Edit: 2014-09-15: If you feel like you've read this before, you probably have. The update system on fanfic acts a little funny. I simply deleted a chapter in the middle and uploaded some placeholder due to some errors. That's why this probably said this was the new chapter but that was for Chapter 6. Sorry about that...

To the Guest Review for Chapter 6/7: Thanks for letting me know about the odd chapter. I had never realized I had mixed up chapters. Sorry for the confusion.

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A/N:I 'm so sorry about this coming out so late. I couldn't come up with a 'right' way to end this. I'll admit, one of the reasons this took so long was because I was fighting to not just end this story with and they lived happily ever after.

I'll sound like a broken record by the end of this, but thank you so much for sticking around and dealing with my slow updates. Wow, it's been almost two years since I began to write this!

Here, we return to a chapter with, Canada dealing with those side effects, a few scenes to close up the hospital staff's/patients' drama, and at last Germany gets Germania's message.

When you read the trial, the dialogue bits that don't specify a character is a random generic nation.

Now without further delay, I present to you this last chapter :)

A cliché blue sky hung over China's house. A young female with pretty pink flower hair-clips in her hair approached a young boy sitting on the far stair steps. She wore a casual but well-matched outfit today with her makeup done right. An optimistic smile was on her face.

"I brought you some snacks," Taiwan said as she sat down beside Hong Kong. He nodded in thanks as he grabbed one and ripped open its wrapper. They both looked outwards to the garden that China's house overlooked.

With all the apologies said and done, it left an awkward feeling between the two personifications. After a good long chat, China returned to his work room to catch up on what he had missed. The old man was eager to finally be able to do something without someone to care for him. Besides, he had a work standard to maintain.

Meanwhile in Europe, a trial was being prepared against the nations who helped the New World Order. Non-completely independent states were excused and the method of punishment fell on their guardian figures. Victims were barred from coming, none of whom wanted to go anyways. Taiwan would be flying over there soon.

"Are you okay?" She began.

Her voice was quiet but welcome to anything. Their fight was now a stupid memory, something that happened because of stressed out emotions. They already had their tearful exchange of apologies earlier. Right now, she was more concerned about helping him recovering. It made her shiver a little at the thought about what the company did to his mind.

Hong Kong shrugged, "I...don't know." His voice was calm and questioning.

"Why?" She scooted a little closer.

His eyes continued staring at the sky, "Everything seems like a dream. China's fall, our time at the hospital, my time under the Company...all of it. I can barely believe that it happened."

Taiwan nodded "It was a pretty big mess."

"I-" He started then stopped.

She turned to look at him, "Yes?"

"I wonder...if the company had a point in what they were telling me."

"What's that?"

"They told me that I was never going to be listened to."

The young female was quiet for a moment. In light of what actually happened his words seemed true. He told them not to activate the section. He told them to leave Cana(huh...what was that guy's name again...the one with the bear)-er the investigative team well alone. Did they listen? No. Then, as a consequence, it gave that wretched company their opportunity. Taiwan weakly opened another snack again, still unable to speak.

"But-" Hong Kong began again, "I couldn't turn against those who I cared about. The truth is...it was only when I refused to join them freely that they brainwashed me. I couldn't...I couldn't do that..." He shook a little at the thought at what could have been if the company hadn't stopped.

Taiwan quickly wrapped her arms around him. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Trust. Safe. Love.

She pulled away and gently spoke reassuringly, "You're free from them. It is alright." After a few quiet moments staring at the sky, Taiwan's phone rang. She frowned a little, glancing at Hong Kong.

"Go, answer it. You still have to go to that trial."

She nodded, "I should be there to give my vote in defense of these nations. I can't believe our bosses thought that this was a good idea."

The young Asian boy shrugged, "Canada will clear this all up so there's nothing to worry about."

"Who?"

Hong Kong looked up confused, "What?"

"Canada? Who's that?"

"What are you talking about? Who's Canada?"

"But you just said-" The young girl blinked. Huh. That was odd. She couldn't recall what he had said earlier. "Never mind. Are you sure you're going to be fine if I leave?"

The boy nodded, "I'll be fine."

She bent down and hugged him again, "I'm sorry."

"I said it was fine," Hong Kong said quietly then gave her a small smile. She smiled back then turned to leave to answer her phone, no doubt they were coming to pick her up.

He turned to admire the aesthetic garden in front of him. A few ripples distorted the surface of a clear pool. Calmly, a wind brushed his bangs in front of his eyes and he flicked them away. Flowers bloomed and leaves danced around.

The voices in his head were long gone.

He glanced in the direction of China's work room.

-A Flashback-

"Yes, I have the antidote for the symptoms."

The human nodded solemnly as he unlocked the door and accepted the password. Canada entered the room with deliberate steps. Worried, tired eyes stared at him.

"Did you get them?" The man, who was jokingly called 'Jane Doe', said as he invited Canada into the living room. After the nation had been kidnapped, the human has been the first to notice.

