#this is for sure not the only reason i came to south germany i swear

[infinitegenderlessmess]

Video description: a large concrete block is lowered by crane to stand next to three similar though more weathered blocks. Two construction workers manipulate the block into place as it is lowered. Many people watch. End description.

FOURTH BLOCK!!!

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Chapter 12: The Petals on Her Brow

“No.”

“But—”

“No. Close your eyes.”

“This is boring! Do I really have to—”

“Yes.”

“But—"

“Yes. You do. I will not tell you twice.”

— — —

Back in the cabin, Team Regular People had set up camp in the living room.

Only about an hour had passed since breakfast, but in that time, they’d already managed to turn the couches into literary chaos. On the coffee table, stacks of atlases and maps had been supplemented—then supplanted—by the hundreds of pages of chemistry notes that Nott was supposed to be preparing for the summer semester. Jester similarly had strewn all her summer homework onto the carpet. Fjord was half-slouched in an armchair buried nose-deep in a tome titled The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, looking for all the world like would rather throw himself into the ocean than keep reading.

And as those three languished in the rigors of academia, Caleb, Beau, and Caduceus were sitting at the kitchen table, hunting for Yasha’s mystery flower. So far, they had already eliminated almost everything growing in Eastern Europe, though Caleb had been convinced for a while that the flower was liverwort.

“Its name is ‘Leberblümchen’ in German,” he said. “We used to see it in our garden.”

Beau stared critically at the page, then turned to examine Yasha’s drawing. “Your thing isn’t pointy enough,” she said. “And it doesn’t have enough of those…stringy things in the middle.”

“Liverwort is usually blue, too,” Caduceus said. “Sorry, Mister Caleb.”

He sighed. “It is fine, perhaps we should move farther south.”

Beau pulled over another book and started flipping through the pages. “Do you miss being home?” she asked idly. “I know you haven’t been back there in a while.”

She mentally kicked herself when she noticed Caleb’s smile turn melancholy.

“Oh, fuck, I didn’t mean to remind you—”

He shook his head. “No, no, it is alright, Beauregard. I do miss it, of course. In many parts. Your beer in America is piss poor, for example.”

She immediately rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you say that all the time.”

“It’s a sticking point. Oh, and your trains are very bad—”

“Ugh, I know—”

“—and none of your restaurants know what eggs and soldiers is.”

“No one knows what the hell that is.”

“I don’t,” Caduceus piped up. “What is that?”

“It is a soft egg eaten with little strips of toast. It is the only way to eat toast,” Caleb said wistfully.

“It sounds like you haven’t been back in a while.” Caduceus dipped his head. “It must be difficult, being so far from your family like that.”

“Ah.” Caleb’s expression changed. It was subtle, but the softness in his eyes went still. “That is…I do not have family there, anymore.”

“Oh, I—Caleb, I’m sorry—”

He raised his hand. “It is alright, Caduceus. You did not know. It is not, ah….”

“He doesn’t go around advertising it,” Beau said.

“Well,” Caleb huffed, though not at all angrily, “that is certainly one way to put it. And…yes, to elaborate a little more, since the rest of these people already know, I…some time ago, something happened back home and I decided to leave. It…was not an easy choice, but inevitable, I think, in some ways. And while I do miss Germany, as I said, being here, with my friends, has helped me quite a lot. I am…I find that when I say ‘I’m okay,’ lately, I mean that more and more.”

“You should’ve seen him before,” Beau grinned. “He had such a stick shoved up his ass he could barely smile—though, uh, I guess that’s not surprising since—”

She shut her mouth. She opened it.

“I’m going to go back to staring at flowers now.”

Caleb snorted. He slid another book across the table. “Here, try this one,” he said. “Plants of Italy. If it is not in here, we switch to the Americas.”

She took it. “Thanks. Here’s hoping.”

“Let’s go for another thirty minutes,” Caduceus said. “Don’t forget, it’s important to stretch and take breaks.”

— — —

“Seriously, if you don’t let me, I’ll die.”

“You will not.”

“I will. I swear, I will. I have to take a break. Ten minutes. Five minutes! Sixty seconds, at least, or I drop dead.”

From her perch on the large grey boulder that lay at the edge of the woods behind the cabin, Yasha opened one eye and saw that Mollymauk was already lying down.

He’d rolled off his log and was even in the grass. She frowned. “You are not even trying.”

“I tried, but none of this makes any sense! Sit still and try to ‘feel myself’?” He made air quotes. “Yasha, dear, if that’s what you really wanted, I definitely would not be sitting still.”

He waggled his eyebrows. She ignored him.

“Controlling your energy instinctive,” she said instead. “It is tied to our ability to see and read auras. But because you do not know how to do either, I am doing my best to explain it to you. This is the only way I know how. You are really not taking this seriously.”

“You think I’m not taking this seriously?” He scoffed. “Do you really think I would put myself through any of this if I didn’t think I had to? Need I remind you that my family was attacked by those crazy bikers as well?”

“What? They are not your family,” she blinked. “We were your family. But you left us when you fell.”

He made a show of dramatic incredulity. “Then I also need to remind you, dear, that I haven’t the faintest idea what that means. I’ve got amnesia, remember? Accidental hellfire and devilish charms aside, I really am not a demon. Not culturally.”

She frowned. “Culturally?”

“And I’d really prefer not to dwell on it,” he continued. “As far as I’m concerned, as soon as I get this ‘aura’ nonsense under control, I’m going to go home and get back to living an extraordinary, charmed, non-demonic life.”

Her frown took on a confused note. “But…you are a demon. That is that.”

“No, no, you’re not getting it, Yasha.” He rolled over and looked her in the eye. “Listen to me. Whoever had this body before, maybe, maybe that person could’ve been a demon. But whoever that was, they weren’t me. They were just some stupid asshole who got buried in the earth for, for—I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t even care. Because it’s no concern of mine.”

“Er…buried?”

“Long story,” he shrugged. “Not important. What is important is that the person you see now, that person is me—Mollymauk Tealeaf. Fortune-teller, sword-spinner, lover of…well, lover. You aren’t going to get anywhere until you at least understand that. Alright?”

He rolled back over, crossed his arms on his chest.

“Besides, it seems as if—at least, from the context clues that I’ve pulled together myself—you’re missing a few memories too, aren’t you, Angel? Maybe you should try reinvention.”

Yasha was silent a moment. Eventually, “But I still know who I am. I did not lose that.”

“A pity.”

“It is…no, it is not a pity. It means I still have a purpose. And a past.”

Molly scoffed. “A past isn’t worth bragging about. The present, though, now the present is something.”

She titled her head. “Er…meaning?”

He waved a hand. “Well—well, okay, for example, can you honestly tell me that you aren’t enjoying what you have right now? In this cute little cabin? I still happen to be offended that you don’t think the carnival is my family, but you seem to have found one of your own, too. These people, here, and their delicious pancakes.”

“W—yes, the pancakes are good, but—"

“And those tiny little blueberries, delicious!” he sighed. “I haven’t had berries that sweet since…who knows?”

“You…like sweet things?” Yasha blinked. “Wait, go back, what was it that you said about family?”

“Oh, so you do care that you upset me?”

“I did?”

“Of course you did! My god, The Fletching and Moondrop might not’ve been the most functional of units, it might not’ve been the most traditional, but I certainly cared about them a lot. They found me when I had nothing, was no one. They gave me a home. They took care of me. They were my whole world, and trying to deny me that is basically like—it’s spitting in my face!”

Her gaze drifted downward. “I did not know. I am sorry.”

“Oh, cheer up, cheer up!” He scrambled upright. “You didn’t know, it’s alright, Yasha. God, have I just made an angel feel guilty? Isn’t it supposed to be your job to do that?”

Her brow furrowed. “I have been trying to do my job for two hours. I am supposed to teach you. You do not listen.”

“Because that’s boring. Sitting still is no fun.”

“I explained it already, Mollymauk. You are not just sitting still, you are centering yourself to connect with the world’s energy, then turning it inward—”

“Oh, I know! Why don’t I teach you, instead?”

She stopped. Her brow furrowed. “You…what?”

“Let me teach you something!” He clapped his hands together, eyes shining with glee. “Come on, come on, what do you say? It can be anything you like! Tarot reading!”

“No, what—”

“Alright, alright, it’s not for everyone, okay…how about sword spinning?”

She frowned. “Why would you do that?”

He rolled his eyes. “Why not? It’s flashy, exciting, and you can show off your skills! What, think won’t don’t have the dexterity for it?”

Something in Yasha bristled. “I am good with swords.”

“Then prove it! I’ll go back into the house right now and fetch the glass ones, then—"

The fog cleared; she caught on. “Wait, wait. If you go in, I am sure that you will not come back out.”

He laughed, completely unashamed. “Fine, fine, how about…oh! Why don’t I teach you to make flower crowns?”

She immediately opened her mouth in protest, but for some reason, somewhere along the line, the response that came out was a semi-choked, “Huh?”

“Flower crowns!” He grinned again, sensing weakness. “Come on, it’s great if you like flowers. Don’t tell me you don’t have those in Heaven.”

“I…it is called Elys—of course we have flowers.”

“Perfect! Do you have a favorite kind?” He leaned forward. “C’mon, I promise it’ll be quick, and then I’ll absolutely pay attention to the energy stuff. Just ten minutes! Only ten.”

She wanted to argue again. She knew she had to, it was her duty, her responsibility to tell him no way, to pick him up and throw him over her shoulder and sit him up straight and threaten him until he listened…

But what she said was:

“…fine. Ten minutes, and then we start again.”

“Yes!”

— — —

“Do you think he’d look good with pink instead?” Jester let a strand of Caleb’s hair fall from her hand and back onto his shoulders. “Caduceus could probably help, too. Couldn’t you, Caddy?”

“Sure I could.”

“I don’t know,” Nott rubbed her chin. “I mean, pink, don’t get me wrong, it’s a great color—”

“Thank you.”

“—but close to the original. If we’re going to do a dye job, it should be wild.”

Caleb counted to ten. “The ‘if’ in your statement should sound more hypothetical,” he said.

“Well, it’s only if you want it, Caleb. But you know, you’d look really cool with dyed hair!” Jester gushed. “How about a streak? Like Fjord? To be stylish?”

“I’m glad you think I’m stylish,” Fjord called from his armchair, Conventions now draped across his face. “But you know I didn’t do this on purpose.”

“Right, right—”

“What, really?” Nott glanced at him. “What happened? Don’t tell me it was a prank someone pulled.”

“Why?” he grunted. “Upset you didn’t do it first?”

“Yes! Of course I am!”

He sighed, and tugged the book off his face. He ran a hand through his short black hair and found the shock of white streaking through it.

“I got it in the accident. With the shipping company, remember? That whole thing with the engine malfunction. Big storm, boat went down, but, uh, I got rescued.”

“Yeah,” said Nott, immediately relenting. “I…remember. You nearly drowned.”

“Yeah, well,” he shrugged. “I noticed this grey streak after leaving the hospital. So…either a nurse used some real strong hair dye, or…I dunno, maybe it was from the stress?”

