Soviet had goals in mind of how he wanted each of his states to turn out, as well as ideas on how to pry into their sanity and get them there. The only problem was a handful of the states were more difficult that the others. Unfortunately, two of the four states he really wanted to change- Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, the ones with the most potential to be powerful- were unnecessarily difficult.
Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan were proving to be easy enough. While the simpler ones to influence were certainly accounting for the majority of his states, the ones that were so unnecessarily difficult really felt like they were more plentiful than the relatively easy states.
The difficult ones were Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Turkmenistan.
Out of the four, Turkmenistan was the easiest, she could be considered to be about in the middle. She wasn't necessarily as bad as the others but she had a very annoying habit of closing up her mind to the point she couldn't even form simple words when she was scared, making it practically impossible for Soviet to manipulate her. To get her, Soviet knew he'd have to figure out a way to get her to stop being so afraid of him.
Moldova was, like Turkmenistan, not quite as bad the other two. She used to be like the easy ones until Ukraine began to suffer from radiation poisoning due to a hastily built Chernobyl nuclear power plant (Soviet wasn't sure how long that would last) and Kazakhstan began to scream from nuclear bomb testing in his country every day or two. After seeing what was happening, Moldova had become resentful towards him. She was soft hearted, to the point that even seeing an animal carcass would draw tears from her eyes. Since Moldova had chosen to pick sides with Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Soviet figured he'd have to get her to approve of him for her to let him get to her head again, most likely by getting either Ukraine or Kazakhstan to show genuine approval of him first. Moldova trusted Kazakhstan and Ukraine, that was certain, and she was frighteningly good at catching lies. The only problem was Soviet had no idea how to get genuine approval from Ukraine or Kazakhstan.
There were a few of his states suffering from radiation poisoning so Soviet didn't understand why only Ukraine decided to have a problem with it. Belarus was, too, and she was one of the easiest ones for Soviet to work with. The nuclear bombs tests were only somewhat easier for Soviet to understand the anger derived from it by Kazakhstan.
The two were very strange, as well. Maybe that had something to do with it, Soviet mused as he looked up from the papers he'd been scribbling out his thoughts about the states on, tapping his pen on the side of his desk. All 15 of his states were lined up in front of him, as looking over them helped him focus his thoughts better. He slowly scanned each of their facial expressions, most were blank as he wanted, some were anxious, a few were downright terrified, one was distasteful, and two were angry as could be. Soviet's gaze stopped on those three. Moldova, Kazakhstan, Ukraine. They were all beside each other in the line. He huffed a sigh and turned back to his papers.
He had no idea where to start with Kazakhstan and Ukraine, he barely knew them other than the angry expressions they made every time they saw him. He needed an infiltrator, someone they trusted enough to be themselves in front of but was obedient of Soviet. He hummed, thinking through who the best option or options would be, scanning each of his states again. Belarus, he eventually decided, and nodded to himself in approval.
"Беларусь, Россия, оставайтесь здесь. У всех остальных может быть время для себя. Уволен. (Belarus, Russia, stay here. Everyone else may have time to themselves. Dismissed.)" Soviet finally spoke and immediately felt some of the tension in the room drop as his states began to filter out of the room, soon leaving only Belarus and Russia in the room with him, both still standing at attention as they were supposed to.
Soviet stood from his desk with a paper in his hand, one that he had hastily written down Belarus's instructions on. He went towards the two Soviet states and handed the paper to Belarus, watching as she read over it, seeing the corners of her emerald green eyes twitch as they always did when she didn't approve of something. Oh well, Soviet would just have to convince her. He rested a gloved hand around her neck and her head immediately snapped up from the paper, eyes locked onto his. Soviet tightened his hand, causing a soft strangled sound to leave her as she took an instinctive step back. Not that it did anything, Soviet just took a step forward to match hers.
"Не разочаровывай меня, Беларусь. Вы думаете, что случайное радиационное отравление - это плохо? Вы не хотите знать, как это будет, когда я специально это вызову. (Do not disappoint me, Belarus. You think accidental radiation poisoning is bad? You don't want to know what it'll be like when I cause it on purpose.)" Soviet spoke, a low growl in his voice, his hand tightening. Belarus quickly nodded as much as she could with the hand on her neck, taking in shallow, strangled breaths. Soviet smiled approvingly and let her go, watching her gasp for air while rubbing at her neck for a moment before shooing her off. She was quick to leave, not wanting to risk Soviet deciding he didn't trust her and choking her again.
