Darkness: Chapter 9
Title: The Darkness Within Me
Characters: America, England, Russia, China, Germany, Italy, and a few OCs
Rating: PG13
Summary: The plan goes into action
Veneciano was bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited just outside the security check point. On the other side, his blonde and muscular ally, Ludwig, was just finishing being checked before they boarded their personal jet. The two were visiting with their politicians when news of America's sudden fall came to them through a personal agent. Before news broke out to the rest of the world, the two countries decided it would be best to stick together and decide a plan of action.
Not knowing if the news was true or not, Ludwig's High Chancellor agreed that it would be best if the two personally visited the country. Italy's President agreed as well, but said that Lovino, Veneciano's older brother, should remain in the country. Ludwig requested his older brother, Gilbert, and his other relatives remain at home as well, but to not be told where he and Veneciano were going. He didn't want to think that Gilbert would do if he heard about their flight; probably try to come along. It was only hours later they were headed across the ocean.
"Hey, hey, Germany, do you think we can get some pasta before we get on the plane?" Veneciano asked when Ludwig joined him.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Ludwig grumbled. He stuffed his passport back in his pocket, trying to ignore his imminent headache.
Veneciano's smile wavered. "Oh? Why not?"
"Because we need to keep our guard up, remember? The world is at a critical moment in time."
Veneciano thought for a minute as he walked alongside his longtime friend. "Kind of like the world is having one massive panic attack!"
Ludwig grumbled and wished Veneciano would take the situation seriously, but what did he expect? The man was always this way from as far back as he could remember.
The two were shown to their plane and it wasn't long before they were up in the air. Veneciano was placate with hitting on the stewardesses than whining about his stomach, much to Ludwig's pleasure. However, it would be a long flight.
It was all a blur. All the blood and Arthur's screaming mixed with Alfred's calling for help. Matt had long since vanished, but the old Empire was falling to his knees, clinging to his old colony. The humans came running; their faces all faded and the colors dripping away.
Arthur was hurried to the cabin and Alfred was pulled away by someone's strong arms. They called him by his human name and restrained him to the living room. Lee rushed to aid Arthur's injuries in another room. The nations fretted as to what would happen to Matt, but Alfred was long gone in his thoughts. The medicine was wearing off quickly and he was starting to slump down onto the floor.
But there was a loud WHAP that made everyone look over. George had hit Alfred over the head with his cane again.
"Didn't I tell you to keep your head on straight, boy?" George snarled. He looked down at Alfred in disapproval. "Now get up."
Alfred wobbled on his legs, panting sharply, before falling to the floor. His shirt was starting to be drenched in his sweat from all the effort. Ivan and Yao watched from the sidelines, awaiting to see if the superpower would get back up.
George, however, had waited long enough. He picked Alfred up by his collar and began to shake him. "Listen here young man! Don't you DARE act like a little child! You were raised BETTER than that! Now I know you and Arthur have some kind of special... "relationship" or whatever. That's not my department. But if you care so much for him and for the others here then you will NOT put yourself in danger anymore! Look at you! You're such a mess!"
"Try standing on your own two feet for once," Ivan growled. Yao looked at him in surprise, but continued to stand frozen. He wasn't sure what to say.
Alfred fell to his knees, his hands shakily holding him up. Abigail rushes toward Alfred on the floor, but was stopped by George's cane. "Let him do it. He wants to be a big boy he has to get up on his own."
"If he even can. He IS a cheeseburger consuming, capitalist idiot," Ivan said, crossing his arms. He ignored the glares the younger agents gave him.
Alfred was still panting hard, but said nothing. His head was down, his hair covering his eyes. He just listened as the men yelled at him; gave him strength.
"Get up! Get up right now!" George yelled. He stomped his cane down once. "Show me what you've got! You've cheated death so get up! GET UP! You think you're so great! Then get up!"
Alfred snapped head up, glaring at the wall. He started to push himself up, his knees and arms shaking horribly from all the stress. He bit his lip so hard it started to bleed, but he refrains from making any noise. Finally he was able to stand again without grabbing onto anything.
The agents sighed in relief with George nodding, unsmiling. "That's more like it."
Alfred 's chest was heaving, but he turned to glare at Ivan. Yao was startled, thinking he was looking at him for a moment. He moved away from the Slavic nation who's smile was growing colder by the second. Alfred made his way to stand in front of the taller man.
"Da?" Ivan asked, his smile widening.
It was tense for a few moments before Alfred suddenly put his head on Ivan's shoulder. The man tensed in surprise.
"OW! MY KNEES! I FELL ON THEM WAY TOO HARD WHEN I CAME IN!" Alfred exclaimed in dramatic pain.
Ivan wasn't sure if he should slap Alfred across the face or just push him away. He opted for both simultaneously.
