Kurayami no Memori

Chapter 1:

England didn't know why he woke up in a small, jail-like room. It was dark, empty and full of holes. There was one broken light bulb hanging from the low ceiling. The walls were made of cement blocks, which looked like they were going to fall any second.

And for some reason, he couldn't remember anything. Anything but his name, identity, and a few other names like, "Alfred-slash-America and Francis-slash-France". One thing's for sure, though. He should be in this place. It smelled like dead rats and other stuff he didn't want to think about.

The British got off his bed, and - oh look. At least he still had his Flying Mint Bunny slippers, which he didn't remember what they were. He wore them and smiled faintly- but that's when he realized he was only wearing his pajamas. "Oh, bloody hell. I bet this is all America's fault." He felt anger rising… then fading. 'Those words… just came out of my mouth…' he thought. 'Well, no matter. I have to find this America guy. But first…' England looked at the door 'I need to get out.'

He looked under the bed, the pillows and even the holes on the walls, but still nothing. He tried opening the door with brute force, but every time he hit it, it felt like he just slammed himself to a wall made of steel- which he did. 'This thing… it's impossible to open it'. England walked over to the bed and got the blanket to wipe off the blood on his sides when he tried to open the door. After doing so, he sat down on the cold floor, and stared at his bunny slippers. He smirked again. 'Cute little things,' he wondered 'I wonder why I have them…'

Then three words went to his mind: Flying, mint and bunny.

'Flying… mint… bunny… I remember… the… why… I can see them…'

England's eyes turned completely green. "Magic…" He got up and said words he didn't even understand. A dark, magic circle appeared in front of him, and he felt the wind blowing on his face. When his eyes turned back to normal, he found the door open, and burning. "What the-!"

He grabbed his bloody blanket and went through the burning door. England came out, coughing and- where the bloody hell was he?

The place was full of scientists- or that's what he thought they were. All of them were dressed in matching white coats, some holding clipboards and pens, others holding stacks of paper, and there were those holding gadgets England never saw in his whole life. They stared at him until one picked up a device. He pushed a blue button and said, "Number 3 escaped. Call the guards."

England cursed and threw his fluffy slipper at the brown-haired man with glasses, who called for back-up. The 'scientists' got their laser, guns, and whatever they had with them and pointed it at England.

"Where the bloody hell am I?" he asked "What happened? I'm BRITAIN, you bloody people."

A lady with long, blond hair stepped in front. She had no weapons. "Britain, da?" She definitely was Russian. "We thought it was that blonde guy with the beard, but no matter. At least we know who you are." The lady turned around. "Good timing. Seize him, guards. Take him to the 'Special Room'"

England cursed again and started running for the window. "Get him!" a 'scientist' shouted, and bullets, red beams and other things were shot and thrown at the nation. But somehow, he managed to dodge all of them- or they had really bad aim, he thought. 'A few more meters… ha!" England opened the window and jumped fell to his death.

Britain's eyes opened, and he found himself in another room. This time it was white. All white. And he was facing a tall blonde man with strands of hair sticking up, defying the law of gravity. He was wearing a bomber jacket on a plain white shirt. "Hey," he said "Oh… not again." England struggled, but he was chained to the wall. "No use." The man said again. This time, England noticed how childish he sounds; that American accent. He sounded about 18 years old and so familiar…

"A-America? Is… Is that you?"

The boy smiled and laughed. "Great! Iggy's here! Everyone, it's safe!" He waved his hand, and the chains which held England to the wall disappeared. "Where am I, you bloody git?" "Somewhere safe." He replied. "I'm serious." "I'm serious too." "No you're not, wanker." "Yes I am."

"Wait! Before anything happens and… keep quiet. They might hear you." An Italian accent was heard from the distance. "I heard they're coming this way! Quick! America, get England down the stairs. Ve~" America nodded and put his hand over my mouth. "Mmph!" "Shh! Come with me." He led the Brit to a long, Greek hallway full of Greek columns and statues. "It's safe now." He uncovered England's mouth. "That's better. Where am I?"

"You'll know soon. Follow me." America ran farther. "Are you coming or not?"

Britain followed America down the hall, and into a small room behind a large mural of Mount Olympus. The light was provided by small candles lit on every corner of the room. A table was in the middle, full of blue prints and pencils. The chairs around it were occupied by a few people who looked really familiar to England.

"Nice to see you again, England, aru." A… was that a girl? Or a male? He looked like a female, but something inside Britain told him that he was male. A man with a ponytail said. He wore a plain white shirt with a logo of a horse on it. "Take a seat. You're the fifth one to escape, aru."

"Escape from where?"

"Honestly, we still don't know the place. Look at the logo on my shirt." America said. He took off his jacket and his shirt revealed the logo- China? Was that him?- was wearing on his shirt too. "A horse." England said. "There are words under it, aru. But It's in Greek." "Greek? Let me take a look."

A small white shirt identical to the one's America and China were wearing flew at him. England caught it right before it reached his face. "Ve~ Nice catch, England!" An Italian with brown hair and a curl appeared in front of the table. "You'd better wear that before France nii-chan gets here."

