M

MA scowled at Germany, his patience was running dangerously thin the more Germany was lying to him. 

"You are playing a dangerous game Germany, the more you lie to me, the thinner my patience gets, and it is spider web thin right now. I will find out what you are hiding, and when I do, you better pray to your Gods that Trigger is strong enough to hold me back." 

 With that, MA marched away from the car and tried to take off, but with his missing feathers, all he did was get a few feet off the ground before falling.

L

"Germany," Iremacht said as MA was marching away, "it's the Crown isn't it? Why can't we tell him?" 

 "We just can't," said Germany. "God, I hope Wehrmacht has calmed Mandara down - " 

He broke off with a gasp when he saw MA try to fly, only to fall back down. Germany and Iremacht both scrambled out of the car and ran to MA. 

 "You know you can't fly!" said Germany, holding out his hand. "Are you alright? Why don't we get back in the car and keep driving?"

M

MA growled at Germany, in a almost predatory way.

"Get away from me!" he barked shoving Germany away with his wing, "I don't need your lying ass trying to help, I can find my brother on my own." 

MA was so angry that he was starting to succumb to Militant's Madness, when a militant entity gets so mad that they start acting irrationally and won't listen to reason. Because of this state, MA continued to try and fly, with every time he got higher before he fell, but he was getting dangerously close to hurting himself.

L

Germany stumbled away when MA shoved him and watched helplessly as the militant continued to flap and fall. Iremacht couldn't bear to watch MA continue to hurt himself - and possibly break a crucial bone - so he lunged on top of the Mandarian when MA hit the ground again. 

"Stop it MA, this isn't like you!" Iremacht yelled. He resisted activating his Enhanced Mode after what happened last time but he also didn't know how to deal with this crazy version of MA. Something like this had never happened to Wehrmacht before. 

M

MA practically roared at Iremacht when he dove on top of him, flailing around to get him off. It was pointless to try and reason with him, his mind was so far gone that he was no more than a rabid animal that was being restrained. Unfortunately for Iremacht, MA was stronger then him and was able to literally throw him off his back. When he stood up and turned to the Germans, his ocean blue eyes had turned bloodshot red from his madness, he then let out a inhuman snarl and charged. 

------------

Back on the roof with Mandara and Wehrmacht, Mandara started to feel a small pain in his chest, he was confused at the sudden pain and tried to ignore it, but it progressively got worse until a light bulb clicked and his face turned fearful. He quickly sprang to his feet, "Wehrmacht, something is wrong with Thunder, we have to find him now!"

L

"Snap out of it MA!" Iremacht shrieked. He and Germany both dodged to the side when MA charged. "Germany, there's something wrong with him. His eyes..." 

 "Turn on your Enhanced Mode, Iremacht!" Germany ordered, backing away from MA. Human pedestrians who wanted to visit the park now scampered far away from the ensuing battle.

 "But I'll hurt him!" Iremacht protested. 

 "And he'll KILL us at this rate!" said Germany. "DO IT!" 

So Iremacht let the crimson flood his eyes and faced off against MA. 

-------------

 Shocked by Mandara's ouburst on the roof, Wehrmacht scrambled to his feet. If something had happened to MA, that meant Germany might be in trouble too. The German leapt off the building, shouting to Mandara, "Which direction? Are they still at the estate?"

M

Mandara did a quick wing sweep, even though MA was too far away, the Militant's Madness awakened a hidden sense in Mandara, a sense that could pinpoint where his militant entity was. He pointed to the direction of the park, "There, he's at a park that I saw earlier, god I hope he hasn't hurt anyone yet." 

 With that, Mandara also jumped off the building and, despite his wings still not recovering fully, he flew as fast as he could in that direction. 

-----------

MA was circling Iremacht and Germany, trying to find a blind spot to attack from. His wings were flared and his feathers bristled as high as they could go, but he just continued to stalk around the two. Eventually he decided that Iremacht was gonna put up too much of a fight and charged Germany, baring his teeth and roaring in the process.

