At first, no one was sure if Spain was just saying that out of sudden panic or if he was right. When the boat started tipping in a certain direction (and England was sure that he wasn't doing that with his own magic), people started to believe him.
England glanced down at the rope with Greece and used a little bit of magic to cut the ropes, sending Dark Switzerland, Dark Romano, and Dark Hungary falling down into the water with three loud splashes.
"At the rate the boat's tipping over," Korea said in alarm. "We're going into the water in a couple of minutes, da-ze!"
The boat shrieked and creaked; the nations that had went inside flocked out onto the deck, America (the one responsible for driving the boat) included. "Giving up already?" England asked him, astounded. "You're not going to try and repair the boat?"
America gave him a dumbfounded look. "You think I'm gonna fix this thing? The thing's flooded on the inside."
"But, surely you can do something." England said, raising his voice. He was starting to panic now; one look over the rails and into the water, he felt a little queasy.
"Well, unless if I can convince you to use whatever magic you have left and fix the boat, there's nothing I can do." America retorted.
England's shoulder slumped. He wasted a lot of whatever magic he had regained earlier lifting the boat up and back into the water; maybe they should have all gotten out and push the boat after all...
"They're here." Romania yelled into the air for everyone to hear. The doppelgangers probably found another way up because they started coming from the other side of the boat. They started to surround the countries, and there was no way out other than fighting.
And if they did happen to win, how would they get back to Germany's? They could always take the long way, going up into...that one country above America...England had the name somewhere...
Other than that, we could go through that country, cross back into Alaska and then how would we get to Russia? The water would be too cold to swim across...maybe by then I can levitate everyone across? Ah, but that can be dangerous... England thought.
"Stop daydreaming!" France exclaimed at England. "We could really use your help you know!"
England glanced around and saw that the fight had already begun. That wasn't good, especially when he was so worn out. Could he still put up a fight?
He winced and grabbed his shoulder. The pain still annoyed him and it hindered him a little bit, but that wasn't his main concern. He found himself short-breathed and realized he was a little light-headed. Not knowing what to do, he spun around and looked for a place where he could recover for a minute or two.
Meanwhile, China, Korea, and Thailand stood back to back, poised in a manner where they could easily dodge if they were attacked. China had told the Philippines to take Taiwan to a safer place and the three hoped that the two would be safe, wherever they might be.
"You know, da-ze..." Korea said as he kicked Dark India away. "I feel like this should be a movie or something. Or a story, da-ze. It would be better as a movie but even better as a drama, da-ze."
"Why are you thinking about making a drama of this in the middle of a fight, aru?" China grunted, clashing with Dark Sweden. Dark Sweden had a longsword in his hands but it was turned sideways, the edge facing the sky so that both Dark Sweden and China were pushing at the flat side of the blade towards each other with Dark Sweden winning.
Dark Cuba appeared out of nowhere from behind Dark Sweden and made a movement towards China, who was left defenseless since his hands were occupied by Dark Sweden.
Thailand jabbed a fist at Dark Cuba and then a kick, attracting Dark Cuba from China to him.
"Thank you, aru!" China called over his shoulder as he finally released Dark Sweden's sword and ducked to the side so that the doppelganger would fall forward. Dark Sweden was agile enough to prevent from falling and further and, gripping the hilt of his sword, swung the bloodthirsty blade towards China.
China narrowly evaded the sword but it still sent his heart jumping. He swore, if he had the mind of a 4000 year old man or so, he'd have a heart attack and die there.
On the other side of the boat, the Netherlands and Belgium worked side by side, similar to China, Korea, and Thailand. The Netherlands ended up beating the most doppelgangers that tried to attack his sister, even though Belgium stated she was perfectly capable of handling them herself.
Once, when the Netherlands was forced to the ground by Dark Switzerland's foot, Belgium came to his rescue and successfully kept Dark Switzerland at bay.