As soon as Belarus was gone, Soviet turned to Russia, who wasn't quite standing at attention anymore after what had happened with Belarus. He'd almost gotten Russia completely. The Russian got distracted easily and he wasn't quite as aggressive as Soviet wanted him, but he was getting there. Soviet knew he needed just one more push and he'd have the second addition to his army of dangerous, raging countries. What that last push would be, though, Soviet wasn't sure. But he was trying. So, with a pleasant smile at Russia, Soviet got to work.
——————————
Belarus sat in the canteen, listening to the soft chatter of the other Soviet states around her. She was seated at an empty table, slowly eating her food as she looked over her assignment for the fifth time already. She didn't want to do this but she knew she'd have to. Her neck was already bruised from the choking hold Soviet had held only a few minutes before. Her bones and muscles already ached constantly from radiation poisoning. She certainly didn't want something worse, and something worse was sure to come if she screwed up. She had to do this.
The next step would be finding the two. They weren't in the canteen with everyone else. The last time that had happened was the day North Korea had tried to kill Latvia. Belarus shuddered at the memory of Latvia's cries of pain, the knife that drew blood from the Baltic's body, the crazed looked on North's face as he attacked her. It was something she wished she could forget but knew she never would. Belarus rubbed her temples with her thumbs, closing her eyes and forcing the memory out of her head, soon mumbling her thoughts softly to herself.
Moldova was the first person she thought of when wondering who might know where Ukraine and Kazakhstan were. The only problem, though, was that Moldova was with them too. So who else might know? She glanced around the room for a moment before her eyes landed on where the territories Soviet had gained after the end of WWII. More specifically, on Poland.
Poland and Ukraine were getting close right? She wasn't sure if Poland and Kazakhstan were friendly but she was almost positive Poland and Ukraine were. She slowly stood up, folding up the paper of instructions Soviet had given her and walking to Poland. As she walked, she considered what language to use. She'd never talked to Poland in her life and had no idea what his language was like and if he knew Russian. She decided to go with English, it was a reliable choice, even though she hated speaking it.
Stopping behind Poland, she immediately caught the attention of several countries at the table. "Poland." She addressed the country in front of her, accent thick and words unsteady. "I want to speak with you."
Poland slowly turned his head about 90 degrees to look at her through the corner of his eye. Shortly afterwards, though, Poland made a huffing sound and stood up, pushing his plate of half-eaten food towards Czechoslovakia, who was sitting directly across the table from him. The Czech immediately grabbed the food tray and practically inhaled the food. Poland turned around to face Belarus, the Belarusian shrinking back a few steps as a feeling of intimidation struck her. She hadn't realized how much taller Poland was than her, and how sharp his gaze was, as if it was prying into her very soul. She awkwardly cleared her throat. "Come with me then." She mumbled, getting only a slight nod in response from Poland.
Belarus turned and led Poland back to the table she'd sat at previously, sitting down stiffly and looking way up at Poland where he still stood, hovering above her and peering down. The other stretched a bit, allowing Belarus to catch a glimpse of his folded white wings. Or, his folded white wing and limp feathered stud. She wasn't sure how that had happened. It must've been during the Second World War, since she'd overheard Poland's friends talk like it was a full wing relatively recently. Belarus looked down a little, lips pressed together to the point it began to hurt. Also according to Poland's friends and their loud conversations, he used to be very kind and outwardly friendly to everyone, even complete strangers. Now, he'd developed a prickly outer shell that had to be broken by years of trust and friendship before you got to see the softer side of Poland. She wondered if losing the wing had anything to due with Poland's change in personality. It must've been very traumatic for him.
Belarus snapped out of her thoughts when the Polish country sat beside her on the bench, straddling it so that he was turned to face her. She looked up at him and met his dark brown eyes, biting her lip for a moment as she focused her thoughts on the topic at hand. "Alright. You and Ukraine are friendly, yes?" Poland nodded. He wasn't very talkative, that was for sure. "Do you know where he is?" Poland nodded again. "Where is he then?"
