L

"It is, don't worry," Iremacht said, smirking a little. "I'm not that cruel." 

Wehrmacht scoffed at that from the kitchen.The estate had a bathroom on each floor and showers on all floors except the first. While Iremacht led MA down the hall, he said in slight awe, "Are you really two centuries old? Is that why you do all those knight stuff?" 

Like his father, Iremacht was also studying military history and so he was really interest in the olden days, the more ancient the better.

M

"Three actually, I was born in 1725, my father was The Kingdom of Mandoria so I was taught a lot of royal etiquette. What I did back there was just how we apologized back in the day." MA explained, "Funny thing is, I was born before my brother and therefor was going to be the next king, but I had no interest in such a title, instead I wanted to be a knight, so that meant Trigger was to be the next king."

L

"You refused a title as big as KING?" Iremacht breathed. He turned on the faucet and placed a bin under the water. "Imagine that....You're just like my dad, you know. Ireland once told me that Wehrmacht was supposed to become Third Reich even though he was the youngest. He still gave the title to Third, which made great-grandfather Prussia kinda mad. Ireland always laughs at that part, but I don't really know why." 

Iremacht suddenly remembered something. "Wait I think when I was studying Prussia's military history, there was mention that he encountered Mandaria. That means you've met my great-grandfather before!" His eyes went wide with excitement. "What was he like? I know he has these big black wings. Are they bigger than father's? Bigger than UN's even? How does he fight? What were his aerial duels like? Was he a good flyer?"

M

"Woah, slow down there, one at a time." MA said then sighed at the fact that he had to relive his past again, but explained anyway, "Yes I have met Prussia, and it was one of the worst days of my life. It was three days before Trigger was to be crowned king, Prussia had unceremoniously barged into the castle and challenged my father to an aerial duel for the right to be king, he had no choice but to accept it. Father was a century older and had larger wings than Prussia, he should have won, but instead, that German bitch killed him in cold blood. Trigger and I saw everything, but we weren't even able to mourn over him before Prussia banished us from the kingdom and made himself king." MA clenched his fist angrily and his feathers bristled, "but the worst part is Trigger and I could have done something, but we did nothing." 

He then suddenly punched the nearest wall in an act of blind rage.

L

Iremacht yelped when MA punched the wall; he almost thought the wall would break from the force. 

 "Everything alright over there?" came Wehrmacht's voice from the kitchen. 

 "Yeah dad!" Iremacht yelled back, looking nervously at MA. "I spilled some water and kinda slipped. We're okay, almost done!" 

 He tried to keep the fear from his voice. MA's rage—the rage of a militant—was not to be reckoned with. Iremacht had a feeling that if MA had done something about the Mandaria incident that he so described, it would have been terrifying. But then he thought about Prussia and how mighty he must've been to be able to kill a ruler with larger wings. He'd read extensively of Prussia's accomplishments...and now he was hearing the point of view of those fallen under Prussia's hand. It hurt somewhat that MA had called his idol a bitch, but perhaps there was much much more to his great grandfather than the history books let on.

M

MA looked towards Wehr's voice, then looked back at Iremacht, "S-sorry about that, didn't mean to lose my temper." He rubbed his fist and looked down, "You just don't know what it's like to lose someone you love, especially in front of your eyes, in such a brutal way, by a blood thirsty tyrant." 

 MA then looked at the bin under the water, "I think I can handle myself from here, thank you, you may leave."

L

"Okay, if you're sure," said Iremacht, suddenly wanting to distance himself a bit from this man who hated Prussia so much. "There's more towels in the drawers if you need it." 

Then he shuffled quickly down the hall and into the living room, where his father had already poured some glasses of beer. 

 "Machty, where's MA?" Wehrmacht asked. 

 "He said he could handle himself," Iremacht said, sitting on the couch. He eyed the beer. "Can I— 

 "Nein," Wehrmacht said curtly. "You already sneak to enough parties and qualify for a life sentence in juvenile detention for the amount of underaged drinking you do." 

 Iremacht slumped on the couch. Then he asked tentatively, "Dad? Was Prussia a great military leader?"

M

MA went to thoroughly scrub the paint off his face, reviling a small bruise underneath, but it wasn't very noticeable against his black skin. When he tried to wash the paint off his eye patch, it didn't come off all the way, so he frowned and just put it in his pocket. He looked at himself in the mirror to make sure there was no paint left, then he went back to the living room to join the Germans, hoping to avoid anymore questions about Prussia.

L

Wehrmacht was contemplating how to answer Iremacht when MA came into the living room. 

"Hey soldier," Wehrmacht greeted. "Did the paint wash off? Don't worry about cleaning up anything, we have housemaids who can handle that." 

 On the couch, Iremacht frowned a bit at his father's avoidance of answering his question. He had noticed Wehrmacht tense a little when he asked, but he really wanted to learn more about Prussia. He shifted impatiently on the couch, his eyes darting from his father to their guest.