Jester very quickly reached over and squeezed his hand.

He gave a tiny smile. “It’s alright, it’s been a while since it happened. And you know, thanks to all the bad press they got after, they had to do something for me. So…it balanced out.”

“They sent you to college,” said Caduceus, remembering. “The scholarship?”

“Yeah. And an offer to work for them again after I graduate.”

“Hell no!” screeched Nott. “Are you kidding me? After everything that happened, do they really expect you to work for them again? Or even to go out on the water?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged, “I really liked sailing, I…I miss it sometimes, actually. But I probably shouldn’t go back to them, that’s true.”

“What was the name of the company?” she demanded. “I’m going to leave them terrible reviews.”

“I don’t think you can do that for corporations.”

“Just give me a name, Fjord, it’ll make me feel better, if not you.”

He sighed and put his book back on his head. “U.K. Toa Shipping Industries. Have fun.”

“U.K.?” Caleb gently tugged himself free. “It is British?”

Fjord was quiet for a moment. “Huh,” he said. “You know, I don’t actually know. I always assumed so, but I guess I never asked.”

“That’s it,” Caduceus suddenly said.

They all turned.

“That’s what, Caddy?” Jester said.

“Fjord’s accent,” he grinned. He sounded incredibly satisfied. “You’re British now, aren’t you? I knew there was something different.”

A pause. Then:

“Oh my god, I completely forgot—”

“Nott—”

“That’s right! You did do that, Fjord—”

“Jester, I’m begging—”

“You told me you were Texan,” Caduceus nodded. “You talked all…twangy, before. In freshman year.”

“He did, didn’t he?” Nott all but beamed.

“I want to die,” Fjord moaned. “I want to die, it was—it wasn’t a phase, but…oh god…” He sunk down even lower in his chair.

“It’s a sweet reason,” Jester said supportively. “Real sweet.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Fjord, can I tell him?” she asked.

He vaguely waved his hand and Jester removed his book to tap him on the nose.

“Well, you see, Fjord did it partially ‘cause he was going to America and he didn’t want to stick out as the British kid. But he also did it because he wanted to remember his old captain. Vandren.”

“He was Texan,” Fjord mumbled. “And it wasn’t just, you know, remembering by itself, it was also…I dunno, I wanted to emulate him. He was…he had this way of commanding a room that just…you know.” He shifted awkwardly. “I…I wasn’t the…most confident person, before. When I was younger, especially. But putting on a mask, pretending to be Vandren, it…helped. Especially since nobody knew me here.”

Caduceus hummed his understanding, and nodded.

“What changed?”

Fjord’s cheeks colored. “Well…you know. After a while, I realized it was…pretending to be Vandren was preventing anyone from knowing me. The mask was comfortable, but it wasn’t…true.”

Caduceus smiled. “Jester was right. That is very sweet. I’m happy for you. And this accent isn’t bad.”

Fjord chuckled. “Thank you,” he tipped his book like a hat. “That is—thank you kindly, partner.”

“It’s tragic that you decided to be genuine,” Nott sighed, leaning back into a cushion. “Your southern accent was way hotter—”

“I got it!”

This outburst came from Beau, who had ended her break early to resume the search. Fjord all but threw himself out of the living room in pursuit of this new distraction.

“What?” he asked, sliding into the kitchen. “Is it a match?”

“Fuck yeah it is, look! Everyone, look!”

The rest trailed in behind him and gathered around Beau, who was practically vibrating.

“Trientalis borealis! The starflower!” she yelled. “Here it is—” she slapped Yasha’s drawing onto a page displaying a faded photo. “It’s a perfect match, seven pointed petals, a lot of yellow stringy stuff in the middle. And it’s tiny. Half an inch wide.”

“The starflower is one of the more common spring wildflowers native to eastern North America,” Caleb read, sitting down in the chair next to her. “The species name borealis refers to being from the north, although this plant is also distributed in the Midwest and the higher elevations of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Depending on latitude and altitude, starflowers generally bloom from mid to late spring into early summer.”

He leaned back, and gave Beau an amazed look. “You are right, this photo is exactly the same. You…you did it, Beauregard, that is…incredible.”

She punched the air. “Now who’s the king of nerds?! Wait, gross…”

— — —

“—little longer, you just need a second color. Something, hm…maybe blue. Or yellow. Preference?”

“P—what? Oh, uh…either is fine.”

Yasha and Molly had drifted away from their makeshift stools and into the forest, coming through the grass for summer blooms. Molly was flitting from flowerbed to flowerbed, plucking up stems and laughing when bumblebees had to spiral out of his way. Yasha had taken to sitting below a tree trunk, moving as little as angelically possible, so as to not disturb her crown.

Molly had placed it atop her head, and she could feel the petals on her brow. They were purple wildflowers. They were soft.

Yasha was always surprised by just how soft flowers could get—after all, they had to live outside all the time and there was so much danger, so much weather, it was a miracle they could grow at all. Still, it made her nervous to touch flowers; she was worried that her big, calloused hands would break them, maybe damage or ruin them somehow—

“Don’t be silly, love. You could never do such a thing.”

Yasha flinched, startled. “What?”

“Er…I just asked if you liked these,” Molly frowned. He’d flopped back down beside her and was showing off a hand of pudgy yellow blossoms. “Are you alright, dear?”

“Oh, er…yes. I am fine.” She blinked, and that whispered voice was gone. A second later, she wasn’t sure if it’d been there at all.

“In that case, look, look, what do you think?” He held the flowers up to the sun. “Nice, right?”

Yasha felt her face soften. A tiny smile crept into the corners of her mou—

“Hey, where’d they go? Yasha? Mollymauk? Where are you guys?!”

“I think I see them, through there—"

“Uh-oh.” Molly turned to Yasha and grinned. “I think we’ve been made.”

She groaned, and shut her eyes.

— — —

“—you understand how important this is?! We told you what the stakes were, I can’t believe you were picking flowers!”

“Hey! Why does everyone think I don’t understand anything? And anyway, Yasha was with me the whole time—”

“Oh, right, pin it on her, you asshole—”

“Fuck you, I’m not pinning anything on anyone—”

“Hey, hey, okay, calm down,” Fjord stepped between them and raised his hands. “Whoa, déjà-vu. Anyway, let’s just relax. Please?”

“She’s accusing me for no reason,” Molly said, hackles lowered but still with a bite.

“And he’s slacking off,” Beau glared.

“Yasha did say they agreed to take the break together,” Fjord reminded her. “And it’s the first day. It’ll take time to perfect the, uh, formula, right, Yasha?”

The three of them turned to look at Yasha, who was standing back with the rest of their friends, wearing an expression of absolute discomfort.

“Er…er…yes, right,” she said clumsily. “We just got…carried away.” She gave Beau a nervous nod. “Sorry.”

This was enough to soothe Beau’s foul mood. She sighed. “I don’t blame you, Yasha, I blame that one.” She jabbed a halfhearted thumb at Molly.

“Hey!”

“Just let her have this,” Fjord said.

“It’s not your fault,” Beau continued, ignoring them. “And—ugh, I hate being the bigger person—I get it. It’ll take time. You need breaks. I’m…sorry I freaked out.”

“Thank—” Molly began.

“Not you.”

“Well, It was worth a try.”

Yasha seemed more than relieved by Beau’s words. “You do not need to be sorry either, but thank you. And I will be more, ah, better next time.”

“Next time,” Molly grumbled. “Well, as long as she isn’t there, next time.”

“That is right,” Yasha tilted her head. “Beauregard, why did you come outside?”

From the back, Jester grinned. “Oh, Yasha, it’s so exciting!”

“That’s right!” Beau’s face lit up immediately, her annoyance at Molly all but melting away. “Guess what?”

“Er…what?”

She whipped out a book, small and bound with a soft green cover.

“I found it. Your flower.”

Yasha’s eyes widened. “You—what? You did? Where is it? What is it called?”

Her grin widened as she turned the pages. “It’s the Trientalis borealis, let me show you the picture—"

“Tren…” Yasha frowned in concentration. “The…three-foot…no, one-third—”

Beau actually laughed, then flipped the book around, pointing to a small picture beneath text. “Its common name’s ‘starflower.’ Sound familiar?”

“Star…flower.” Yasha hesitated. “That sounds…I’m not sure…”

“It would be ‘ʢƾʯɬƺƛᵿɿʑʖɕʚɬ,’ I think—” Caduceus said.

“Yeah?” Beau asked hopefully.

Yasha nodded. Her frown had vanished, and now she was staring at the book, nearly frozen, glued to the image of a little white flower. “…starflower,” she murmured. “ʢƾʯɬƺƛᵿɿʑʖɕʚɬ. You found it.”

“Hell, yes!” cheered Nott from between the others.

Yasha managed to tear her gaze away and this time, it fell on Beauregard.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “You…found it. Thank you.”

Beau’s cheeks flushed. She forced herself to stay still. “Oh, well, you know, it was…it…nothing.”

She did not resist as Yasha took the book, moving it closer to get a better look. “No, it is everything,” she said. “You did it.”

“Well—fuck, I mean, you know,” she scratched her neck and looked down, “I told you I would.”

“And you did. Thank you.”

“Now that she has found the flower,” Caleb cut in, both to Beau’s relief and disappointment, “we can start narrowing down a region. In fact, we already know from this book that the starflower is endemic to the United States.”

Yasha patiently waited for him to elaborate.

“That is, it grows near us. It is common on the east and west coasts, and is usually found in the early summer.”

He stepped forward, and with Yasha’s permission, flipped the page and showed her a map. Much of the US and Canada were blue.

She traced this with a finger. “Wait, then…does that mean I might have been in Iothia this whole time? Or right next to it?”

“That remains to be seen. It depends on how big Iothia is,” Caleb said. “And of course, again, exactly where it is. But we can use this map, and the geographical features we know, to compile a list of locations that would give you the most likely areas of Iothia.”

He gave Yasha a satisfied nod. “You are well on your way to going home, Engel.”

Her gaze fell back to the book. She turned the page to look at the flower.

Its name is ‘starflower.’ Isn’t that funny?

“Wha—why is that funny?” she said out loud.

“Hm?” Caleb cocked his head. “Why is what funny?”

She frowned. “The…name of the flower, I think. Or the…stars?”

“Actually, I was thinking that too,” Nott said. “Since, you know, you fell from the sky, right? And I guess these little flowers did too!”

Beau groaned. “So, this whole time, we were looking for a pun?”

“I think that’s irony, actually—” Fjord began.

Yasha blinked.

—and that whispered voice was gone…

When she looked up again, everyone was staring at her.

“Are you okay?” Jester asked. “You…is everything alright?”

—a second later, she wasn’t sure if it’d been there at all—

She shook her head, then realized that looked like a negative and managed to produce a weird, swooping nod.

“I am very happy,” she said quickly. “I am just…it is just a lot to take in. The flower. This…memory, it was…something important.”

Caduceus smiled. “Then it gets to be important again. This time, it’ll help you find your way home.”

