Chapter 5: Trovato
The white then faded back to a new Regios. This one seemed to be strongly influenced by the sea, and had several sushi stands. It appeared to have some very strong Japanese influence in the architecture, as well as several other, more tropical, beachside cultures, such as Fiji and Tahiti. It was different, but somehow it worked.
"Welcome to Edgevas. It's the only Regios that dares travel the coastline, near the Acidic Sea, and thus near the extremely large and dangerous Contaminoids. They're really hard to fight, because their battlefield is an ocean that eats through pretty much anything that hasn't adapted to it." Italy explained, as the nations looked around in awe. "Fratello and I had just discovered that the Electronic Fairy here didn't have the power we were looking for, and we were both incompatible with his power. Turns out, it was just an ingenious idea of mixing Sea Contaminoid blood with the outer armor coating of the Regios, which protects it from the Sea spray, and has the added bonus of disguising the Regios' scent, so they're pretty safe from the Contaminoids." Italy continued. "We decided to spend a few days there to rest before heading out for Upwhur. It's 2,500 TF."
"UUUUUGH! After all that shit, we still haven't found it!" Lovino shouted out in frustration, as Feliciano patted his shoulder comfortingly. They were sitting at a café that overlooked a man-made beach. People were lounging about on their beach chairs and children were playing in the water. It looked like a normal beach.
"N-nani?!" They heard a familiar voice cry. "Itary-kun?! Romano-kun?!" The twins whipped around to find Kiku Honda standing behind them, staring at them with a smile of disbelief.
"Ve?! Japan?! You're okay~!" Feliciano cried in joy, as he latched on to the Japanese man who hugged the Italian back fiercely.
"Yokatta! Thank God! You two are alright!" He sighed in relief. Kiku had changed quite a bit from the Japan standing beside them. His black hair was speckled with white and pulled into a low ponytail. He seemed taller and broader, as if a heavy weight had caused him to age. His features were sharp and defined—even more so by a diagonal scar on his left cheek just below his eye. His sword still lay quietly at his side, even though his clothing was suited to the times in which he now lived.
"What are you doing here, Sushi-bastard?" Lovino asked in a polite tone when he let go of Feliciano.
"I was looking for something, and thought it might be here. Turns out, I was wrong." Kiku stated as he pulled up a chair and joined them.
"At least you're okay, aru." China stated, beyond relieved that his dìdì was all right.
"H-hai..." Japan muttered under his breath, as he remembered Italy's breakdown the night before. 'Why did you have to die?' he had asked him. Japan knew that his future self would die, but here he was... Would it be like France all over again? His future self didn't seem to be crippled or injured in any way. I guess it's a good thing that I got rid of all those Power Plants, then. Japan thought to himself.
They watched with wide smiles as the three of them caught up. Kiku was visibly upset at the news of France's death, but he seemed to have expected it.
"Japan...?" Feliciano asked quietly. He looked timid, as if he wasn't sure if he should ask the question. "Do you think... could you join us in our journey?" He asked.
"Oh? Let me guess; you two are also searching for the Time Fairy, hai?"
"Si. I suppose you're searching for the same thing? We've already obtained quite a few powers so far." Lovino stated.
"Hai, I am. I have also obtained a number of abilities. Perhaps we should go over them so we know each other's strengths and weaknesses? After all, if we're going to be traveling together from now on, we need to know how to fight together, which means we need to know our limitations." Kiku said as Feliciano let out a whoop of joy.
"Good idea. Who wants to start?" Lovino asked.
"I'll start! Can I start fratello?" Feliciano asked excitedly.
"Si, si. But first, why don't we find a more... private location?" He suggested.
"I think I know just the place." Kiku led them to a deserted area of the beach. It had some grass here and there speckling the sand, and a few trees marking the end of the cove. The water was clear as crystal, and the nations could even make out some tropical fish swimming around.
Feliciano grinned as he stepped away from the other two. He closed his eyes in concentration and a frosty wind blew in a circle around him. The ground started to freeze, as the sand became white with frost. Kiku stared in awe as snow started to fall from seemingly nowhere. He scooped some into his hand, staring at it in wonder.
"Ice. Though it includes snow, as well. Technically, you could say it's winter." Feliciano smiled. "It's from a Regios called Umevokin." Kiku nodded in understanding.
"I've been there once. It was beautiful."
"My other power isn't really one I can show off, but I can speak to and understand cats. It's from the Regios Keuo."
Feliciano sat down again, as Lovino stood up. "My turn." He smirked as a circle of fire danced around his feet, melting Feliciano's leftover snow and frost. "Fire is my first ability." He said, creating a dog out of fire. "I can also speak to dogs, and probably wolves or coyotes as well, seeing as how they were related..." The firedog then morphed into a grand serpent. "I can also speak to snakes, thanks to Synriss. The dog thing is from Puewhiem." He explained, dismissing his flames. The nations marveled at his control. Very little, if anything, was actually burned.