M

MA chuckled slightly at Wehr's greeting, so he decided to have some fun with it. He quickly straightened his posture and saluted Wehr, "Yes sir General Wehrmacht, I have tended to my wounds and am ready for my next battle sir. However, we have suffered a casualty, I am afraid my eye patch has received a fatal shot and the paint has stained the fabric. What are your orders sir." MA couldn't help but giggle as he played around, then waited for Wehr's response.

L

"Casualty!" Wehrmacht exclaimed dramatically. "Is the damage severe? I'd hate to lose such a good soldier as your eye patch. Has the field doctor given a diagnosis and is your eye patch able to report to me?" 

 On any other day, Iremacht would have loved hearing his father's military metaphors. He liked listening to the jokes and he was getting better at telling some himself. Military stories were also entertaining, especially the intense strategic ones. But today, there was only one story he wanted to hear and that was Prussia's. 

 "Dad," he started. "About Prussia..."

M

MA laughed as Wehr played along, it was nice to have a fellow militant entity that knew how to have fun. Except for America's and Russia's entities, most of the ones he meet were all business no fun, so this was a nice change of pace. However, the mood was shattered by Iremacht asking about Prussia and MA's expression fell instantly. He really wanted to avoid anymore talk about Prussia, but there wasn't a lot he could do to stop it, so he stood there silently, and waited to see what Wehr had to say about his grandfather.

L

Wehrmacht had been having some fun as well until his son chimed in. He sighed and, having forgotten the original question, said, "Ja, Iremacht, what is it?" 

 "Was Prussia a great military leader?" asked the teen, oblivious to MA's change in reaction. His focus remained fixed on his father, waiting for answers. 

 "He..." Wehrmacht glanced at MA, wondering how he should phrase it. "Military leader yes, I suppose. He was great at strategizing and skilled in battle. But you can learn this stuff just by reading the history books on his achievements, why are you asking?" 

 Iremacht didn't answer and jumped straight to his next question, "Were you a great military leader?" 

 "I wouldn't say the best," said Wehrmacht. "I did lose to USSR badly." 

 "But you also bulldozed over a ton of countries during the war," his son pointed out. 

 "Ja..."

"So are you a great person?" Iremacht tilted his head inquisitively. 

 Wehrmacht opened and closed his mouth, stumped. He turned to MA for help. "I can't really be the judge of how great I am. Why don't you ask our guest?"

M

MA looked at Wehr both surprised and startled, he didn't know what to do, he didn't want to say anything hurtful since he was a guest in Wehr's house, but he also didn't want to lie to the kid. 

MA rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before speaking, "Um...well...that really depends on your definition, as a general he was one of the greatest of his time, always able to get the job done no matter what. As a person...that depends on who you ask, some people will say great thing about him, others won't, but me personally-" He looked at Wehr and smiled, "-I could consider him a good friend."

L

Wehrmacht appreciated MA's honesty and smiled back slightly when MA called him a friend. Iremacht nodded too as he thought about the answer. 

 "If Prussia was a great military leader...and Dad was a great military leader, and Dad is a decent person," Iremacht started, "then great-grandfather could also be a decent person, right? Depending on who you ask?" 

 Wehrmacht frowned when he realized where this was going. From an early age, his son had always been obsessed over military history—more than he'd ever been—and of course Prussia appeared many times in those studies. It came to a point where Iremacht would always try to find specks of Prussia's presence in every history book. He was learning about his great-grandfather through the pages, to make up for never meeting him. Unfortunately, those pages were only about military prowess, government, and foreign relations. Wehrmacht had never been comfortable talking about Prussia's character whenever Iremacht asked. The German occupied himself by taking a long sip of his beer. What was he supposed to say?

M

MA glared at Iremacht, after everything he said in the bathroom, how could he still be so naive. "No, he was not." MA spat, not caring about being courteous anymore. "He was a cruel, sadistic, cold-hearted tyrant. The only thing he cared about was power and conquest, and he would do anything to achieve both, no matter how high the cost. I watched him slaughter my father with my own eyes, my brother and I were forced from our home lest we be executed too." 

MA was getting angrier the more he confronted Iremacht, his wings were ruffled and his eyes were glowing brighter than the sun. 

 "And when we returned, our kingdom lay in ruins, our people lay dead in the streets. Men, women, children, no one was spared from his wrath, it was a miracle that any one survived. If you think for one second that, that son of a bitch was a 'decent person'...well...then your as blind as my brothers right eye." 

 Once he was done ranting, he tried to calm himself down by taking a few deep breaths, then he turned to Wehr, "I'm going out side for a bit, I need some air." 

Then he turned around and walked outside without another word.

L

The way MA snapped, the sight of his large wings and shining eyes and angry words, made Iremacht shrink into the couch in shock. Wehrmacht was also surprised from the initial outburst, but soon focused on observing his son's changing expression. He found that he didn't quite mind MA calling his son blind—perhaps it was high time Iremacht saw what the real Prussia could do. 