Poland frowned at her and tilted his head slightly, piercing gaze locked to her face, eyes narrowed in suspicious. After a moment, he seemed to dismiss it and stood before walking off, making one short motion for her to follow him before leaving the canteen. Belarus got up from the table and huried after him to catch up, biting her lip to keep from whimpering as her body ached with every movement she took.
When she caught up to Poland walking down a hallway, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Moldova were already able to be seen. They were all turned to face Poland and Belarus now that they were aware of the two's presence. Poland's singular wing fluffed out in what appeared to be an upset fashion and Belarus took a glance at him, taking note of the jealousy in his expression and following his sharp gaze to Kazakhstan. Belarus frowned a little and crossed her arms, holding back a wince as just a small movement like that brought her pain.
"Why are you here?" Ukraine eventually asked, the question directed towards Poland.
Poland breathed a sigh and pointed at Belarus. "I just led the way. She wanted to see you, but didn't know where you were. I helped, like Moldova says I should help people." Poland spoke, the first time Belarus had heard his voice. She glanced at him for a moment, noticing his eyes were still locked onto Kazakhstan. She felt a dash of pity for the Polish country once she thought about the wings. Kazakhstan had two big golden wings, Poland had one beautiful white wing while the other was ripped from his body, reduced to a stud. Of course Poland was jealous.
Ukraine made a short humming sound and looked at Belarus for moment. He soon shrugged and slowly made his way to Poland, Belarus took immediate notice of how stiff and unsteady his movements were. She knew the radiation poisoning was hard for him, too. Ukraine got to Poland, panting from the short distance he'd walked. He half fell into Poland's arms, giving him a tight hug. Ukraine and Poland had a short conversation of what Belarus heard as mumbles.
Eventually, the countries released each other and Poland backed up, glancing over at Belarus momentarily before his gaze quickly moved over to Kazakhstan once again. After several minutes of silence, it was Kazakhstan who spoke up first, clearing his throat softly. "What are you here for, Belarus?"
Belarus looked at Kazakhstan's waiting expression and paused for a moment, quickly pulling together a lie in her head. She had better relations with the three Soviet states in front of her than many of the other states but she knew they still didn't really trust her. To complete her assignment, she needed their trust. "The canteen was too loud, I wanted to find quieter company." She replied, questioning temporarily why they were using English to communicate when before remembering Poland was there.
"What tells you that we're quieter than anyone else?" Kazakhstan replied with another question, to which Belarus just shrugged.
"What are you doing out here?" She asked, deciding to change the subject.
"Getting away from the people, like you are." Moldova replied and Belarus looked at her. She'd forgotten the Moldovan was there. The small country was seated on Kazakhstan's shoulder, leaning her head on the top of his head.
Belarus simply nodded and then stood there awkwardly, looking down at her hands as she picked at the dirt trapped under her fingernails to preoccupy herself. Poland broke the silence this time, his words causing Belarus to look up. "Ukraine, are you okay?" Is what Poland said, causing Belarus to look at the Soviet state the Polish country addressed.
Ukraine nodded, looking pale and unstable. His mouth formed the words "I'm okay" but no sound left him. Belarus glanced at Kazakhstan as the large country released a string of curses in his own language, words that Belarus had learned over the years from the Kazakh. Both Moldova and Kazakhstan seemed to understand what was happening and immediately took action, leaving Belarus and Poland standing there confused.
Moldova quickly slid off Kazakhstan's shoulder and down his arm, landing on the ground and stepping back to let Kazakhstan hurry towards the Ukrainian. Kazakhstan grabbed Ukraine and pulled him down to his knees, the Kazakh sitting down beside him. Kazakhstan bent Ukraine's head forward with incredibly gentle movements for such a large country and rubbed his back much less gently, causing Ukraine to wince and whimper quietly.