"It's ironic, isn't it?" Feliciano smirked. "That the one guy who hated anything of Germanic relation is the one that was compatible with the ability of one of the only Germanic Regios?" He teased.
"Sh-shut up you bastard!" Lovino turned red.
"Hai, my turn." Kiku said, standing up. With a wicked smirk, he vanished.
"Invisibility?!" Feliciano asked, stunned.
"Not quite, Feliciano-kun." Kiku said right behind him, making the Italian jump and whip around. "Speed. I visited a Regios called Quang, and gained immense speed—faster than the eye can follow. I can also heal most injuries thanks to an ability from the Regios Guia." He sped back to the area that Feliciano and Lovino had showed off their abilities. The nations watched in awe. Japan stared at his other self with shock and a tinge of jealousy. But that's so stupid to be jealous of myself!
Kiku then crouched into a low position. At first they thought he was going to do yoga or something, when he suddenly stepped forward, moving his arm in a whip like motion. To the shock and amazement of the nations, a whip of water came forth from the 'sea' and followed his movements.
"Dude! You're a freakin' waterbender?! That's so cool!" America grinned.
Kiku guided the water into the form of a tiger. The aqua feline stood beside the Japanese once-nation proudly, a small dragon made of water stood on Kiku's shoulder. Perhaps only Japan noticed China's small smile as he realized that the dragon was meant to represent him.
He then dispelled the water creatures, and went into a sequence of similar moves. The grass rose to his will, and grew, intertwining itself and forming a staff with a very sharp pointy tip, as the trees whipped their branches about angrily. Kiku glanced at the trees with an almost reprimanding look, and they stilled once more. He ran his finger down the staff and the grass unwove itself and returned to its unassuming state of being normal. "I learned to control water from a Regios called Psudeju, I'm sure you've heard of it." Feliciano and Lovino nodded.
"Of course. It's the largest source of fresh water in the world." Lovino smirked. "How could we not know?"
"I can also cleanse and purify water. Oh, and I can breathe underwater."
"Really?!" Feliciano grinned as Kiku nodded.
"Ever heard of a Regios called Rovanwip? It's well known for relaxation and rehabilitation, and is a popular retirement spot, too. The spirit there granted me the ability to control plants, and even understand them to an extent."
"So you can talk to plants?" Lovino raised an eyebrow.
"More like I can empathize with them, and feel their emotions. Plants do feel, but it tends to be brief, and simple. I can understand them through their emotions." The three once-nations shared an excited look.
"Do you think we could spar sometime?" Feliciano asked.
"Hai. I'll look forward to it."
"Make it a three-way. Every man for himself." Lovino chuckled.
"So where are we headed next?" Kiku asked.
"We're headed to Upwhur." Feliciano started, "Romano has recently gained the ability to control, manipulate, and purify earth and soil. I was thinking that we should make a Regios for Alfred with his soil. We were heading to Upwhur to work out the schematics and decide how much soil we're going to need."
"Nani?! American soil?! Can you purify it?" Kiku asked Lovino.
"Well... I can't say for sure until I try, but I'm confident that I can purify it given enough time. The problem is getting over there, and getting the soil here. A nation, even with all the top-of-the-line, modern-day protective gear, can only survive those levels of radiation for a few hours tops." He said, as silence befell the group.
"Oh! Fratello!" Feliciano suddenly shouted, shattering the quiet. "Remember that project I was working on before The Blast?! The one that I worked on for years?"
The nations widened their eyes, as they realized where Feliciano was going with this. "You mean you did it?!" Romano finally cried out. Italy couldn't keep the satisfaction from his eyes. "Si. With yours and Japan's help, I was finally able to complete a working teleportation device~!" He stated, grinning like a loon. Even after 5,000 years of post-apocalyptic endeavors, teleportation was one of his proudest accomplishments. Of course, Glendan was up there along with the Celestial Blades...
"You mean the teleportation devices?!" Lovino hissed—almost literally—in a sharp whisper.
"Nani? Teleportation?!"
"Si. And I think if we can perfect it, then we would be able to use it to take us to the Blast Zone, and move the soil quickly and with relative ease. The only problem would be getting to the Blast Zone to set up the other side, but maybe we could find a way there..." Feliciano replied in a fast whisper.
"I'll help... but... There's a project that I'm working on... I'm creating special Dites for nations that will allow us to use our full Kei. I need your help to make them, though. I'm missing something; I know it! I just can't figure out what..." Kiku informed them, perking Feliciano and Lovino's interest.
"Dites for nations? Sounds... interesting. Tell us more." Lovino stated as the memory faded out.
They then found themselves looking at yet another new Regios. Italy let out a sigh of nostalgia. "This is Upwhur. Romano and I spent a lot of time here. I'll explain a bit about Upwhur, since we'll probably see this place quite a bit." Italy took a deep breath.