Seven little petals. Bright like a star. Tiny enough to fit in someone’s hand.

She passed the open book back to Beau. She noticed Beau’s hand brush the flower.

“I…you are right,” she said, half to herself. “I think it will.”

“We all will,” Beau grinned.

—

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[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #403

“ashes to ashes, watch me disappear”

If given the opportunity, would you like to star in a musical? Definitely not. I don't like musicals. Name one person you’d take a bullet for: There's honestly a lot, but Mom immediately came to mind. Any posters of a band on your bedroom wall? Yeah: Metallica and Marilyn Manson currently. I want lots more, especially an Ozzy one. Do you think you’ve already met your soulmate? I don't believe in soulmates. Do you share your bedroom with anyone? No, unless you include my cat and snake. Is your favorite color yellow? No, it's actually one of my least favorites. Were you born in a hospital? I was. Do you know the name of the person that delivered you? No, but Mom does. I think he delivered me and my two sisters, and I know Mom has seen him since for other reasons. Was your birth recorded? God no. Good call, Mom. Did you eat a peach this week? Would you believe me if I told you I had a small bit of peach pie for my sister's birthday? For some reason, I just really wanted to try some. It was okay, but the aftertaste sucked. Are you leaving the house tomorrow? Yes, for TMS therapy. Every weekday. Do you enjoy romantic movies, even when they’re cliche? I honestly do. If you could get free vocal lessons would you take them? Probably not. I don't like singing in front of anyone, and it's not like I wanna get anywhere with my singing, so. Is your mother diabetic? She is. Are you? No. Ever sang someone to sleep? No. Who do you stalk the most through Facebook? Nobody. Have you ever deleted your Facebook, then brought it back? No. What is your main responsibility each day? Be sure to take my medications. Do you feel like you fulfill those responsibilities? Yeah. There are rare mornings where I forget, but I almost always remember. I don't fw skipping out on meds that keep my mental health stable. When was the last time you used spray paint? Good question. Do you know the middle name of the last person you kissed? Yep. Who is the friendliest person you know? My mom, probably. Something that annoys you about summer: THE HEAT. THE HUMIDITY. UGH. Something that annoys you about winter: Hm. That's hard to say, given I love winter. I guess the fact it doesn't snow enough here. Are the doors of your fridge side by side or on top of one another? Side-by-side. If you’ve moved out of the house you were born in, do you know the people who live in that house now? Nope. Have you ever cried in a movie theater? Not sobbed or anything, but I've definitely teared up and gotten the sniffles because of multiple movies. Do you read comic books? No. Do you force your way into conversations in which you are not involved? No. Have you ever seriously pretended to be clinically insane? I didn't need to pretend; I'm pretty damn sure I was for a while. Might I add that it's EXTREMELY inconsiderate to pretend you're insane, btw. Insanity is not "cool." It's not "funny." It's not "edgy." It's a serious, confusing, heart-wrenching issue that can ruin lives. Do you know anyone with a stutter? Yes, myself included when I'm even mildly nervous. And sometimes just randomly. With a lisp? I don't believe so. What was the last board game you played? The Disney version of "Pretty Pretty Princess" w/ my niece and even my nephew, even though his sexist-ass dad didn't want him to. Like let your kid have some fun with his sister and aunt, goddamn. They had a blast. It was Aubree's birthday present from me, so I am SO glad she loved it. Did you win? Ha ha, no, I always let Aubree or Ryder win. I came super close once, but I let the kids bend the rules a bit. They don't like losing, and even though they definitely need to understand that just happens and is totally fine for it to, I wasn't about to be the one to make them sad about it. When was the last time you tried to speak with an accent? OH MY LAAAAAWWWWWWD. Also at Aubree's b-day party, at one point, I spoke in a snobbish British accent while I was winning at the aforementioned game. Ryder asked, "Why are you speaking Spanish?", and I fuckin DIED. Have you ever made up a word before? Yeah, I know at least a few instances for fantasy animals in writing. When was the last time you went to a museum? A couple summers ago when my brother and his son visited, we went to a science museum. My nephew was sooooo into it. Do you have a nice yard? If so, do you spend a lot of time outside in it? If not, where do you go when you want to relax outdoors on nice days? Our front and back yards are both small and honestly very boring. The grass is a pretty green, but that's the only nice thing about it. I don't go to sit outside here on any day. Do your parents enjoy any of the things that you enjoy? Do you bond over these things? My parents and I have very similar music tastes, so there's that. I also didn't know for the longest time that Mom likes to write, which I sure as hell do, too! She doesn't really write anymore though, and she's self-conscious of it anyway, like I am. She and I also love a lot of the same shows. What is the movie that you have waited the longest for/which film do you remember anticipating the most/are still anticipating? I think The Incredibles 2. I aaaalways wanted to know what happened after the end of the first film. Do you have any ideas for a story or movie you’re planning to write or you’d write if you had the time/had the talent? Please share a synopsis! I genuinely think some RP I've written is series-worthy, but I don't feel like re-writing the YEARS of RP into a book format, and I sincerely worry that the ridiculously dark parts could inspire people like serial killers and cause A LOT of controversy, crime-blaming, and just general hate. I don't want to be involved in that. What is something that an interested guy/girl could comment about you, that would make you instantly open to them (e.g., “That book you’re reading is from my favorite author”)? Compliment my Markiplier tattoo, obviously knowing it's a tribute to him, and we're essentially besties. Is there a person in your life (maybe barely) that you feel in constant competition with (even just in your imagination)? Maybe you feel they are consistently outshining you? Ugh... there's a local photographer that's much more successful than I am that I admittedly am very envious of. I swear to whatever god you may believe in that I mean it from a modest perspective, I really, really do, but I genuinely think my skills surpasses hers, and she's only more prevalent because photography REALLY is about who you know. She's talented, yes, but like... come on. If you are single, even if you are normally happily single, are there certain specific things you witness that make you wish you were in a relationship (e.g., people getting engaged)? I mean yeah. I miss cuddling, holding hands, kissing, just being cute together, and especially people getting engaged or having kids. It's such a trigger to me. Once upon a time, that's all I wanted with Jason. I wanted to be that beautiful couple that got married and had two or three loved-beyond-words children, but then he left so abruptly, and I feel like it was so brutally robbed from me. I don't want kids anymore like at all, but the point still stands that I felt like my dreams were just ripped away. Out of all your usernames for websites, which one is your favorite? Do you use it for more than one site? I use "Ozzkat" just about everywhere. Have you ever spent the whole day (or multiple days) just looking up one thing on the internet (e.g., videos of your favorite band, how-to videos, quizzes, etc.)? OHHHHHHHHHH YEAH. There have been a couple days or so where I was totally glued to looking up various tattoo designs, bingeing let's plays or conspiracy theory videos, etc. etc. If you ever think about getting married, what are some aspects of the wedding that you would like to see in a non-traditional manner (e.g., a different color dress or “partners” over “husband” and “wife”)? I WILL NOT get married in a church, first of all. I'm also not having the traditional vows, and I probably won't wear a white dress, but instead black. Salt & vinegar, barbecue, sour cream & onion, or cheddar? Ohhhh, I like all those options but barbecue. I think I've gotta go with sour cream & onion, though. Bow ties on guys, dorky or adorable? A D O R A B L E ! ! ! I think they're ordinarily geeky, but I mean, geeky is cute in my world. :^) Do you believe in demonic possession? How about ghosts? Angels? Angels, no. Spirits/ghosts, 100%. I don't exactly believe in demons, per se, but I do question if evil spirits can possess someone. What is one romantic movie that you enjoy enough to watch more than once? I've seen The Notebook numerous times. Name three countries you want to visit; why those three? South Africa to interact with meerkats at the KMP, somewhere up in Canada to see the Northern Lights, and Germany just because, really. I took German for four semesters, and the culture and all just interests me. Do you have a good luck charm? No, considering I don't believe they do jack. Do you use Skype to talk to your friends? Only Sara. Now that I have Discord semi-figured out now though, we'll probably use that for voice chatting. Are you allergic to any animals? I might be allergic to dogs. Do you usually spend your weekends out, or at home? I'm like... always at home. Do you think it’s wrong for people to say "retard/retarded" as an insult? Absofuckinglutely. Don't pull that shit when I'm around. Have you ever had to go to the police department? No. Have you ever lived through a hurricane? Plenty. Have you ever had a home-grown tomato? Yes, from my old friend's garden. We'd have delicious tomato, mayo, and bacon sandwiches. The only instance where I've enjoyed tomatoes. Have you ever held a real gun? The former friend I mentioned just before, her husband always carried a gun, and he just needed me to hold it for a sec for some reason I don't recall. I hated the feeling. Would you rather wear Converse or Vans? I like both, but I think I prefer Converse. Have you ever been called bipolar? Yes, because I clinically am. Have you ever made fun of a handicapped person? FUCK no. And like the "retarded" thing, don't you fucking DARE to do this in front of me. I WILL deck the shit out of you. Do you think it’s okay to have sex before marriage? Sure, as long as you're being safe and are very thorough in communication. Do you like to watch old sitcoms? I don't really watch TV as I say in like every survey it seems, but I do enjoy some old sitcoms I grew up watching with my mom, like The Nanny, The Golden Girls, The Munsters, etc. If asked, could you run a mile nonstop right now? Being completely serious, I don't even know if I CAN physically run right now. My legs are so incredibly weak, and I'm humiliatingly close to what my heaviest weight was back in 2016, so I can almost guarantee my knees would crumple if I tried. Do you wear those rubber wristbands? I used to. I don't really like bracelets nowadays. If a necklace/ring gives you green marks, do you still wear it? Nope. Have you ever driven an electric car? No. When was the last time you saw someone you went to high school with? Uhhhh idk. What breed was the last dog you saw? A fucking GOLIATH of a lab. I shit you not when I say my sister's roommate's dog Hudson is the size of a goddamn bear. How long have your parents been together (or how long were they together, if they no longer are): I wanna say they were together at the very least 20 years. What has been your most epic cooking failure? I once accidentally put something (I don't remember what) in the microwave for around 45 minutes I believe, and I walked away and completely forgot about it. I remembered a long while later, and safe to say, it wasn't edible, whatever it was, lmao. Have you ever been to Mexico? No. Have you ever had a parrot sit on your shoulder? No, but that'd be cool. Has anyone in your life ever treated you abusively? No. How long has it been since your last breakup? Somewhere around two years ago? My memory is so garbage nowadays. Can you concentrate well while listening to music, or do you find it distracting? It's distracting, usually. What’s something you’ve been struggling with lately? I've been pretty bad about drinking too much soda lately. :/

[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Being Dick Graysons daughter would include... (HC)

-Dick coming home from patrol one rough night with a little bundle in his arms

-The boys asking him what it is, only for him to reveal the cute little baby girl in his arms

-Him telling them and Bruce that he found you sound asleep in a almost completely burned building and that your parent's are dead

-Bruce automatically feeling with you and asking Dick what he want's to do

-"I'm going to adopt her." "Are you sure, that you're ready to be a father?" "Sure. I mean Bruce adopt all off us and we came out great, so how hard can it be?"

