(Nobody POV)

A week had passed since they arrived and the improvement was already showing. Russia was achieving new levels of control over his fundamentals and just getting used to it overall. Ame was focusing on creating new attacks and adding them to his massive arsenal while polishing the ones he already had.

However, he was still struggling greatly on his endurance and it was really starting to bother him.

"C'mon Ame! Hold it for just a few more seconds!" Five urged an incandescent Ame as he glanced at the stopwatch.

On the opposite end of the arena, Russia sat upon giant pillars and arches of ice. He also was focused on creating an endless flurry of snow for another Five who was building an impressive snow sculpture.

"Remember, freeze them into hexagonal patterns and spread them out to make a thin sheet. Careful! I said snow, not hail."

It was not an easy task for the country, freezing invisible droplets in the air into something so delicate, but he was managing.

"Maybe I can learn to use ice and snow as a base too. It would be useful on missions in the Arctic..." Five mused to himself as he admired his work of art.

A giant poof of steam that erupted from the distance was a clear sign that America was now completely drained and Five nodded to Russia to deactivate.

"Well, it's clear that you win in the endurance aspect." he noted as they strolled over to the other country.

Ame was lying face down on the ground in a puddle of water. Streams of steam rose steadily from his unmoving body and Five was standing over him with a bucket in his hand, obviously a bit distressed too.

"No matter what, he just can't seem to pull off the Partial Activation." Five grunted as he tore at his hair.

Five shrugged as he sighed, "Oh take a chill pill. It only works theoretically since no one has done it before. Maybe it's not possible in real life."

"Well I have faith that he'll be able to work his magic and make it happen," Five shot back.

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?"

"Yeah! Bet!"

Russia and America sat nearby as they watched Five argue with himself.

"I love it when he does this. Especially since every clone has a slightly different personality." America chuckled as he crawled out of the puddle.

"It's... not something I see everyday," Russia admitted.

They were dismissed when the two clones finally finished placing their bets.

"Russia wins so he gets the bed this time." one of the Fives reminded them and America grumbled in protest.

The walk back was just as uncomfortable as the lingering tension remained between them. America kept his eyes on the ground to avoid Russia's ice cold ones. Deep down, he hated the silence that surrounded them but he couldn't trust himself to speak.

Five gazed after their receding forms and frowned to himself with worry. Their relationship wasn't improving as they had hoped. In fact, the crack between them was growing ever wider and it would only be a matter of time before things would once again spiral downhill. This was not unexpected but it was unfortunate.

"They'll work it out. I hope..."

A blip on his pager snapped him out of his head. He fished it out and his eyes widened in alarm at the simple but dreaded message.

"PROTECT"

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(NATO POV)

"Everything has been completed sir. Shall we move on?"

I glanced over my shades into the sweltering Mojave Desert as the perimeter was sealed. It was a calm and quiet place but the overbearing sun was almost too much. I went from freezing my ass off in Siberia to sweating buckets in the North American desert and at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if I caught a cold.

We had finished checking out where Gates were reported to be active when my Conduct began to hum. Unfortunately, I was not the first to notice.

"Sir? Your pocket is glowing." a puzzled officer pointed out and I quickly clasped my hand over it, hoping it would stop. No luck.

"Oh? That's strange... one sec, guys. Excuse me for a while."

I raced over to the nearest hidden location and I retrieved the luminous stone. Something big was going on and a bead of sweat rolled down my face. A message from HQ was a giant red flag.

In a clear but hushed tone I answered the summon, "This is Earthbound speaking, over."

"Earthbound, this is Command. An unidentified enemy is approaching, report your situation, over."

"I am not in contact with the subjects. Contact Agent 10 or relay through me, over."

"Unable to connect. Earthbound, relay to Agent 10. Acknowledge."

"Send." I affirmed and clenched my teeth together as I prepared myself.

"Agent 10, an unidentified enemy is upon you. Your only orders are to protect the subjects no matter the cost. Out."

"Copy-" I began but suddenly the Conduct grew white-hot and shattered into a million bits of scarlet dust. I held my burned fingers but I didn't skip a beat and pulled out our emergency pager instead. This was exactly what I had been worrying about ever since we came to Earth and now it was actually happening.

I dashed towards the chopper as I fumbled with the tiny buttons.

"We need to go! NOW!" I commanded as I leapt on.

Although they were obviously puzzled, they did not ask any questions and we were back into the air in a matter of seconds. I held the only device I had that connected me to Five, pleading with all my heart that his experience would allow him to understand my warning.

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(Five POV)

I immediately jumped into action, allowing my instincts to guide me and I appeared behind the boys in an instant.

"Quick, with me," I hissed and dragged them into a shadowed crack in the side of the rocky wall. I motioned for silence but they seemed to have already gotten the hint and stayed still.

"Damnit NATO," I silently protested, "Couldn't you have been any more vague?" It was a shot in the dark, not knowing enemy location, how many were there etcetera but I swallowed my rue and kept all my senses sharp.

I had been in unfavorable situations time and time again but the feeling was always the same. Exhilaration.

Information flooded my senses at my beckoning. The boys were tense and alert, but obviously tired after the training. I could sense the movement from the flowing of the river to the creeping of an ant. Tremors from the grounds beneath us were also taken in.

And then I felt it.

"DUCK!" I screamed as I pinned them both to the ground, just in time to dodge the gleaming black needles that came hurling at us at incredible speeds. It wasn't over yet so I leapt into action and slid down the steep wall of the ravine down to the river, glancing behind me so I was sure that they were following.

"RUSSIA!" I commanded and he complied perfectly. He flicked his wrist and a small patch of ice appeared on the water surface where my feet made contact. America seemed to have finally snapped out of his fatigue and he got to his feet too.

