Wy stared up angrily at the red eyes of her captor. Being tied up wasn't fun. She would snarl and snap and shout at Dark China, but that was difficult when her mouth was gagged tightly with cloth. She hoped the cloth was clean, but that was the least of her worries. She wasn't even sure if Vietnam and Malaysia had heard her call, and if they did, she didn't hear them crashing through the trees to rescue her.
The pagoda wasn't too far from her either, and she was sure that Australia would at least hear her, and she hoped his 'big brother' instincts would kick in soon. If not, then she was stuck as Dark China's prisoner, and that wasn't very appealing.
"A micronation, huh?" Dark China murmured. "Strange, aru. The countries must be here if you are. There shouldn't be too many of them, however...only the handful that escaped from Chicago and the ones back at Germany's, aru." But Dark China still looked troubled. "I must take precautions then." he murmured to himself, glancing around suspiciously.
Wy tried to say something but all that came out were angry muffled noises.
Dark China shot her a look that silenced her out of sheer fear. The look in his eyes was menacing enough to strike horror into her. "That call earlier. Was that a distress signal, aru?" Dark China asked softly, calmly.
Wy didn't do anything. She adverted her eyes and stared at the ground.
"I'll assume so; what else can it be, aru?" Dark China grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off the ground as if she was a doll. Wy made a sudden noise of exasperation but Dark China ignored her and began to walk west, towards the lake.
"There's no way I'll leave you here unattended." Dark China said quietly. "That will be stupid of me, aru."
His tone was dark and cold; Wy whimpered.
But then she stopped whimpering and blinked her eyes. Squinting, she made out Malaysia and Vietnam following them, a finger over their lips to keep her quiet.
If she was completely quiet, Dark China might suspect and turn around, blowing their covers. Wy decided to whimper again, trying to sound alarmed and scared. It was the only thing she could do to make Dark China think that she was completely in his control; she couldn't let him even think that they were being followed.
Dark China scanned the lake when they arrived to the shore. He must have seen China, New Zealand, and the Philippines because he harrumphed and muttered, "So he's here too. Figures, aru."
Wy tried to turn her head but she couldn't. Despite the fact that she couldn't see what Dark China was doing, she knew it wasn't good, because she heard him mutter to himself, "I'll have to bring them down before they find it, aru."
Then, all of a sudden, a softened gun shot that was barely loud enough to make Wy jump in alarm sounded. Almost immediately after the shot, Dark China's dark blood shot into the air and Wy wrinkled her nose in annoyance as some of his blood splattered onto her face.
Dark China released her and she gasped in surprise as she hit the ground.
Dark China's wound closed up and he turned around, only to be bombarded by several more shots until his body's reactions caused him to stagger backwards into the lake.
As Dark China fell into the lake with a splash, Malaysia and Vietnam dashed forward. Vietnam untied Wy while Malaysia readied himself for Dark China. They were facing the captain of the Fifth Division; they needed to bring him down.
The splash Dark China made was sure to attract the attention of China and the others on the bridge. Malaysia could see that the three had paused to look over, even though he couldn't make out their exact expressions. He knew they were alarmed because after their brief hesitant pause, they shot looks around them hastily.
"Dark China said that he wanted to take China and the others down before they find it, whatever 'it' is." Wy said at once to Vietnam when she was ungagged.
"Could it be the hideout?" Vietnam asked Malaysia hurriedly, to which Malaysia nodded.
"It has to be." he replied. "That, or the weapons. Either one is fine."
The three held their breath as Dark China climbed back on. Malaysia didn't dare waste anymore ammo and keep him down in the water; it was futile and a waste of provisions. Dark China wrung his limp ponytail and gave Malaysia and Vietnam a hostile snarl.
"You won't tell us where the hideout is, won't you?" Malaysia asked quietly, dangerously.
Dark China said nothing.
"No matter how much we threaten you, it won't do a thing."
Dark China spat at them, but that was it.
Malaysia kept a wary eye on the doppelganger and Vietnam shifted herself so that she was standing in front of Wy protectively, her gun loaded and her finger brushing by the trigger. No one moved; they merely examined the other, taking notes to themselves and planning on what to do from there.
Dark China gave the three a long look as he thought, but later, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Wy wondered if he really was thinking the whole time. Dark China might have thought out his plan so long ago, but waited for them to get so caught up with their own plan, he made his move when they weren't expecting him.
Vietnam looped her arms underneath Wy's arms and pulled her away to the right as Dark China charged at them. Malaysia didn't dare shoot in case if he accidentally hit Vietnam or Wy or both. He leapt aside as the doppelganger barged through and yelled, "Vietnam! Distract him! I'll knock him down and Wy will tie him up with the rope!"
Malaysia ducked as Dark China lunged towards him, flying into the air. Malaysia gritted his teeth as Dark China used his back to his advantage, using it as a platform to launch himself into the air so he could safely land on the ground in a correct position.
