the past and the present

ch. 15 prank plan unveiled!

Ch. 15

Phil and Taiwan sat in front of each other in a dark room, only slightly illuminated by the lamp on the table. The lights were off for dramatic effect.
The tension in the air was so thick that you would need an axe to cut it.

"So you're telling me... that I get to take revenge on that annoying communist?" Taiwan spoke, breaking the silence, a grin slowly making its way to his face.

"Yes," Phil confirmed nonchalantly.

Taiwan flashed a mischievous grin and slapped the table. "Alright! I'm in!"

"Glad to have you on board, Tai," Phil smiled. "Alright!" Phil stood up, "lights on, please. We got the deal!" He clapped his hands, and the lights turned on. He held his hand out to Taiwan for a handshake.

They shook hands. "So!" said Taiwan, "how are we going to execute this plan of yours? Are you sure this won't cause a war?" Taiwan teased.

"Of course not!" Phil gasped dramatically, putting his hand on his chest. "If you must know, the Rice Gang has won the Best Prankster Awards for 10 years in a row!" It was true; the Best Prankster Awards were given by the UN itself. This was to lower the risk of the country starting wars over stupid things called 'pranks.'

Taiwan rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, sure. What else do you guys need me to do, anyways?" He turned to Indo, who was leaning on the door. "You know, aside from pretending to be the USSR?" He asked while dramatically waving his hands in the air.

Indo pulled out his phone and typed something. Soon, a notification rang from Taiwan's phone.

"Those are all about the Soviet Union; you're going to have to read them to make the act convincing," said Indo.

Taiwan frowned as he scrolled through the giant document. "I HAVE to read all of this! This is ridiculous!" He yelled.

"We put his diary in there too," Mal added.

Taiwan's expression changed from agitated to curious. "You know what? Maybe I'll read this tonight."

____________

ASEAN sighed once again. "Okay, okay, so you're telling us that we will reveal everything during the Halloween party?"

UN nodded, "Exactly! Isn't that fun? No one will see it coming!"

ASEAN sighed once again and took a deep breath.

EU immediately backed away from the angry Asian man, quickly looking for something to cover his ears with.

"NO, YOU IDIOT!"

UN flinched, and his eyes grew wide at ASEAN's sudden outburst.

"Why not?" he asked.

"It's Halloween... people are going to dress up as countries... WHAT IF THEY DRESS UP LIKE THE ONES WE HAVE HERE???" ASEAN cried.

UN's eyes sparkled as a grin formed on his face. "Exactly!" He yelled enthusiastically. "It's perfect! No one will see it coming! It'll be like a little prank."

ASEAN looked up at him with a disappointed expression on his face. "You're supposed to be the leader." He spoke slowly as his face turned dark.

ASEAN grabbed him by the collar. "CAN YOU TAKE THIS A BIT MORE SERIOUSLY?" He yelled directly into UN's face.

EU quickly got up from his seat and pulled the two apart. "Hey, let's calm down, shall we?" he spoke softly as he pushed ASEAN back into his seat. "Good... okay..." He turned to ASEAN, "don't get mad... but I agree with UNI..." He said softly.

ASEAN raised an eyebrow at him, expecting an explanation.

A sweat drop fell from EU's forehead. "Hear me out... but wouldn't it be fun? It'll save us the hassle of planning a big reveal, and it'll be easier for the other countries to handle this revelation too..." he said with a smile.

ASEAN sighed and leaned back into his chair. "And... why do you think the others will take this easily?"

EU gulped and looked over to UN for an answer.

They stared into each other's eyes, having a silent conversation. UN sighed and spoke, "Well... if they think it's a prank, they'll enjoy it more, and they'll be able to adjust easier when we tell them," he said hesitantly, realizing he hadn't thought it through.

ASEAN sighed and rubbed his face in frustration. "This plan is going to blow up in your face," he said nonchalantly. He groaned and scratched his head. "But fine... I'm outnumbered anyway..."

EU's eyes shone bright with excitement. "So we're doing it?" he asked hopefully.

ASEAN sighed. "...Yes..."

____________

He tripped on his own foot and fell on his face.

"And I thought you said army men always look out for their surroundings," Del said with a teasing tone. He laughed at his brother, enjoying the annoyed and embarrassed look on Martial's face.

A malicious grin formed across his face as he decided to tease him even more. He got down on the ground and spoke in a tone used to speak to a baby. "Oh no!😮 Are you okay, Martial? Did it hurt? Shall I slap the floor for you? Do you want a kiss? ~ come he~"

His act of "love" and "concern" was met with a punch to the face.

Martial stood up angrily, the embarrassment still clear on his face. "Shut up."

Del held his cheek and gasped dramatically. "How dare you! You can't punch your own brother like that!" He playfully gave him a weak punch in the shoulder.

Martial stood up and glared at him. "Yes, I can. I can do whatever I want," he said with a voice filled with authority.

Del clicked his tongue at his tone. "Watch your tone, Martial. I'm still your older brother."

Martial flinched and looked down at the floor, mumbling a small "sorry" before sighing and looking back at Del. "So... where are we going again?" he asked.

"To get some food," Del answered. "They have to have a kitchen here somewhere...."

Martial opened his mouth to say something, but a memory flashed through his mind.

He stood by his mother's side, holding her hand. Perla smiled. "Come on, Martial, let's get you some food, okay? They should have a kitchen here... somewhere..."

The memory randomly flashed into his mind. It was a sweet memory, but it also filled him with sadness due to how much he missed her.

Del noticed the frown on his face. "What's wrong?... Are you hungry?"

Martial shook his head and sighed. He walked ahead of his brother, his head slowly hanging low.But still high enough to see where he's going.

Del looked at him worriedly but didn't press on the topic. He hurriedly walked to his side and held Martial's hand. "I have a feeling that it's this way," he pointed to the left. "Come on, brother, I'll make you something when we find the kitchen. Do you want anything specific?" He spoke with a comforting tone.

Martial looked up and thought for a moment. "Do you think we can make biko?" he asked.

"Hmmm... well, I suppose. We have to see if they have the ingredients," he smiled. "Well, let's just go and see."

The two brothers went hand in hand, looking for the kitchen.