in time instead of suddenly seeing Dark Denmark and scramble around, creating chaos.
He backed up a little and then started to make a dash backwards yelling, "Get out of here everyone! Get out!"
Lithuania heard alarmed voices from below and then rapid footsteps moving and the rough spine-chilling, high pitched squeaks of the chairs scraping the floor. Lithuania thundered down the steps two at a time. Dark Denmark swung hard over his head, his black axe piercing the wall. The wall crumbled a little under the incredible sheer strength of Dark Denmark's swing. Lithuania yelped, jumping down to the floor the last three steps when Dark Denmark lashed the axe down in the middle of the staircase, creating the wooden stairwell to splinter and crack under the pressure.
Lithuania turned the corner to run into the living room, catching a glimpse of Dark Denmark leaping down from the staircase and onto the ground with a loud thud. Seconds later, he heard Dark Denmark swing again and a loud sickening crunch of wood gave him the feeling that Dark Denmark had split the kitchen table in two.
Outside on the porch, Latvia paled. "Where's Sweden?" he asked.
Finland paled with his friend and latched onto Lithuania. "Please, Liet, have you seen Sweden?"
Lithuania gulped, pulling them along with him until they were far from the farmhouse. "He isn't out yet?" he asked, shooting worried glances behind him.
"No, he isn't!"
Norway gazed at the house. "Was it Russia's doppelganger?" he asked.
Lithuania shook his head. "Denmark's."
That shocked the Nordic countries. Finland gaped at Lithuania with Iceland. Even Iceland's puffin squawked in surprise. "Denmark's doppelganger is in there?" Norway asked for confirmation, alarm in his dark blue eyes.
When it was confirmed, Norway didn't want to believe it. It was difficult for Norway to accept that one of his closest friend had a dark side. Well, he knew that Denmark could be bossy and demanding at times but that wasn't necessarily considered 'dark' and 'evil', was it?
"Wait, where are you going?" Latvia asked urgently when Norway started to walk towards the farmhouse.
"I'm going to see for myself," he said in a quiet voice.
"It's gotta be a trap though." Latvia said quickly. "If he isn't out yet, he might be waiting to lure us in."
"Or maybe he's fighting Sweden." Finland said nervously. "Sweden had beaten Denmark twice when they were warring each other."
"But this is a doppelganger and Japan said that they were stronger." Iceland reminded him. He shot a worried look at Norway. "How much stronger though?"
Finland was too caught up in his thoughts to realize something. "Oh, we should contact headquarters. Maybe they'll send back-up."
Lithuania automatically reached up to his ear piece. "Ah, yes, I had forgotten." He pushed the small button on the side and waited for an answer.
A calm but serious female voice answered him. "Yes? Has something happened?"
"Ah, yes, hello! We found Denmark's doppelganger." Lithuania said urgently, suddenly suspicious at the sudden peace at the farmhouse. "He's at some kind of old house in the country. He attacked us just minutes ago. Is there a chance you can send back-up?"
The voice sounded a little surprised. "Denmark? According to the map, he is a rather small country. Are you sure back-up is necessary?"
"I...I'm not sure. Maybe...maybe we can capture Dark Denmark and bring him back." Lithuania finished.
The female voice said something but it was not directed to him. It was directed to someone in the background. "Ah, England, they found Dark Denmark. Estonia, please locate Lithuania."
Another voice, Germany's, said, "Vietnam, what is going on there?"
The female voice, Vietnam, said, "They encountered Dark Denmark."
Germany sounded relaxed. "Ah, he isn't a big country. He shouldn't be too dangerous."
"Liet!"
Lithuania turned around and gaped at the front entrance of the house. Dark Denmark carried both Sweden and Norway's bodies over one shoulder and his axe rested on the other shoulder. Even from far away, Lithuania could make out a single expression from the doppelganger; an arrogant smirk.
"Vietnam!" Lithuania yelled into his ear piece as Dark Denmark advanced, throwing the limp Sweden and Norway onto the ground. "Dark Denmark just took down Sweden and Norway! He's coming to us now!"