Connecting one and one together, he had an inkling about what had happened. Through his insistence, the government was pushed to do a search despite Canada's phone messages of reassurances that he was fine. Against his intentions, this was what prompted the company to move Canada to the British Isles. It also garnered him a few unwanted threats that put him on edge.

Now that the nation was back, full of a new kind of strength, the two were in correspondence of any news in dealing with the Company. Meanwhile, an ex-employee took care of things abroad.

"Yeah...but…" Canada hesitated. "Some...got away…"

"Why not go chasing after them? That's what you have been doing."

Canada sighed, "It's getting…" He stared off to the side and gave a quick glance around. The family pictures of the man's family were displayed at the mantle. The house was in the slow process of aging. A new generation would be sure to come. "...more difficult for me," Canada finished.

The human looked at the nation strangely.

Canada finally directly looked at the man's face, "Can I ask you favor?"

The human frowned, "What is it?"

Out of the inside of his jacket's inner pocket, the nation pulled out a folder, "Can you keep a hold of this?"

Cautiously, the man took it but the blond did not let go of it yet. He looked back at the nation with even more confusion.

"In here, there is information about the company."

"Why are you giving me this?"

Canada sighed. "To be honest, I cannot watch if the company will resurface again any longer. I need your help." He quickly peeked at the pictures one more time, "And quite possibly, the future generations of your line."

"What about the government?"

Canada shook his head, "That would be the first group that this Company would want to get past. They won't make their activity that easy to detect."

At last, the folder was let go and the man stared at it, trying to decide whether or not to open it. The nation leaned back a little.

"In there, you will also find some contact information for someone who is tasked with the same. You...you can say no."

He looked to the other human expectantly. In his heart, Canada felt like a coward. He should face his enemy till the end instead of giving up. How could he ask such a request from another?

Still the human gave a tired shrug and smiled, "You're the nation of this land. You're also a good friend of mine. How can I say no?"

An hour later, after settling the details of the task and general catching up, Canada left for a plane. He had to get rid of this final state. And there was only one person who he trusted knew how to do that.

-Current Time-

Canada rolled out of bed and fell to the floor with a loud thump. He groaned as he pushed himself up and got on to his feet. Groggily, his hand tried feel around for his side table where he had put his glasses. These memories continued to flow back to him without stop.

He rubbed at his eyes before putting them on. He blinked lazily at his clock. 8:00 am. Huh...he slept in...Oh well it's not like there was anything importan-

Like a shock of electricity went down his spine, his mind instantly cleared in remembrance.

There was supposed to be a trial today. It was against the nations who worked for the New World Order. Many of the nations wished to excuse them, since it was clear the humans were the ones in control. Most of them just wanted to focus on recovery. Their bosses thought it otherwise.

The stakes weren't all that high. As long as they had enough proof, then this trial would be nothing but a formality and a convenient way to reveal the details fully to the world. Even though Section 7.9 part (a) of the International Personification Law was long out of effect, he still needed this trial to explain everything.

That trial was in two hours.

In EUROPE.

He cursed profusely as he scrambled to get ready. Kumajirou weakly came in and yawned. As Matthew dashed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and straighten out his horrible bed-head, the bear dragged a few of Canada's clothes on to the bed.

"Awww, thanks Kumajirou" The nation said as he ran out of the bathroom. He hobbled about as he tried to quickly put his clothes on. He looked at the time again and cursed again. They would have to eat on the plane then.

Somehow he managed to get out the door where a taxi was already waiting for him. Kumajirou dashed after him and jumped into the car with a briefcase in his mouth. Canada smiled again and patted his polar cub friend. The driver tsked at how late the nation was then sped off on the road towards the airport.

Canada's phone rang. He winced as he looked at the caller I.D. His boss. Tentatively, he answered it and raised it to his ear. He shoulders tensed for the blow.

Not see-through. Not in a wheelchair.

Freedom.

The nightmare was over. In Egypt's hand was a tourist beetle magnet. The magic that once surrounded it was now no longer in effect. He wondered if England had been the one to undo the spell. He tossed it to the ground which caused it break into several pieces.

No…

There was someone else. A curl. Who was that?

He stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. He had work to get back to.

Besides, he was not going to be part of the voting.

Bang! Bang! Two shots were fired from Switzerland's gun. The collected nations inside the room all fell silent and sat down in their seats. The room was set up with several benches and extra folding chairs nearer the back. A balcony hung at the back.

England standing in front of the neutral nation coughed and pointed to a hammer, "You have a gavel for that."

Switzerland shot him an unamused look, "I also have a gun, what's your point?"

The cheese-loving blond's expression was more irritated than usual. His trigger finger was even worse. Liechtenstein was still recovering from last week's events and she really needed him around. All he wanted was to get this trial over with and return home.

Neutrality was supposed to keep him out of these messes, not make him their first-choice to judge over them. He crossed his arms as his eyes grazed over the now silenced group.

England shook his head, tired from the month's events, then faced the crowd, "The trial for the case against Japan, Iceland, and Latvia on their alleged breaking of the International Personification Law has started."

