The plane flew even faster than Italy's makeshift rocket, which meant the winged serpents unfortunate enough to be in their flight path got smooshed like bugs. And it meant that Japan fainted.
Screaming for their lives, Alfred and Maria made a jump for the pilot seat as Kiku slumped onto the floor. Alfred tried pushing in triplicate, while Maria attempted to make like a hacker and tap random buttons randomly, as if typing a code. Neither of their efforts seemed to help.
America could make out his own "fields of amber grain" above them. Which meant the damn plane was upside down now. Maria said her Hail Marys when Japan awoke at the last minute to steer them into a safe landing, or at least he tried to. The plane made a sickening tumble as it slammed into the ground, rolling over the plains, throwing grass, dirt and rocks into the air until the plane dug itself into the mud by the side of a small hill.
Alfred expected to see him and his friends sprawled on the countryside like toasted aliens on a crash site (He knew from personal experience because Tony was prone to driving under the influence). Instead, he awoke inside a dugout, a nice, comfy Hobbit hole-looking home with its own small fireplace and a bed. He looked around and saw himself sitting on a comfy wooden chair. Japan and Philippines were also in chairs, their clothes immaculate when they should've been torn and tattered from the plane crash.
He looked around to see which nation had come to their aid. To his memory, dugouts were Norwegian, but the figure sleeping on the bed did not look like Norway. For starters, it was a woman. The current incarnation of Norway was a young man in a sailor's garb, a powerful sorcerer on par with England and Israel themselves. This woman felt even more powerful
The woman on the bed stirred up, but her eyes remained closed. In fact, Alfred thought this was pretty normal for her. She seemed to be able to see them without her eyes. A dormant yet vastly powerful aura radiated from her. Alfred felt in her the energy of life, the smell of fresh soil, the sounds of burrowing things and the groaning churn of the continental plates.
"I hope you have had a good rest, my child. We all need one at times," said the woman. She was now standing up, and her dress was foliage and shifting dirt. "It was not easy finding you, much less catching you when you three so foolishly tumbled out of the sky"
"Thank you, ma'am, but my mind's drawing a blank as to who exactly you are"
She smiled. "Oh, my dear, you know me very well. I am, after all, mother of all you strange spirits." She cupped her hands, and a miniature Earth emerged, shifting its continents, and showing the demarcation lines and borders of the nations. "I have watched you with interest, though I have not lavished the same attention I did with my first children. I was afraid I would come to love you too much when you would all only be fated to fade like the rest of them."
Alfred frowned. "I'm sorry, your other children?"
She nodded. "The Titans, the Giants, the nymphs and spirits of nature. I am mother of all these spirits that walk the Earth, including you Polisaiads"
Alfred's eyes widened. "You're-"
"GAEA!" Maria roared awake and drew her fan between them and the goddess. Japan had also awakened and drew out his sword.
Alfred started. "Whoa, guys, chill! For all we know, she could be Captain Planet and the Planeteers Gaea, not Heroes of Olympus Gaea."
At this, Gaea winced. "I'm afraid I must lay claim to the latter more than the former, children."
Maria looked like she was ready to slice and dice the goddess into compost. "Do not listen to her, Al! She's literally history's first toxic mom! She's a gaslighter par excellence!"
"But she literally saved us from crashing"
Kiku frowned. "Alright then, suppose that happened, for what ulterior motive has the Earth Mother saved us?" He turned to Gaea, sword drawn. "I say we let her tell her side of the story. It is only fair."
Gaea began. "Thank you for your wise choice. I swear I was only slumbering when I was once again awoken by great pain. It is because of this that I have chosen to help you. You may not believe me, but I have come to accept what that daughter of Aphrodite told me years ago. I love all my children, but I let my own wrath cloud my senses. Now, it seems I must pay for the blood I spilled because it has somehow caused this war. Your wars have always pained me.
Maria nodded. "You were awake in World War Two"
"Indeed, the Polisaiads had chosen sides between the Olympian elder gods, but I fear this war goes even deeper. My other children whisper to me, tell me that someone will try to use my giants as an army to conquer my domain"
"You heard right, ma'am," said Alfred. "China is starting shit"
Gaea thought deeply. "I was still awake when that nation was born. It is my fault. I, as your mother, should have set a better example."
Maria lowered her fan, and Kiku sheathed his sword. "That still doesn't answer why you're here to help us."
Gaea smiled. "Do you know what that daughter of Aphrodite told me? She said I was tired, tired of seeing my children die, fight each other and drench my body in their blood. She was right. You nations are my children as well. I do not want you to slaughter one another as the gods, Titans and Giants did. If there is any way I can help you avert this war, I will do it for atonement."
Maria rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's easy. Open up and swallow China and Russia's armies whole"
Gaea sighed. "My power has been scattered. I am no longer capable of doing such acts. Just saving you three from earlier nearly exhausted the energy I managed to pool together to create this form. Perhaps some information will do?"
"We'll take whatever help we can get, lady" said Alfred.
"Very well. My son Porphyrion slumbers somewhere in the North. This Hegemony is planning to revive my armies to conquer the Earth. Polisaiads are mostly more powerful than demigods, and their blood will make my giants much stronger than when I raised them with the blood of two demigods. Should you fail to stop them, they will be unstoppable from thereon."
"Any idea where this place is?" asked Alfred.
Maria answered. "The Wolf House, in the northwest"
Gaea shook her head. "The place has shifted over the times, and it is somewhere else now, farther to the north, away from the gods and their sway. Seek out the daughter of Aphrodite and she might help you. I want you to tell her, it was me. Tell her I am sorry for her loss"
"Is that a spoiler?" asked Maria. "I haven't read the Trials of Apollo yet."
Alfred saddened, turning to Japan. "Who's gonna tell her?"
Gaea spoke. "One last thing before I return, or at least try to return to sleep, with all the noise you nations are making: Try to find the Spirit of the Western Frontier. She can help you get a ride to the North. Farewell, my children." Gaea melted into the dirt floor, leaving a ring of flowers where she stood.
Maria took a deep breath. "Welp, the stakes just got higher. Who's ready to meet Piper McLean?"
"First things first," said Japan. "who is this Spirit of the Western Frontier?"
Alfred shrugged. "No idea, dude. We'll have to do some research."
Maria shuddered. "Man, if even Gaea is afraid of the chaos we're causing in this war, it really makes you think how dangerous the fight with the Hegemony will be"
"She was a classic case of a nerfed-to-shit boss when you unlock her as a playable character," said Japan.
They laughed, but not for long. Because just outside the dugout, they heard the shrill scream of a little girl.