"You're hurting him!" Poland shouted, worry and some anger clear in his voice. Kazakhstan simply nodded in response, nonetheless, he continued. Ukraine began to tremble as his arms shot out in front of him, holding himself upright but in a bent position, back curved so his head was past where his knees were. He gagged a few times before a deep red liquid began to pour from his mouth. The rich scent of iron filled the air and Belarus immediately pinched her nose before the smell made her retch. Poland's face distorted into disgust and a bit of fear, taking a step back.
Ukraine continued to cough up small splatters of blood, soft cries leaving him as his trembling arms gave out. He nearly face planted into the puddle of blood before him but Kazakhstan reacted quickly and grabbed the fabric of Ukraine's shirt with the hand that'd already been rubbing circles in his back. Kazakhstan lifted Ukraine up and helped the smaller country to lean back against him.
One of Kazakhstan's golden wings went around Ukraine as Moldova went to his side with a wet towel- she must've gone to the bathroom while Belarus was too distracted with Ukraine to notice- and wiped away the blood around Ukraine's mouth. She set the wet- now also relatively bloody- towel to the side once Ukraine's face was cleaned and used a dry towel to absorb the specks of tears dotting Ukraine's brown eyes. They must've been pain-induced tears, just as his shivers were almost definitely from pain. Belarus was confused, though, on what had happened. Kazakhstan and Moldova seemed used to this, so it couldn't have been the first time it'd happened. Was Ukraine sick?
Belarus was drawn out of her thoughts as a soft scream was heard and Ukraine began to thrash around, the tears that'd been kept at bay now spilling out of his eyes. Kazakhstan held Ukraine by his shoulders as he forced the country onto the concrete of the ice prison's floor.
"Украина, прекрати! (Ukraine, stop!)" Kazakhstan yelled over Ukraine's own cries in pain. Belarus glanced at Poland, it seemed Kazakhstan had forgotten about their foreigner and had resorted back to Russian. "Позвольте мне помочь вам! (Let me help you!)" Kazakhstan yelled again, forcing Ukraine's shirt up and off of him as he spoke. There were old, dirty bandage wraps all around Ukraine's torso and Kazakhstan began to quickly unwrap them from Ukraine's slim form. Belarus nearly gagged when she saw what was hidden under the Ukrainian's bandages. Cracks, oozing with some kind of black liquid. His skin even looked like it was melting off. Poland made a choking sound beside her and Belarus put a hand over her mouth. She knew what this was, it happened to her. It was radiation poisoning trying to force Ukraine's body to destroy itself.
Kazakhstan made a sympathetic noise and pressed a gentle kiss to Ukraine's forehead. Moldova was quick to follow Kazakhstan, sitting down on her knees and lifting Ukraine's head up to kiss his forehead before lowering his head to rest on her lap. Her slim fingers brushed through Ukraine's hair, mumbling quietly to him. It was her way of distracting Ukraine while Kazakhstan busied himself with wiping away as much of the melted skin and black liquid as he could with the dry towel Moldova had gone to get earlier. Ukraine groaned in pain as his aching body was touched, even though the touch was gentle, his legs kicking a bit on instinct, as if he was trying to kick Kazakhstan away.
Kazakhstan soon had Ukraine's body mostly cleaned up and dug in a pouch on his belt, pulling out a roll of bandages and wrapping them around Ukraine's body. As soon as Kazakhstan pulled his hands away, Ukraine's gaze shifted from being pinned to the shadowed ceiling far above them to look at Kazakhstan. He slowly lifted his hand and made a little motion for him to come closer. Kazakhstan complied and leaned his head down, low enough for Ukraine to kiss his forehead and then back up to get out of Ukraine's face.
Ukraine looked tired and unwell, his eyes shifting between being focused and distant. "Пойдем домой. (Let's go home.)" Ukraine whispered, just loud enough for Belarus to hear. Poland scratched the back of his neck, looking focused. Belarus assumed he was trying to translate what Ukraine said. It was good, though, that Poland didn't ask Ukraine to repeat himself in English, the Slavic country likely couldn't think straight enough to process English for now. Belarus moved closer to Poland, the other's gaze immediately turning and latching onto her.
"He said 'let's go home.'" Belarus whispered and Poland nodded in response.