Several hours of air travel and Veneciano's hungry stomach later, the two had arrived in America. Ludwig wondered, however, how much of it was still America and how much had changed during their flight. They both walk up to a big black limo waiting for them at the airport where they landed, that Ludwig had arranged ahead of time. After getting in the car and some comments from Veneciano about how fancy it was, they drove off.
It wasn’t long until the car suddenly swerved to the right, jolting the two companions inside against the side of the limo. Ludwig immediately grabbed the door handle, bracing himself. Veneciano flailed about, wailing. Ludwig managed to grab a hold of the Italian and held him down on the seat, barking at him to put the seat belt on and hold on. He looked ahead, but couldn't see the driver.
The car continued to swerve in and out of traffic before it went down a dark alley and pulled into a garage. The car came to a stop, the engine turning off a second later. Everything was so quiet that the silence pounded into the nations’ ears. They caught their breath, sitting upright, and looking at their surrounding environment. The garage they were in was too dark to make out any details.
Veneciano cowered next to Ludwig, "Ve, we're trapped!"
"Be quiet," Ludwig hissed. He started to pull his gun from his pocket, the only weapon he had been allowed to take along with him.
They heard the driver's door open and their hijacker step around to their door. Ludwig took aim, ready to fire at whomever was about to open the door while Veneciano ducked down to the floor. He was whining and crying, fearful of what was about to happen.
"Hey...something's happening on the news," Ben said.
Alfred rubbed the back of his bruised head as he moved away from Ivan. Yao was first to the radio as he heard mention of the news report coming from Asia.
"North Korea is seizing this chance now that the respective nations of China and Russia have vanished and their countries are in disarray to declare war on them. Shots have been fired on both borders and word is that the North Korean troops are mobilizing at a rapid pace," the news reporter calmly said.
Yao gasped, stepping back in shock. "Aiyah! North Korea, aru!" He began pacing the area near the radios, cursing in his respective tongue.
The agents and two nations watched as Yao fretted. The news kept coming in about North Korea possibly attacking South Korea as well. The two brothers were, technically, now at war, but the southern brother had yet to make a move and defend his so-called "beloved big brother".
A hand fell upon Yao's shoulder, causing the Asian to pause. "I'll fight him with you...," Alfred said seriously.
"Why? This isn't your problem, aru." Yao spun to look at him.
"Yes it is..." Alfred, despite starting to look so pale and worn out again, continued to talk with strength. "You're my friend...I want to help protect my friends..." He looked over at Ivan, now at war as well. "All of them..."
Yao bit his lip. America...a friend, aru, he thought.
"And just how are you going to help us, your friends?" Ivan asked, trying to control his anger from the news report. It was bad enough his government and people were reacting so badly, but now he was at war with another country. Oh, how they'd pay.
"Forget about the things in the past... It's all different now... All our policies, all the work we did for our countries...our people... It's all gone..."
"But all help isn't lost," Abigail said, stepping forward. She smiled slightly. "I still have that plan…"
The limo door flew open and Alfred's bright and smiling faces popped into Ludwig's line of vision.
"HI GUYS!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing off in the dark garage.
Ludwig pulled his gun back in surprise. "A-America?"
"WAAAH! WE'RE GONNA GET CONTAMINATED!" Veneciano screamed, tears welling up in his eyes. He pointed at Alfred with a shaking finger. "He's a zombie! He's going to bit us and we'll turn into one too!"
"ITALY!" Ludwig shouted. Veneciano effectively shut up and silence returned to the dark area once more. Alfred helped the two out of the limo with his usual cheery smile, but his face looked far too thin.
"Sorry about the rough ride, but George was the one driving. He hasn't driven in years/" Alfred nodded over to the older man being held up by a cane. Alfred then turned and quickly explained that George was a special agent there to help.
"I thought you were ... sick, America. You're looking all right to me, but shouldn't you be recovering somewhere?" Ludwig asked warily. He looked the man over, knowing exactly that there should be more fat and/or muscle on the younger blonde.
"Actually, we thought you were dead!" Veneciano said too casually. Ludwig shot the brunette a glare, but Alfred merely laughed, waving their comments off.
"As if! It's you two that we need to worry about." Alfred flipped on the switch, lighting up the garage. "But, we're gonna keep it a secret that I'm still dead, okay?"
Ludwig stopped Veneciano who looked ready to ask a question. He nodded, "I understand. You will fill us in later on what's going on?"
Alfred pointed at Ludwig, winking. "I sure will! We don't have much time. You can't see the new baby America."
"Why not?" Veneciano asked. "I really wanted to see the baby nation."
"No, he's not…um…" Alfred turned to George for help. George stepped towards a small red button. "He's a demonic brat, to say the least."
"A demonic…brat?" Ludwig repeated in disbelief. Was he really to be scared?
