(GERMANY POV)

A glimmer of light was followed directly with a crushing boom as dust and debris was flung in all directions. I grit my teeth as I barely evaded her grasp, feeling the radiance of her light against my skin. Each time she attacked, she got closer and closer and I was quickly exhausting myself from all the movement. It was like playing tag with the sun and I for one, do not recommend it.

A spear streaked past me, barreling straight through the spirit. She glanced up to see Poland hovering above the clearing with his arm still extended.

"Hey, I'm feeling a bit excluded here!" he jeered. "Why don't you come catch me? Or are you too slow?"

India's head snapped in his direction and a second later she appeared right behind Poland. He ducked at the last moment to evade India's crushing grip and weaved in and out of the trees, leading her away from me.

I took this chance to scramble away into the cover of the shadows but we weren't out of the woods yet. Poland wouldn't be able to fly forever. He was literally racing against light itself. Even so, all we could do was run since there was no viable way to retaliate.

I clasped my hands together as I struggled to summon my hounds. Apparently they still needed time to recover.

Bundesadler? No, it was too early for that. I would be too drained, especially without Canada to help sustain my energy.

I continued to run as many scenarios through my head as possible until a streak of light came crashing into the trees.

I hesitated as my first thought was that India had returned to hunt me down but a muffled whimper sent ice coursing through my veins.

"POLAND!" I screamed as I barreled through the terrain to see him struggle to pull himself back up. Hovering above him, India glared at him with Poland's spear in hand, snapped in half. She tossed it to the side with a satisfied expression before zooming down to take the win.

I lost my mind. My composure was thrown out the window as all my stress and panic caused something to snap in me. Without thinking, I charged forward senseless with a strange ringing in my ears as I tackled Poland out of the way before everything was suddenly swallowed by darkness. I rolled onto my back for an instant to see India's panicked expression as a pitch black veil swung her into the trees, knocking the wind out of her sails.

I was breathing heavily as my heart pounded in my ears. Poland was mostly unharmed and he had cushioned our fall. I, on the other hand, was winded beyond belief and I needed a moment to figure out how to walk again.

"I- I'll be fine just give me a moment," I winced as Poland's wings vanished with his Awakening. Using the trees to steady myself, I regained my bearings and smiled. "Thanks for the help."

"Naw man. I should be thanking you," he replied. "But seriously, when did you learn to do that?"

I cocked my head to the side slightly as I tried to recall what he was talking about. "Do what? Blitzkrieg?"

"No, that definitely was not Blitzkrieg." Poland chuckled warily, "Don't get me wrong– Blitzkrieg is fast but that... you basically just surpassed the speed of light for a second there."

I blinked at him, unsure what to say. That was supposedly impossible but I didn't know how else to explain it. I still couldn't figure out how I did what I just did but a low hum from a pair of distant magenta eyes told me that something new was discovered. If what Poland said was true, then perhaps there was potential that I hadn't even begun to scratch the surface of. For now, however, we had other problems to deal with.

India was unrelenting. Though clearly injured from whatever I had done, she was still persistent. Ugh, this was such a pain but there seemed to be no other choice. I had put in so much training for this. I had to trust myself.

Darkness pooled beneath us as ink black feathers and tendrils of smoke began to writhe. It twisted and shifted but I clasped my hands together to stop my flow of power, halting Bundesadler's growth.

He glared at me with his magenta eyes and chittered, seemingly demanding why I wasn't giving him more of my power to complete his towering, monstrous form.

"Sorry buddy. I can't afford to lose too much energy." I grimaced apologetically. "Just try to make do with this."

He was still a pretty decent size, about the height of an ostrich. Bundesadler puffed his feathers up in indignation but decided to settle on it. Instead, he unfurled his massive, jet black wings and confronted India in a messy brawl.

"Quick, Poland. We have to get out of here while we can." I muttered and Poland hoisted my arm over his shoulder and we took off into the trees.

We ran without a direction for who-knows-how-long until we came across a clearing. The sounds of battle were far behind us now and I collapsed to catch my breath. I felt like I was in the first week of training again.