"ты, я, Молдова, давай уйдём отсюда. Мы будем работать вместе, мы можем это сделать. (You, me, Moldova, let's get out of here. We'll work together, we can do it.)" Ukraine continued, Belarus mumbling translations to Kazakhstan.
The Kazakh shook his head, a saddened expression resting on his face. "Мы не можем, это не сработает. (We can't, it won't work.)" He replied with a sigh, looking up a little as Moldova scooted over and brushed her fingers through Ukraine's hair again.
"По крайней мере, бомбы не падают. Когда вам обоим было больно, это было страшно, я не думаю, что смогу позаботиться об этом снова. (At least the bombs aren't falling. When both of you were hurt, it was scary, I don't think I can take care of it again.)" Moldova whispered to the point Belarus could barely hear it enough to translate.
Kazakhstan nodded slightly and soon seemed to remember the two other countries present, turning his head to look at them. "Can one of you sneak into the infirmary and steal some of the pain medication? Ukraine needs to be able to sit up and start moving, if he stops moving, his body decides he's dead and will take the invitation to destroy itself." Kazakhstan spoke, frowning more as he said it.
Belarus winced a little. Could her condition get so bad that she had to keep moving despite how bad her body ached so she wouldn't die? She didn't want to know how the three had discovered what happened when Ukraine stopped moving for too long. She wondered if Ukraine could even sleep.
As if reading her mind, Poland spoke up. "I can get the medicine. But can he sleep?"
Kazakhstan shook his head a little. "Not much. He only sleeps during the times Moldova and I are awake, so we can get him up after thirty minute naps, preferably shorter naps than that, though."
Poland frowned, his normally cold eyes holding nothing but sympathy. Belarus cleared her throat, drawing the attention of everyone- except for Ukraine, who seemed dazed and nearly unconscious to the point it was doubtful he was responsive at all. "I'll get the medicine, Poland. You're closer to Ukraine than I am. You can probably help out better here than I could. Besides, I'm probably better at sneaking around than you are." Belarus didn't wait for a response and turned right after she finished speaking, hurrying off towards the infirmary. She needed a chance to get away, collect her thoughts. It seemed like the perfect chance to do so.
Belarus bit back pathetic little tears as she ran through the hallways, mapping out where the infirmary was in her mind. She didn't want to do this assignment anymore. But she didn't want to be like Ukraine, with radiation so bad that she was puking up her own blood.
Why did Soviet choose her for this assignment? She felt helpless.
———————————
"Россия! Хватит! (Russia! Stop!)" Moldova fought against Belarus's tight grip on her, kicking wildly, screaming every bad word she knew, including the ones she'd picked up in Kazakh and Ukrainian from being around the two nearly constantly- they didn't usually filter out their foul language, even around her. Belarus had tears in her eyes, chewing on her bottom lip in an attempt to keep herself from crying. She'd already been relatively fond of Ukraine and Kazakhstan, always impressed with their rebelliousness. Now, after spending so much time around them, Belarus was attached. This hurt, badly, she could barely keep herself together. The screaming, kicking Moldovan in her arms wasn't helping anything. But she was selfish, she was considering her wellbeing before anyone else's like she always did. This way, she could ensure that she'd keep herself from hurting too badly.
Russia was fighting Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It seemed that, within the few months it took Belarus to complete her assignment, Soviet had discovered Russia's breaking point. He was now aggressive, angry, obedient of everything Soviet said.
Soviet stood, watching the three states fight with an observant glare. Kazakhstan had flown up to the ceiling, his wings trembling with every beat at the air he took. Ukraine was dashing around on the ground, trying to escape Russia. Soviet breathed a heavy sigh, drawing Belarus's attention. Soviet muttered something into his walkie-talkie. It seemed that the two pesky countries were too hard for Russia to catch- speed wasn't Russia's strong suit- so Soviet would have to take care of it himself.
Before Belarus knew it, two different screams were heard. Kazakhstan fell from the roof, and the unfortunately familiar sound of some kind of bone breaking was heard as he hit the ground, hiccuping between his sobs, sprawled out on the ground as it seemed he'd become unable to move. Ukraine followed Kazakhstan to the ground, immediately curling up into the fetal position as he trembled, soft whimpers leaving him.