Everyone else was right about Belgium; she could be pretty scary when provoked. "This is for pinning down my brother!" she scowled, and she kicked the doppelganger so hard that Dark Switzerland crashed through the wall of the boat and into the water seeping into the inside of the boat.
Belgium then turned and gave the Netherlands a sly smile. "Are you okay?"
The Netherlands didn't say anything. He merely brushed imaginary dirt from himself and regarded her indifferently.
"Awww, I love you too, even though you can be such a miser." Belgium grinned, laughing.
"You know, we're all going to end up in the water soon!" America yelled as he leapt back and away from Dark Hungary. "What do we do, swim back to shore?"
"You idiot, do you think we have the time to do that?" England yelled, doubled up. "And...some people can't do that, you know..."
"Mon ami, just follow little Italy's instructions and you'll be fine." France panted, readying himself to pounce at Dark Hong Kong.
"Speaking of Italy, where is he?" Lithuania asked as he ducked around Dark Romano.
"Knowing him, he might be with Taiwan and the others who are in safety, aru." China called out.
"What part of the bloody boat is safe?" England demanded to know.
"Aiya, I don't know, aru. Ask the Philippines, she's the one who's in charge of their safety, aru!"
By then roughly 70% of the boat was underwater and the countries and doppelgangers alike were crammed at the very top, but no one was trying to start another fight.
"Why are you not fighting? What kind of villains are you guys?" America asked. "None of the villains in my movies or tv shows do that! They hate their enemies! Just seeing them ticks them off!"
"We're not movie villains or tv villains." Dark China snapped. "We have the wisdom to know when to do something and when not to. How would fighting in a limited place like this going to benefit us all, aru?"
"You know, I think that's what makes them so different than us." France murmured. "We do whatever we want, and they actually think their plan through."
"That's why we're losing?" America asked incredulously. "This is the most thinking I have done in like, years! How can we be losing?"
"Who said we are, da-ze?" Korea demanded, shifting away from the doppelgangers who moved up higher and closer to them to avoid the water.
"Well if you guys are so smart," England spat to the doppelgangers. "Why don't you try to find a way to avoid drowning? We're in deep water now and the shore is miles away. And how the bloody hell did you get here from so far away?"
"Dost thou not remember my magic?"
Everyone, doppelgangers included, glanced up at Dark England who stood on top of the roof of the boat, right above the door that led inside. Dark England gave them a disapproving look. "God gi' god-den. High expectance of you hatreds, an' here thou art, conversing like old men in the summer haze, ho!"
"It wasn't our doing." Dark Cuba said coldly. "That American bastard must have driven the boat and hit boulders along the bottom and made a hole in the boat."
"So it was you." England hissed to America.
America scoffed, "Me? How can I do that? I think it was you when you were lifting the boat out of the sand. You dropped us, I mean, who does that to their own friends?"
"What friends?" France asked slyly.
"You git-"
"Please, don't fight!" Finland exclaimed. "This isn't the time to fight...oh no, the water is rising..."
"England's hatred, can't you do something about this?" Dark China demanded. "I can't stand to do nothing while they're here."
Dark England glanced at the part of the boat that was sinking. Now, 80% of the boat was under the water's surface and the top was getting crowded with doppelgangers and countries, neither of the two parties looking relatively happy.
"Nay. Weary I am to fix thy mistakes. Hatreds, come anon. What is water? What, art thou afraid like a cat? Seize hold of them and bring them down."
"And then what? Fighting in the water is futile." Dark Hungary growled.
Dark England watched them for a while and then he sighed. "I see. Then I will be thy savior and return thee to Chicago."
England narrowed his eyes. "Over my dead body." he snapped. He wasn't going to let them all go back to the hideout and be locked up again after all the effort they had put into. But his magic level was still rather low and compared to his doppelganger's magical capacity, he'd be outpowered in an instant.
"I apologize, but if thou art dead, then I will be too." Dark England sneered, and he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke that dissipated into the air.
Then, all of a sudden, all the doppelgangers too disappeared in a similar fashion, and the countries were alone.