George pressed the button and the floor began to move underneath everyone. Veneciano looked down in amazement. The entire floor was slowly moving downwards, the walls going up around them. Alfred smirked, turning to the two Europeans.
"Cool, huh?" Alfred asked. George and Ludwig rolled their eyes at the same time.
Ludwig felt Veneciano pulling on his sleeve. He turned to look at the Italian. "Hey, hey. Germany. I don't want a demonic bratty baby. …Unless we make pasta together. Hey, America, were you a demonic bratty baby when you were a baby?"
Alfred laughed nervously. "Uh, I didn't hear anything about that from Arthur…"
Ludwig cleared his throat. "Excuse me, are we in danger of being infected? We only know what's going on through what's being said on television. Is any of that true?"
"At this time, we have no reason to believe Italy has been infected yet," George explained. "Although, his prolonged exposure to Germany might have put you in danger... We believe you're infected, Germany."
Ludwig blinked again, his eyes widening. " Infected ... How? I haven't had any contact with you or any of the other infected countries ... It's been a while since I've seen Japan..."
Veneciano wiggled away from Ludwig, afraid. "Germany…"
Ludwig glanced at Veneciano and couldn't help but be nervous as well. It was true that he hadn't been near any other country other than Italy, but could he still get it? He didn't know much, whereas the source seemed to come from America himself, and yet he was alive again. "There's more to this, isn't there? It's not just contagious..."
"Germany visited Austria when he wasn't feeling so well last week though, right? Do you think he could have been contaminated then?" Veneciano quipped up. Ludwig ignored the Italian and paid attention to George, but Alfred looked over in interest.
"I have reason to believe it's because you are the one of the power houses of Europe right now and because of the way things are going in the world, your people are starting to call for a change. A change that you're against that is making you sick," George explained.
"How'd Austria get infected?" Alfred asked.
Veneciano shrugged. "Germany just told me he wasn't feeling so well, but that Hungary was looking after him."
George looked over, interested now as well. The room was close to the bottom of the room. He thought for a moment. "Well...if Austria is working closely to Germany..."
Ludwig thought about it as well. When he saw Roderich, the man didn't seem terribly sick. He just looked more exhausted than normal, but it was to be expected. The EU and most of Europe hadn't been doing too well for a few years now, but the rest of the world was just as bad. "I haven't been anywhere else, if that means much. I'm hoping I haven't caught it and passed it on..."
Ludwig sighed, thinking about Italy and the rest of Europe now. Would he infect Italy or the others? He didn't know what he'd do if... if something where to happen and it was his fault. The room stopped moving suddenly causing Ludwig to look around and stop thinking. There were a few lights on the sides of the walls that flickered on, but not much was different.
Alfred moved towards the single door. "But, I think we found a way to win!" He opened the door which led to a wide, pure white hallway with bright lights leading all the way down past hundreds of cubicles. The place, however, was completely empty and all of the cubicles were silent. A penny could probably be heard dropping on the far opposite end.
"Whoa, where are we?" Veneciano asked, excited. "This is just like one of your movies, America!"
"Leave it to him," Ludwig mumbled. He really wasn't that impressed as his mind was still focused on other matters. He walked alongside Alfred who was quickly summarizing events that he had been filled in about as well. He only briefly explained their whereabouts, however.
"We're just in an underground secret base where my agents meet, but they're all gone, so don't worry about it too much and try not to remember it, okay?" Alfred rambled. He then effortlessly continued his explanation. Ludwig and Veneciano came to a sudden stop when Alfred turned on his heel to face them. "And now, here's our plan."
"Not your plan again," Ben growled. He rolled his eyes. "I'll say it again, these are countries that are hundreds of years old. They can handle themselves."
"I'm sorry, but I fail to see the effectiveness of letting one person just run freely around their lands in their weakened condition with hardly any protection at all looking for a single child," Abigail started, her voice calm. "Where do they start looking? What happens if the child finds them first? What if something outside of their country affects them? These are critical things you have to take into consideration here, Ben."
George stepped between them. "This is all true, but I don't think any of the countries should focus on anyone else's problems right now but theirs." He looked at Ivan and Yao. "Right now you're both at war, but you don't want to be, that much is clear. Forget the wars and all this other nonsense. Nothing can be done in any one's condition. If you go back home and try to stop it, it won't work. The people are not listening right now and your bosses are all probably in hiding to be protected."
"Ya pannimayu, but I don't think I need protection," Ivan said coldly.
"Then help," Abigail said curtly. "We can all work together, it's the only way things can get done fast enough to stop this madness."
Ivan lowered his eyes in thought. He really was up against a wall. The agents could be useful in at least protection if guns started firing and he could put them in front of him. He truly didn't care for their safety. Plus, his government was more than likely in a solid hiding location that even Ivan wouldn't be able to find so contacting his KGB or government officials would be out of the question. He never liked the idea of being surrounded.