-Him not considering, that you're a baby (and a girl)

-The first few months, the both of you live in his apartment in blüdhaven

-But after another night without sleep, because you just don't stop crying, he calls Bruce and asks for help

-Bruce waiting for the call and not being surprised when it comes, because he guessed that that moment would come

-Him inviting the both of you to live in the manor, until you're old enough to sleep a whole night

-Bruce being over the moon (even though he doesn't show it) when Dick accepts, because he's super excited to be able to spend time with his grand-daughter

-Alfred being even happier, because it was so long ago that there was a kid in the manor that didn't complain about every- and anything and because he was totally in awe with you, because you're so innocent and sweet

-Him showing his excitement only when he volunteers to decorate a room for you, next to Dick's room

-The Walls being white with colorful spots on it and a peach colored baby bed on a rainbow colored carpet

-Everyone asking themselves where Alfred got the stuff so fast, but nobody asking it aloud

-Jason acting annoyed at first, but the second Dick comes in with you strapped to his chest with one of those fancy baby-holders and you making grabby-hands at him, he melts

-Tim also knew that Dick would need help, but he was also happy about it, because he thinks you're the sweetest human being on earth

-Damian doesn't act different, but behind closed doors he swears that he will burn the whole world down and kill everyone in his ways, only to make sure you're okay

-Because you're the definition of innocents and a life-worth-living for him

-And for everyone else who meets you

-The boys, Bruce, Alfred, and the girls (Barbara, Cass, Steph and co.) (and almost every league member after meeting you) fighting about who can babysit you

-Because you're the youngest member of the Wayne-Family, a (really, really stupid) gangster kidnaps you and wants a ransom

-Them being screwed, because the whole freaking Justice League, the whole Batfam, the Teen Titans and some more heroes being after them

-After that nobody (who's sane) lies a hand on you

-Even the most serious Newspapers are full off the happy message that you're safe again

-Because, let's be honest here, the whole Media (not only Gotham's) loves you

-Even though you've only recently appeard, you were already a sign of hope and happiness for the future for the whole world

-Seriously. Even the people in Germany, South-Korea, Japan and many other countries looked up to you, because of your cuteness and innocens

-Alone the sound of your laugh makes everyone happy

-You seem to have a seventh sense for situations where you're needed and you always know what to do

-For example when Jason and Bruce have a fight, again, and just when Jason is about to leave the manor to let some steam out

-You learned how to crawl like a week ago

-And as soon as you realize that Jason wants to leave (and is angry) you crawl like your life depends on it and a few seconds before Jason could open the door you're able to attach yourself to his leg

-He looked down surprised to see you nibble and drool on his jeans, making funny baby-sounds

-A smile crept his way on Jason's face and he picked you up

-"What is it pumpkin? *funny baby-sounds that are similar to laughing* "You're to cute for your own good." *Even more baby-sounds* "Maybe I should talk to Bruce instead of beating someone up"

-In that moment Dick comes in

-"TODD?!? WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT TALKING ABOUT OUR NIGHT-TIME-ACTIVITIES WITH HER?!?" "Okay Pumpkin, are you ready to run for your life?"

-"Why are you always kidnapping my daughter?" "She's cuter than a baby penguin hugging a baby panda, so...that's why." "Just because you're right, doesn't mean that I accept that  reason."

-Your first word happened in the strangest situation ever

-There was another world threat, but Alfred was on vacation, so they needed to find someone to babysit you

-Because everybody would be needed to fight off the bad guys

-Officer Gordon is busy

-Even Selina Kyle (who loves you like family) is not in town

-But Dick doesn't trust normal Babysitters

-So he does the only thing he can think off and straps you to his chest

-He doesn't go out to fight, but stays behind to be 'the-guy-in-the-chair'

-Luckily for him you're asleep before the both of you arrive at the Watchtower

-And you magically stay asleep for the whole mission

-You only wake up when the whole league comes back, exhausted, and sits down at the big meeting table (or on the table for everyone who does't has a own seat)

-Nobody is in the mood for a debriefing

-They all just sit there in silence

-Until Dick comes in with you on your chest

-Everyone looks at you with a smile

-You just brighten up the room

-And then you clap in your hands and say your first word

-"Justice" (even though it sounds more like 'wastis')

-Everyone looks at you in shook/awe

-Dick looks like he just had a heart-attack

-Batman, the most grumpy superhero ever who never shows a real emotion, jumps up, slips you out of the baby-hold-thing and turned you around him...squealing

-"She really is Batman's grandchild" "Should up Barry"

-All in all you're most likely the most loved and spoiled child in the whole universe

[the-rose-clad-demon-doctor]

Here’s a short something based on the dream I had. I’d like to call it the Wallachia League AU. Just something to test if I could make it work. Hope you all enjoy! (I’ll also reblog this in the morning since it’s so late right now).

My name is Claude Grey. It was the 22nd of April, 2032.

I had to bring her coffee. That would be the seventh time that day.

        To be fair, it has been a really long day. A very long day. Her Majesty’s Loyal Peacekeeper, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, had been overseeing one of the largest anti-terrorism crackdowns in half a decade.

        Four werewolf dens in London’s “Full Moon District” had been raided. Producing, amongst other things, forty illegal assault weapons fully-loaded with silver ammunition, a cache of explosives, illegal drugs, illegal anti-surveillance hardware, plans of attack, stakes, crosses. Including their leader, a prodigiously-tall, silver-haired and red-eyed individual who refused to speak no matter the pressure we put on him.

        I’d seen him before, both in and out of work, but I politely held my tongue at the meeting when he and his cohorts were paraded in front of the precinct. The display was all part of the farcical dog-and-pony show to make it look like the city of London, capitol of His Majesty’s great United Kingdom, actually gave two shits about the Mysticals living within her borders. Realistically speaking, these men would be quietly released in the dead of the night in about a month, sans their illegal armaments, and allowed to continue whatever they had planned so long as they don’t get caught and they don’t involve humans.

        Mysticals, of course, being the name collectively assigned by the governments of the United Nations forty years ago to refer to any and all individuals who would formerly be considered supernatural. It included, amongst others, vampires, werewolves, wraiths, zombies, fae, dryads, naiads, centaurs, kappas, djinn, selkies, cyclopes, banshees, and dullahans.

        The majority of normal humans don’t give a damn about any of them, or they favor the more “peaceful” species, the ones who don’t traditionally require feeding on humans.

        Vampires, werewolves, and all of the more “dangerous” ones in the public eye?

        They get spat on. Hated. Hunted.

        Y’know, vampires and werewolves aren’t legally allowed within two kilometers of London’s city center? And that vampire nightclubs and werewolf dens are statistically four times as likely to come under surprise inspection as any other Mystical hangout? Or that murders involving only Mysticals don’t get investigated?

        And it’s not just the United Kingdom, it’s the same everywhere, save for the countries further north. The U.S., Germany, South America. Russia’s the worst.

        Sir Integra is more level-headed than most. All she wants to do is make sure nobody blows anything up.

        So here I was, at nearly midnight, bringing coffee to a woman who’s been running off a mixture of caffeine and sheer force of will for nearly five days. The Loyal Assistant Watchdog to His Majesty’s Loyal Peacekeeper. That’s what they call me. I feel some of the respect people reserve for Sir Integra got rubbed off on me by association.

        I set the cup down on her desk, keeping a cup in my own hands. I had offered to stay behind to fill out paperwork as usual, so my day was running just as long as her own.

        “Here you are, Sir. Yemeni, two-“ I started, but she interrupted me.

        “Yes, yes, two sugars, two spoons of cream, like always. Thank you, Mr. Grey.”

        I nodded dutifully. “Sorry for the interruption, sir. I’ll get back to work.”

        And I had to. There were three three-inch-thick stacks of paperwork on my desk, only half of which had actually been completed. It was all the same paperwork, to be filled in triplicate. One hand-filled copy to be kept on-site, one hand-filled copy to be sent out to His Majesty’s government, and one hand-filled copy to be sent to the headquarters of the Royal Mail Service to be copied and distributed nationwide to all departments of the Royal Counter Mystical Terrorism Service.

        I normally listened to music when I had this much work to do, but I knew Sir Integra would take offense to that. Especially seeing as it was just us here, that evening. Any movement I made out of line would be objected to, and I hoped for a promotion in the future, so I couldn’t afford to have any blemishes on my record.

        Then my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled the thin, encased rectangle from my pocket, as slyly as possible, to see who’s bothering me. The name on the screen catches my eye.

        “Evangeline.”

        “Hm?” Sir Integra looked up from her desk. I realized I said the name out loud. “What was that, Mr. Grey?”

        “It’s a phone call, sir. My, uhhh… My girlfriend. I have to take this.”

        She visibly grimaced. “Fine, Mr. Grey. But I’ll need you to return to work the second you’re done, understood?”

        “Understood, sir.”

        I made my way out into the precinct’s hallway, away from prying ears. I answered the call, keeping my voice low.

        “Look, I’ll have to make it quick. Now what reason could you possibly have for calling me right now?”

        “Is that any way to talk to your girlfriend, Claude?” Her tone of voice was dripping with sarcasm. Her tendency to find things like that out was starting to make me nervous.

        “Okay, ‘Evangeline,’ what’s wrong?”

        She giggled softly behind the phone. “I just wanted to say sorry ahead of time, Claudey-waudey~!”

        My eyes went wide. I growled into the phone. “The fuck did you do?!”

        “You’ll find out soon enough~!” Her singsong-y voice was driving me insane. “I am sorry about all that paperwork, though.”

        “Ugh.” I hung up. The second I did, Sir Integra called me back into her office.

        Plastered all over the television was news about an attack.

        God DAMMIT.

        The Wallachian League, as they called themselves. The newest radical pro-vampire group in the country. They’d made themselves a nuisance for the past couple of years. Graffiti, hacking attempts, distributing their radical fliers amongst the various groups in London and the rest of the UK. Never had they escalated this far.

        A flaming dump truck had been sent into a house in Yorkshire. Not just any house, but the house of a Member of Parliament who was vocally anti-Mystical. The MP and his wife and children had burned alive in their beds.

        “The Wallachian League is claiming full responsibility for this.” Integra talked after minutes of silence. I sigh softly.

        “They say their leader is Dracula himself.”

        “That’s what every vampire group claims. First it was the Tepes Union, then it was the Fangs of Freedom, then it was Count-down to Equality, the ‘Royal Vampiric Rebels,’ even the… Ugh… Vita-Vegan-Vampires. More likely it’s just some overblown narcissistic vampire who sees himself as Drac’s gift to the world.”

                Things were real quiet. For about two weeks.

        Then we got the news. Somehow, someone had gotten a hold of information that the Wallachian League was planning to bomb one or more of the trains leading into one of the U.K.’s power plants. Nobody was sure which one. If it was one of the coal or biomass trains, it would start one hell of a big fire. If it was one of the nuclear trains… I sincerely hoped it wouldn’t be.