 By the time MA finished his rant and left the house, Iremacht was frozen on the couch, staring at the place where MA had been standing as if the militant was still shouting at him. Wehrmacht finished his beer, poured himself another glass, and drank it silently. His son blinked a couple times. 

 "Did that answer your question?" said Wehrmacht. 

 Thoughts were swirling around in Iremacht's head. It was evident on his bewildered face that he was overwhelmed. 

Wehrmacht stood up, humming, "I'll leave you alone. Remember, history is written by winners...that doesn't always mean it's correct." 

 The militant left his son on the couch. He headed for the door, shutting it softly behind him, and looked around for MA. 

M

MA decided to take a quick fly around to help calm himself down. Whenever he was angry or stressed, he found that being up in the air helped clear his mind, but it wasn't working that well this time. Most of his anger had subsided for the most part, but there was an underlying resentment that was still eating at him, so to try and get rid of the feeling, MA started to preform tricks in the sky. He was doing front flips, twirls, loops, any trick he knew was preformed with stunning agility thanks to his elliptical wings. He was so lost in his tricks that he didn't know that Wehrmacht was looking for him.

L

The twirling figure in the sky instantly caught the German's gaze. Wehrmacht sat down on the steps, leaned back on his hands, and watched MA's splendid aerial performance. He was rather impressed; MA was much older than him and yet maintained a flexibility far beyond his age. Wehrmacht felt his own wings twitch just by following MA in the sky, longing to join the militant in the air. So he decided to do just that, launching himself off the porch in a flurry of midnight feathers and banking so he was behind MA. 

 "Impressive," he commented, hovering. "Those old bones aren't holding you back, hm?"

M

MA was startled so bad that he grabbed his gun and pointed it at the voice behind him, but instantly lowered it when he saw it was Wehrmacht, "Oh, it's just you, don't scare me like that, I've already had enough jumpscares to last me till next month." 

He huffed as he put his gun away. He turned back to Wehr and scoffed, " 'Old bones' huh? Well listen here sunny, maybe you should learn to respect your elders." MA laughed before continuing, "Thanks though, I always make sure to stretch my wings once a day, twice if it was stressful."

L

Wehrmacht reflexively ducked to the side when he glimpsed the gun—it was a habit from the war days that he could never shake off. Luckily MA recognized him, and he smirked at the number of jumpscares MA had gotten while in Germany. It was not the most tranquil of places, after all. 

 "We live in a new age," Wehrmacht responded. "No one respects their elders around here anymore." He sent a tremor through his wings. "You've got good habits. I, on the other hand, try not to fly in case some suspicious human or one of EU's agents report me." 

He was already glancing nervously at the landscape under them, wondering if any such witnesses were present as he spoke. 

M

MA looked at him confused, why would Wehr be worried about being seen, he thought that people in Germany were fine with him around, or at least tolerant. 

 "Shame I was going to ask you to join for a fly around later, but if your uncomfortable flying then I guess we won't." 

He then looked at the ground, he didn't really want to land yet, but if Wehr didn't want to be in the sky then he might as well, "Well I guess I'm done flying anyway, I'll see down there." So he started to fly back to the house.

L

Wehrmacht waited for MA to be out of earshot before he let out a breath of relief and followed him quickly. In truth, he would have loved to fly around Berlin with MA, to feel the wind blow freely through his feathers as he soared above the capital and land that was—used to be—his. Sometimes, when he was sure no passenger planes would be occupying Berlin skies, he could sneak above the clouds and do some somersaults. But today was not one of those days and he did not want to get in trouble, especially not when EU was visiting tomorrow. 

 Wehrmacht landed in the front of the estate and said to MA, "Sorry about that. You're welcome to fly around Berlin any time you'd like...I just can't guarantee I'll be able to accompany you."

M

"It's quite alright, though it has got me wondering why EU won't let you fly?" MA said, "He should not be able to do that, our wings aren't just for show, I swear he is practically a dictator." 

MA was very angry, no winged country should be stripped of their privilege to fly, it was inhumane and cruel, "I'll have to talk to EU about this." he added under his breath.

L

"Nein," Wehrmacht said, faster than he'd intended. His wings vibrated in an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time—fear. "There's no need to trouble EU with this. We came to an agreement long ago. Besides, EU doesn't have wings and probably won't understand our needs even if you explained it to him."

M

MA was taken aback by the sudden response, he was even more shocked by the fear that was resonating from Wehr's wings. This 'deal' that he mentioned was sounding more like he was threatened by EU, which was strange since he didn't find EU particularly threatening at all, but he didn't push further. 

 "Well, I guess your right about that." MA agreed, flicking his wings subconsciously, "How about we go back inside, I want to see what your son has to say about Prussia know."