For a second, the first thought that popped up in their minds was that they were safe for the time being. The second thought was that they were stunned that the doppelgangers abandoned them to sink on the boat that was being eaten up by the lake. Their third thought was how they were supposed to be saved (England was particularly concerned about this.)
Before England could start panicking, Dark England reappeared right beside him.
"What did you do?" America asked, bewildered.
"What else could he have done?" England asked America wearily. "He returned the doppelgangers back to Chicago. But why, I wonder?"
"There is need for one hatred to bring thee back; there was many too many."
Even though they knew that Dark England was a force to reckon with on the battlefield, they couldn't help but wonder if he was a little arrogant and that he might be one of those rare doppelgangers that had slight overconfidence. Even so, it didn't look like they'd be able to even swing a fist because they had seen how quickly he could transport people in a blink of an eye, and that alone spelled defeat for them.
Their depressing thoughts were interrupted by a loud 'whoosh' sound that flew past them like a jet. The water next to them exploded into thousands and thousands of droplets, showering them with beads of lake water.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!" a loud voice laughed. "Sealand and the micronations to the rescue!"
Another rocket flew over their heads and slammed into the water next to them. Dark England looked genuinely stunned at the micronations' appearances. It was as if he didn't expect to see them at all.
As another rocket missed them completely, England yelled, "Oi! Don't shoot! You could hit us!"
"With that aim, I highly doubt it, da-ze." Korea mused.
Sealand was standing at the very front of his 'land' as it sped through the waters. They could make out figures behind them, and it wasn't hard to guess that they were the other micronations. Sealand waved at them and yelled back, "Don't worry! I'll save you guys!" And he lowered his voice to speak to his fellow micronations. "After this, they'll have to accept us as fully fledged countries."
Ladonia harrumphed, arms folded. "Whatever. Just hurry up and save them already."
Sealand saluted Ladonia and said enthusiastically, "Alrighty then."
While Dark England was still somewhat stunned by the micronations' appearances, America and Sweden grabbed a hold of him so he couldn't teleport them back. "Unhand me!" Dark England yelled. "Unhand me, gentlemen!"
"Now why would we do that?" America grinned at him.
Sealand pulled up close enough to the sinking boat (which was nearly gone now; the countries had started to climb on top of each other and there were some who were already knee or waist-deep in water) and the countries started to climb on. Sealand greeted them all and made sure they looked him in the eye in hopes that they'd remember him.
"Yes, now they'll have to recognize us as full-fledged countries." Sealand said excitedly to Ladonia, who was standing beside him with a haughty expression.
"Hmph." Ladonia watched as the stream of nations boarded.
"What are we going to do with this guy?" America asked after the others were safely on Sealand. He and Sweden remained back, standing on what little space there was left on the boat.
"Can't you knock him out?" Wy asked, crossing her arms.
"Doppelgangers heal." America said pointedly.
Wy, Sealand, and Ladonia blinked blankly.
"Oh right, um...doppelgangers are these things. They look like us, but they're pure evil." America explained. "There were a whole bunch of them here a while ago but there's only one now."
Sealand nodded. "Ohhhhh, so that's why..."
England raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Why what? What happened?"
"Well, I was wondering where everyone was when I left to visit you." Sealand said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "There were some people hiding at the time and I asked why. They told me that you were evil and turned some people into monsters and stuff. And then they said all the other countries had done the same."
"And then he came to us and we ganged up." Seborga said cheerfully, walking over to the two. "We were trying to find out what was going on and after weeks of that, we saw a boat and followed it. I think we found it." He shot a sideways glance at the boat; only the bow of the boat was visible now.
"Dudes, we still have this guy here." America called up anxiously. "And um, water is still surrounding me and Sweden."
"I say you leave him there and climb on." France said, flipping his hair behind his shoulder. "He's given us too much trouble."