"Upwhur is the most technologically advanced Regios in the world. It's techno-heaven and every Regios mechanic's dream to even visit. It's also, by far, the largest Regios in the world, at least the size of 5 or 6 Regios put together. It goes on for miles!" The nations' eyes widened comically at the thought. "As you can imagine, that makes it rather difficult for it to move around. It's on a very set route, and hardly moves at all! In fact, there are several, smaller military Regios that are tasked with keeping the Contaminoids at bay, so Upwhur only moves when absolutely necessary." The nations nodded, it made sense. After all, if something that big fell into a crevice or got stuck like Jubil, it'd be done for.
"Romano and I helped build Upwhur, but we didn't build it by ourselves. It's one of the only Regios that has a Regios Construction Area, or RCA for short. Romano and I also own one of the RCAs in Upwhur, and use it to construct Regios. An RCA is basically a giant workshop to build Regios." Italy continued.
"The people in charge of running Upwhur know that Romano and I were immortal, and it was a secret passed down from one leader of Upwhur to the next. As such, we never had any problems with keeping ownership of our RCA. Which is a good thing, because we spent a lot of time and money there. We had the top-of-the-line equipment, and were famous among the Regios mechanics. Upwhur's RCA produces over 80% of the world's Regios. Romano and I, as I've already said, work primarily from Upwhur. We went by the name 'Vargas Brothers' and our work was legendary. And I'm not just stroking my ego, either. I've lost count of the fan-mail we've been sent." Romano blinked in surprise, as Italy shivered remembering some of the overly eccentric fan mail.
"We'd always mark our Regios with the Vargas Stamp (an Italian Wolf howling at the Italian flag with a Bluebird on its shoulder), which is impossible to replicate, because it also had our Kei signature imbued in it. A few tried, but ultimately failed. Anyways I've gotten off-topic. My point is that our main Regios workshop is here. This is where we practically lived, seeing as we've made a ton of Regios—at least 13. This is also where the three of us would build the Regios for America." Italy finished, leaving the other nations blinking at him, not sure how to take the new information.
"Dude, did you swallow a textbook or something?" America asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ve... While most people know what Upwhur is, there are still a pathetically large number of people who have no clue. Fratello and I have had to explain it so many times that I suppose it became something of a monologue. Sorry about that." Italy stated with a slightly embarrassed chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Still... This place is enormous!" England said in awe, as he looked around the Regios. It was many times larger than any other Regios they'd seen so far. If that wasn't enough, it was like they'd stepped into some sort of Steam Punk world or something. Everything had gears or metal scraps or something to do with mechanics and building. And those buildings or places that didn't encompass some sort of Steam Punk theme seemed to instead be incredibly high-tech; though far from 3-D or 4-D touch screens and holograms and flying cars that the nations were expecting. Technology seemed to have evolved along an entirely different route that appeared more mechanical than digital. It would appear that the digital age died out with the Initial Blast.
"Some of this looks familiar..." Japan murmured to himself, trying to figure out where he'd seen this kind of mechanical technology before. It wasn't until he saw a shop titled "Automail Mechanic" that it finally clicked. "NANI!? Fullmetal Alchemist?!" He blurted out, shocked to see themes from one of his favorite anime in a real-life situation.
"Si. With the way technology was evolving, Romano and I decided to implement some of the themes from your anime. Automail seemed like a fantastic start. Many people ended up dying due to lost limbs and whatnot, so we figured out a way to make the Automail from Fullmetal Alchemist a reality. It's saved a lot of lives." Italy explained proudly, concealing a slight chuckle at the star-struck look Japan and America were giving the Automail.
"You'll have to bring this to the modern world." Japan stated, drooling over the tech.
As they walked, the nations looked at some of the other, stranger objects. Pens that drew with light in mid-air, even light-sabers and ray-guns.
"DUDE! THAT'S SOOO COOL!" America shouted when he saw the Star Wars-themed weapons.
"Oh, those? It's just extremely condensed kei. Though admittedly it became a joke, as nobody could use it for more than a handful shots or a few seconds before running dangerously low on kei, except for nations, of course. We never did get around that little glitch." Italy admitted.
He'd liked the idea, and had come up with it himself. Such a shame that it required too much kei. He and Romano had had such wonderful duels with the light-sabers. Of course, Italy would always be Gray, along with Romano. [Italy had originally been Sith, and Romano Jedi, but they decided somewhere along the way to balance each other out and go Gray. At least, that's how they played it out. They had to have some fun at times.]
They also saw other, 'normal' technological stuff. Things like walkie-talkies, radios, microphones, cassette players, etc...
"How strange, aru. This is the most advanced technology?" China asked, as they followed Feliciano and Lovino into the city.