        I snuck away to the alley behind the precinct. I had a phone call to make.

        “Evangeline?” I spoke into the phone.

        “Finally worried, Claudey-waudey~?”

        “I know you’ve all been talking about this, but you’re actually going to go through with it?”

        Her voice suddenly became fully serious. The most serious I’ve ever heard her.

        “Why wouldn’t we? You know we’ve got a message to send to them. Vampires aren’t going to let humans kick us around any longer.”

        “No, it’s not that at all. Look, I know you and Lucy can hold your own, just… Please be careful, okay?”

        “The job’s done. We set it up a while ago. I’d be more worried about yourself if I were you.”

        “Wh… Fuck you say?”

        “’Lucy’ found out earlier. Peregrin told us. The Royals have been monitoring all communication in and out of the Service for a long time. They know the both of you have been keeping the heat off of us.”

        “They… They know I’ve been helping you?”

        A different voice came onto the phone. Much deeper, far more serious.

        “Yes. We’ve already extracted Peregrin from Nottinghamshire earlier today. We’re coming to get you. It’s not safe there anymore. Don’t walk. Run.”

        I could hear shouting from inside the precinct. It seemed my phone call at such an inopportune time confirmed their suspicions. I had to go.

        My car wasn’t far away, but I knew it wasn’t going to work. Parked in the small car park under the precinct, they’d lock it down before I could even get in the vehicle. I had to beat a retreat on foot.

        Well, not really a retreat.

        The moment those same shouting voices exited the building, I broke into a sprint. The fastest, nastiest sprint I’ve ever managed in my life. Sir Integra’s voice broke out amongst the crowd.

        “Grey!” Gunshots punctuated her words. “Grey, you traitorous bastard!” More gunshots. “Don’t you run!”

        That wasn’t like her. My “betrayal” had to have seriously pissed her off for the normally-calm woman to just start shooting.

        I suddenly felt a force, like somebody had kicked me in the back, shoving me to the ground. It only stalled me for a second before I was back up and moving again.

        Dodge to the left, around the bollards and cars, under signs and ladders. Bob here, weave there. Use pedestrians as cover. They’re British, they’re not going to try and stop me.

        Every so often I had to stop and let out a few vicious coughs, which I attributed to just being so unaccustomed to moving that fast for any real length of time.

        And I swear, I had to have set some sort of record for on-foot speed. There’s no way I didn’t. Sticking to the back alleyways, I managed to get out of Central London in just a few minutes, still trying to hide from the authorities. But it was getting harder to move, I just couldn’t catch my breath. As I stopped behind a skip, somewhere in one of London’s more run-down areas, I figured out why.

        Investigating the strange, warm wetness running down my back, I moved my hand there. A thick, viscous wetness.

        “Oh ssssssshhhhfuck...”

        When my hand ran up, and felt the sources, I had to bite back a scream as immense pain shot through my body.

        “No… No, no, no… Nonononofucknonono…”

        Three bullet holes. One perfectly on the right side of my body. Right in my lung. The others in random spots in my back. They had scarcely missed my spine, but who knows what poor organs they had pierced. No exit wounds. I started coughing again, mixed with a choked sob or two.

        I couldn’t die here. I just couldn’t. But I also couldn’t risk moving, not with a bullet in my lung and two more god-knows-where.

        More footsteps. Coming closer. There was a soft gasp from a very familiar voice, and a low grunt from another familiar voice.

        I didn’t have to look up to know who it was.

        “Hey, Evan… Sorry. Hey, Seras. Hey, Alucard. I got, uhh… I got a bit messed up, I’m sorry to say.” I let out a pained chuckle. It hurt to laugh.

        To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t hear what they talked about as they conversed amongst themselves. I could vaguely hear Seras’ question, but heard it better once she grabbed my shoulders to demand my attention.

        “I said…” She repeated. “Are. You. A virgin?”

        “What? Oh…” I grumbled softly. “Yeah, of course I am. I’m scarce two years out of uni. Had no time for any of that nonsense.”

        I couldn’t really think straight at the time. Blood loss will do that to a person.

        Alucard piped up, his baritone voice grabbing my attention more easily.

        “It seems you have a choice, then…” He spoke. “Death. Or undeath.”

        Looking up at him, I spoke back. “Something about a Robert Frost poem, right? Two roads diverged in a wood, I took the one less traveled, that’s made all the difference?” I pushed my cracked glasses up on my nose. “I’ll take the road less traveled if that means I get to wake up again, tomorrow.”

        The decision made, they nodded. I felt a pair of glove-covered hands grasp my head and neck, watched through the corner of my eye as Seras opened her fang-filled maw. The last thing I remembered of that day was the sensation of her fangs clamping down on my neck.

  But I woke up again, the next night.

[hetalia-tlw]

Hetalia: The Lost World Part 1

"Everyone listen up! I called you all here to help me solve the world's problems. Yes, I know we've been at each other's throats for years. But since we can all get along we can combine everything we learned. Alright, here we go! About global warming and climate change, I say we create a hero called 'Global Man' who can stop climate change and stop enslavement around the world. So what do you guys say?" asked a loud man with glasses happily. "I agree with America-san" said a black haired man. "Oh stop it Japan! You just can't agree to everything!" yelled a long blond haired man, who's sitting next to the black haired man called 'Japan'. "Excuse me? There's no way in a million years that a hero will stop Climate Change. So I disagree with America's idea, along with it's 'learnt' not 'learned'. Speak in the proper English!" said a man with a thick British accent. "I disagree to both America and England" said a man with long blond hair. "Shut up you bloody frog!" yelled England. "You Frenchmen are so different from today. Why not go back to making sexy female statues like you used to?" asked America. Soon America, France, and England started arguing and fighting. "You guys are acting so immature! I just don't understand you western countries. Here, why not have some food to stop fighting, aru" said a man with long black hair that's in a pony tail. "We don't want any!!!" yelled both England and France who were still fighting. "I'll have one, please" said a man who looks like America while holding a polar bear. "Russia, why not you scare these fighting idiots?" asked Spain. "What me? Sorry, I just can't. I'm too busy trying to improve my relations with the Baltic Trio. Hey, Lithuania! Do me a favor and cry on your hands and knees for me" said Russia while pointing at Lithuania who made a panicked expression. Just like that Lithuania begins crying while Belarus and Ukraine are calming him down. "Now now Russia. It's not nice to pick on the weak" said Estonia. "Oh look who wants to talk" said Russia jokingly. The world meeting was in chaos with everyone fighting and arguing, while Greece is sleeping away all his troubles in the world. "EVERYONE SHUT UP!!!!" "G-Germany?" asked both England and France who stopped fighting. "DOES ANYONE REALIZE HOW LONG VE BEEN HERE!? VELL GUESS VHAT? I DO UND VE ARE IN A SERIOUS MATTER! NOBODY TALKS, BUT SHOULD REMAIN QUIET UNLESS SOMEONE IZ TALKING!!!" yelled Germany. "Now zhen I shall call on one of jou to talk. But don't try to mimic somezhing from mein country's past. Got it?" asked Germany while calming down. Everything was silent until a hand rose up. "Italy, jou may speak" said Germany while pointing at a man with a strange curl. "Veeeee~! Okay, hmm... PASTAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" yelled Italy in excitement. ~At Germany's House~ "Veeeee~! Gerrrrrrrmmmmaaaannny!" yelled Italy. "Uh Germany-san, I think Itary is rooking for you" said Japan. "Like I haven't noticed" said Germany. "Veeeee~! Gerrrrrrrmmmmaaaannny!" continued Italy. It wasn't long until Italy reached his two friends, which in this case he was running towards them. "Vhat do jou vant Italy? Can't jou see zhat I'm busy dealing vith somezhing. Zhis better be gut" said Germany. "Germany, I-a find something and it's-a really important" said Italy. "Alright fine. Japan und I vill come vith jou" said Germany. "Yaaaaayyy!!!" said Italy in excitement. ~Time Skip~ "Germany! Japan! This-a is-a place where-a I-a find it" said Italy. "How far did you go Itary-kun?" asked Japan. "I went this way" pointed Italy. The trio eventually made it deep within the forest, until they stopped in front of a big rock. "Zhat's strange. I don't recall ever being zhis deep into zhis forest. Are jou sure jou've seen it, Italy?" asked Germany. "Si! This-a is-a were I-a found it" said Italy. "Uh Germany, something is very off about this forest" said Japan. "Vhat do jou mean Japan?" asked Germany. "I just don't know. I've got a feering that there's a reason why nobody goes this deep into the forest" said Japan. "I-a found it! Let's-a get out of here, it's-a kind of scary here" said Italy. With that the trio headed back to Germany's house, where Italy shows both his friends of what he found. "Italy, how long are jou just going to keep digging in zhat bag?" asked Germany. "Not long" said Italy and with that Italy pulled it out. "Finally" said Germany. Italy soon put whatever he found on the table, as both Germany and Japan look at it in question. "Vhat iz zhat?" asked Germany. "It appears to be a grassed rose" said Japan. "Ve~! I-a knew it was-a glassed rose" said Italy. While the trio were trying to solve the mystery of the glassed rose, the awesome man alive burst through the front door of Germany's house. "Zhe awesome me has returned!" yelled the albino man. "Oh nein, not him" mumbled Germany. "Does someone need some awesomeness? Too bad jou can't get any of mine. Cuz I'm zhe awesome Prussia!" yelled Prussia. Prussia than came into the living only to see the glassed rose on the table next to Italy. "Oh vhat's zhis zhing? Bruder iz zhis for me? Oh jou shouldn't have, zhis iz zhe must awesome zhing I ever seen! Da-" said Prussia but he was cut off by Germany only to say "Bruder, zhis iz not for jou! Italy found it und I'm pretty sure he's not going to give it to jou" Prussia who was shocked quickly said "Vhat? Zhat's very disappointing to hear. In fact did jou just say zhat Italy's unawesomeness found it?" "Si! I-a did! I-a found it deep in the forest" said Italy. "Oh zhat's awesome. Vhat does it do?" asked Prussia. "We don't know" said Japan. "Don't know? Vell zhen, zhe awesome me vill be going out. See all jou unawesome people tomorrow!" said Prussia and with that, he already ran out the door. "I'm getting somezhing to drink" said Germany, while Japan also got up saying "I'm just going to make my famous sushi" Italy was left by himself with the glassed rose, he was about to make pasta, until the rose started to glow. "Germany! Japan! Come quick!" yelled Italy and with that both Germany and Japan came only to see the rose glowing. "ITALY, VHAT DID JOU DO!?" yelled Germany. "N-Nothing! I-I-a was just going to-a make pasta, until-a the rose started-a glowing!" yelled Italy. Suddenly the rose started to open while a bright light started to grow bigger and bigger. Italy, Germany, and Japan covered their eyes until the light started to dim. They then uncover their eyes only to see the sprout of light coming from the open tip of the rose. Before they could move, the light started to shape into a man leaving the trio in shock and surprise. "Greetings" said the man. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Im Yong Soo" "Wait, I heard that name before. It's so famirilar, but where did I heard it from?" asked Japan, who was (finally) surprised. "Hmm... I thought I was forever to be forgotten, but I guess not" said Yong Soo, while raising a brow. "Courd it be? Are you the forgotten country?" asked Japan. "Close, I was the second forgotten country. I was once the great South Korea and I'm surprised that you still remember me, brother" said Yong Soo. "Bruder? Japan vhat iz he talking about?" asked Germany. "I suppose Japan never told you. Well then that's a shame. I was both Japan and China's brother a long time ago, until the day when the Soviet Union came and took everything away from me. They even took a piece of me and called it North Korea. After time went by, I was dissolved along with the other half. But there are rumors that he's still alive or he was revived" said the former South Korea. "Vait before jou go vhat's zhe other half's name?" asked Germany. "You mean my older brother? His name is North Korea and he's really a messed up dude. However both Russia and America only know a few things about him, I'm sure both of them will tell you" said South Korea and with that he vanished back into the rose. "North Korea? Somehow that name sounds so famirilar" said Japan. "Ve~! Germany what-a we going to do-a now?" asked Italy. "Ve are going to have a talk vith both America und Russia, zhat's vhat" said Germany. ~Meanwhile Back At The Forest~ "Gahh! Where is that [beep]ing thing?" asked a deep American voice. "Now now, what did I say about using such foul language?" said a calming British voice. "Oh, I [beep]ing hate you!" yelled the American voice. "Ah swear jar, pay up now poppet" said the British voice as the American sounding one growled. "Sir we couldn't find the glassed rose. It's gone" said a deep Canadian voice. "Oh really? That's-a shame. I-a was hoping that it-a was suppose to-a stay here" said a deep Italian voice. "Sir vat do ve do now?" asked a deep French voice. "I say we crush and kill the people who took it, da" said a deep Russian voice. "Actually we-a need to call-a the others for-a meeting. To our-a private first-class jet, boys" said the Italian voice in a dark happy tone. ~Meanwhile Somewhere In England~ "Now just one tiny drop to this potion and ahh complete" said England while finishing a magic potion for... who knows what. "Now since I'm finally done with that magic potion, I can now turn that bloody frog into an actual bloody green frog" said England while carefully putting the potion in his potion cabinet. While England was about to look at his spell book for the cure, he got a surprise blinking glow from his magical vision orb. "That's weird I don't usually get an alert message unless if that bloody frog is in my house" said England in confusion. England then ran over to his vision orb and in under five to seven minutes, he saw something unbelievable and scary. "No it can't be! It just can't be happening! Not again! I thought his rain of terror has ended! Why hasn't it ended!?" yelled England in confusion. ~Meanwhile Somewhere Else~ "God naneun dasi han beon dangsin-eul mannal geos-ida naneun mog eulo dangsin-eul delyeo gal dangsin eul lo gadeug habnida yeong-gug (Soon I will meet you once again and I will take you by the neck and chock you, England)" said the mysterious male. "Mr. North Korea? Are you in there? What are your today plans?" asked a maid. "Oneul naui gyehoeg-eun migug e gal geos-ibnida. Naneun olaen chingu leul bogo sip-eoyo. Naleul wihae nae gaein choego sujun-ui jeteu leul junbi (My plans for today is go to America. I want to see an old friend. Have my private first class jet ready for me)" said the so called 'North Korea'. "Excuse me Chin-Sun. He said that his plans are to go to America. He wants to see an old friend and yes he wants to be on his private jet" said a translator. "Why thank you, Hyeon. Without you we won't be able to understand what Mr. North Korea is saying" said Chin-Sun. "You're welcome. I just don't get why he doesn't bother to speak English like most other countries do. But I guess he still wants to have his culture, but it shouldn't hurt him to speak in English every once in awhile" said Hyeon. Soon North Korea's jet was ready for him and while North Korea was on board, he said one last thing "Segyega yeogie bughan-i oneun bakk-eul bwa (Look out world here comes North Korea)" with a devilish smirk on his face.

