Family Ties [Part 44]
Title: Family Ties
Characters (in this chapter): Australia, New Zealand, Japan, England, Wales.
Rating: 15
Warnings: Disturbing themes. Really, really disturbing things.
Summary: Uh, I need to be banned from the kink meme or monsters like this happen? Essentially, Scotland leaves the UK, which gives Northern Ireland an excuse to up and out as well, which leaves England and Wales all alone. Oh yeah, and this somehow leads to World War Three.
The sprawling complex that housed the prisoners of war was a confusing maze, narrated by signs in Korean which he couldn't bloody read so they only served to irritate him more. The walls were bleached white and incandescent lights only made them seem more sterile and inhospitable to life and all the colour it gave. Every room he opened he found nothing, the prisoners already evacuated and the staff captured long before. There was only one place they hadn't been able to get into, one door that remained locked no matter what, and that was where he knew she was.
Japan's locksmith had taken nearly four hours to forge the key, and the code breaker had taken another two hours to crack the password. That was six hours too long for Australia, and he'd nearly torn out his hair with frustration over waiting, no matter how fast the experts rushed.
But now here he was, standing before the door with the key in hand and the password memorised. And he was afraid.
That had never stopped him before.
With a screech of metal, the bolts in the door creaked and shifted with unlocking. It took strength to open it, but when the door swung into the room, only darkness was revealed.
"Kat?" he called, and it echoed slightly, eerily. Australia blinked, trying to see through the blackness. She was in here. "...Kat?"
A whimper was the response he was given.
Slowly, his eyes adjusted. There were no windows in the room. The floor was probably supposed to be white, but had splashes of brown and rust-red that had probably not been there before the room was inhabited. It stank, the smell of humanity that had not been allowed the privilege of hygiene. The walls themselves curved round, a circular room with no corners. Filth was the only decoration.
Huddled against a wall, holding on to her knees and stark naked, was his sister.
"Kat!"
She flinched away from him as he ran to her, letting out a tiny, terrified sound. In the dim light from the hallway, she trembled, hair grown long and falling in mats over her face so he couldn't see her expression. He didn't need to, not with the terror radiating off her.
"Kat..." Australia tried to keep his voice lower, calming. "Kat, it's only me. Come on Kiwi, please."
A single blue eye squinted out of the veil of hair at him. "Oz..."
He smiled encouragingly at her. "Yeah, me. It's fine now, you can come home with me."
She smiled softly up at him. "I wonder if some day... my dreams will stop looking like you..." her voice was barely above a whisper. Australia swallowed a lump that had lodged in his throat.
"Kiwi, I'm not a dream." he tried, reaching to touch her shoulder. With a sudden yelp, she scrabbled away across the filthy floor, breathing loud and eyes wide. "Sorry! Sorry, did that hurt? Are you hurt?"
"Stay away!" New Zealand screamed, shaking her head. "Stay- stay away! You're not real! Not real not real not real!" She got stuck on that word, repeating it over and over until Australia caught up with her and gently caught her hand. She stiffened again, but this time seemed to scared to move, opting for hyperventilation instead.
"Kiwi, I'm real!" he tried to move some of the hair out of her eyes, but she only squeezed them shut. "Look at me, I'm right here. It's okay, we can go now."
The longer he kept hold of her wrist, the more she slowly relaxed. Her breathing slowed. Australia shrugged out of his jacket and slung it over her shoulders, and while she wriggled initially, eventually her shoulders slumped and she let out a long breath that she'd been holding. Brooke kept a close eye on her expression as he said, "Right, I'm going to pick you up now, okay? I don't think you're alright for walking yet."
A slow, hesitant nod was her response, and Australia carefully scooped her up, bridal style. She curled in on herself almost instantly, fists gripping on to the tank top he wore. He made for the door carefully, trying not to startle her with quick movement no matter how fast he wanted to get out of this hellhole. Damn them, damn them for doing this to her.
"Australia-san, we-" Kiku appeared in the doorway, then immediately stepped back, covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve. "Masaka... kore..."
"Out of my way." the taller of the two growled, protective. Japan didn't need much more of an excuse to back up. New Zealand squeaked and buried her face in her brother's neck when the light of the hallway hit her.