"Well, there's hardly any digital stuff left. Nations are the only ones who remember the Age of Technology. Wi-Fi, the Internet, cell phones, none of those things exist anymore. Well, I suppose that might be a tiny lie. Romano and I re-invented a few things like e-mail, computers, digital databases, and improved on a few things. We were able to tap into some old satellites and whatnot, but there was no way that we could release our inventions to the public—there simply weren't enough resources to mass-produce them. So we decided to use them in our Regios construction, to plan and build. We instead offered them as the top-of-the-line Vargas Brothers Original Regios-Building Technology, or VB ORBiTs for short. Exclusive to Upwhur, of course." Italy stated with a slightly smug smirk.
"Wow. So you really helped build this? It's AWESOME! Almost as Awesome as the Awesome Prussia! Kesesesese!" Prussia laughed as Gilbird chirped around his head.
"Somebody please shoot him..." Germany mumbled under his breath.
"You've been very quiet." France noted, looking at his albino friend.
"Ja, well... This entire situation is rather heavy, you know? It doesn't feel right to continuously interrupt it."
"That's a first, coming from you." Germany gave his brother a sidelong glance.
"What?! I can sense the mood too! You know... sometimes..."
"Sugoi! I've heard of Upwhur, but I never thought I'd get the chance to see it!" Kiku's voice carried as they made their way through what appeared to be the center of the city. It was bustling with life and all kinds of shops, stores, mechanic repairs, restaurants, and cafés. "There's an amazing academy here, too, right? I've heard that it's highly exclusive, and only lets in people with the most promising talent! And the RCAs here are said to have the most advanced, unheard of technology in recorded history!" Kiku's eyes shone with barely restrained excitement. He honestly looked like a kid on Christmas morning with a tree filled with presents before him.
China chuckled; it'd been centuries since he'd seen Japan this excited about anything. Well, not including the time he invented Anime... Or when he found out how popular yaoi was... China was still rather touchy that Japan had the audacity to name 'Yaoi' after his human name, Yao. Japan had thought it rather hilarious at the time, but China had never quite gotten over that little spiff.
Japan only looked at his future self with intense interest. Perhaps he should ask Italy-kun how to make these Regios. It would seem that it would become a passion of his. It didn't matter that it was a little large to make in his home; he could always miniaturize it using technology.
"Come on, Japan~" Feliciano called to Kiku, who stood practically drooling at the entrance to the RCAs. "You do want to see where we work, right? Romano and I helped build Upwhur, so we have a permanent RCA here. Nobody really knows that there are actually four RCAs in Upwhur. It's why no one knows where the Vargas Brothers build their masterpieces." Feliciano finished quietly with a tiny smirk.
"H-hai! Onegai! Let me see!" Kiku quickly ran to catch up with a large grin on his face. Feliciano looked at him for a long moment as they walked through the well-lit tunnels. The RCAs were all underground. Lovino, however, was the one to speak up.
"You seem different. More open. 2,500 years ago, you'd never show this much emotion." He noted. Kiku hesitated a bit, his smile fading back to his old neutral look.
"I realized... I realized that I was too polite. Too reserved. Though I felt joy and sorrow, I never let it fully manifest. I thought that if I was always polite and never spoke out, that I'd make more friends... It took the apocalypse to show me that I was wrong. That all I was doing was pushing everyone away."
The other nations listened with intense interest. It was their one chance to get a peek into the mind of one of the most aloof and emotionally elusive nations. "I'm naturally withdrawn. It's in my nature. It's the same with being polite. But I took it a bit too far... I see that now..." He sighed with a forlorn look on his face. "If I could do it over again, I would be more open, more outgoing... I wouldn't be as much of a recluse, and I'd spend more time with everyone... And I'd apologize to Yao-nii... I see now... It was my pride that kept me from apologizing to my Aniki, and my politeness that kept me from ever bringing it up, even when my pride would allow me to ask him for forgiveness." Kiku gave another heavy sigh. "If there is one regret that I have, it is that I will never get the chance to apologize to Aniki... Yao-nii... Hountouni... Sumimasen..." He whispered the last part so quietly that the nations had to strain their ears to hear him.
China was in tears. Japan wanted to apologize? After all this time? He still thought of him as his older brother? He was still his Aniki...? He was so happy to know that Japan still loved him. That he was still family to him.
"Aniki... Sumimasen..." Japan quietly spoke to China, as he gave a low bow, almost touching his forehead to the floor. It took China a moment to realize that Japan was actually on his knees begging for his forgiveness. The other nations, thankfully, turned away. It was a private affair between brothers, after all.
"We'll go on ahead. It's a straight path, so you shouldn't get lost." Italy said, as he led the group on, leaving the two Asian brothers to sort things out.
The two Nations stared at one another for a few tense moments. "Aniki, I—" Japan started, before China cut him off. "You already apologized, aru. And I forgave you centuries ago." He stated, as he gently brought his precious dìdì into an embrace. Japan just stared ahead in shock. He forgave him?! But! How could he be forgiven so easily?! After what he'd done? He was fully prepared for China to finally reject him for good! So... how?
"Dìdì..." China stated softly as he wiped Japan's tears away. Funny, when had he started crying?
"Aniki... Naze...?" Japan asked softly.