Fiddling with his scarf, Ivan nodded. "Fine, I'll help…"
"I guess the world is ending," Alfred joked. He looked away when Ivan shot him his usual icy glare.
"Right, well who goes to who?" Jeff asked.
"Abigail, you go with Russia," George said.
"What?" Abigail and Ivan exclaimed. George simply stared at them. "S-sir, I'd rather stay with Sir Kirkland."
"Don't sir me, missy," George snapped. "Your Russian is flawless and I see how you and Russia interact. You'll be just fine. Unless…" He looked at Ivan. "You'd rather be with dear Benjamin here."
Both boys stiffened and looked away angrily. George smiled, knowing the matter was settled. "Thomas, you'll be with China."
"YES!" Jeff jumped for joy, surprising Yao. Was he really to be with this excitable blonde?
As George started on Ben, Alfred cut him off. "Actually, Ben, I have a special assignment for you. I'll explain later, all right?"
Lee appeared from the bedroom with a relieved sigh. He quickly explained that Arthur was fine and was healing nicely. Alfred then assigned Lee to remaining by Arthur's side in case his wound becomes worse. They were to leave for England as soon as Arthur was well. By now, Ivan, Abigail, Jeff and Yao had started packing up to depart.
"Er, Sir?" Abigail started, getting George's attention. "I don't mean to be rude…"
"Then don't," George replied.
Undeterred, Abigail pressed on. "It's just… when did you become the leader of this operations? I know you're the oldest member, but Sir Jones made you retire years ago and now I'm the leader."
"Just let him lead, Abby," Alfred whispered. "He'll turn into a cranky granpa if you don't."
"This cranky granpa is telling you to get your rear in gear because Italy and Germany are on their way to the capital," George grumbled. He motioned to the radio that was barely audible on the other side of the room. The last clipped sentences from the news reporter stated that the two nations wanted to personally see for themselves this new baby America.
"Shit, we don't have much time." Alfred turned to the agents and saluted them. "Keep to your countries, find those babies, and get back here. I'm going with George to find that kid and figure out a way to put everything right. He must know the answers to what's going on and how this mess started. Keep in contact with me and the other agents. You have your orders."
"We have to go back home?" Veneciano asked.
Alfred had led the two into more comfortable quarters of a cramped cubicle as he finished explaining the plans. "Yup, as soon as you can. There will be an agent waiting for each of you."
Ludwig had remained standing, his arms crossed and his usual stoic expression on his face. He listened carefully while thinking up his own plans. If there was a demonic child running around his homeland he'd definitely need the help of Gilbert and any of his other relatives loafing around the house. There's no telling what opposite form of government the people might have suddenly demanded. "But why do we have to bring them back to you, America?"
"AJ knows more things we don't," Alfred started. His eyes took on a dark blue when he spoke of the new America. "I'm going to try and get all I can out of the little bastard and figure out what he knows. Tom and those other scientists took things from me to make AJ, or so they say. Maybe whatever they took out can be put in with that same machine or something."
Ludwig put up a hand to stop Alfred. He sighed, rubbing the bridge between his nose. "This all just seems based on guesses and what ifs and is all too far-fetched to even be considered a good enough plan."
Alfred's expression saddened. "But it's all we have and we really don't have time. Matt's at war with me, this AJ kid is just letting anything happen without caring about the consequences, and you guys have to go home. If you think up a better way on your trip home, great. I'd love to know, but until then, this is all we've got."
It was silent as the countries mulled over the plan. "The last plan you came up with was to sneak on that stupid spaceship and look where that got us," Ludwig said.
Alfred smirked. "Hey, but we lived through that. We can take on a bunch of kids, can't we? I've seen you in battle."
"Hey, Germany, let's give this a chance." Veneciano looked at his friend sadly. "Maybe we won't even have to fight, you know? Maybe the children will just give up."
"Well… if it's a child of you, maybe," Ludwig said. He couldn't help but smile at the thought.
Hoshiko2's cents: So, I'm sorry if this seems really rushed, but they needed to get OUT of that cabin. Haha. I don't really like how this chapter turned out, actually. I had a better idea, but I've been pressed for time lately. If I don't update some week, please know that it's because my life is extremely busy and I'm amazed I'm able to pump out two chapters a week.
Also, I'm really sorry if a lot of this seems wordy. I assure you the speaking lines will get...less in the future.
I'm not really confident in my writing skills of this story at the moment, so if you guys could let me know what you like and don't like? A few of you do tell me and I really appreciate that, you have no idea. And if you have any questions, come on over to my Formspring (http://www.formspring.me/hoshiko2) if you have questions.
You'll notice that the series is now on my LJ. If you want, you can go on my homepage of LJ and follow me as I have a convenient master list of all of my stories.