There was no time for arguing; America nodded at Sweden and the two released Dark England. America gave him a small push to the last four cubic feet of the bow of the boat left and he and Sweden made a run for it. Sealand and Seborga reached out their hands for the two countries to grab onto and they hoisted them up.
"Haha, take that!" America yelled at Dark England, who regained his balance and was standing there, glaring. America turned to look at Sealand. "Hey, how fast does this thing go?"
"Very!"
"Good." America grinned at him. "Let's get out of here before he magics himself over here."
"Too late, ana!" Thailand called. He pointed to the bow of the boat and everyone saw that Dark England had vanished. "He's not there, ana!"
A puff of black clouds apeared on Sealand and the countries backed away from it as the micronations stared at it in shock. "The fuck is this?" Molossia demanded. "This wasn't in the fucking contract, Sealand! No one said anything about this!"
Dark England sneered at them when he reappeared. "Forget it. I can take the micronations too." he scowled, leaving behind his archaic English again.
"Oi."
Dark England's eyes flickered to the left, where England stepped up. "What? You want to fight again? Aren't you too weak to? You can't beat me in your state." Dark England sneered rudely.
England kept walking, his eyes glued on his doppelganger. Other countries started to step up as if offering assistance but England said, "No, this is mine."
"Ana...be careful England..." Thailand murmured.
"If we're captured again, I blame England." France sighed heavily.
"England is reliable, aru." China said worriedly, although it was as if he was trying to convince himself and not the others. "England can do it...right, aru?"
England stopped right in front of his doppelganger and they glared at each other, red eyes piercing the green while the green pierced the red. It was like this for a moment, and the other countries held their breath, wondering what was going to happen.
There were several possibilities that could play out right there; anything could happen.
Whatever future might happen, England was in control of it now, and whether their encounter was a victory or a defeat all relied on his choices, his actions, and his words.
England had to pick a path and hope it led to their victory.
"Throughout time, we've made a lot of enemies, haven't we?" England asked, his voice firm and unwavering.
Dark England was silent.
"It's true. And I don't want to admit it, but I do end up regretting some decisions I made in the past." England continued on. What was going on in his mind, he wasn't sure. He just had to get rid of this nagging feeling of guilt and he remembered Canada's speech (he finally remembered his name again).
"I accept my mistakes, however." England coughed. "I know some choices were wrong and some didn't end out right. But even with the enemies I made, and even with all of those people that hate me back then, and even right now, I also came to make friends. Friends I can trust. Friends I can work with and fight alongside with..."
Dark England refused to say anything. He only listened, and watched as his original continued on and on.
"Even now, as I speak, I know I will not get rid of you. Hatred is a human emotion and it will always be with us. But from what I heard from Italy, he has tamed his hatred. He can keep it subtle and control it. I envy Italy because of that." England paused for a while, picking his words carefully. "That is a skill I can only dream to possess. It's not in my character to forgive quite so easily. And that is why I don't think I can truly get rid of your will to stay in your physical form."
"And what do you plan to do in your condition?" Dark England asked quietly, dangerously.
"I can only do what I am capable of doing."
Dark England narrowed his eyes. "I see." His words were dipped with poison and to the other countries, it sent shudders up their spines. How was England going to win this one?
But England didn't look worried. In fact, his eyes glowed with triumph as if he had already won and a small amused smirk tugged at his lips. "Yes...quite. Even though you're pretty much me, I can't help but lecture you. Don't mess with the British Empire."
Before Dark England could do anything, England took a step back and kicked his doppelganger in the chest. "BRITANNIA KICK!"
Dark England's red eyes widened in shock and his body was flung back several feet and he started to fall into the water.
England went to the edge of Sealand and peered down as his doppelganger made a loud splash. The others crowded around him hurriedly to watch the doppelganger scream out, "You bloody..." His words were slightly cut off by the water. He spat the water out, desperately trying to keep afloat. "I can't bloody swim!"
"That's the point!" England called down, waving. Then he nodded to Sealand and added, "Come on. Let's go back to Germany's."