"Because no matter what, you are my precious dìdì—my little brother. Nothing you do can ever change that. I'll always love you, and I'll always be here to protect you. And though sometimes it may take awhile, I'll always forgive you." China stated softly as Japan finally hugged back, giving into his tears of relief and gratitude.
"Well, I might not forgive you if you kill Panda, or get rid of Shinatty-chan, but other than that~"
Japan chuckled, appreciating the lighter mood. Now that he'd been forgiven... It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders and his heart. He felt so light!
"We should catch up, aru." China stated.
"W-wait!" He called. China looked back just in time to catch an armful of Japan. "I love you, aniki." He said, tightening the hug. China stood there in surprise for a moment—Japan never initiated a hug!—before hugging him back.
"I love you too, dìdì." He smiled. "We should head back, though."
"H-hai..." Japan blushed lightly in embarrassment. The brothers walked alongside one another in peaceful silence.
After a few minutes, they found the group again. The other nations said nothing about the rumpled appearances of the two nations—England had to whack France on the back of the head when he started his creeper laugh.
The nations came to a roped off area that read 'private property: Do Not Trespass'. Not that anyone but Italy could read the strange Asian-like script.
"And here's our private lab." Feliciano said, as he fished some keys out of his pocket.
"Keys? How odd..." Kiku muttered.
"Keys were an old thing, hardly anyone even used them anymore, and even fewer knew how to pick a lock. Between the high-tech security here and the old-fashioned locks, our lab was infamously impenetrable." Italy explained.
"Si. Hardly anyone remembers what they are, let alone how to pick them. I can't tell you how many people complained about the door handle being broken because it wouldn't open." Feliciano chuckled. "Sometimes the answers to the future lie in the distant past." He unlocked the door.
"Of course, as Italians, we can't just do the security half-assed." Lovino stated as he did the retina and fingerprint scan. The large automatic door opened to allow the three nations in.
"Oh, Kami-sama!" Kiku breathed as he got a good look at their lab. It was massive. Then again, it had to be to build Regios inside. After all, they were building entire cities down there!
What really got the nations was the unfamiliar technology and devices in the lab. They couldn't make heads or tails of most of it, but they all noticed how clean the lab was as a whole, as opposed to Italy's private lab from the tunnels.
Italy seemed to sense the unasked question, because he spoke. "We're not exactly the cleanest inventors, so we pay a few trusted humans to clean our labs when we're away. And there's an alarm on the door—if anyone but us tries to take something out of our lab, we'll be immediately alerted, as will the proper authorities. The alarm is silent, so they won't know, and passing through the door will also activate the tracking device in the object. As such, it's impossible to successfully steal from the Vargas Brothers. Ve~ A few tried, but they were all caught within an hour."
"So this is the unheard-of technology? It looks like a computer or some sort of tablet." Kiku stated, looking at some of the screens and tools on the table against the wall. It looked almost like a security office area, with two seats surrounded by at least four computer screens and many notes scattered about. A coffee machine was sitting on a separate table nearby with two mugs with the Italian flag design and the Vargas Brothers' crest.
"JARVIS." Feliciano spoke clearly, making the nations' jaws drop.
"No way! You recreated Iron Man's personal digital butler?!" America squealed, shocked and excited.
"THIS IS AWESOME!!!" Prussia shouted, as Italy sweatdropped.
"Si... We did... It makes creating Regios much easier when you have an intelligent computer system to help you out. In case you didn't know, JARVIS stands for 'Just A Really Very Intelligent System'. Though I did attempt to make an Iron-man-like suit to fight the Contaminoids, but there's no existing power source at this time to sustain it. It basically became really heavy armor. Completely useless." Italy explained nonchalantly.
"Yes, Master Vargas?"
"We're making a new Regios. Start a new Project File. Title it..." Feliciano trailed off.
"If I may, what sort of project is it?" JARVIS asked.
"We're building a Regios with American soil." Lovino stated.
"American? The Blast Zone, you mean? I must advise against this, that soil has extremely high radiation levels, and the air's acidity could kill even you!"
"I can purify soil, now, and we're working on the air issue. So just make the damned file." Lovino growled, annoyed.
"Very well." JARVIS seemed to sigh.
"For an artificial intelligence system, it's rather realistic." France pointed out.
"Si. It took a lot of work, but we eventually were able to give him a developing personality. Hours and hours of working in the lab can get lonely, even with the two of us there. JARVIS is another reason why nobody can steal anything. He's always watching over the lab for us." Italy said, as Feliciano finally snapped his fingers.
"Romano? Japan? What do you guys think of this for the Regios' name? Hero's Freedom." America smiled softly at the name. So that's what they decided to call it, huh? It was a good name. A strong name.
"Hero's Freedom? Sounds good to me." Lovino stated, as Kiku nodded his head.
"Very well, sirs. I shall title the new project 'Hero's Freedom'." JARVIS stated.