"Australia-san..." Kiku followed, averting his eyes from the female Nation. "What are we going to do now."
"First, we're going home." and by we, he meant him and Katherine. "Then I'm going to kill everyone responsible for this."
War was war, but now it was personal.
-----
England stretched in the summer sunshine, probably the only idyllic thing about the day. Smoke from across the city of Birmingham curled up into the air, making black clouds. The pavement before him was full of holes, or otherwise damaged. Trying not to think about what the councils would have to spend to repair all this, he turned to Wales, who was shouldering his gun once more.
"Dora's going to kill us for sneaking out three days early." England said with a slight smile.
Wales rolled his eyes. "She couldn't hurt a fly. Just preform reconstructive surgery on it with a couple of toothpicks and some masking tape."
England laughed. "Time to catch up. Let's go where there's reception for the phone."
Notes:
- Isolation chambers can be used in positive and negative ways. Positive; meditation and spa treatment, like in that one episode of the Simpsons where Homer and Lisa go in those floating water ones. Negative; being locked in a soundproof, circular room, with no light and no stimulation is enough to drive a person mad. Very, very quickly, you start hallucinating. If the person is scared, which they most likely will be, it'll not be nice hallucinations either. The fact it's circular means there's no corners to huddle up in; an animalistic instinct that every human has when they feel trapped.
- People who have been in isolation too long become super-sensitive to sound, light and motion. They become paranoid when there are either too many or not enough people around. They are easily startled, and will have panic attacks if left in the dark or anywhere that resembles the place they were isolated. If a space is too open, they will fear it just as much as a space that is too small. These effects fade with time and therapy, but sometimes last for much longer.
- They were first used by Japan during WW2 to keep particularly disobedient POWs quiet. Then East Germany took them and made them better (or worse). Then Russia took that in the 70s and... you get the picture.
- Translation: Japan says "Masaka... kore..." which from the rudimentary knowledge of Japanese I know means "Impossible... this..."
- Thank Nena for unwittingly giving me this idea.
Part 45
Characters (in this chapter): Australia, New Zealand, Japan, England, Wales.
Rating: 15
Warnings: Disturbing themes. Really, really disturbing things.
Summary: Uh, I need to be banned from the kink meme or monsters like this happen? Essentially, Scotland leaves the UK, which gives Northern Ireland an excuse to up and out as well, which leaves England and Wales all alone. Oh yeah, and this somehow leads to World War Three.
The sprawling complex that housed the prisoners of war was a confusing maze, narrated by signs in Korean which he couldn't bloody read so they only served to irritate him more. The walls were bleached white and incandescent lights only made them seem more sterile and inhospitable to life and all the colour it gave. Every room he opened he found nothing, the prisoners already evacuated and the staff captured long before. There was only one place they hadn't been able to get into, one door that remained locked no matter what, and that was where he knew she was.
Japan's locksmith had taken nearly four hours to forge the key, and the code breaker had taken another two hours to crack the password. That was six hours too long for Australia, and he'd nearly torn out his hair with frustration over waiting, no matter how fast the experts rushed.
But now here he was, standing before the door with the key in hand and the password memorised. And he was afraid.
That had never stopped him before.
With a screech of metal, the bolts in the door creaked and shifted with unlocking. It took strength to open it, but when the door swung into the room, only darkness was revealed.
"Kat?" he called, and it echoed slightly, eerily. Australia blinked, trying to see through the blackness. She was in here. "...Kat?"
A whimper was the response he was given.
Slowly, his eyes adjusted. There were no windows in the room. The floor was probably supposed to be white, but had splashes of brown and rust-red that had probably not been there before the room was inhabited. It stank, the smell of humanity that had not been allowed the privilege of hygiene. The walls themselves curved round, a circular room with no corners. Filth was the only decoration.
Huddled against a wall, holding on to her knees and stark naked, was his sister.
"Kat!"
She flinched away from him as he ran to her, letting out a tiny, terrified sound. In the dim light from the hallway, she trembled, hair grown long and falling in mats over her face so he couldn't see her expression. He didn't need to, not with the terror radiating off her.