[movieexpert1978]

Supernatural Bounty  Pt. 1

prompt: 0872-you’re nothing more than a blood bag, 

a self-hating vampire tries to resist the love of a human-that he is charged with protecting  prompt originally posted by @idea-garden

so I changed a few things. My OC Elisa is the vampire and she and King Schultz team up to catch another vampire that has been causing trouble. There is gore, blood, and swearing. King schultz is not my character. 

“You’re kidding?” She snapped.

“No, we need this bounty hunter to track down Damien. He’s betrayed us and he need to face the consequences of his actions.” Her elder spoke.

“Why do I have to go with him? Can’t you send someone else?”

“You’re stronger than most and you were the one who brought him here. It’s only fair you go and help him. Bring back Damien so he can face his punishment and he will get paid.” He said.

“Fine, but I’m not going to like this.”

“You never do.”

Xxxxxxxx

“So, what’s the final verdict with your boss?” The bounty hunter said.

“I’m going with you to help so we get Damien, bring him back, and you will get paid.” She said.

“That sounds fair enough.” He nodded. They went over to their horses and started their journey with the woman leading the way. “How did you know who I was?”

“You’re reputation precedes you Dr. King Schultz.”  

“Why thank you. You know I never got your name.”

“Elisa Prime.”

“Well Miss Prime where are we going?”

“Way down south, ever been to Louisiana?”

“A few times. It’s was obnoxiously hot there.” He explained.

“Well too bad because that’s where we’re headed.” She stated. King only nodded as they went on their way.

“Do you know how to get there?”

“Of course, just cut though Mississippi take a right turn and we’re on Bourbon Street.” She said.

“So you’ve been there before?”

“Yes of course. Sometimes I keep thinking about staying there, but then again I move around a lot.” She explained.

“How come?”

“I’m usually the one to clean up the messes.” She grumbled.

“So what did this Damien do?”

“He killed some people and tried to kill my bosses in order to take power.”

“Are you part of some sort of organization?”

“You could say that.” She nodded. King narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but she didn’t offer any other explanation. She was an interesting woman, dressed all in black with boots and armed to the teeth. He saw two guns, holstered at her waist. It looked like there was possible a knife tucked in her boot. She also had a rifle that was tied to the back of the horse where her bag was. Oh, and the horse was black too. She had hard blue eyes as if she had seen a thing or two in life and her brown curls were tucked together in a ponytail. “What about you?” She spoke up again.

“There’s not much to know about me.” He shrugged.

“Must be something?” She insisted.

“Well I used to live in Germany. I had a wife, no children. My brother died several years ago and that’s it.” He finished quickly.

“You HAD a wife?”

“Yeah…”

“Oh…well you’re…you’re…rrrrrr…you’re very handsome for starters.” She said.

“Oh why thank you.” He blushed. “It just didn’t work out if that’s what you’re trying to get at.” He teased.

“Oh…sorry.” She said quietly.

“Don’t you have someone?”

“Nope.”

“Family?”

“Nope.”

“You’re not really good at this whole talking thing are you?”

“Nope.”

Xxxxxxxxxx

The first night was uneventful. They sat by the fire, ate a little and King retired for the night. Elisa waited until she heard his peaceful breathing before she quietly walked off. She sniffed the air and licked her lips. She was careful and before the rabbit knew what had happened Elisa snapped it’s neck and bit down on it. She drank every drop of blood and pulled away with a sigh and licked her lips. Her blue eyes turned into an unnatural shade of sky blue that looked almost silver in the moonlight. She licked her fangs and looked back at the campsite with King still sound asleep. He didn’t know that she was a vampire and he didn’t know that their bosses were vampires as well. She had to make sure he didn’t find out…at least for a while yet. There would be no denying it when they got Damien. She knew it would be interesting when they got to New Orleans. She settled down to sleep for the rest of the night and grumbled at first light. Vampires could walk around in daylight, they just couldn’t use their powers, which meant switching into vamp mood as Elisa called it.

“Hey old man wake up.” She teased shaking him awake.

“Old man…didn’t you call me handsome the other day.” He said getting up.

“Slip of the tongue I guess.”

“Right.”  They wondered through the wilderness and Elisa noticed that he was leading them towards a town.

“Why are we heading towards town?”

“I have a few small bounties to collect along the way.” He explained.

“If money’s an issue I can take care of it.” She insisted.

“I still have to make a living regardless of that, but thank you my dear.” King nodded respectfully. “It won’t take too long I promise. We should be in town by tomorrow and if I manage to collect this bounty I have one more along the way and after that you can lead the way to New Orleans.” King smiled brightly.

“What are you so cheerful for?”

“Why are you not? The sun is out. The weather is pleasant. I’m on my way to help catch the largest bounty of my career.”

“Twenty-thousand is the biggest you’ve ever gotten for a bounty?”

“Yes, the biggest before that was ten thousand.” King explained.

“Man, you’re looking too small. You can get much bigger bounties down south or better yet out west.” She said pointing.

“I’m still well off where I am now, but thank you for your concern. Do you often go west?”

“A few times. It’s a hassle.” She explained.

“So why do you do this?”

“I don’t know. I’ve got nothing better to do.” She shrugged.

“You never thought to settle down, have a family or something?”

“No, no one’s ever interested in me anyway.” She muttered bitterly.

“Well I find you interesting.” King said sincerely.

“Thank you…I guess.” They wondered around the day in silence as Elisa put her hood up to help herself from the sun. It wouldn’t kill her, but her skin could still get sunburn. Her body was human after all. They set up camp for the night and Elisa heard some critters moving around. “I’ll get dinner.” She said getting up. King watched her puzzled as she wondered into the darkness and waited. He heard her shout and there was some shuffling before she emerged with a large rabbit in one hand while tucking a knife away with the other.

“How did you do that?” King asked confused as she started prepping the carcass for dinner.

“Experience.”

“How did you know it was a rabbit?”

“I didn’t. I just said I’ll get dinner.” She repeated.

“Oh…yes you did.” King said still slightly puzzled. He watched her perfectly prep the meat and started roasting it on the fire.

“How do you like your meat?” She asked as he took a sip of water to nearly choke on it.

“Pardon me?”

“The meat…do you like it well done, rare, burnt to a crisp or something?” She asked unamused.

“Oh…somewhat well done is fine.” He answered, trying not to blush.

“Get your mind out of the bedroom Doctor.” She muttered rolling her eyes. When the meat was done cooking she split it up and handed him a plate.

“This is very good, thank you.” King said between bites. She only nodded as she stared at the fire. “Something wrong?”

“No I’m fine.” She said quickly finishing her own plate. She tossed the bones into the fire and crawled under her blanket, going to sleep without a word. King frowned, but decided not to protest as he followed suit. She woke up a few hours later with a familiar pain in her stomach so she carefully got up and went over to her horse. She took out a large water pouch and took a swig. She let out a groan as the taste of human blood went down her throat. Vampires didn’t need human blood every day, but every few weeks or at least once a month as they got older. Elisa was due for a taste and that’s what was in the pouch. She took another sip and her stomach pain went away as she tucked the pouch back. She patted her horse’s neck and retreated back to sleep.