Feliciano and Lovino sat down in their chairs. A four-dimensional holographic Regios suddenly popped up in front of them, waiting to be worked on. Feliciano and Lovino immediately started working without a word. They were both typing away at a keyboard at mindboggling speeds, putting some sort of code in the system. Every now and then, they'd turn to the hologram, and interact with it, adding something in, or swiping something away. Neither of them had to say a word to each other, each one knowing exactly what to do.
Kiku stood off to the side, both amazed at the incredible teamwork, and feeling rather awkward and out-of-place. He didn't know how to help, as he neither knew how to use their tools and systems, nor what he should do. It seemed as if the twins had everything down to a science, and had a certain way about doing things.
Feliciano seemed to pause as he realized something. "Oh, sorry, Japan! Romano and I are just so used to doing things ourselves that we tend to get a little forgetful when we have guests. You know how it is, when working you tend to become oblivious to your surroundings." Lovino stopped working as well, remembering Kiku as well.
"Hey! JARVIS! Get Japan another seat, would you? He'll be working with us from now on." Lovino stated.
"Vino~ I'm so happy~! You called Japan by his name! You didn't call him 'sushi-bastard' like you used to!" Feliciano cried out happily.
"Sh-shut up! If we're going to be traveling and working together, then I can't very well call him a bastard all the damned time, now can I? Besides, Japan is shorter than sushi-bastard." Lovino muttered, his cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment.
"Huhuhu. I'll be glad to help you." Kiku stated, as he took the seat that rose out of the floor, courtesy of JARVIS.
"I'm embarrassed to say that I'm not quite sure how to use this new system. I've never used anything like this before..." Kiku said as he looked at the holographic screen that leapt to life before him with warily.
"Let me show you, it's rather simple once you get the basics down." Lovino said, as he stood next to Kiku and started explaining how the system worked.
The nations were then treated to a montage of the three of them working tirelessly on the Regios schematics, going through more coffee than was probably healthy in the process. Finally, it seemed to slow down a bit. Kiku and Feliciano were working on what appeared to be the Dite, while Lovino was going over a small physical 3-D model of the Regios.
"Hey, Japan?" Feliciano asked, as he stretched and walked over to the dark-haired man who was rapidly typing complex sequences into the system, a holographic Dite hovering in front of him.
"Hm...?" Kiku hummed distractedly, acknowledging Feliciano's presence.
"I was thinking... What if what the Nation Dites are missing isn't a larger kei storage, but something like a kei concentration and redirection device merged with something akin to a surge protector?" Feliciano suggested, making Kiku pause in his typing.
"Nani? I never thought of that before... It could work, I suppose..." He thought deeply, before calling out, "JARVIS, please add in what Italy just said, and remove the unneeded kei storage space."
"Right away, sir." JARVIS said, as the hologram Dite seemed to break apart into its base components, before something flew off the screen, and another piece appeared. Kiku carefully, yet quickly, maneuvered it into place, before it all clicked together. "Run systems check."
"All appears to be working as intended." JARVIS informed.
"Run simulation test." The hologram seemed to transform into a Dite, and charge up, a bar on the bottom started creeping across the screen as it loaded, but it changed from green to red once it reached 70%. "Activate auto-cooling and surge-protector." Kiku stated, a look of intense concentration on his face, mirrored by Feliciano.
"Activating."
The bar turned back to green, and it continued moving up and finally, it reached 100%.
"Simulation Test successful." JARVIS stated, as Feliciano and Kiku whooped for joy.
"IT WORKS!" Feliciano cried out, elated. Kiku looked ecstatic as well.
"YATTAA! I'll get working on the prototypes right away!"
Another fast-forward montage, before the memory was slowed down and the three memory-nations were standing in front of a table with twelve Dites. Each one looked different from the next. They watched as the three of them tried each Dite.
"We're so close!" Feliciano finally cried out in frustration. Even Kiku's usually calm demeanor was shattered by the apparent failure. "Kuso!"
China whacked Japan on the back of the head. "Aiyaa! I thought I broke you of that kind of language when you were 500!" China cried out, as Japan rubbed the back of his head. "Sumimasen..." But I haven't said it in front of you yet... He thought to himself.
"Wait..." Romano said, "Why are there twelve? And what's wrong? It looks like it works just fine."
"Well, Japan wasn't quite sure what kinds of Dites to make, so he made 12 different kinds. That ended up being the main issue. It limited us. They could handle a much larger amount of kei than normal Dites, about 5 times more, but we needed about 100 times more. We were so close... It took us about 80 years to get this far, and we'd already mostly finished the schematics and basic skeleton for Hero's Freedom. You can see it over there." Italy said, pointing towards what looked like scraps of metal fused into a very large circle—not that they could see the whole thing as it disappeared over the underground horizon—or something. It didn't look anything like a Regios.