The nations in question were in the other room, preparing themselves for their individual questioning period later. Explanations had to come first before defended themselves. The micronations, on the other hand, were excused from the trial; Due to the nature of their status, the punishment fell upon their guardian, or the closest thing to such.

The court was allowed to murmur a bit while England looked down at his cards, "Please remain quiet and attentive while the cases are made. After such, you will all be asked to give your judgement or abstain. Any idiots who cause disturbances to the court's process will be kicked out and revoked of their right to vote in this case." England looked up. "Any questions?"

"'OBJECTION!'" America jumped up and shouted.

"What is it, America?" England asked as he crossed his arms.

"First off-" He said grinning proudly and the island nation rolled his eyes, "-doing that felt cool. Second thing, why are you running this?"

"Why you little-" England started but stopped himself from snapping. Professionalism. After a sharp deep breathe, he calmed himself down, "Germany refused to handle the matter, so by the order of the world meeting hosts I was next to be asked."

"-and saying no has more paperwork than any sane person wants to fill out," Switzerland muttered.

The island nation went on and looked to the crowd of nations, "First, you should all be informed about the facts behind this company as we have uncovered them. I bring forth a human employee to give us the information."

A masked figure from the back began walking up. Whispers surrounded him. The figure looked composed as his body kept relaxed, even his voice was not the least bit shaky saying the court oath. Then again, that blank mask could have just hidden away his emotions.

Once he was seated, he glanced around the crowd, as if in search for someone. The figure sighed after a few minutes, looks like that person wasn't here. After he stated his name and occupation, the island nation went right to prompting him to begin explaining.

"Now, from all your years of working with and against the New World Order company, can you explain to us how they managed to control us?"

"Yes." The man nodded. Despite the world stage watching, he did not falter. His many years alone had toughened him. "This company, from many years of research, have concluded that the secret to a nation's power could be found in their memories. As I'm sure, sir, that you can very well demonstrate, nations hold a power that humans do not posses. Like magic."

"England, are we supposed to believe that such things exists?" Someone called from the back.

England's green eyes narrowed in the voice's direction, flicked his wrist and whispered something. A pen from a desk floated to England's hand. He grabbed at it, then twirled it around his fingers before whispering something to send it back. It smashed against the wall into several pieces and the man clearly winced. Whoops. The other magic users tsked.

He cleared his throat. "Yes," he said plainly then turned back the human, "Go on."

"From experimentation with Canada-"

A few whispers from the crowd stirred.

"-they learned that nations reacted when objects related with their memories were tampered with. With stolen notes about England's spells, they learned about ways to collect this energy into self-radiating crystals. I have records to show the various stolen items used for such results. and you can see them matching up to random thefts globally" The man looked to the door that lead to the other room, "I'm sure Japan can also produce a Hello Kitty Doll where inside the remnants of a crushed jade pin can be found."

"Let's keep the focus on the situation." England reminded, not liking where the whispers were now going.

The human blinked and looked back to the world, "Right...Nations, the company further learned, produce more of their supernatural energy when their bodies are weakened. You can starve a nation to death, break every bone in their body, poison them but they will not die. To counter the damage, a nation produces more energy. The company called this 'Nation Essence'. Through more decades of technological advancements, they found a way to contain such energy to convert it for other uses."

England nodded as the murmurs turned their anger against the human company. Good. "So what was their plan?"

"First they targeted the nations that would seem the most vulnerable, particularly those strongly connected with history. The next phase was to weaken the people of the nations with a Pulser, a technology that would be used to induce widespread headaches. Then, with the forces of nations weakened, the group would take over governments with technology powered by this newfound energy source. With the extra inside intel provided by the allied personifications, they were certain to bring forth a New World Order."

"Thank you," England nodded . "Now, I open the floor for further questions."

And the room exploded.

"HOW DID A COMPANY LIKE THIS GET PAST US?"

"WHY DID THOSE THREE EVEN CONSIDER HELPING THESE HUMANS OUT?"

"HOW DID WE EVEN STOP THEM?"

"WHO'S CANADA?"

Pause.

Everyone looked around for the person who had asked the question. America crushed the milkshake in his hand, some of it spilling over into his hands, offended and shocked. France looked up from texting on his phone, equally surprised. He, too, scanned the crowd. No one couldn't figure out who had said it...but it had been a question on several minds. Canada? Who was that?

England clutched at his head, as if he had a sudden headache. He muttered to himself, "I knew we forgot something before the trial…"He searched the crowd, continuing to talk to himself but the nations could hear him, "Where is he? He should be here."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Canada? Who's that?"

"There's a country above America...but they don't have personification do they?"

"No, that's impossible…no country is without one."

"Then why can't I remember what they look like…"

Down the far hall, Canada shouted his apologies as he tried to avoid bumping into people in his desperate run to make it on time. Kumajirou ran on all fours beside him. In the nation's mind, he hoped that they hadn't started too much. By the time he got to the door, he could already hear someone explain the situation out.

Bam! He burst open through the doors. His apologies streamed from his mouth.