"What?" came her harsh voice. She then addressed Germany. "Germany, Dark Denmark has defeated both Sweden and Norway. They are being attacked right now."
Another 'What?' came from the other side. "Who is left? Estonia!" Germany barked.
Dark Denmark was halfway towards them now. His black blade gleamed in the sun. Something dripped down from the edge, but it wasn't hard to guess what it was.
Iceland's puffin squawked in alarm, flapping its wings urgently. Iceland reached up to pet it, soothing it while he backed away a little. "Now what?" he asked the others.
Lithuania somehow heard Iceland's voice in his ear piece. This confusion was cleared at once when Vietnam said, "Can everybody hear me? I connected all of you together so you can all hear me. Please stall for a few minutes. Do not try to confront Dark Denmark until we know exactly how strong he is. We will send back up right away."
"So we run around in circles?" Finland asked incredulously.
"If that's what it takes." Vietnam said gravely. "I will be back in a few minutes. Please do not to anything stupid."
She was gone seconds later. Dark Denmark was now within range and the first thing they did was dodge underneath his swinging axe and dashed off back to the farmhouse. Lithuania and Finland both wanted to run directly to the porch where Sweden and Norway were at but they glanced back at saw that Denmark had targeted them.
Estonia was a shade paler than before when he went through a list of countries that were closer to the Nordics and Baltics. Germany noticed his stunned composure and placed a hand on his shoulder. "They are very brave people." he said sternly, yet he didn't mean to be harsh. Just blunt. "Remember that no matter what happens, they will forever be remembered."
Estonia cleared his throat nervously. "You make it sound as if they're gone, Germany."
"I get that a lot." Germany grunted. He moved on towards England at the chalkboard. "What have you got so far?"
England finished drawing Dark Denmark beside the real Denmark. Just like Dark China, Dark Denmark had 'angry eyebrows' to contrast itself from the real one. "Dark Denmark is spotted in the countryside of Latvia." he said, pointing to the status line. "The real one hasn't been spotted yet. Is that all you wanted me to write?"
"That's all. Estonia, who are you sending to help them?"
Estonia frowned, staring at the computer monitors. "Just...just how many do you want me to send over?"
Germany had debated over the precise number in his head before, but it was a long debate. Of course, he was a pretty good debater; he always seemed to make his opponents cower in fear before they give in but that wasn't the case here. He didn't want to send too many people because then it would slow their search down. There might be only five or six people per unit but every number counted; the Earth was a big place after all.
On the other hand, sending too few was a problem. If the few that had gone to help didn't make a difference, it was just like sending them out for nothing and the number of countries that are missing or injured would just increase. There was no benefit.
And then there was Dark Denmark's strength. Germany knew that Sweden had defeated Denmark a few times already in their history, and if Dark Denmark had defeated Sweden (and Norway as well), then Denmark's doppelganger was a force to be reckoned with.
That only made him worry about how everyone else was doing in their brave hunt for the doppelgangers whose real selves have a lot of land.
"Germany," Estonia's voice broke Germany out of his thoughts. "I need an answer now. I don't think the others can last any longer."
Germany cleared his throat and said, "At least four but not over six."
The doors opened at the end of the conference room, attracting everyone's attention from their work and to the worn faces of some of the Asian nations. Vietnam looked relatively more at ease seeing that some of her family were back in one piece.
Germany went to greet them but stopped at the sight of Malaysia. He knew that Malaysia was injured but he didn't think it was so bad. Instead of letting Malaysia stick around to learn what had happened so far, he immediately sent him to the hospital. Malaysia was too battered up to protest and went without arguing.
Vietnam watched as her brother was whisked away to the hospital and asked Korea what had happened.