"Take it easy," Poland urged as he sat me down. "Bundesadler already took a toll on ya."

The rainforest was oddly silent, leaving my winded self the only present sound. After a minute or two, I was starting to feel a bit better and my body had stopped shaking from exhaustion. Poland had speared down a couple tiny robots that had been lurking nearby. I signaled up to Poland that I was nearly ready to get going again.

"You look really worn down. Would you like some water?"

I nodded as I turned around to accept as my throat began to burn, reminding me of how dehydrated I was. "Yes please. I'm parched."

Pakistan smiled timidly under her veil and held up a large leaf filled with clear spring water that looked so refreshing that I nearly cried at the sight.

Wait a second. Pakistan?

Reflexively, I swatted away the water-filled leaf, causing the crystal clear water to splash messily on the dirt ground. Pakistan leapt back with her sweet expression nowhere to be found. Instead, her lips twisted into a scowl as she stared at the wet splotch on the ground.

"Now why would you do that?" she sighed disapprovingly, "It's terrible to waste water. Someone in need could have used that."

I was frozen in caution as I dared not take my eyes off her. Though everything about her screamed danger at me, she walked over to the fallen leaf and picked it up, gently brushing the dirt off. Pakistan gave me another scowl and opened her mouth to speak when two spears of light struck the dirt right in front of her. Poland landed in front of me with his arm extended, blocking me from her.

Pakistan glared at the both of us and slowly backed away, as the shade fell over her figure.

"That was rude," she clicked her tongue as her aura began to unfurl in full display. "I was only trying to help."

Sweat rolled down my face as the feeling of fear continued to grow. Poland seemed to sense it too because his wings began to pulse in agitation; a nervous habit of his. I wasn't sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me but the shadows seemed to grow blacker and blacker, swallowing my senses and muddling them.

"Polen, we need to get out of here. Now!" I urged as we began to back away from her. We found that every step was a struggle, as if we were wading through thick mud. Poland's wings began to flicker violently as if the shadows were ripping his Awakening apart.

"Yo! You two need a hand?" a chipper voice rang loud and clear as a red-head girl dropped out from the sky and landed with a thud. Without warning, the ground that we stood on suddenly shot up, catapulting us high into the air. A massive shadow passing above our heads was followed by a rush of wind as we were hauled away from the area by a massive... serpent... dragon thing?

I squirmed, completely disoriented by what was happening but a familiar voice echoed in my head.

"Oi, don't worry! We're allies," the serpent reassured me with a sincere tone. I reluctantly relaxed to avoid falling to my death. Poland regained his bearings too and unfurled his wings to fly alongside the serpent.

The red-head glanced up at the sky and watched as we escaped before smirking at Pakistan, "Welp, bye bye now. See you never, hopefully!"

She jumped and the ground beneath her opened up and swallowed her before returning to its original state.

Pakistan continued to glare at the ground where the odd girl had disappeared when a sudden flash of light rattled the trees and chased away her shadows. Pakistan backed away as a radiant figure flickered in the clearing.

India's light spirit was battered and bleeding. Bundesadler had really done a number on her.

"Pakistan, what do you think you're doing here? I told you to guard my sleeping body," she scolded with a gaze that was colder than ice despite her eyes that glowed like the sun. Pakistan lowered her head but didn't reply. Instead she sauntered into the dark and disappeared.

"Don't get in my way. Make yourself useful and go back now," India huffed before she disappeared again.

Pakistan clenched her fist and muttered under her breath, "Whatever you desire, you wannabe god."

The dragon- serpent dropped us off a distance from where we were and I landed so clumsily it was a bit embarrassing, especially since I found myself right in front of the duo.

"Oh! Germany!" America exclaimed as he crouched down to my level. "Damn you look like shit."

"Thanks," I grumbled. "Glad to see you two are doing alright."