L

Wehrmacht dove after MA. He flew low and noticed people on the streets running in the opposite direction of the park. That made him uneasy. What was MA doing at the park? Was Germany with him? Wehrmacht remembered that he'd left Iremacht back at the museum - like an irresponsible father. Ireland was going to scold him so much for this. 

----------------

 Iremacht saw MA lean towards Germany seconds before the militant charged. He moved quickly and rammed his shoulder into MA, giving Germany enough time to scramble away. Then Iremacht attempted to headlock MA from behind, curling his arm around MA's neck although he was getting dangerously close to the militant's teeth. 

 "MA, it's Iremacht! We're you're friends! Stop!" Iremacht pleaded, his red eyes flashing.

M

MA wasn't himself anymore, he was just a feral beast looking for something to kill. As he fought against Iremacht, he got the kids arm lose and bit him hard enough to draw blood, which riled him up even more. With a new burst of energy, he let go of Iremacht's arm and tore himself from his grasp, only to pounce on top of him and try to bite him in the throat. 

--------------

 Mandara was freaking out, how could this happen, he was so careful about keeping MA under tabs. Mandara spotted commotion going on on the ground so he stopped and hovered in place. His blood froze when he saw what was happening, MA was on top of Iremacht, trying to attack him. 

 "NO!!" was all Mandara shouted before he dove to the ground.

L

"Son?" Wehrmacht's eyes widened when he spotted who MA was trying to maul. "SON!" He was right on Mandara's tail, shouting, "MA, GET OFF OF HIM!" 

 Iremacht was using all of his strength to keep MA from ripping open his throat. He had his hands on MA's shoulders as the militant pinned him firmly to the ground. With his survival instincts on, his Enhanced Mode diverted enough energy to his muscles to keep MA at a distance, but the bite wound on Iremacht's arm was leaking blood and slowly draining him. 

 Germany had hidden inside the car, spamming the button behind the wheel and praying the guards would arrive in time. Then he heard a familiar voice shout from above and he looked up to see Mandara and his uncle diving down.

M

As soon as Mandara touched down, he immediately rushed MA and pried him off Iremacht. MA reacted by also biting Mandara's arm, Mandara yelped and kicked his brother in the stomach, he didn't want to hurt him, but he had no choice. MA let go and Mandara quickly moved back in the opposite direction of Iremacht, trying to draw his attention away from the kid. MA snarled at Mandara and charged, but Mandara has done this before and quickly jumped out of the way, causing MA to barrel head first into a lamppost. Using this distraction, Mandara started vibrating his feathers as his first step to reaching his brother. MA grunted as he stood up, holding his head as blood started to trickle down from a gash on his forehead, but he too started vibrating his feathers, bingo. 

 Mandara then begun to carefully approach MA, talking to him softly, "Shh, easy Derogan, your ok, no one's gonna hurt you, your ok."

L

Wehrmacht landed next to Iremacht, falling to his knees beside his son. Blood trickled from Iremacht's arm and Wehrmacht noted it looked like teeth marks. He thought in horror, did MA BITE Iremacht? The German violently tore off the hem of his shirt and wrapped the cloth around the wound. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked. 

 Sirens wailed in the distance. Then several patrol cars and even a military jeep swerved into view and stopped next to the park. Uniformed officers and soldiers jumped out of the vehicles, guns pointed at Mandara and MA. Bundeswehr also leaped out and ran to Germany's car. 

"Germany are you alright?" he said, helping his country out. "Did those people hurt you?"

M

MA growled at the approaching officers, to with Mandara held up his arms to stop them, "No stay back, your gonna make things worse." He then turned back to MA, "It's ok, it's ok, don't worry about them Derogan just focus on me." 