Xxxxxxxxx

They rode into town and got a meal at the local saloon. King wouldn’t tell her what the plan was for his bounty, which annoyed her, so she didn’t think too much of it when King went up to the bartender. Only to blink in surprise when he shot him dead with a derringer hidden in his wrist. The few couples that were inside shout and screamed and started running as Elisa got up and calmly stood by the wall. A man came out with a gun pointed at King who had his hands up.

“Hey, get that gun away from him.” Elisa snapped as she pointed her own pistol at him.

“Or what you bitch?” He snapped. Elisa growled as King started to speak.

“Everyone calm down. I have a perfectly good reason for all of this. This man here is wanted to robbery and murder.” King started. “I’m reaching in to pull out a warrant from Judge Hugo of the Tennessee court that this man is wanted dead or alive.” King explained. He pulled out the warrant and showed the man which also had a wanted poster with a sketch that matched the dead man.

“You can keep your papers. I’m getting the sheriff.” He stated before he ran out.

“I take it you’ve done this before.” Elisa said walking up to him.

“You would be correct.” King nodded. He walked around the bar and the dead body and grabbed himself a beer offering one to Elisa.

“Beer’s not my thing.” She said shaking her head. The sheriff and the marshal came and King explained the situation. When they came to an agreement, King was handed two thousand dollars as he gave the warrant and wanted poster to them. They gathered up some supplies and headed out of town and back into the wilderness. They made some good time before they stopped for the night.

“Nice work back there. Are you going to tell me what you’re planning next time?” She asked.

“Perhaps.” He teased.

“May I see your derringer?” He pulled down his sleeve and showed her the contraption that worked with the flick of the wrist. She nodded in admiration at the trick.

“Very nice. I might just use that sooner or later.” She added.

“I will admit I was worried you were going to throw a knife at the poor boy.”

“He deserved it.”

“But then you would have been a murder.” King said smugly.

“Yeah sure, goodnight King.”

The next few days got them into Mississippi and much to Elisa’s dismay through several towns and plantations.

“I hate slavery.” She hissed to herself.

“What was that?” King asked.

“I hate slavery.” She said to him.

“So do I my dear.” He nodded.

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“What?”

“Dear, I told you my name.”

“Ok fine…Elisa.” King emphasized.

“Thank you.” They rode through some fields and Elisa earned a few glances, but she just smiled and waved. She didn’t mind. “Are we there yet?” She grumbled late afternoon.

“Almost.” King said leading them along. They wondered into a small casino where there were several tables of card games going on.

“Hey, I’m thinking your lost pal. The inn is over there.” A large man said coming up them. Elisa growled and pulled out her knife and it was quickly at his throat.

“I would strongly suggest you take back the idea that my partner is a prostitute.” King said calmly. He didn’t see it, but Elisa flashed her bright blue eyes and bared her fangs at him for a moment.

“Oh my god! I’m sorry! I’m sorry.” He repeated fearfully.

“Thank you.” Elisa spat as she put the knife away. “I’m pretty sure my friend wants to play cards. I’m getting a drink.” She snapped before she walked away. The guard looked at King, who tilted his head in inclination so he quickly led King along to the tables. Elisa got a glass of whisky and flinched at the bitter burn when she took a sip, but otherwise tipped the bartender. She watched as King sat down at a table and managed to make some small talk with the other men and the card dealer. She watched King and noted that there was a guard walking around with a gun and pacing at the top of the second floor, which led to rooms. There was the other guard that glanced fearfully at Elisa every now and then and there was a shotgun above the liquor bottles, which Elisa guessed wasn’t for decoration. She looked back at King, who of course pretended to look like he was having a grand old time. She rolled her eyes wishing he would make his move already. She looked around and saw some other men drinking look away from her and that was just how she liked it. She didn’t even flinch when she heard a chair scrape up which was followed by a small pop. A few more guns were pointed at King now so Elisa aimed her knife and it hit the table perfectly.

“Relax he’s a bounty hunter.” She muttered as she came up with another drink in hand. The men looked at her in shock as she came over and picked up her knife from the table and stood by King’s side. They went through the whole thing of showing the warrant and King’s certification. The card dealer was worth three thousand because he stole from several casinos and once they got the money they were out with a quick meal and Elisa was now leading the way.

“Thanks for the backup…Elisa.” King smiled.

“You’re welcome.” She only nodded. They settled down to sleep for the night and Elisa slept a bit more soundly thanks to the whisky. She was surprised the next morning when she woke up and she was facing him. The worst part about it was that he was already awake.

“Why good morning Elisa.” King smiled elegantly. She grumbled and buried her head under her blanket. “What? There’s nothing with to be embarrassed about, but I think I might be warming up to you.” He teased.

“Shut up old man.” She muttered as she got up and folded her blanket. King laughed as they gathered their things and started riding with Elisa in the lead this time.

Xxxxxxxx

The rest of the ride was very uneventful as they talk about different things. She let King do most of it as he talked about his life in Germany. He even started teaching her some German as they rode along, which Elisa very much enjoyed, but would never admit it. They were getting close to New Orleans now as the temperature rose with sometimes unpleasant humidity. They were two days out from the city and enjoying a pleasant night. Elisa went out hunting and finished off a coyote when she heard noises. She turned and gasped when she saw two men were hovering over King and she saw the glint of a knife at his throat.

“You hush up old man. Just give us your money and we’ll be on our way.” One man rasped darkly.

“I don’t have any money.” King lied only to flinch as the knife dug deeper into his skin.

“The law labeled us a couple of cutthroats so you better watch it.” The other man snapped. They never saw her coming as Elisa snarled and grabbed at him. He couldn’t even get a scream out as she snapped his throat.

“What the-aahhhhh!” Elisa bared her fangs and charged at the other man who tried to run, but she dragged him away and bit into his neck. He stopped moving and shouting fast as she drained him dry. She growled at the dead body and scratched his neck to cover up her bit marks before she looked at King.

His rifle was pointed at her.

“Put the gun down.” She ordered.

“What the hell are you?” He said fearfully.

“King, put the gun down and I’ll tell you.” She stated. He slowly put it at his feet with shaky hands as she stood up and walked over to him, making sure to keep her distance. He looked at her and her eyes were a bright blue, but the moonlight made it look silver. Her mouth was slightly open to show the tips of long fangs as few drops of blood lingered on her lips.

“What are you?” King asked again.

“I’m a vampire.”

“But…those are…just…just myths.” He insisted.

“Well here I am.” She shrugged.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“No.”

“But you just…you just drank that man’s blood.”

“Yeah…”

“Are you going to drink mine?”

“No, I would never do that.”

“How do I know that?” He snapped.

“Because if I wanted to drink you I would have done it already.” She growled making him jump back. He picked up the rifle, but she easily yanked it from his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She stated.

“This explains a lot…wait your bosses are they…”

“Vampires yes, and so is Damien.” King swore in German as he paced around.

“You lied to me!”

“I never lied to you. I just withheld information.”

“Oh that’s almost the same thing.”

“I told you we were an organization, but I never said an organization for vampires.” She said.

“So what!? You’re vampires. You are a monster!” King shouted. Elisa blinked in surprise and swallowed hard. She held back tears as she looked at him. She didn’t know what to say. So she just handed him the rifle and started walking. “Where are you going?”

“To find their horses. They can’t be far.” She shouted out. King reluctantly got into bounty hunter mode and gathered the bodies as she returned with the horses. They took their supplies and Elisa moved away from King as she settled down for the night. She woke up at first light and woke up King, who nearly jumped away from her.

“How is it that you can walk around in the sun?”

“Sun doesn’t kill me. I just can’t use my powers in daylight.”

“You change your eye color?”

“Yeah, I call it going vamp mood.” She explained. She put the bodies on one of the horses and took the reins as they kept riding.

“What about crosses and holy water?”

“Crosses don’t work, holy water gets me wet, and garlic is a good seasoning for food in case you were wondering.”

“So what hurts you?”

“Bullets, knives to the gut.” People calling you monster, she thought to herself. They didn’t say another word to each other and they put in the few more miles and made it into a small town just before New Orleans before mid-afternoon. She gave the marshal the bodies and he gave her the bounty with a few extra dollars for the horses, which was fourteen hundred total. She took two-hundred fifty dollars and gave the rest to King before they left to get to the city. They were close by the time nightfall came and King still didn’t talk to her as he retreated to sleep with his gun nearby. Elisa didn’t get a lot of sleep as they headed off at dawn. “Look, I know you don’t like me now, but as long as you do this with me and we get Damien back you’ll get your money.” She stated.

“The twenty-thousand?”

“Yes, the twenty-thousand. Hell I’ll even try and raise it up to twenty-five thousand to make you happy.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice. I get my money and I’ll be on my way.” King finished. She put her hood up and wiped away the tear that came down her face.

[hetalia-tlw]

Hetalia: The Lost World Part 20

"Hang on, Kumajirou we're almost there" said Canada who was holding onto Kumajirou. Canada managed to escape from both Matt and Al and made a successful attempt to run far away. "Canada, I'm scared" whimpered Kumajirou who was afraid of what's going to happen to him but mostly to Canada. "I.... I know you are and I'm scared too, but we need to keep going till we eventually get help" said Canada who trying to catch his breathe. Canada then runs over to a large rock which had a small little opening underneath it that looked like it was big enough to crawl through. Canada lets Kumajirou crawl through first before crawling through behind him.

"There.... we.... we should be.... safe here for now, I hope" said Canada before slowly breathing in and out. "If we're going to find help, then where are we going then?" asked Kumajirou. "We're going to the capital and probably find my boss. He should know what to do" said Canada while pulling out a water bottle and offering it to Kumajirou. "No, I don't need it but you should keep yourself hydrated" said Kumajirou while shaking his head. "Oh, why thank you Kumajirou. That's so nice if you to care for me for times like this" said Canada while smiling before taking a sip of water. "I care for you because you're my best friend" said Kumajirou. "Awww.... Kumajirou, you're my best friend too. Hey, I think we're safe now so we can get out of here and continue on" said Canada. Then Kumajirou crawled out along with Canada following him, before picking up Kumajirou and placing him on his back. "With that out of the way, let's keep going" said Canada before walking.

~Meanwhile In Europe~

"Alright since ve're all here, ve can get down to business" said Germany before seeing a hand going up. "Ja, vhat iz, Estonia?" asked Germany as eyes all turned to the Baltic state. "Well I have something really important to tell you all and it's a concerning issue" said Estonia. "He's right it is very concerning. It was so concerning that Estonia left Russia and came to tell me about it" said Sweden. "Yeah and I sure wonder what it was about" mocked Denmark before getting his tie pulled on by Norway who was chocking him. "Shut it you stupid Dane, he's trying to say something" said Norway who wasn't having none of it today.