Soviet wordlessly stepped over to the two countries on the ground, forcing both of them to lay on their backs, sprawled out for him to watch. His lips formed a pleased smile as he watched the cracks climb up Kazakhstan's neck, it was certain they were spreading under his clothing as well. It was obvious dropping atomic bombs in rapid succession was too much for the Kazakh. Nevertheless, Soviet would continue to drop the bombs until he got what he wanted. Kazakhstan was still making high-pitched crying sounds. Ukraine, however, was deathly silent. Upon looking at the Ukrainian, Soviet was assured that letting a considerable portion of the nuclear radiation at Chernobyl leak was working exactly as he wanted. Ukraine's body spasmed in a way that looked incredibly painful and thick black liquid, paired with red blood, was bubbling up in Ukraine mouth, cutting off his airway, leaving him unable to make any sounds. The same black liquid was pouring out of his now bloodshot eyes in the place of tears.
Soviet smiled, holding his walkie-talkie ready to call off the attacks to the two states. "Теперь есть два способа сделать это. Либо вы сдаетесь и действительно сдаетесь мне, либо я позволю бомбам продолжать падать, а радиация продолжать течь. Вы можете решить. (Now, there are two ways we can do this. Either you give up and truly surrender yourselves to me or I'll let the bombs keep dropping and the radiation keep leaking. You may decide.)"
"Не сдавайся! (Don't give up!)" Moldova screamed, kicking even more wildly now. Soviet scowled at her and motioned for Belarus to take her away. Belarus gladly did so, more than ready to get away from the sight of what was happening. It reminded her too much of the night when North Korea tried to kill Latvia.
Kazakhstan was the first to break, about 10 minutes of atomic bombs later. "Хватит! (Stop!)" He screamed, the cracks on his body had nearly reached his eyes. "Я-Я сделаю все, что ты захочешь, п-пожалуйста! (I-I'll do anything you want, p-please!)" He cried and Soviet immediately called off the bombs, having gotten what he wanted. Kazakhstan heaved a sob in relief, curling himself up into a trembling ball, wrapping the golden wing that wasn't trapped against the floor around himself. Soviet let him, he was going to be kind and let Kazakhstan recover.
Now, only Ukraine was left to give up. Soviet hummed thoughtfully as he viewed the Slavic country. Perhaps Ukraine had already given up, Soviet just didn't know it yet because Ukraine was most likely unable to communicate anything at the moment. Ukraine's shirt was wet with what appeared to be the same black liquid that was in his mouth and something smelled burnt. The Ukrainian's eyes were rolled back slightly, as if he was about to pass out. He coughed up a puddle of the mixture of liquids in his mouth and throat, gravity taking it so it landed on his face and chest, before wheezing out a soft, "Больше нет. (No more.)" Directly afterwards, his voice broke off and his body began to shake even more violently than before. Soviet heaved a sigh and used the walkie-talkie to order the radiation leak to be closed. It took nearly half an hour for the radiation to fade enough for Ukraine flip himself over and throw up, the black liquid still dripping out of his eyes. "Я не вижу. (I can't see.)" Ukraine whispered hoarsely before his arms gave out and he hit the concrete, blacking out on impact.
———————————
4727 words
1 spellcheck
Authors Notes
This is my longest chapter yet, nearly 5 thousand words! I can't cover all the Soviet states in one chapter without it either being freakishly long or incredibly dull to read. I decided to go for a happy medium and focus on just a few of the states here, with brief descriptions of the other states or simply just nods to their existence. Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Moldova got the biggest parts in this. Poland also got a pretty big part, he hasn't been heard of since chapter 1, I believe, and he hasn't gotten a part yet so yay. I've always liked Poland a lot. I also really like Ukraine and Kazakhstan's characters I put together, I wanted to do a chapter with them as the main characters anyways.
For a bit of context, while this chapter is happening, America has received South's letter from the last chapter and is now headed to the Korean Peninsula. Canada is still watching West Germany and Japan. And the European powers are discussing something they call the United Nations.
Also, before anyone asks, NATO will not exist in this story for plot purposes.
Anyways, have a great day (or night)!