 MA wasn't paying attention to Mandara anymore, he instead continued to growl at Germany's guards, and even got down on all fours to assume a pouncing position. Mandara tried desperately to get his brother's attention, yelling at him and flapping his wings like a matador. MA leapt forward at the nearest person, casing him to fire a round into MA shoulder. 

"NO STOP!!!" Mandara screamed, running in between the two, "Don't shoot, he doesn't know what he's doing, he's been taken over by Militant's Madness." He then turned back to MA and tried to calm him down again. "Derogan please, I know your in there somewhere, please come back to me."

L

"Hold your fire!" Bundeswehr shouted to his troops. "But keep your distance and stay alert." 

Germany wobbled out of the car and looked guiltily at the bullet wound in MA's shoulder. He had panicked and called his guards but now it was causing a commotion. Officers were herding any remaining civilians away from the area. Germany stuck close to Bundeswehr. 

"He's become a monster," he whispered, staring at MA's animalistic behavior. 

 Iremacht had a couple scratches on his legs and arms from the tussle. His Enhanced Mode had faded, and he let Wehrmacht lift him up and take him to the car. Bundeswehr tried to take over Iremacht's care but Wehrmacht shook his head, "You're the militant now. Your people need you." With that, Wehrmacht ducked into the vehicle to properly dress Iremacht's injuries. 

 So Bundeswehr turned back to Mandara and MA, his hand hovering over the gun on his hip in case he needed it. Bundeswehr waited for their next move.

M

Mandara was relieved that Bundeswehr told his soldiers to not fire, but he still didn't trust that they wouldn't. Mandara slowly and carefully stepped towards MA, who was huffing on the ground clutching his shoulder. Mandara got down on his knees in front of MA, "Shh, I'm here Derogan, no one's going to hurt you anymore, I promise." 

 MA looked up at his brother, his eyes where still red and he growled in his throat. Mandara knew he was still unstable, but he did the only thing he could, he pulled MA into a hug, wrapping his wings tightly around him. 

"Come back to me brother, your strong, you just have to fight it," he said.

MA looked startled but he didn't try to fight back. After ten minuets of Mandara hugging and talking to his brother, MA started to relax until his eyes returned to their normal blue and he collapsed unconscious in Mandara's arms. Mandara let out a breath of pure relief, it was over.

L

Bundeswehr breathed out too and waved his hand at his guards. They lowered their weapons. 

Even though MA was calm now, Germany didn't approach the Mandarians. He was afraid of another dangerous fit. 

Instead, Bundeswehr walked up to the brothers. He no longer reached for his gun."We'll take MA to the nearest hospital," he said to Mandara. "But you'll need to be interrogated."

M

Mandara looked at him and nodded, he understood completely how bad it looked that his militant entity went feral, "Of coarse Bundeswehr, I'll take full responsibility for my brother's actions and tell you whatever you want to know. But please don't be to hard on him, you of all people should know how detrimental Militant's Madness is."He turned away from Bundie and just rubbed MA's back, "I just can't believe this happened, we have been so careful keeping his anger in check. I just don't know what could have made him snap like that."

L

"We'll find out," said Bundeswehr. He glanced at Germany, who looked away. Bundeswehr found that kind of odd but chose not to question him. 

 In the car, while Wehrmacht put some bandaids on Iremacht's knee, the teen explained everything that had happened. Wehrmacht was correct to assume the reason MA was angry was because Germany didn't tell the complete truth, which frustrated Wehrmacht. Why not? 

He heard the sound of an ambulance truck and peered out the window.A couple soldiers were stepping forward to take MA off of Mandara's arms and load him into the truck. 

M

Mandara didn't want to let go of MA, but he reluctantly let the soldiers take him. With MA out of his arms, Mandara stood up and assessed himself for any injuries. There was quite a bit of blood on his clothes, but it was MA's from his bullet wound and the gash on his forehead from when he ran into the lamppost. Mandara did receive a bite to the arm when he prided MA off Iremacht, but instead of focusing on that, he quickly ran to Germany's car to check on the kid. "Iremacht! Are you alright, did Derogan hurt you?"