"Thanks Lukas, anyway..... as I was saying, me and Eduard were talking about the issue with North Korea" said Sweden which caused everyone to start talking. "I heard that he's a bad influence to the world" said Netherlands. "I heard that he beaten up Russia and nearly killed him" said Belgium. "Yeah he did and he never apologized to Australia for what he did" said Turkey. "Everyone shut up!!! I know zhat I never yell out like zhis besides I do it all zhe time vhen disagreeing, but zhe talk about North Korea has been out of hand for years!" yelled Switzerland who was standing up. "He does have a point, amigos. Don't you think that's time to forgive him for everything he's been through?" asked Spain.

"Sure he may be scary as a zhought to come back, but he's changed" said Austria. "Changed? How can that be?" asked Latvia who was had his shoulder being patted by Lithuania.  "Easy, it's called having Italy und me being awesome like alvays" said Prussia while smiling proudly. "Oh mein gott, bruder it vasn't just jou zhat changed him it vas all of us" said Germany who was trying to I gore what Prussia just said. "But Vest jou got to admit zhat I did somezhing. I got him to change his views" said Prussia. "Bruder, I swear zhat.... oh forget it" said Germany.

"So you're saying that Italy befriended North Korea?" asked Finland. "Si, he-a did and I-a was surprised at first by it" said Romano. "Well that makes sense. Where is Italy by the way?" asked Iceland while getting Norway to let go of Denmark's tie. "Well... he's-a... uh... excuse me while-a I'll go get him. Well-a don't just sit there in silence, continue on with the meeting you-a potato eating bastard" said Romano while getting up and went out of the room. "I seriously need to get him to stop calling me zhat. Anyvay let's continue" said Germany. As soon as Romano left the meeting room, he went to find his brother.

"I-a knew I-a should of dragged him in with-a me. This was-a a stupid idea to begin with" said Romano before breaking into a sprint. It wasn't long till, Romano found his brother who was sofly crying. "Fratello, why-a are you crying? You're-a supposed to be in the meeting room discussing things with-a the other European countries" said Romano. "But Romano, I-I-a can't go in there not like-a this" said Italy. "Sure you-a can. It's not like-a anyone is going to-a say something mean to you or go up against-a you" said Romano before getting almost squeezed to death by Italy's tight hug. "But they-a will and I'll-a ever be the same ever again" said Italy who was starting to soak his own brother with his own tears.

"Oh god, he's-a ruining my shirt with-a his pain tears. Cheer up fratello, everyone-a believes that you-a befriended North Korea" said Romano while trying to pull Italy away from him. "Did I just I hear you say that you, Italy managed to befriend the once threatening North Korea?" said Vatican City who walked up to both of them. "V-Vatican City? W-What-a are you-a doing here?" asked Italy while turning around to face him. "Well that's for seeing you two and I did brought two specials guests with me. You guys can come out now" said Vatican City. "We can come out now? Oh boy, I was starting to get a little cramped in there" said Sealand while coming out of hiding. "Sealand!?" said both Italy and Romano in sync.

"Yeah that's my name, don't wear it out. You can come out now Yong Soo" said Sealand as Yong Soo came out. "South Korea? How?" asked Romano. "What is-a he doing here? Besides how-a is he alive?" asked Italy. "I'm sure you two have a million questions for me, but I promise that as soon as we get back to the meeting room, I'll explain everything" said Yong Soo. "O-Okay" said Italy.

~Back In The Meeting Room~

"Alright zat's enough arguing for one day! You come into my country, you know ze beautiful country of love, vhich iz my home, and you try to insult me and my zhings. Are you trying to hurt me? Is zat vat zhis iz about? Well ohonhonhon~..... I don't zhink so" said France as everyone looked at him in fear. "Look it's South Korea" said Belgium which got everyone's attention including France's. Everyone turned their attention on South Korea who was with Vatican City along with Italy, Romano, and Sealand. As South Korea walked into the meeting room he felt nervous when everyone only stared at him in wonder. "How is he alive?" asked Lithuania. "Ve~! That's-a an easy question to answer. The reason why-a he's still alive is-" Italy was about to finish his sentence till he was up off by Romano who said "You idiota, can't you-a wait for just-a two quick minutes?" "S-Sorry, Romano" said Italy in a muffled voice due to Romano covering his mouth.

"I know you guys are probably freaking out to see me alive and I have to admit, I'll be doing the same thing. However, my brother actually faked my death just to protect me" said Yong Soo. "What do you mean he protected you?" asked Romania. "Well he... uhh... knew for a fact that Russia wouldn't stop messing with us. In fact, we both knew that as soon as Russia separated us then everything would fall apart" said Yong Soo who was trying his best to explain but it didn't seem to be working. "What the youngster is trying to say is that even though his brother was a jerk he actually took a stand into making sure that his brother is safe" said Vatican City. "That all sounds fine and dandy, but I have a question to ask you" said England who came uninvited. "England, vhat are jou doing?" asked Germany.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm answering a question. So Vatican City, how long have you kept Yong Soo's whereabouts hidden for all these years?" asked England as Vatican City cleared his voice a bit. "I kept his whereabouts hidden for a reason and that's to make sure everyone doesn't get suspicious over his disappearance. I had to hide him from the rest of the world including you, England" said Vatican City as England looked at him in complete shock. "What!? Why me!? What did I even do?" asked England who wasn't believing what Vatican City was saying. "England... err... I mean Arthur, the reason why I kept my secrets from you was because I had a feeling that you would've known that I survived" said Yong Soo. "I have no idea where you got that idea from, but you're wrong" said England. "I'm not wrong Arthur, I'm telling the truth. I have more to say about this and that's the fact about your hatred to my bother. I don't know what's gotten into you, but this has gone on far enough. It's time to end this long war of disapproval and be friends again like you were a longtime ago" said Yong Soo.

"I... I... never said that I hated your brother, it's just that he changed overtime" said England. "Changed? Oh no, he hasn't changed at all. He's still my brother Arthur and brothers need to stick together" said Yong Soo. "He's right, we should no reason to be mad at North Korea even though he sliced my axe in half" said Denmark. "I always thought that he was scary, but deep down I always had feelings for him" said Belgium. "That's all fine to hear; however, we have much serious things to talk about" said Oliver. "Oh great, what is it Oliver?" asked England.

"Hehehe.... well if you need a refresher than what I'm about to talk about is very concerning" said Oliver. "Hold on, I think I know what he's talking about" said Eatonia. "You do, please tell us more" said France. "When I was in Russia, well.... at Russia's house if you need a clarification, I gotten a message on my laptop" said Estonia. "He showed me the message without telling anybody else, so it's best if I can explain it more. The message told him about North Korea returning despite only getting it late and we both gotten it. Also we learned about the 2Ps" said Sweden. "He iz right. I know zhat jou guys don't trust us but Luciano plans on getting his hands on North Korea" said Roland.

"Wait...my-a own 2P plans on hurting North Korea? But why is-a he doing this?" asked Italy. "Oh I-a know my fratello better than anyone, so I-a might be able to tell you why" said Flavio.  "Go ahead and-a tell us then. We don't have all day" said Romano. "Well...it-a all started with a drift between where we're from and-a to this world. It-a was caused by the harsh relationships with England and North Korea. Once Luciano found out about this from Akbar, he-a knew that he had to do something about it" said Flavio. "So that explains everything, but what are going to do?" asked Spain. "Ve are going to do our best to protect North Korea und stop Luciano. So vho's going to pitch in und help?" asked Germany.

"I'll help you" said Norway who stood up. "What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?" asked Denmark. "Oh put a sock in it you stupid Dane, you're not the boss of me. Besides I might be needed for some magic help" said Norway. "He's right. I'm joining in to" said Finland who also got up. "Estonia and I will be helping also" said Sweden as both him and Estonia stood up. "Alright fine, I guess I'm joining in" said Denmark before standing up.

"Anyone else?" asked Germany. As soon as Germany said this, well asked, more countries stood up with confidence much to Italy's surprise. "Everyone is-a helping. I-a never thought I would see the day" said Italy while seeing everyone standing up. "Hold on, do ve have anybody?" asked Austria. "I think that's everyone" said Hungary. "Yeah she's right. Ve're not missing anyone, so ve're basically good to go" said Switzerland. "Ja, zhen it's settled zhen. All ve need is to take zhis conversation to zhe next United Nations meeting" said Germany. "When is the next meeting?" asked Lithuania. "Apparently it vas scheduled in about six months from now, but I can make it early as possible" said Germany.

~Meanwhile With Canada~  

Canada was seen with Kumajirou on his back while cautiously moving through the woods making sure that both Al and Matt haven't found them yet. "Oh it's getting late and we're never going to make it out" said Canada while looking up at sky to see that sun was slowly setting. "Oh yes we will make it. Don't give up on hope" said Kumajirou. "You're right, thanks for the motivation...uhh...who are you again? Oh wait...I just remembered, you're Kumajirou" said Canada. "Yes, I am. Thanks for not getting it wrong....umm...who are you?" asked Kumajirou. "Ah....I'm...I'm Canada" said Canada.

A few minutes later, Canada eventually reaches to a building and just any building, it was the building of where his boss is at. "Finally....we....made it. Come on, let's keep going" said Canada as he continued walking. As Canada was making his way towards the building, he was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders. "Wah!!! They found us Kumajirou! Oh my god no!" yelled Canada who was panicking. "They? I think you mean by us, right?" asked America. "Wait...wait...what..? A...A....Alfred..? Oh thank goodness" said Canada in relief.

"Yep that's right, the hero has arrived" said America before getting a shoulder to his side by Iyong ju. "Seriously Alfred? You're not the only one who came here you know" said Iyong ju. "Huh..? Oh my...Alfred is that who I think it is? Oh it is" said Canada who was surprised to see Iyong ju. "Long story short, my boss was held hostage by my 2P till he was saved by me and Iyong ju. He then trusted us to come up all the way to your country just to stop your 2P from getting to your boss" said America. "Oh....but why?" asked Canada. "We'll explain later, but for now you're safe with us and you should be grateful" said Iyong ju.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Thank you for both of you to come and save me" said Canada with a smile. "When we found you, you seemed all shook up all of a sudden. What happened?" asked America. "Well...I came back to my house with more maple syrup and once I get inside, I usually see Kumajirou in his daily spot; but he wasn't there. I did looked around to see if I could find him and at first I thought he was prancing me, so I kept moving forward till I reached a closed door. I opened it and went inside the room, once I went inside I saw Kumajirou tied up and that's where my 2P appeared right before my eyes. He was about to do something threatening to me, but your 2P came in and acted as a distraction allowing me to run" said Canada. "Oh really now? Where are they now?" asked Iyong ju. "I don't know. I ran far enough into the woods and I'm starting to wonder if they were following me, but I didn't even realize it" said Canada. "Don't worry Matthew, we'll take care of the issue and when I mean we I meant Iyong" said America. "Exac- hold on...you can be serious right? Why am I going to face them? What are you going to do Alfred?" asked Iyong ju. "Oh that's simple, I'm going to be helping Matthew escape. Why you ask? Because I'm the hero and I get to make the decisions" said America while smiling triumphantly. "Yeah...sure you are" mumbled Canada.