Several pairs of eyes stared at the intrusion.

"You're late!" England called back.

Canada rushed forward the far front beside his brother. He was a little surprised that no one was watching him run up. Instead, everyone else seemed more concerned about a polar bear running into the room. Yet, Kumajirou was nothing new to the other nations...or it shouldn't be.

"Sorry, sorry," Canada said as he took his seat.

The masked figure at the front tensed. He saw that the crowd become uncomfortable as the northern nation took his seat. He bit his tongue, preventing himself from talking out of turn. At last someone from the group of nations addressed the problem.

"England, who are you talking to?" they asked.

America stood up again, more angry than before, "Okay, what the hell is wrong with you guys!? My brother's right here! That's uncool dudes!"

The room fought back against the nation's shouts. The chaos before escalated and then some.

"America, what wrong with you? No one is there."

"They're talking to no one."

"What's wrong with you two?"

America and England gaped at the crowd as the nations turned against them in accusations. Very soon, Switzerland had enough of the chaos. Another shot was fired. His green eyes glared at the nations and they quieted back down again. The English nation was about to thank him but was quickly cut off by the man's pissed off expression.

His voice was stern, "England, America, you are revoked of your right to vote in this matter. Leave the court."

"What in the bloody hell for?" England sputtered.

France was tempted to stand up with them, but he looked around at the confused expressions of the others beside him. He bit his tongue and looked at Canada. His hands gripped at his seat. He had to stay in court and see where this went.

Australia for a moment felt riled up but when asked about it by New Zealand, forgot his reasons within the next instant. Taiwan and texted the update to Hong Kong, a little worry growing inside of her. The other members of the magic trio shivered, feeling another shift happening in the room.

"Just as you said, those who cause massive disturbances to the court's process will be kicked out. Belgium will take your role by the same order of appointment."

"You can't just-"

Bang! Another shot fired into the air.

"I'm the judge." Switzerland said and narrowed his eyes at the two. "And I say get out."

Canada was left alone in his seat. Only the human could see him. From the masked figure's view he could see the flickering aura around him. His own body felt like it was weakening; the energy transferred to him was returning back to the nation.

It was only a matter of time until all the energy was returned.

"I see you're going to back to painting," Lovino said to his brother as the other man took another stroke to his canvas. He brought over lunch into the work room and set it on a side table.

Feliciano smiled wide, "It's brings such a wonderful feeling!" He added another dash of brown again.

His brother took a couple steps closer to get a better look, "Huh, looks like someone. Who is it?"

"That's a secret~" The younger brother teased with a wink. He continued painting cheerfully, humming a little to himself.

Romano rolled his eyes at Veneziano. He recognized his brother's tune and joined in singing some bits. After a ton of pestering from North Italy, Lovino finally went back to work and dealt with the papers that he let pile up. That's what he had been doing for hours before. For now, Feliciano was still on his break so he chose to relax. These past few days, the two existed in a peaceful calm.

"Aren't you supposed to be at a trial?" Feliciano questioned curiously. It wouldn't surprise him if the nation didn't want to go. The trial itself was going to be dull and pointless. Romano, himself, was never the one to go to these international things anyways.

"Oh shit!"

Or his brother had simply forgot.

With that as his last words, the nation rushed out. SLAM! Once he was alone, Feliciano put down his paintbrush. He walked over to the corner of the room where he pulled out his reference.

It was an old photo. Lights outlined the sole figure within it. It was taken a long time ago. One of the singers for a show they were going to be watching had gotten a sore throat overnight. Not wanting to disappoint the audience, one of the Italy brothers was pushed into the minor role.

North Italy knew that he was oblivious to many things. That book about the atmosphere was still a mystery to him. However, he was apprehensive about quite a few things as well, like his older brother's own insecurity.

Yes, Veneziano may be the "favourite" in Rome's eyes.

But the "favourite" could not sing quite like Romano did, with power, with not giving two shits about what other people thought, and a sense of self-pride that he wished his brother kept closer to his heart. North Italy had remembered that in a dream a few days back. He added another stroke to the painting. Funny, this kind felt like he was painting Grandpa.

"Who really stopped the company?" Belgium tried to press again.

"I-I told you. Canada." The masked figure was starting to lose his cool and became more nervous as the nations were growing frustrated with him.

"TAKE OFF YOUR MASK AND SAY THAT TO OUR FACES!"

The masked figure shrank back in his seat. He looked pleadingly towards the judge. As the man was only a human, the nation judge was a little sympathetic. He took up his hammer, not wanting to pay for any more holes in the roof, and called the court back to order.

Belgium tried again, putting on a friendly smile. She honestly wished the room didn't push so much pressure on her. "We are trying to cooperate with you. Canada does not exist-" the mentioned nation coughed harshly but it couldn't get her attention, "-so it must have been someone else. Was it another human?"

"It was a n-nation! Only a nation can take them down so quickly!" He clutched at his collar. He needed air!

France neared towards Canada, somehow finding a way to squirm up to the front while the room was distracted.