Poland and the dragon landed too and its feathery form shifted until a petite country stood in front of me. Just as I thought, it was Mexico– the country who had tackled Canada when we had arrived. He dusted feathers out of his curly hair and glanced around like he was looking for something.

"Hey Peru, have you seen my hat and my cloak?"

"Yep, right here," the chipper voice called as the same red-head popped out of the ground like a mole. "Here ya go."

She handed him his items that she had pulled from the ground and after furiously brushing dirt off it, Mexico put it on.

"So... what's going on here," Poland demanded. He was still a little on edge since basically everyone was an enemy in the game. Whether or not he could trust them, he still wasn't sure and I agreed with him.

America glanced at us and guessed as much.

"Poland, Germany, this is Mexico and Peru– the Southern Branch Targets. Mexico, Peru, this is Germany and Poland– our teammates," he explained as he gestured to both sides. "We made a temporary alliance after we saved their butts."

"We were nearly overwhelmed by a massive army of robots but they were able to take 'em out," Peru smiled as she rested her head on her hands. "They were yelling at each other the whole time and looking scary but they kicked butt!"

Russia took the compliment with a stony expression as he finished the explanation.

"These two found us as we were fighting India. America wanted to burn down the forest but they intervened and helped us get away before he could do anything stupid."

"Hey! It was a good plan and you know it. I think burning the trees was pretty clever."

"When is burning down the forest ever a good idea?" Poland scoffed. "Pretty sure Olympia specifically told you not to do that."

"Well it's not my fault India is afraid of smoke."

"Anyways," Russia continued, ignoring his partner's justifications, "we decided it would be beneficial to stick together for now. They have a weird advantage in this type of environment. We did have to give up our box though-"

"What?" I did a double take, shooting to my feet and startling everyone. "You gave them our box? Isn't keeping the box safe the entire point of the game?"

"Calm down, Germany!" Ame chuckled nervously as he put his hands up. "It's only temporary– like a sign of trust!"

"Yeah, don't worry," Mexico laughed as he retrieved the two wooden boxes to show me. "We're just keeping it safe for them. We'll return it to you when we go our separate ways."

"Mhm," Peru piped in. " We have to be a bit wary around you guys because of how crazy strong you all are."

"Fine," Poland sighed. Seeing that things were settled and we were all somewhat better acquainted, we headed deeper into the rainforest.

I still had some reservations but I put them aside for now. I could see the merit of making an alliance with the Southern Branch.

"They weren't kidding," Poland remarked as we zipped through the forest, bashing puppets as we went. "These guys are really good at navigating this place."

Of course they were. This was the Southern Branch we were talking about. Just as the Eastern Branch had its own specialties, the Southern Branch was known for its connection to the natural world.

Survival, vitality, creatures and natural elements were their forte. That's why the Southern Branch yielded more tamers and elemental Awakeners than the other branches. At least that's what I've heard.

Their near daily exposure to environments similar to the rainforest certainly helped too. They moved like they knew it like the back of their hand.

The ground beneath us sunk under our step before shooting us forward like a spring, pushing us forward even faster. To be honest, this was very fun.

Suddenly, Mexico's head snapped to his left as his pupils narrowed into a slit like a snake's. He stopped and began to run in that direction.

"What's going on? Peru yelled after him.

"The others!" he shouted back. "They're in trouble."

America and Russia glanced at each other, at the golden chains that bound them together and then back at the Southern Branch duo that were sprinting away.

"Should we go help?" America asked as he pulled a glowing red cross out of his pocket. "The domain is just a little bit further ahead though."

I glanced at Poland and nodded.

"We'll go help them out. You two go get that off your wrists."

(America POV)

It wasn't long after we had split up but I could feel something was off. Russia seemed to have noticed too because he was already on high alert. A couple steps later, we found the source of our dread. Sort of.

"Woahhh, now that's beautiful," I breathed as we stepped into a strangely serene sight. It mirrored the little slice of paradise I always hung out in. The small, clearwater pond, the babbling shelf, the ragged path dotted with iridescent flora; it was just like home.