Thanks for reading this week's. Next week will take a different turn.
Characters: America, England, Russia, China, Germany, Italy, and a few OCs
Rating: PG13
Summary: The plan goes into action
Veneciano was bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited just outside the security check point. On the other side, his blonde and muscular ally, Ludwig, was just finishing being checked before they boarded their personal jet. The two were visiting with their politicians when news of America's sudden fall came to them through a personal agent. Before news broke out to the rest of the world, the two countries decided it would be best to stick together and decide a plan of action.
Not knowing if the news was true or not, Ludwig's High Chancellor agreed that it would be best if the two personally visited the country. Italy's President agreed as well, but said that Lovino, Veneciano's older brother, should remain in the country. Ludwig requested his older brother, Gilbert, and his other relatives remain at home as well, but to not be told where he and Veneciano were going. He didn't want to think that Gilbert would do if he heard about their flight; probably try to come along. It was only hours later they were headed across the ocean.
"Hey, hey, Germany, do you think we can get some pasta before we get on the plane?" Veneciano asked when Ludwig joined him.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Ludwig grumbled. He stuffed his passport back in his pocket, trying to ignore his imminent headache.
Veneciano's smile wavered. "Oh? Why not?"
"Because we need to keep our guard up, remember? The world is at a critical moment in time."
Veneciano thought for a minute as he walked alongside his longtime friend. "Kind of like the world is having one massive panic attack!"
Ludwig grumbled and wished Veneciano would take the situation seriously, but what did he expect? The man was always this way from as far back as he could remember.
The two were shown to their plane and it wasn't long before they were up in the air. Veneciano was placate with hitting on the stewardesses than whining about his stomach, much to Ludwig's pleasure. However, it would be a long flight.
It was all a blur. All the blood and Arthur's screaming mixed with Alfred's calling for help. Matt had long since vanished, but the old Empire was falling to his knees, clinging to his old colony. The humans came running; their faces all faded and the colors dripping away.
Arthur was hurried to the cabin and Alfred was pulled away by someone's strong arms. They called him by his human name and restrained him to the living room. Lee rushed to aid Arthur's injuries in another room. The nations fretted as to what would happen to Matt, but Alfred was long gone in his thoughts. The medicine was wearing off quickly and he was starting to slump down onto the floor.
But there was a loud WHAP that made everyone look over. George had hit Alfred over the head with his cane again.
"Didn't I tell you to keep your head on straight, boy?" George snarled. He looked down at Alfred in disapproval. "Now get up."
Alfred wobbled on his legs, panting sharply, before falling to the floor. His shirt was starting to be drenched in his sweat from all the effort. Ivan and Yao watched from the sidelines, awaiting to see if the superpower would get back up.
George, however, had waited long enough. He picked Alfred up by his collar and began to shake him. "Listen here young man! Don't you DARE act like a little child! You were raised BETTER than that! Now I know you and Arthur have some kind of special... "relationship" or whatever. That's not my department. But if you care so much for him and for the others here then you will NOT put yourself in danger anymore! Look at you! You're such a mess!"
"Try standing on your own two feet for once," Ivan growled. Yao looked at him in surprise, but continued to stand frozen. He wasn't sure what to say.
Alfred fell to his knees, his hands shakily holding him up. Abigail rushes toward Alfred on the floor, but was stopped by George's cane. "Let him do it. He wants to be a big boy he has to get up on his own."
"If he even can. He IS a cheeseburger consuming, capitalist idiot," Ivan said, crossing his arms. He ignored the glares the younger agents gave him.
Alfred was still panting hard, but said nothing. His head was down, his hair covering his eyes. He just listened as the men yelled at him; gave him strength.
"Get up! Get up right now!" George yelled. He stomped his cane down once. "Show me what you've got! You've cheated death so get up! GET UP! You think you're so great! Then get up!"
Alfred snapped head up, glaring at the wall. He started to push himself up, his knees and arms shaking horribly from all the stress. He bit his lip so hard it started to bleed, but he refrains from making any noise. Finally he was able to stand again without grabbing onto anything.
The agents sighed in relief with George nodding, unsmiling. "That's more like it."
Alfred 's chest was heaving, but he turned to glare at Ivan. Yao was startled, thinking he was looking at him for a moment. He moved away from the Slavic nation who's smile was growing colder by the second. Alfred made his way to stand in front of the taller man.
"Da?" Ivan asked, his smile widening.
It was tense for a few moments before Alfred suddenly put his head on Ivan's shoulder. The man tensed in surprise.
"OW! MY KNEES! I FELL ON THEM WAY TOO HARD WHEN I CAME IN!" Alfred exclaimed in dramatic pain.
Ivan wasn't sure if he should slap Alfred across the face or just push him away. He opted for both simultaneously.