Korea plopped down into one of the seats near her, sighing heavily. He suddenly leaned his head onto her shoulder and said in a drawling voice, "Sis, you won't believe the adventure we went through, da-ze. There was a dark Aniki and he hit Malaysia in the face. Then we went to the university like you said, da-ze. We ate noodles at a noodle place later and Japan led us through the streets. We were almost roadkill, sis, roadkill." He shook his head and sighed again. "I think we got lost and Japan found the way and we went to the third floor of some building and found Aniki!" Korea's tone suddenly brightened. "And then Aniki hit Japan in the head, da-ze!"
As if on cue, Japan groaned as China and Taiwan helped him lie down on a makeshift bed created by the chairs lined up in a neat row. Germany ordered one of his maids to fetch a pillow and blanket but Japan quickly said, "No, I'll be fine Germany. Thank you."
"Then we all came back here, da-ze." Korea finished with a grin on his face. "Ah, but I'm a little tired. It was night over there and now it's afternoon again, da-ze."
Vietnam had an uncomfortable expression on her face as if she didn't like the idea of Korea dozing off on her shoulder. However, she didn't say anything and let it be, returning to the computer.
"Estonia," she said. "Have you found anyone to help the Nordics and Baltics?"
Estonia pushed his glasses further up his nose and nodded. "Four people. Are you ready to contact them Vietnam?"
"Go."
Lithuania knew that hiding in the city was much more preferable due to the fact that there were more obstacles to hide behind or in. He remembered America telling him that if one lived in New York City, one could go years without seeing their neighbor once. It stunned him to hear that, but when America explained that people often woke up at different times, went to different areas, and returned home at different times, it made slightly more sense.
Even if one wasn't trying to hide in the city, they end up staying hidden anyway.
The country was another story. Lithuania couldn't find good hiding spots and the spots that were suitable were either already taken or he couldn't hide there since Dark Denmark was tailing behind him; what good would hiding be if your enemy saw where you were going to hide anyway?
The farmhouse was already a mess and no one wanted to risk running through the debris. The abandoned pig pens with dry cracked mud used to have a wooden fence running around the perimeters but a furious axe happened to chop it all up, leaving a variety of wood chips and blocks lying around on the ground.
There was a barn, or, better yet, what used to be a barn. Earlier that day it was intact. Dark Denmark came along and, magically, holes and long gashes scarred the brick red outer wall and the hay bales that had been stacked on each other inside were gone. However, the floor was now thoroughly softer.
Out of breath, Lithuania climbed a ladder inside the barn and fell forward into a small pile of hay when he reached the top. He stayed there for a minute, recovering from the deadly pursuit, and sat up, looking around the barn. He perched himself near the edge, but not too far in case Dark Denmark appeared and looked up. Lithuania would be able to pull his head back in without risking himself.
He hastily pushed the button on the side of his ear piece to contact Vietnam again; it had been an excruciating four minutes. It might have not seem long, but when a doppelganger was seeking your head, it was torture.
There wasn't an answer at first, and so he repeatedly pushed the button over and over. And then suddenly, her voice brought him relief. "Lithuania, I apologize for taking a long time. Four people are on the way." There was a tiny break between sentences before she breathed hastily, "One of them is here already."
Lithuania deemed it safe to go back down the ladder. He flinched when he hopped down the last few feet; earlier, when he had to fend himself from Dark Denmark, the doppelganger had managed to cut him right above the knee. It wasn't so bad, but blood still ran freely. If anything, he'd bleed to death if no one bandaged him up.
Weary of the blood running down his leg, he tore off a piece of his pant leg and wrapped his knee with it. Sanitation didn't matter to him anymore; he could be taken to a hospital later to be inspected but now was not the time.
He heard fighting directly outside the barn doors and wondered if any of his friends were taking their turns to fight for themselves. Lithuania had once caught a glimpse of Iceland confronting the doppelganger and he had also seen little Latvia defending himself. Lithuania hurried to the doors and pushed one open to peer out. His jaw dropped in surprise. "Belarus!"
Belarus had just then successfully deflected Dark Denmark's axe with her knife; the axe clashed into the blade of the knife and slipped down the edge and instead of slicing her hand off the axe blade hit the ground, leaving a crevice five inches deep.