"Really?" Russia squinted as he tried to understand what I found beautiful about this place. A flat piece of land dusted white from eons of snowstorms under a bleak, gray sky greeted his eyes. "I dunno about beautiful. I think dead describes it better."

"... what are you on right now?"

"Huh?"

We waved it off and stepped into the area and the air began to shimmer and bend around us. A foreign but nice scent slowly grew more and more potent. Slowly but surely, the image of my paradise slowly faded away like a mist, revealing a little cave hidden in plain sight. The scent was coming from within it.

The cave was dimly lit but quite nicely decorated. Candles flickered against the dirt walls as a dark veil fluttered gently, framing a dark silhouette.

"Uh... this is a bit freaky," I muttered under the breath as I pulled my collar up over my nose. The scent was getting overpowering, burning my nose. Another feeling swirled in the back of my mind as well but it was so insignificant that I completely ignored it. A gentle thud suddenly sounded from behind me as my cuffs jingled as they were pulled taunt. I whirled around to see Russia slumped against the wall, holding his hand over his nose. He looked like he was about to keel over.

"OI!" I panicked internally as I rushed over. "What's going on? Are you alright?!"

Russia's eyes fluttered open with difficulty and his gaze was unfocused.

"I... tired...sleepy... smellzfzzy..." he slurred as he slumped against my chest. He seemed to be struggling to stay conscious and pointed to a nearby incense wick that was the source of the sweet aroma.

I shattered the bowls and stamped out the wicks but the damage was already done. His eyes shut again and his breathing slowed down. Was he... asleep?

"Ugh what a pain," I complained as I hauled him up, carrying him into the open air. I prayed that he would wake up once the smell was gone.

To be fair, I did feel a tiny bit groggy and my head was spinning a bit but I was mostly unaffected. Russia, on the other hand, was out like a light.

How odd.

I propped him up against the tree and began to think of the next course of action.

Okay, fine I will admit I watched him sleep for a little while but c'mon. He was oddly adorable when his eyes were closed and weren't constantly staring ice daggers at you. He even mumbled something unintelligible during his nap. If I had my phone, I would have recorded it to humiliate him when he woke up.

I couldn't really do anything or go anywhere since I was tethered to him. The thought of just dragging him along did cross my mind but I'm not a monster. In the end, I just settled on sitting down against the tree next to him and shooting fireballs at any passing mechanical robots.

It was a nice change of pace, honestly. After an entire morning of running around like rats in a maze, I indulged myself with a break.

Haha, I was such an idiot.

A crashing beam of light descended over the area as India's light spirit returned for round 2. Except this time, she looked... a heck of a lot bigger and even more enraged.

"HOW DARE YOU ENTER THIS PLACE UNINVITED," she roared as her aura flared even brighter than before. If I wasn't wearing my sunglasses, I might have gone blind.

"You gotta be kidding me," I sighed exasperated as I tried to shake Russia awake. "Hey uh, can we get a quick time out? Just a few minutes will do-"

She attacked which I took as a no. Pulling Russia behind me like a rag doll, I was surprised to see that she was even faster than before. Her overall power had grown so much, I was actually starting to fear if I could win this fight. Was she getting the help of an amplifier or something?

No way. The Powers were still napping away in their secret location.

But what about the hooded man? He could amplify too since he had UN's chopped off hand.

If he was here, this just got a thousand times worse.

India barely missed me, punching the ground and sending cracks running in all directions and upheaving chunks of dirt and tree roots. Our chains snagged onto one of the roots and sent us sprawling. India took the opportunity and grabbed the chain to fling us across the clearing.

I was able to readjust my position to shield the still-unconscious-Russia (seriously, this guy could probably sleep through an entire war) so my head was the one that smashed against the hard tree trunk.

I slumped onto the ground, groaning in pain as my vision colored red.

"UUUUUUUGHHHHH," I complained as I struggled to stay conscious. India walked over, her gaze returning to a gentle and serene expression as she placed her hands gently on my exposed back and Russia's forehead.