"Kat..." Australia tried to keep his voice lower, calming. "Kat, it's only me. Come on Kiwi, please."
A single blue eye squinted out of the veil of hair at him. "Oz..."
He smiled encouragingly at her. "Yeah, me. It's fine now, you can come home with me."
She smiled softly up at him. "I wonder if some day... my dreams will stop looking like you..." her voice was barely above a whisper. Australia swallowed a lump that had lodged in his throat.
"Kiwi, I'm not a dream." he tried, reaching to touch her shoulder. With a sudden yelp, she scrabbled away across the filthy floor, breathing loud and eyes wide. "Sorry! Sorry, did that hurt? Are you hurt?"
"Stay away!" New Zealand screamed, shaking her head. "Stay- stay away! You're not real! Not real not real not real!" She got stuck on that word, repeating it over and over until Australia caught up with her and gently caught her hand. She stiffened again, but this time seemed to scared to move, opting for hyperventilation instead.
"Kiwi, I'm real!" he tried to move some of the hair out of her eyes, but she only squeezed them shut. "Look at me, I'm right here. It's okay, we can go now."
The longer he kept hold of her wrist, the more she slowly relaxed. Her breathing slowed. Australia shrugged out of his jacket and slung it over her shoulders, and while she wriggled initially, eventually her shoulders slumped and she let out a long breath that she'd been holding. Brooke kept a close eye on her expression as he said, "Right, I'm going to pick you up now, okay? I don't think you're alright for walking yet."
A slow, hesitant nod was her response, and Australia carefully scooped her up, bridal style. She curled in on herself almost instantly, fists gripping on to the tank top he wore. He made for the door carefully, trying not to startle her with quick movement no matter how fast he wanted to get out of this hellhole. Damn them, damn them for doing this to her.
"Australia-san, we-" Kiku appeared in the doorway, then immediately stepped back, covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve. "Masaka... kore..."
"Out of my way." the taller of the two growled, protective. Japan didn't need much more of an excuse to back up. New Zealand squeaked and buried her face in her brother's neck when the light of the hallway hit her.
"Australia-san..." Kiku followed, averting his eyes from the female Nation. "What are we going to do now."
"First, we're going home." and by we, he meant him and Katherine. "Then I'm going to kill everyone responsible for this."
War was war, but now it was personal.
-----
England stretched in the summer sunshine, probably the only idyllic thing about the day. Smoke from across the city of Birmingham curled up into the air, making black clouds. The pavement before him was full of holes, or otherwise damaged. Trying not to think about what the councils would have to spend to repair all this, he turned to Wales, who was shouldering his gun once more.
"Dora's going to kill us for sneaking out three days early." England said with a slight smile.
Wales rolled his eyes. "She couldn't hurt a fly. Just preform reconstructive surgery on it with a couple of toothpicks and some masking tape."
England laughed. "Time to catch up. Let's go where there's reception for the phone."
Notes:
- Isolation chambers can be used in positive and negative ways. Positive; meditation and spa treatment, like in that one episode of the Simpsons where Homer and Lisa go in those floating water ones. Negative; being locked in a soundproof, circular room, with no light and no stimulation is enough to drive a person mad. Very, very quickly, you start hallucinating. If the person is scared, which they most likely will be, it'll not be nice hallucinations either. The fact it's circular means there's no corners to huddle up in; an animalistic instinct that every human has when they feel trapped.
- People who have been in isolation too long become super-sensitive to sound, light and motion. They become paranoid when there are either too many or not enough people around. They are easily startled, and will have panic attacks if left in the dark or anywhere that resembles the place they were isolated. If a space is too open, they will fear it just as much as a space that is too small. These effects fade with time and therapy, but sometimes last for much longer.
- They were first used by Japan during WW2 to keep particularly disobedient POWs quiet. Then East Germany took them and made them better (or worse). Then Russia took that in the 70s and... you get the picture.
- Translation: Japan says "Masaka... kore..." which from the rudimentary knowledge of Japanese I know means "Impossible... this..."
- Thank Nena for unwittingly giving me this idea.
Part 45