Several hours of air travel and Veneciano's hungry stomach later, the two had arrived in America. Ludwig wondered, however, how much of it was still America and how much had changed during their flight. They both walk up to a big black limo waiting for them at the airport where they landed, that Ludwig had arranged ahead of time. After getting in the car and some comments from Veneciano about how fancy it was, they drove off.
It wasn’t long until the car suddenly swerved to the right, jolting the two companions inside against the side of the limo. Ludwig immediately grabbed the door handle, bracing himself. Veneciano flailed about, wailing. Ludwig managed to grab a hold of the Italian and held him down on the seat, barking at him to put the seat belt on and hold on. He looked ahead, but couldn't see the driver.
The car continued to swerve in and out of traffic before it went down a dark alley and pulled into a garage. The car came to a stop, the engine turning off a second later. Everything was so quiet that the silence pounded into the nations’ ears. They caught their breath, sitting upright, and looking at their surrounding environment. The garage they were in was too dark to make out any details.
Veneciano cowered next to Ludwig, "Ve, we're trapped!"
"Be quiet," Ludwig hissed. He started to pull his gun from his pocket, the only weapon he had been allowed to take along with him.
They heard the driver's door open and their hijacker step around to their door. Ludwig took aim, ready to fire at whomever was about to open the door while Veneciano ducked down to the floor. He was whining and crying, fearful of what was about to happen.
"Hey...something's happening on the news," Ben said.
Alfred rubbed the back of his bruised head as he moved away from Ivan. Yao was first to the radio as he heard mention of the news report coming from Asia.
"North Korea is seizing this chance now that the respective nations of China and Russia have vanished and their countries are in disarray to declare war on them. Shots have been fired on both borders and word is that the North Korean troops are mobilizing at a rapid pace," the news reporter calmly said.
Yao gasped, stepping back in shock. "Aiyah! North Korea, aru!" He began pacing the area near the radios, cursing in his respective tongue.
The agents and two nations watched as Yao fretted. The news kept coming in about North Korea possibly attacking South Korea as well. The two brothers were, technically, now at war, but the southern brother had yet to make a move and defend his so-called "beloved big brother".
A hand fell upon Yao's shoulder, causing the Asian to pause. "I'll fight him with you...," Alfred said seriously.
"Why? This isn't your problem, aru." Yao spun to look at him.
"Yes it is..." Alfred, despite starting to look so pale and worn out again, continued to talk with strength. "You're my friend...I want to help protect my friends..." He looked over at Ivan, now at war as well. "All of them..."
Yao bit his lip. America...a friend, aru, he thought.
"And just how are you going to help us, your friends?" Ivan asked, trying to control his anger from the news report. It was bad enough his government and people were reacting so badly, but now he was at war with another country. Oh, how they'd pay.
"Forget about the things in the past... It's all different now... All our policies, all the work we did for our countries...our people... It's all gone..."
"But all help isn't lost," Abigail said, stepping forward. She smiled slightly. "I still have that plan…"
The limo door flew open and Alfred's bright and smiling faces popped into Ludwig's line of vision.
"HI GUYS!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing off in the dark garage.
Ludwig pulled his gun back in surprise. "A-America?"
"WAAAH! WE'RE GONNA GET CONTAMINATED!" Veneciano screamed, tears welling up in his eyes. He pointed at Alfred with a shaking finger. "He's a zombie! He's going to bit us and we'll turn into one too!"
"ITALY!" Ludwig shouted. Veneciano effectively shut up and silence returned to the dark area once more. Alfred helped the two out of the limo with his usual cheery smile, but his face looked far too thin.
"Sorry about the rough ride, but George was the one driving. He hasn't driven in years/" Alfred nodded over to the older man being held up by a cane. Alfred then turned and quickly explained that George was a special agent there to help.
"I thought you were ... sick, America. You're looking all right to me, but shouldn't you be recovering somewhere?" Ludwig asked warily. He looked the man over, knowing exactly that there should be more fat and/or muscle on the younger blonde.
"Actually, we thought you were dead!" Veneciano said too casually. Ludwig shot the brunette a glare, but Alfred merely laughed, waving their comments off.
"As if! It's you two that we need to worry about." Alfred flipped on the switch, lighting up the garage. "But, we're gonna keep it a secret that I'm still dead, okay?"
Ludwig stopped Veneciano who looked ready to ask a question. He nodded, "I understand. You will fill us in later on what's going on?"
Alfred pointed at Ludwig, winking. "I sure will! We don't have much time. You can't see the new baby America."
"Why not?" Veneciano asked. "I really wanted to see the baby nation."
"No, he's not…um…" Alfred turned to George for help. George stepped towards a small red button. "He's a demonic brat, to say the least."
"A demonic…brat?" Ludwig repeated in disbelief. Was he really to be scared?