"How are you holding up?" He whispered.

Matthew bit his lip and whispered back harshly, "They have been stuck on the same stupid detail. I'm right here!"

"Bringing it up doesn't seem to help though...huh. Our friend up there doesn't look too well..."

As France pointed out, the masked man was coughing heavily under the pressure. At last, the ability to breathe was becoming too difficult of a task and the man ripped off his mask. The object fell to the floor. The man gasped for air.

"Someone get this man to a hospital!"

Guards from the door called for help. Within minutes people carried out the man, despite his pleas to be left alone. Canada was left with the shock of seeing the man's face.

It was clear of any of the distorting scars. Those green eyes...now faded away to a darker blander brown.

It was exactly like his memory before the transferring energy. Gah! A pain in the northern nation's gut was building up. Kumajirou led him back to his seat while the room was in chaos again. Switzerland banged on with his gavel.

"What are you doing out here?" America asked with surprise. After finally agreeing with England that smashing the door would only make things worse, they walked down the hall in retreat. It was a surprise to see Germany there, especially after the nation made special effort to excuse himself.

Blue eyes looked up from his bench, "I would say the same for you two."

England huffed and sat down, "We got kicked out of court."

America kicked a nearby trash can and sent it flying, "Something is seriously messed up in there."

"Germany, you still did not answer our question. What are you doing here? I thought you wanted to take a break."

The German crossed his arms, "When I left Prussia was gone. I only came to see if he was here and to stop him from causing trouble."

"Oh." America sat down beside him, "Hey, while we're here...You remember Canada, right?"

"Who?"

"The guy that you put on the team with me and Australia."

"Australia and I," England whispered.

America looked back, "But you weren't on the team remember?" England began to sputter something then turned around with an exasperated groan. "Anyways, are you sure you don't remember? An entire section was activated against him."

Germany shook his head, "That was against you, America."

"It was-" England stopped his argument as he felt a migraine come on. He swayed and turned his body to slump into the bench. America rushed over.

"What's wrong?"

"A massive transfer of energy."

A crew of hospital people dashed down the hall. It caught the attention of all three nations. They worried that the incident had repeated once more. With bittersweet relief, they let out a sigh seeing that it was only an unknown man.

"England!" The man weakly called. The island nation recognized the voice and ran over to the wheeling away stretcher, "Canada...he's..he's disappearing…the side effects they're...coming back"

"What are you talking about?"

The man wheezed again, "The side effects...the side effects…final state..."

England tried to question further but the man closed his eyes, unable to keep himself conscious any longer. The humans sped off to the ambulance.

"What was that about?" America asked as England returned to the bench with Germany. The Island nation ignored him. Unknown words were muttered under his breathe. As if by some invisible wind, the nation's hair began to sway. Suddenly, England's eyes snapped open.

"That's no spell-" He stood up, looked down the hall and whispered in a devastated tone, "Matthew."

"Matthew, you're looking frighteningly pale. Are you-"

"Hey, France! Who are you talking to!?"

The Frenchman clamped up and leaned away from Canada. He glanced back apologetically. Matthew motioned back that he was fine but gulped as he felt the court grow rowdy once more. His fingers dug into Kumajirou's fur. Why did he feel like he was full of both energy and dread?

With the human gone now, more of the nations were on edge. The commotion England, America and the Masked figure caused left the nations fearing. Instead of being bored by the trial, as was expected, some worried that the incident was not yet over.

Many were put into an unforgiving mood.

"Bring forth the nation witnesses," Switzerland ordered. Belgium nodded and motioned to Australia, Norway and Romania.

"What's wrong?" Romania whispered as he noticed the Nordic's pained expression.

"There's a strong concentration of energy near the front," Norway replied.

Canada looked up hopeful. Romania dashed these hopes with a snicker, "England probably decided to try to curse the courtroom."

The Nordic returned the reply with an indifferent shrug, "Wouldn't put it past him."

"Hey, wanna join us any time soon?" Australia said as he elbowed the whispering magical nations. Canada bit his lip as fought against calling out. Maybe they would remember once they recall the events themselves.

Belgium waited for the court to settle before prompting one of them to start. Australia, having been there since the beginning began the tale.

"Alright, let's take a rest!" India said with a happy smile to his fellow dancers. He grabbed a towel and wiped away the sweat of his brow.

Getting his guards to relax around him had been quite an effort, but eventually he had been left alone to pursue his hobbies again. The nation really loved to dance away the day. He was a naturally active type of person.

"India, you have a package!"

He was a little surprised to see the parcel being handed to him. Minutes of unwrapping later, he was even more surprised to see the elephant figurine. A small card was attached to its trunk with some twine. It was exactly like the Elephant from his dream.

"India, I believe you should keep this. Signed, Canada" read the card.

The nation smiled gratefully. Holding the art piece brought an odd refreshing feeling to him. Or maybe it was the cold feeling of the figurine itself after his work out.

He looked at the card again with curious amusement.