"What we were mostly concentrating on at this point was the Celestial Blades, which is what we would eventually call the Nation Dites, and the teleportation machine. We were only about 20% done with the teleportation machine, and roughly 80% done with the Dites. We'd already done almost all we could with the schematics of the Regios, and were just starting construction. We won't have it finished for a few more centuries." Italy explained.
"Wait, calm down. Getting angry won't do anything." Lovino said, the surprising voice of reason.
"Lovino's right." A new voice said. A strange owl flew down, and landed on a perch near the computers. Feliciano and Kiku sighed.
"You're right, fratello... And so are you, Upwhur." The nations looked at the strange owl with more interest. It seemed to be rather Steam Punk; made of copper with the gears on the belly showing. There was also a clock in the center of its belly, with silver clock-hands.
"Upwhur, or Whur, as we called him, became good friends of Romano and myself. He'd often lend us a hand or give us advice or just company when we were working. He became rather attached to us, and eventually Japan as well, and began to spend most of his time in our lab. He's great conversation, and is a goldmine of information when it comes to mechanics, though Romano and I taught him quite a bit ourselves." Italy explained to the nations.
"If you're having trouble, or getting overly frustrated, try taking a break. You three have been holed up in here for nearly 80 years, with the exception of grocery trips for food and coffee. Perhaps it's time to take a break and enjoy the sunshine for a change?" Upwhur suggested.
"Maybe you're right." Feliciano finally relented. Kiku nodded his head, rubbing at his eyes, which had dark bags under them. "We should probably get some rest, too."
They went back through the tunnels, and stepped outside, each one of them blinking in the sunlight. The three of them looked unhealthily pale. Upwhur landed on Lovino's shoulder and made himself comfortable.
"Oi! You're heavy! Get off before your gears get tangled in my hair again!" Upwhur chuckled a bit before he flew over and landed on Feliciano's arm instead. Lovino rolled his eyes as an amused smirk pulled at the edges of his mouth.
"You all look so pale. Were you really in there for 80 years straight?" France asked, shocked.
"Well, we got out every now and then, but pretty much, yeah. When working on a Regios, it wasn't unheard of for us to be in there for years at a time. If it weren't for Whur, we probably wouldn't have even made grocery runs. We likely would've sent someone else to do it. Haha. Looking back, it really was rather stupid of us. The vitamin deficiency from the lack of sunlight could've been dangerous." Italy reflected.
"No kidding. Seems you didn't learn your lessons with your lab." Romano retorted.
"How long does it usually take the humans to make a Regios?" France asked, curious.
"Usually it only takes them a decade or two. There're usually teams of at least 30 people delegated to each section of the Regios and it's planning. Sometimes there are as many as 200 people working on one Regios. I think the record for fastest building time of a Regios was 5 years, and it took about 800 people to do it. Not only that, but it turned out to be fairly stable and didn't really require any tune-ups or repairs. It passed inspection and went on to be a livable city."
"Sounds pretty cool, but time-consuming." America pointed out.
"Yeah. But it was so much fun. And the satisfaction of seeing your creation take it's first steps out into the world on its own... to house and home and protect people, and encourage the population to grow and thrive... There's nothing truly like it." Italy smiled nostalgically.
"Maybe we should travel a bit? Take a year or two. We can't have our fighting skills going down the drain just because we got caught up in a project again." Lovino pointed out.
"Hai. But what should we do with these?" Kiku asked, holding up the Dites.
"We can use them for now. They'll work better than the average Dite would. If we want training, why not head back to Glendan?" Feliciano suggested.
"Glendan? The First Regios?! I've always wanted to see it. I hear it's the strongest!" Kiku practically swooned.
"Grazie." Lovino smirked. Upon seeing Kiku's confused stare, Feliciano elaborated.
"We built Glendan ourselves. We were the ones to make the first Regios."
"N-nani?! Sugoi!" Feliciano looked a little uneasy with the starry-eyed look from Kiku.
"Please, no autographs." Lovino deadpanned. Kiku blinked, and started stammering in embarrassment.
"N-no! O-of course not! I wasn't fanning or anything! I was just impressed! Yeah, impressed! That's all..."
The nations chuckled. "Dude, I've never seen you so flustered!" America laughed quietly to himself.
"I seem to recall a similar reaction when I told you that I made—"
"YOU SWORE YOU'D NEVER MENTION THAT!" America shouted suddenly, cutting off the smirking Japanese nation.
"Then don't make fun of me."
"Not fair..." America muttered dejectedly. "You're not supposed to blackmail me..."
"Kuhuhuhu..."
The memory shifted to show the three of them on a roaming bus. Feliciano was sitting at the window, and Kiku was sitting at the isle seat. Lovino was sandwiched between them, but he didn't seem to mind too much.
The hatch of the Regios opened, and the bus drove down the ramp and into the outside world. The desolation still bothered the nations, and they strained to see some sort of life. Somehow, even the grey sky seemed out of place and too unnatural.
As the bus drove in a seemingly random direction, a light tapping noise started up. "Oh?" Feliciano blinked before he smiled sadly... longingly.