L

Wehrmacht thought Mandara was MA at first and instantly shielded his son. When he recognized Mandara's gold eyes, he breathed out and rolled down the window. 

 "I'm okay," said Iremacht, though his legs were littered with bandaids and there was a bandage wrapped tightly around his arm. "How's MA? I heard the ambulance." 

 "We need to get you to the hospital too," Wehrmacht fretted. "What if that bite wound starts to fester and - " 

 "Dad, it's not like MA turned into a poisonous snake," Iremacht said. 

Ignoring his father's protests, Iremacht got out of the car. He saw the soldiers putting MA's unconscious body on a stretcher and carrying him into the ambulance. The doors closed and the car sped towards the nearest hospital. 

Wehrmacht also got out, eyeing Mandara. He wasn't sure how he should feel so he waited for Mandara to explain. 

M

Mandara sighed, the way Wehrmacht was staring at him was saying that he wanted an explanation. 

"I can't express how sorry I am, but I guess I could start by explaining. What happened was Thunder had succumbed to Militant's Madness, it's a condition that can turn militant entities into literal animals. The madness is triggered when a militant becomes extremely angry and causes them to lose all rational thinking and lash out at anything that moves. It is rare for militants to get it, but it becomes more common the older they get, and the longer they are in that state, the more feral and dangerous they become."

L

"It's more common for older militants?" Iremacht gasped. "DAD, are you going to get it?" 

 "Nein, I'm not THAT old," Wehrmacht frowned. "But MA is three centuries old. Will he even recover from this? And since you know about the Madness, Mandara, I take it this isn't the first time you've seen it happen." 

 Bundeswehr had been checking on Germany and heard bits of the conversation. "What could have caused him to be that angry?" he whispered to Germany. The German did not answer. 

M

Mandara nodded, "Yes, I witnessed it happen to Poland's entity a few years ago, the poor girl had to be shot with tranquilizer rounds to get her to stop, but not before she tore off one of her lieutenants hands. Not to mention it has happened to Thunder several times over the centuries, he's just more susceptible to it I guess." He sighed before continuing, "It had been over a decade since his last, I think EU still has scars from it."

L

Understanding began to dawn in Wehrmacht's eyes. So that was why MA and EU had a tense relationship - MA had fallen to the Madness and attacked EU. Wehrmacht imagined the scene when Iremacht had attempted to assault EU but replaced his son with a rabid MA. It was not a comforting image. 

 Off to the side, Germany finally snapped out of his daze, adjusted his tie, and walked up to Mandara. "MA will be safe at the hospital. I think we should take this conversation back to the estate," he said. "We must have a lot to talk about."

M

Mandara nodded slowly, he wasn't comfortable leaving MA by himself after he had an episode, but he knew that he was also under suspicion, so he had no choice but to agree. 

"Of course Germany, but I do have one question before we go. Why were you and Thunder here in the first place, I thought you two were staying at the estate so Thunder could rest from his fight with Iremacht?"

L

"We were trying to find you after Iremacht told us about you and Uncle flying out the museum," Germany explained, inviting everyone to hop back into their car. "Your brother said you often liked going to parks or being near nature when you were agitated so we came here." 

Germany spoke, Wehrmacht wondered if he should tell Germany about the Crown situation. At the same time, Iremacht was also wondering if he should talk about that same Crown. 

M

Mandara frowned, he completely forgot that he ran from Wehrmacht, and why he did. He got into the car with everyone and they left for the estate. While on their way there, Mandara was going over today's events in his mind. It all made sense now, MA went feral because he was angry that the Germans had kept the crown. The more he thought about it, he also got angry, all of this could have been avoided if he just told them. 

"Germany." Mandara finally said in a slight bitter tone, "Why didn't you tell us sooner, this all could have been avoided if you told us you had it, but why didn't you."