What annoyed Malaysia even more was that Vietnam did the exact same thing to get into the air high enough; she jumped up at Malaysia and pushed off with her feet, sending herself towards Dark China.
"What am I, a launch pad?" Malaysia muttered to himself but he circled around them, waiting and watching for an opening.
Dark China was fast; Vietnam could barely keep up with him. A left fist here, a right kick over there, and while her arms were busy blocking them, a surprise attack from his free arm and she stagger back with a bloody nose.
Wiping the small trail of blood with the back of her sleeve, Vietnam thought, Malaysia will be looking for an opening. What opening can I give him?
She ducked as Dark China swung his leg over her and she jumped into the air was he spun around and used his other leg to sweep the ground below her.
Vietnam landed lightly on her feet and slammed the butt of her gun to Dark China's head as hard as she could. Blood spurted out into the air and Dark China ceased his attack for a brief second before the wound closed up. But she kept at it.
Right fist, left kick, duck, sidestep, left elbow to the back, trip. Vietnam panted as she pinned Dark China to the ground but she found herself overpowered and Dark China tossed her aside. Vietnam grimaced as she slid across the ground, but she hoped that Malaysia would use the opening to his advantage and overpower Dark China.
He did.
Malaysia lunged the moment Dark China tossed Vietnam away and tackled him. The two furiously wrestled on the ground, both determined to beat the other. "Wy! Get ready!" Malaysia yelled at her before Dark China's fist dealt a single, hard blow to his cheek.
Wy rushed forward with a rope as Malaysia pinned Dark China down, but he struggled to keep him there.
Wy shrieked as Dark China's legs got free and kicked at her. She staggered back, blood running from her nose. The pain brought tears to her eyes, and she was furious that she had let her guard down. Whether they were angry tears or tears of pain, she had no idea.
Malaysia was overpowered like Vietnam and he was tossed aside, slamming into a nearby tree. Dark China brushed off the dirt from him and gave the three a glare. "I wonder if you three are even worth the trouble, aru." he scowled.
"You mean four, mate?"
Wy blinked away the tears welling up in her eyes and she exclaimed, "Australia!"
Dark China spun around, only to have Australia's foot land right in his face. Dark China fell backwards from the drop kick and more of his blood painted the concrete path.
Australia grinned at Wy and said, "Big brother to the rescue, huh?"
Dark China picked himself off the ground and sneered, "Another one? Aiya, why so much work?"
"Aw, don't worry. It'll be quick and simple." Australia grinned. He glanced at Malaysia. "We'll hold him down together. And Vietnam and Wy, you two tie him. Watch his feet."
Wy rubbed the blood away from her nose with her hand and she gave Australia a nod. "Okay."
The fight began again; Dark China was capable of keeping both Australia and Malaysia at bay by himself. As Australia threw a punch towards Dark China's face and Malaysia did the same on the other side, Dark China merely ducked so they'd take care of each other.
"I'm sorry." Malaysia grimaced, shaking his bloodied fist.
"Never thought we'd be playing Bloody Knuckles." Australia cringed, massaging his fist tenderly.
While the two countries were busying themselves with the important task of taking down the doppelganger, Wy handed one of the ropes she had to Vietnam. "Do we tie him up all the way? Wrap the ropes around him from ankle to chest?" Wy asked her.
"No, save the rope." Vietnam said. "There are several more doppelgangers out there and we need to use as little rope as possible. Tie the ankle and the wrists. We'll see what we can do from there."
The moment Dark China finally hit the ground, Australia leaned his knee into the doppelganger's back, holding Dark China's head down with his hand and Malaysia sat on Dark China's legs, back facing Australia, arms wrapped around the legs that tried to flail out of his grip.
"Quick, tie him up!" Malaysia yelled to Vietnam and Wy.
They ran forward, Vietnam taking care of the feet this time and Wy ran up to Dark China's torso. Australia helped her bring Dark China's arms down; Australia held Dark China's hands together as Wy tied them tightly.
"Good work." Australia said to Wy as he cut the long end of the rope with a knife. "Here's the remainder of the rope. You can probably tied another five pair of hands with that."
Wy slung the rope around her shoulder again. "That's good." she said, trying not to sound too excited. She finally participated in something big, and she couldn't have felt any prouder.
"Why are you cutting it so long, Vietnam?" Malaysia asked her when she cut the rope with her own knife. Vietnam had tied Dark China's feet up with the rope Wy gave her and for some odd reason, there was still a lot of rope left over; a good several feet.
"We can't leave him on the ground." Vietnam said pointedly. "He has a chance to get away if he's on the ground, but if he's suspended in the air, there's not much of a chance, is there?"
Malaysia raised an eyebrow at her direction while Australia said, "I like the way you think."
"How are we going to do that?" Wy asked as Dark China cursed at them.
Five minutes later, the four of them left the lake side in search for the real China, New Zealand, and the Philippines while Dark China swung upside from a thick, sturdy tree branch, gagged up with the same cloth Wy was gagged with earlier.