"Oh. Right. Thank you, Italy."

'Again,' England thought 'words come out from my mouth.'

"Oooh! Nii-chan! Now you have to give me your tomato! Ve~ I won the bet!" Another Italian popped up beside him. "Hell no! It's MINE. And the bet wasn't real. It was a joke." The other blushed. That's when he noticed that the other Italian's hair was parted to the side and his curl was on the right. "Romano?" England guessed. "Of course it's me you-"

"Shh! Shh! I hear someone coming." America warned. The room fell silent like it was before. The brothers took their seat next to China and America sat beside Britian. "Bloody hell," England whispered. "What's going on?" "Shh! We'll explain when everyone gets here. Did you have a strange dream yet?" America asked "What?" "Shh, aru! It's coming closer!"

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Madame, they're here." A raspy voice said. "Well done. You can return to your post now." The Russian lady's voice from before said. "You're welcome, Madame. Anytime." Heavy footsteps walked away, and faded. There was a silence for a few seconds. Footsteps of high-heeled shoes echoed after. "Shoot! They're coming to get us again!" America whispered loudly, enough for everyone to hear. "Get the weapons!"

Italy nodded and got off his chair. His brother followed. "Weapons? What weapons?" England asked. "Shh, aru!" "There!" Romano said "Found it." He opened a wooded chest and grabbed a large sword made out of bronze. "Oh~ Me next~" Italy chimed and pulled out a golden pole beside the chest. "That's not a weapon!" Romano said, sounding angry "But-" "No time, aru!" China stood up and went to the chest. He threw out a few dented swords, and found a crossbow. "America, England, aru. Faster! She's almost here, aru!"

Tap. Tap. Tap.

America ran to the chest and pulled out an axe. "That thing's too HUGE for that chest." England said "Whatever, I don't care. Oh shi-"

The door opened.

And England had no weapons. But the lady didn't have any either.

"Good day," She said. "Nice weather we're having, da?" "Shut your mouth and tell us why we're here." America shouted.

"There is no need for rudeness. I come with peace." She stepped forward. Her dark blue eyes glinted in the room. "There is also no need for those silly weapons." The lady raised her hand, and all the weapons fell down- except for Italy's pole. "Haha. Aren't you cute, Italian?" "E-eh…" Italy shivered.

"Let's just have a quick cup of tea, da?" She sat down on a chair and a tea set appeared in front of her. "Come on. I won't bite." Italy dropped his golden pole and ran to chair, but his brother had other things in his mind. He pulled him out of the chair and got his sword. He pointed it at the lady. "What do you want? We don't have money." The Russian giggled. "I have no use for your riches. As I said, I come in peace."

China pointed his arrow. "What makes you say that, aru?" "You see, I have all you memories trapped in bottles. That's why you woke up here." She took a sip from her tea. "Ah. That was good. Would you like to try some?" England would, but he thought it would be stupid of him to. There might be poison or something in there. But she was drinking it too…

"No one? Alright. I shall continue with my explanation."

"Your memories of being nations are with me. Why? All of you are part of something special. You will be doing a great task for humankind. If you fail to do this, the world will fall. Your memories make you a part of this mission. If ever you retrieve them… another shall take your place. Someone of a lower rank. And if that happens, there will be more chances of the world ending."

America gulped. "What does that have to do with us sleeping in those stupid rooms and those lasers and stuff?"

The Russian smiled "The rooms are used to collect your memories. Those who lived long and remembered much will take a longer time."

"I'm the oldest, aru. Why was I the first, aru?"

"Your memories were easy to retrieve, since you are easily discovered. Your secrets cannot be hidden for a long time. That reminds me, the personality of the person also depends. If you're hard-headed, it will take longer to uncover your memories. If you're open, memories will be caught easier.

"Another question," America asked "Why memories? Why not something else?" The lady sipped her tea and shifted. "That, I cannot answer. We are still trying to figure out why. Heracles never told us yet. But he did say that—"

"Heracles?" England asked "You mean… that guy with curly hair and two strands of hair sticking out his head? The one who likes sleeping and… dogs?" "Cats," The Russian corrected the Brit. "Cats. He disliked dogs." "I'm sorry."

"Let me continue, da? Well he told us 'Get their memories… If they remember the past… They will not do anything to save us…All their hated will come back…All the wars…'"

China looked uneasy. "What wars, aru? What hatred?" The lady smiled. "That is good. At least, for now. Oh and… don't take the bullets and lasers seriously. They're harmless. We just wanted to see if you have your senses. But I still wonder why England had to jump through the window. There was an exit door right beside you."

America tried to hold his laughter. "Shut up you bloody git," England said and punched him. "What was that for?" "You being an idiot." "Whatever."

Romano narrowed his eyes on her "What is this Special Room, you are talking about, huh?" She sighed.
"The room where you can actually relax and wait for the others. The room where you can enjoy every bit of life you have left. The room where your lives will change forever."