"This Canada fellow, whoever that is, thank you," he found himself saying. Carefully, he put in a safe place in the corner. No one would touch it through the rest of his session. If he came back, unfortunately, the thing would be smashed into dust.

But India didn't come back to pick it up.

Because for some odd reason, he forgot it ever existed the moment he set it down.

"Kuma...it's all wrong." Matthew said to his bear, petting him. No one cared what the bear did.

"I know…" the bear said with a sad nod.

The current recounting of the tale removed Canada from the entire incident. Where it depended on him the most, were completely left out. It didn't seem to be the nations fault. No matter how crazy Canada waved at the recounting nations they couldn't see him. Heck, if he did the Y.M.C.A right now, no one would blink.

His frustration was starting to convince him that he should just do that. His sanity fleeing. Except, the action might drive France to laughter and he didn't want the man to be kicked out.

"Wait...Wait...Norway you just woke up and then what?" Belgium interrupted, making sure the court understood.

"Everyone else was starting to wake up. It gets really hazy at this moment...perhaps it was the drugs that the Company gave us. I remember being told to get a portal ready. The humans in the room were frightened. They were also watching something...no-someone…"

"Who?"

Australia scratched at his head, "Someone familiar..."

Romania scrunched up his face as he thought, "...it was...someone from North America."

Canada looked up with optimism.

Red eyes lit up with sudden apprehension, "America!"

The northern nation slumped back. Kumajirou groaned and put a paw to his face.

"I remember the person having blond hair…" the Australian went on.

"Then it has to be America!"

"But he was saying it was someone called Canada! That hero is anything but humble. He wouldn't just make up someone to get all the credit."

"Maybe they're lying!"

"Maybe that's why we're all feeling so weird. Maybe these are the nations that we should be putting to trial"

Belgium looked back, "Hey now, we can't -"

"Toss them along with those traitors!"

"Yeah!"

"Hey!" France stood up to look at the growing mob, "Are you all losing your minds? I can tell you for a fact that these nations were the ones that helped rescue us."

"Then, France tell us what happened!"

"I bet you Canada is some code between the traitors to carry out their plan!"

"You saw how that human left! It was a message that we are next!"

"Or that you were pressing him too hard," Romania shouted back. "You are accusing us without any kind of evidence!"

Australia crossed his arms, "Oi, can we come down from the stand now? I don't wanna be up here if you are simply goin' to yell at us!"

So. Much. Yelling. France looked over to Canada again, who stared ahead blankly. An entire court was turning on innocent nations because they couldn't believe he existed. A distraught expression was etched on the younger nation's face. The Frenchman frowned. He reached out to comfort him.

"THIS IS NOT HOW YOU RUN A COURTROOM!" Germany finally barged into the room. Against all arguments within himself, he couldn't stand to hear the noise outside. It sounded like chaos. A chaos that needed his organizing. He couldn't hold himself back anymore.

"EVERYONE BACK TO THEIR SEATS!"

Switzerland was the first to break from the shocked silence "Germany, you said you weren't going to be here-"

"I also said that I wasn't going to deal with this trial but I guess things are not going to go as I planned. It is about time I adapt to that."

He gave an intense stare to the nations.

"All of you! You should be ashamed of yourselves. You are so easily moved to call anyone a traitor. Do not let yourselves get carried by the flow. Do not become a mob. Say no and think!"

"Can…um…we come back in?" England said from the wide open doors. He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to get back in. Canada at the front looked like he needed them and who knows how comforting that frog would be.

"Yes." Germany said with a nod. "If it was this chaos that caused them to kick you out, then there is no point in respecting it."

The court remained attentive to the pissed off German. His blue eyes trailed across the crowd. Prussia from the back gave him a thumbs up and wiped a proud tear from his eyes. Germany counted down to make sure he had control the room. Once the count was over he spoke.

"We are going to try this again," the German finally announced.

"Yes, and that should start with letting Canada speak," France suggested.

"France, who is Canada?" Germany asked.

The same question came up again and the court repeated it. Again, the who cycle loomed its ugly head around.

"AAAAAAAAAAAA" And that's when Matthew finally lost it.

He had the power of the Final State didn't he? Without care to what anybody said, Canada pushed forward. Kumajirou followed behind him as he approached the center of the front. Right in front of Switzerland, he faced the crowd. He was going to tell them a thing or two! Determined, confident, and bold, his indigo eyes looked over to the crowd.

Their eyes bore right through him.

Like lightning had struck his heart, he felt paralyzed.

The bravado of his actions was wearing off. Dread within him grew. He breathed deeply as he tried to keep himself from panicking. His thoughts spun around. His throat felt dry. Still filled with passionate emotions, the powers of the Final State continued working within the personification. In a large burst of energy, as Matthew continued fighting, darkness fell across the courtroom. A flashback took over his senses in the untimely moment.

-Flashback-

"Are you sure?" the ex-employee urged.

"I can't…." Canada said firmly, "You should have seen that meeting. He asked who I was. I fought on the BATTLEFIELD with him! And this is just one of the nations I don't have personal ties to…If I had to deal with Alfred saying that to me…"

"Well…there is a spell in England's books that would help you."