"This isn't good. I'm really out of my element right now." I admitted, "This will probably get real ugly if we stay like this."

"Yeah. The only problem is I'm pretty sure whoever they are, they probably won't let us leave."

"And I used up most of my energy back there during training. I'm basically running on empty here."

At this point, the only person who could really do anything would be Russia, but his inexperience was still undeniably a giant handicap.

"What choice do we have?!" he snapped as if he had read my mind, "All I know is it's the only viable option."

America and I glanced at each other and nodded, willing to take the chance so we let the Russian take the lead.

"Go back to the arena. I'll have the advantage there." he said. It was a risky move but I decided to trust him since a little voice in the back of my head also agreed. The rapids of the river would take us there the fastest and Russia was already on to it.

"Hey Ame. How are your surfing skills?"

"Huh. You should have seen me last summer in Hawaii." he boasted and Russia tossed him a slab of ice.

"Then get going."

(America POV)

The familiar lurch of excitement coursed through my veins as the ripping winds brushed around my body. The water clawed and leapt under the board of ice that I stood on.

I would have unleashed a joyful whoop if we weren't surfing for our lives. Suddenly a small piece chipped off of my platform and my heart jumped. A black metal dagger had stuck itself onto my board and a thin crack began to form. Occasional splashes around us meant that the enemy was still on our tail, pelting us with sharp objects.

"CAREFUL!" Five warned as he veered to dodge a dagger. The barrage was starting to get insane, as more came, faster and faster.

"WHO THE FUCK? HOW MANY NEEDLES DO THEY HAVE?!" I cursed as I snatched one out of midair just before it skewered me. It was a shiny black metal, most likely iron, that was crudely shaped but deathly sharp. Like an unpolished spearhead that cavepeople used to use and just like the ones that nearly killed me a while ago.

"JUST LIKE THOSE ONES!" I realized out loud which almost gave the others a heart attack.

"Shut up!" Russia hissed, "Are you trying to get killed?!"

"This is the same as that case of Awakening gone wrong!" I ignored him, " Y'know the one where you-"

"Go on," he pressed.

"-saved... me," I finished slowly as my cheeks began to flare. A small snooty smirk tugged at his lips.

"Yes, I heard of that," Five confirmed breathlessly as he shifted his way around, "Many students were injured along with EU. But didn't Headquarters detain that person?"

"Headquarters has been having a pretty hard time lately. Probably escaped while the whole Gate incident was happening or something."

"Not hard to believe... alright-"

Suddenly a boom erupted from in front of us, sending a giant wave of water rippling outwards from the source. A giant chunk of iron had implanted itself where the mouth of the waterfall began, blocking our path.

"SHIT! WHAT NOW?!"

There was no way to maneuver around or over it but Russia reacted quickly. A spear of ice shot out of the bed of the river, ramming against the blockage but the chunk did not give away. Three more shot out but no luck.

Or was it?

I grabbed the base of my ice board and kicked hard, using the ice pillars like a ramp and flew over the top. As I did a 360 flip, I briefly caught sight of who was chasing us. There were two figures; one who looked real familiar and a taller one who had their face hidden by a hooded cloak.

"Typical villain attire," I thought to myself. A streak of ice slithered out from beneath me and I glanced back to see the others sliding down to the ground, using the ice as a rail to grind.

The arena where we were gonna turn around to counterattack lay directly below us and I couldn't help but wonder what plans were being laid out in his head.

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(Canada POV)

We slammed open the door to find EU and ASEAN already in the room. They were also accompanied by a dozen agents.

"The Rescue Team," I realized.

NASA was fidgeting with a tracker that displayed the two glowing dots. Unfortunately, the two targets were touching now which meant that the enemy had contacted them now. A chill ran up my spine and a sick feeling began to wash over me.

"We lost connection with Earthbound," one of the agents reported.

"Did you get the message across?!" NASA demanded and to her relief, the agent nodded.

I stood by, not sure what I was going to do. UN had strung me along but he didn't clarify why. All I could do was listen, stand and wait.

The plan was for NASA to hold open an exit on the other side and then the Rescue Team would go through. The only flaw in the plan was it was going to be a bit risky for the Rescue Team and it would take a long time.

"But it's the only way right now, I'm sorry for putting you under so much pressure, but you are the only person able to connect between worlds right now."

NASA began to flicker as she began to prepare for her departure. It was all hastily pieced together but time was of the essence so there was not much they could do. I, however, was still not sticking with it.

"Um... excuse me?" I suddenly spoke up and flinched a little when everyone turned to stare at me, "what will happen while NASA is holding open the exit and the Rescue Team is crossing? What if they get there too late?"

She rubbed her temple as she sighed, "I'm sorry Canada but there is nothing I can do. I'm no good on the battlefield and-"

"Then what if you just got them out of there? Get them somewhere far away from the danger yourself?" I reasoned, trying to offer other ideas because I knew that this wasn't going to work.

"After the initial journey to Earth, I won't have enough energy to really go anywhere at all. At least not for a while."

The Rescue Team was starting to get a bit irritated, considering that I was implying that they were going to be virtually useless.

"Please sir, let's stop wasting time and get going now."

UN regarded me with a look of pity, but it changed to a look of expectancy as he raised his hand to initiate the plan. His expression told me, "Is this it? What will you do now or will you give up and let them die?"

It gave me confidence.

"PLEASE!"

NASA was halfway through the her opening to the void when I stormed towards her, reaching out before people could hold me back. There was no changing my mind anymore. Not until I was satisfied with their wellbeing so I made my final request.

"At least, take me to Earth with you."

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

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That is all. Have a nice day.