"What is it?" Kiku asked, looking out the window.
"It's raining." Feliciano stated as the rain started to come down harder. He watched the clear liquid run down the window, leaving watery trails behind it. The desolate sands seemed to darken, absorbing as much of the precious moisture as possible. Some rocks started to green as the dried moss came to life. Suddenly, the world wasn't so desolate anymore. There was green and brown and gray and blue. It comforted the nations.
"It seems not all hope is lost, then." Kiku's voice was soft.
"It hasn't rained like this in centuries." Lovino added, smiling. The bus had slowed significantly, unequipped for the weather, but the passengers didn't mind. Young and old alike watched the rain with awe and fascination.
"What is it?" A young boy asked an older woman.
"It's called rain. It's when the sky is sad and cries water to try to bring life back to the land." She explained with awe. "My grandmother's grandmother once saw rain like this. She said the world was green for days."
"Why's the sky sad?"
"'Because she misses playing with her children. She misses tickling us with her warmth and wind, and she misses blanketing us with snow. She misses embracing us in the sky and watching us play.'" A younger passenger answered forlornly. "A stranger told me that once. She seemed so sad, too." Kiku perked up.
"Where was this stranger?" He asked. The kid looked at him oddly before he shrugged.
"It was in a Regios called Iceur."
"Iceur? I don't think I've heard of it..." Lovino's brows furrowed in thought.
"I wouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't have heard of it if I hadn't stumbled across it by accident. It's a fairly small Regios. Last I checked, it was in the Northern Region, so that might have something to do with it."
"Northern? How far north are we talking here?" Lovino raised an eyebrow.
"Like, cold. That place doesn't have too good of a weather filter... There seems to always be snow there." He shrugged. "Maybe that's how it was built to be? It's a pretty old Regios, and most people there were born there. They don't get travelers often, so don't expect too much."
"What's your angle?" Feliciano asked his brother when the kid had turned his attention back to the rain outside.
"Just a feeling... You getting it, too?" Kiku nodded.
"I think we should visit Iceur. I feel like there's something for us to find there." He replied.
"You realize that there's no roaming busses that go out that far?" Feli pointed out.
"Of course I do, idiota." Lovino rolled his eyes. "But have you forgotten, already?"
"No. But you're not driving this time." Feliciano glared at his brother, daring him to argue.
"You own a Roamer?" Kiku raised his eyebrows.
"Yup. Cost us a pretty penny, but it was worth it. Especially when we want to head to the... out of the way locations." Feliciano replied.
"Roamer?" Romano looked to his brother for an explanation.
"Basically it's a car that can travel outside the Regios. Nobody really bothers to get one because they're really expensive, and if you can't fight off the Contaminoids yourself, you're better off not using it. Not to mention the fact that most Regios can be reached through the roaming busses for a very affordable fee. But there aren't really any busses that travel to the Northern Regions because they tend to be very icy and snowy. It isn't really worth the risk for the busses to go up there regularly. There're usually one or two busses up there a year, and that's just for safety's sake, so nobody is completely isolated."
"Why not just use your Roamer instead of taking the public transportation?" China asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Because gas costs a fucking diamond mine." Italy deadpanned. "You think gas is expensive now? $5 a gallon... Big whoop. Try a good..." he paused for a moment to convert the currency. "$18 a gallon or so. It depends on the Regios you fill up at. Some are upwards of $20. The cheapest one I found was about $12.50."
"EIGHTEEN DOLLARS A GALLON?!" America shouted. "And I thought my gas prices were ridiculous." He shivered. That was like, what, $300 to fill up a tank?!
"Mind... gas was only used by the Roaming Busses, and the Roamers. The busses get a significant discount—some places even free!" He twitched in annoyance. "But the Roamers? Why not make a little extra cash?" Italy shrugged.
"A little my a..." Canada trailed off under his breath. His brother scooted away from him discreetly.
"So you keep it at Glendan, I assume?" Kiku inquired. Lovino nodded.
"Yeah. Luckily it seems that Glendan is somewhat close to the Northern Region right now." Feliciano hummed absently, entranced by the rain quenching the parched world.
The nations watched in silence as the roaming bus carried the three once-nations to Glendan. "Please... I don't want to lose anymore friends. Let them be alive." Feliciano whispered, as he let the rain color the land that he'd once called home.
A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken me over a year to get this chapter up. T_T Life has been so hectic for me lately, and working 2 retail jobs during the Holidays means no free time to write or edit. :/ So I'm sorry, but I hope you've enjoyed this latest chapter. ^_~ The next one hasn't been started yet, but work is being kind now and giving me about a day off a week or so. ^^ So hopefully, between looking for a place to move to, taking care of a needy kitten, and other personal stuff, I'll have the next chapter up long before December.
Words: 7,555/7,755
Pages: 15
Uploaded: 01/08/2017
Edited: 09/07/2018
Edit 2: 04/18/2019