"I knew that you would have found something!"

"It involves a memory wiping and an energy transfer…"The man mumbled.

Canada bit his lip, "Will it hurt?"

"Yes, definitely." There was also another catch but the human kept that to himself. When he read the spell, he had already decided that he would be willing to take up that sacrifice. A human should deal with the human messes. Green Eyes. A mask. These were things that were to be part of his future.

It took a long moment for Canada to decide. He recalled back to the painful looks of confusion on all of their faces when he had shown up. One of them had even called him America. He had wanted to cry.

"I'll do it."

-Present Time-

"Who turned out the lights?"

"Who was that?"

"You saw him too, right?"

"There was someone there beside the bear!"

England knelt on the floor and began muttering some light spell. The court talked in hushed whispers but he paid no mind to them. Why hadn't the lad told him about his Final State? That explained why he had mistaken the boy as a mere friend of America's.

The Final State was not magic as it was more closely related to nationhood itself. It was something obtained when normally a nation neared the end of their actual death. It provided an extra boost of power to be immune to all physical attacks. Since it was close to their death, people forgetting that they existed didn't matter anymore.

If Matthew had been pushed near death under the Company's control, then it would not be too far-fetched to achieve the ability prematurely. Getting rid of it would then require moving all the knowledge elsewhere; Hence, the memory stones. As for the energy, a massive transfer cleared up why the masked figure had lived as long as he did, and why he had collapsed today.

Consequently, as the facts came into England mind, he realized something much worse. Often, some people might say there are two deaths: The moment you stop breathing and the last time your name is spoken. To experience the latter before the former…

Would be madness inducing.

He brought his hand up, glowing green. The murmurings of frightened nations surrounded him. The darkness was so strong that even his light made out of magic was only able to help him see a couple inches in front of him.

He remembered where he had seen the younger personification. It didn't take too long to bump into the curled up blond. Amusingly, America was also beside him, as if he was a shield. It wasn't a surprise that Alfred would be the first to look for Matthew. Kumajirou planted himself on the other side. Another shadow watched over the two. Arthur walked over to the bearded man.

"Angleterre…What is happening to him?"

"The trial must have been too much for him."

Alfred looked up, at long last noticing that there were others around him. He kept his arms wrapped around his brother protectively. "N-nothing I'm telling him is getting through to him."

"Lad, must be blocking out his surroundings. The darkness must be another layer to that."

"That's how he always deals with his fears when we were younger," Alfred said solemnly. "He liked to curl himself right up when there's something scary. It always takes forever to pull him out of it. I wonder what is scaring him this time…"

"The Ancient Realm is calling him. He doesn't know it but that's the dread he's feeling." the bear said blankly. The bear nuzzled his nose against Canada's cheek wiping away the tears that fell from the shut eyes.

"Ancient Realm?" France asked and looked expectantly at England.

"It's where old passed nations reside. Usually, these nations are too vain to move on and want to see how long it will take for people to forget about them."

"So this Ancient Realm wants him? Well, tell them to back off!" Alfred muttered with a pout and tightened his embrace. "They can't have my bro!"

Arthur grimaced, "Since he's stayed here for so long while people are forgetting about him…He has probably been fighting off the call for a while now."

Francis crossed his arms "Don't you have some spell to fix all of this?"

"Magic doesn't fix everything, Frog!" The Englishman snapped back.

Alfred felt himself being dragged down into his twin's despair. He couldn't lose Mattie…no…He thought about all the adventures they had together as children. He thought about how torn they both were during the war of 1812. He thought about how his brother stuck by him, tolerating stupidity, and sometimes participating in the stupidity. He thought about how they had both tricked Arthur that faeries had taken the cookies from the cookie jar, not them.

Matthew shifted and mumbled something.

"Alfred…What did you do?" Arthur asked.

"I was…just remembering things."

"This company, from many years of research, have concluded that the secret to a nation's power could be found in their memories." The island recited from the earlier testimony. "Of course. We should put the effort of remembering him. Quick, think about the memories you had with him."

Not all of them were pleasant, but they tried their best to recall them. Today, this nation wasn't going to take the entire burden upon himself. History was meant to be remembered by the masses. Close ones were meant to be kept close to the heart.

And slowly but surely, Matthew began to lift to his head. His purple-indigo eyes were becoming less glassy. Dazed, he looked to his left and right. His awareness was returning.

"Alfred, Alfred!" Matthew shouted at his brother as he realized who was hugging him. "You have to remember who I am!" His indigo eyes met bright blue.

"Ca-Ca...Canadia right?"

"It's...it's Canada!" There were tears forming in the corner of his eyes. His nightmare...it wasn't over...it wasn't-

Suddenly Alfred's eyes went wide, "Whoa! Whoa! It was only a joke! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-OW!"

Canada punched his brother in the arm, wiping away the offending water with his other hand. He glared at the other, "Why did you think that was funny!?"