George pressed the button and the floor began to move underneath everyone. Veneciano looked down in amazement. The entire floor was slowly moving downwards, the walls going up around them. Alfred smirked, turning to the two Europeans.
"Cool, huh?" Alfred asked. George and Ludwig rolled their eyes at the same time.
Ludwig felt Veneciano pulling on his sleeve. He turned to look at the Italian. "Hey, hey. Germany. I don't want a demonic bratty baby. …Unless we make pasta together. Hey, America, were you a demonic bratty baby when you were a baby?"
Alfred laughed nervously. "Uh, I didn't hear anything about that from Arthur…"
Ludwig cleared his throat. "Excuse me, are we in danger of being infected? We only know what's going on through what's being said on television. Is any of that true?"
"At this time, we have no reason to believe Italy has been infected yet," George explained. "Although, his prolonged exposure to Germany might have put you in danger... We believe you're infected, Germany."
Ludwig blinked again, his eyes widening. " Infected ... How? I haven't had any contact with you or any of the other infected countries ... It's been a while since I've seen Japan..."
Veneciano wiggled away from Ludwig, afraid. "Germany…"
Ludwig glanced at Veneciano and couldn't help but be nervous as well. It was true that he hadn't been near any other country other than Italy, but could he still get it? He didn't know much, whereas the source seemed to come from America himself, and yet he was alive again. "There's more to this, isn't there? It's not just contagious..."
"Germany visited Austria when he wasn't feeling so well last week though, right? Do you think he could have been contaminated then?" Veneciano quipped up. Ludwig ignored the Italian and paid attention to George, but Alfred looked over in interest.
"I have reason to believe it's because you are the one of the power houses of Europe right now and because of the way things are going in the world, your people are starting to call for a change. A change that you're against that is making you sick," George explained.
"How'd Austria get infected?" Alfred asked.
Veneciano shrugged. "Germany just told me he wasn't feeling so well, but that Hungary was looking after him."
George looked over, interested now as well. The room was close to the bottom of the room. He thought for a moment. "Well...if Austria is working closely to Germany..."
Ludwig thought about it as well. When he saw Roderich, the man didn't seem terribly sick. He just looked more exhausted than normal, but it was to be expected. The EU and most of Europe hadn't been doing too well for a few years now, but the rest of the world was just as bad. "I haven't been anywhere else, if that means much. I'm hoping I haven't caught it and passed it on..."
Ludwig sighed, thinking about Italy and the rest of Europe now. Would he infect Italy or the others? He didn't know what he'd do if... if something where to happen and it was his fault. The room stopped moving suddenly causing Ludwig to look around and stop thinking. There were a few lights on the sides of the walls that flickered on, but not much was different.
Alfred moved towards the single door. "But, I think we found a way to win!" He opened the door which led to a wide, pure white hallway with bright lights leading all the way down past hundreds of cubicles. The place, however, was completely empty and all of the cubicles were silent. A penny could probably be heard dropping on the far opposite end.
"Whoa, where are we?" Veneciano asked, excited. "This is just like one of your movies, America!"
"Leave it to him," Ludwig mumbled. He really wasn't that impressed as his mind was still focused on other matters. He walked alongside Alfred who was quickly summarizing events that he had been filled in about as well. He only briefly explained their whereabouts, however.
"We're just in an underground secret base where my agents meet, but they're all gone, so don't worry about it too much and try not to remember it, okay?" Alfred rambled. He then effortlessly continued his explanation. Ludwig and Veneciano came to a sudden stop when Alfred turned on his heel to face them. "And now, here's our plan."
"Not your plan again," Ben growled. He rolled his eyes. "I'll say it again, these are countries that are hundreds of years old. They can handle themselves."
"I'm sorry, but I fail to see the effectiveness of letting one person just run freely around their lands in their weakened condition with hardly any protection at all looking for a single child," Abigail started, her voice calm. "Where do they start looking? What happens if the child finds them first? What if something outside of their country affects them? These are critical things you have to take into consideration here, Ben."
George stepped between them. "This is all true, but I don't think any of the countries should focus on anyone else's problems right now but theirs." He looked at Ivan and Yao. "Right now you're both at war, but you don't want to be, that much is clear. Forget the wars and all this other nonsense. Nothing can be done in any one's condition. If you go back home and try to stop it, it won't work. The people are not listening right now and your bosses are all probably in hiding to be protected."
"Ya pannimayu, but I don't think I need protection," Ivan said coldly.
"Then help," Abigail said curtly. "We can all work together, it's the only way things can get done fast enough to stop this madness."
Ivan lowered his eyes in thought. He really was up against a wall. The agents could be useful in at least protection if guns started firing and he could put them in front of him. He truly didn't care for their safety. Plus, his government was more than likely in a solid hiding location that even Ivan wouldn't be able to find so contacting his KGB or government officials would be out of the question. He never liked the idea of being surrounded.