"Because it's a stupid question," Alfred said with a roll of his eyes. He leaned in to give him a tighter hug. "Again, I'm sorry. How could I forget my own brother?"

"Or the adorable 'quiet' kid that we helped raised," England and France said in unison. Then, in reflex the two started a small slapping fight, both arguing that they had been the better parent.

The two younger nations laughed.

"I'm the one who's supposed to be a hero remember?" Alfred said quietly as he nudged Matthew.

Matthew rolled his eyes and nudged back, "Of course."

The darkness that had wrapped around the court melted away.

Canada turned to England, "How do you know about the Final State?"

"You never asked, lad. Since we are much older than you, of course we would know about such things."

Upon hearing Arthur's words, Matthew laughed at himself. He had never gotten the chance to tell them about his dream. Part of him thought about how much lost time he had be spent frustrated by the mystery. Things might have turned out differently. He wandered into his mind, wondering what else he had missed.

The symptoms of the patients came together in Canada's mind. To be unheard and not understood, India. To be unable to take care of himself, Italy. To be weak in fighting back, Greece. To be forgetful, China. To be invisible, Egypt.

Had he been a lesser nation, he would have still believed these reflected upon himself. Time and time again, he would prove that this was not the case. He thought about how he shouldered the entire incident all his own, thinking it was the right thing. He stood up and dusted himself off.

But in the end, it was wrong. He looked to his 'family', as dysfunctional as they were. All those years ago, he had been afraid of disappearing himself and so erased the cause in the only way he knew how. He should have just told one of them. To gain the final state, such must be done alone, but to deal with the side effects one needed to rely on others.

It took a while for the court to resettle again with the darkness gone. Many looked at the North American nation with fear. Matthew smiled apologetically at them, hoping they wouldn't hold it against him.

Many were baffled by themselves. How could they have forgotten the second largest country in the world? Why hadn't they just look at a map? The answers to these questions remained as much as a mystery as Canada's current hold of their attention. Around the world nations were being struck with sudden memories.

Switzerland looked to North American nation with awe, "H-how did you do that, Canada?"

"Let me finally have a say and I'll tell you," Canada replied. Then, he walked up to the stand.

An hour later, everyone exited the courtroom after an uneventful voting. Romano barely made it. Unsurprisingly, the defendant themselves made decent cases. Quite a few kept quiet as they walked, dazed by it all. More were relieved, happy and content that it all settled peacefully. As it should have ended. The nations involved were declared not guilty.

"Hey, Canada!" Prussia called out. The northern nation turned with surprise. The Prussian waved him over to where he was chatting with his brother.

As the Canadian neared closer, the white-haired nation asked, "You said that you visited the Ancient Realm right?"

Canada nodded slowly, unsure what he was going to be asked next.

"Did you meet someone called Germania?"

Indigo eyes lit up, "Oh, right!" He turned his attention to Germany. "Germania wishes to tell you that you shouldn't hold back your emotions. It's bad for your health. Be more like Prussia...or something along those lines."

Germany stiffened, "Huh? Really?" He suddenly coughed as Prussia slammed his back with a hard smack. The Albino grinned.

"See? It's exactly as I've been telling you," Prussia laughed and then looked at Canada again, "Anyways, has he said anything else about me?" He secretly crossed his fingers, hoping the older nation never talked about how he left the Ancient Realm.

The younger nation hummed for a second to recollect the conversation. It took a moment then he replied "Not really…" Prussia's mind silently whooped. Canada turned back to where his twin was waiting for him to re-join them, "Well, I have to go now."

Germany smiled a bit bigger as the two Germans also turned to walk away in the opposite direction. His older brother was grinning smugly and proudly. A celebration with beer was on both of their minds. Somewhere, Germania muttered a complaint about how long the message's delivery took but smiled as well.

(Greece's P.O.V):

Outstretched before me, I looked over my mother's ruins once more. Tourists flocked the area and snapped their pictures. Contently, I patted the soft fur of a meowing cat beside me. I smiled.

The past had left its mark here in the present. Pillars, though broken and cracked, stood strong. The memory of my mother, her last soft words to me murmured closely so only I could hear them, floated around in my head. I had fought my best.

Where I sat was perfect to see the sun lower to meet the horizon. Hues of bronze, like the armour of a warrior filled the sky. In the picturesque view, I could imagine seeing a chariot flying off in the distance. I laughed at myself at the silly idea. Another cute cat walked happily towards me. I let this one crawl into my lap. Before any more joined me, I scooped up the small book beside me to keep it from being trampled.

I opened my book and read aloud from where I left off, "The beginning is the most important part of any work.*"

A/N: And that's a wrap! :)

A MASSIVE THANK YOU to all of you wonderful readers. To all the reviewers, every single one of you really make my day. I would have replied to every single one if I could have found something else to say other than a super grateful thank you! Your comments kept me believing that I was accomplishing the effect I wanted in my writing. Thanks for sticking around to see where this fanfic winded up!

*Greece's last words: Plato Quote for The Republic: Book 2.