Fiddling with his scarf, Ivan nodded. "Fine, I'll help…"
"I guess the world is ending," Alfred joked. He looked away when Ivan shot him his usual icy glare.
"Right, well who goes to who?" Jeff asked.
"Abigail, you go with Russia," George said.
"What?" Abigail and Ivan exclaimed. George simply stared at them. "S-sir, I'd rather stay with Sir Kirkland."
"Don't sir me, missy," George snapped. "Your Russian is flawless and I see how you and Russia interact. You'll be just fine. Unless…" He looked at Ivan. "You'd rather be with dear Benjamin here."
Both boys stiffened and looked away angrily. George smiled, knowing the matter was settled. "Thomas, you'll be with China."
"YES!" Jeff jumped for joy, surprising Yao. Was he really to be with this excitable blonde?
As George started on Ben, Alfred cut him off. "Actually, Ben, I have a special assignment for you. I'll explain later, all right?"
Lee appeared from the bedroom with a relieved sigh. He quickly explained that Arthur was fine and was healing nicely. Alfred then assigned Lee to remaining by Arthur's side in case his wound becomes worse. They were to leave for England as soon as Arthur was well. By now, Ivan, Abigail, Jeff and Yao had started packing up to depart.
"Er, Sir?" Abigail started, getting George's attention. "I don't mean to be rude…"
"Then don't," George replied.
Undeterred, Abigail pressed on. "It's just… when did you become the leader of this operations? I know you're the oldest member, but Sir Jones made you retire years ago and now I'm the leader."
"Just let him lead, Abby," Alfred whispered. "He'll turn into a cranky granpa if you don't."
"This cranky granpa is telling you to get your rear in gear because Italy and Germany are on their way to the capital," George grumbled. He motioned to the radio that was barely audible on the other side of the room. The last clipped sentences from the news reporter stated that the two nations wanted to personally see for themselves this new baby America.
"Shit, we don't have much time." Alfred turned to the agents and saluted them. "Keep to your countries, find those babies, and get back here. I'm going with George to find that kid and figure out a way to put everything right. He must know the answers to what's going on and how this mess started. Keep in contact with me and the other agents. You have your orders."
"We have to go back home?" Veneciano asked.
Alfred had led the two into more comfortable quarters of a cramped cubicle as he finished explaining the plans. "Yup, as soon as you can. There will be an agent waiting for each of you."
Ludwig had remained standing, his arms crossed and his usual stoic expression on his face. He listened carefully while thinking up his own plans. If there was a demonic child running around his homeland he'd definitely need the help of Gilbert and any of his other relatives loafing around the house. There's no telling what opposite form of government the people might have suddenly demanded. "But why do we have to bring them back to you, America?"
"AJ knows more things we don't," Alfred started. His eyes took on a dark blue when he spoke of the new America. "I'm going to try and get all I can out of the little bastard and figure out what he knows. Tom and those other scientists took things from me to make AJ, or so they say. Maybe whatever they took out can be put in with that same machine or something."
Ludwig put up a hand to stop Alfred. He sighed, rubbing the bridge between his nose. "This all just seems based on guesses and what ifs and is all too far-fetched to even be considered a good enough plan."
Alfred's expression saddened. "But it's all we have and we really don't have time. Matt's at war with me, this AJ kid is just letting anything happen without caring about the consequences, and you guys have to go home. If you think up a better way on your trip home, great. I'd love to know, but until then, this is all we've got."
It was silent as the countries mulled over the plan. "The last plan you came up with was to sneak on that stupid spaceship and look where that got us," Ludwig said.
Alfred smirked. "Hey, but we lived through that. We can take on a bunch of kids, can't we? I've seen you in battle."
"Hey, Germany, let's give this a chance." Veneciano looked at his friend sadly. "Maybe we won't even have to fight, you know? Maybe the children will just give up."
"Well… if it's a child of you, maybe," Ludwig said. He couldn't help but smile at the thought.
Hoshiko2's cents: So, I'm sorry if this seems really rushed, but they needed to get OUT of that cabin. Haha. I don't really like how this chapter turned out, actually. I had a better idea, but I've been pressed for time lately. If I don't update some week, please know that it's because my life is extremely busy and I'm amazed I'm able to pump out two chapters a week.
Also, I'm really sorry if a lot of this seems wordy. I assure you the speaking lines will get...less in the future.
I'm not really confident in my writing skills of this story at the moment, so if you guys could let me know what you like and don't like? A few of you do tell me and I really appreciate that, you have no idea. And if you have any questions, come on over to my Formspring (http://www.formspring.me/hoshiko2) if you have questions.
You'll notice that the series is now on my LJ. If you want, you can go on my homepage of LJ and follow me as I have a convenient master list of all of my stories.
Thanks for reading this week's. Next week will take a different turn.