"That's enough. You don't need to struggle anymore, oh mighty Superpower," she mocked. "Just sleep."

A warm aura enveloped us, beckoning me to drift off to dreamland. Russia, who was already asleep, just dozed harder I guess but I refused to give up.

"Don't touch us," I snarled as I swatted her hands away. I went right through her, like usual but she did flinch in surprise.

"Why... why aren't you sleeping?" she mused but quickly firmed herself as she placed both hands on me. The urge to sleep intensified exponentially.

I bit my lip, drawing blood as I strained against her influence. My limbs felt weak and I pressed against the other's relaxed body, feeling his rising and falling chest beneath my pounding heart.

Oh heck, part of me wanted to just flop against Russia and actually catch some z's for once but I don't think people would find that very acceptable for the former champion. My pride wouldn't allow it.

India grew frustrated that I was still somehow lucid. Abandoning her powers, she winded back her fist to knock me out the traditional way but I wasn't about to let myself get punched in the face.

I rolled to the side at the last second, leaving India's fist to connect with the tree I had involuntarily headbutted earlier instead.

The pit of my stomach tugged and immediately, I was engulfed in flames. With one quick swing, I struck first, my fist shredding a burning hole through the tree to lock her in place before she could phase away again.

It snapped and popped for a moment and India glanced up in horror as I sent sparks dancing through the leaves. A moment later, the entire tree burst alight and toppled forward, crashing down on her.

'Russia, Russia, wake up!" I hissed as I began to pat his face to coax him out of his slumber. No luck.

"You have some nerve!" India howled as she reappeared, away from the tree. The tip of her veil and fingers were singed but that's all that the falling, burning tree managed to do.

I sighed as I stood up, reigniting to brace for a great defensive battle. Russia wasn't going to wake up anytime soon so I had to figure something out alone.

I did realize that in my fully activated form, I was completely alert and awake.

That bothersome side effect of my Awakening that refused to let me sleep most of the time had actually been a blessing for once.

"If you had fallen asleep, I would have let you off the hook easily. Yet here you are, choosing to fight."

"Hey, don't blame me that your powers are too weak to affect me," I sneered, "Knockout gas has nothing on me. In comparison, you're not that impressive."

Her face twitched for a moment but settled into a calm smirk.

"Big talk for someone whose energy is cut in half and tethered to a deadweight."

"Russia wouldn't be too pleased if he had heard you call him that."

"So? He's still knocked out," India chuckled, "But you're just wasting both of our time."

"Then let's get to it," I growled as my flames expanded. "I'll stop wasting our time and take you out quickly.

India scoffed.

"Be my guest."

(NOBODY POV)

The hallways were basically empty except for the occasional hotel staff that passed by. Though people stared, no one said anything to the cloaked newcomer who strolled into the lobby without a care in the world. They said nothing to acknowledge the staff and just made their way up to the top floor.

Their footsteps and the soft jingle of jewelry was the only sound present as she reached a door hidden in plain sight. It looked like any old closet door that one would expect nothing more than a bucket or a mop to be stored behind the door. No ordinary person would look twice.

That couldn't have been further from the truth.

The door opened up to a dimly lit corridor that led everywhere and nowhere at all at the same time. The hallway twisted and turned to no end but the newcomer wasn't phased at all. They wandered through the labyrinth at a leisurely pace as if this was just another stroll through a park.

The walls pressed close together and opened up spaciously at the next turn, weaving an elaborate web to stop any unwanted guests from passing any further.

Even so, they continued on.

"Hm? Another person's in here," Indonesia cocked his head to the side as a sliver of shadows crawled up his neck. "Ugh this maze isn't really doing its job, now is it?"

Phil slapped their horrible cards onto the table, relieved that they finally had an excuse to stop the game that they had been tragically losing to Indo.

The ominous silence was broken as the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer until the hooded figure stepped into the chamber.

"Alright buddy. I think you took a wrong turn." Indonesia sighed as he rocked back and forth in his chair. "You shouldn't be here."

"Please turn back now," Phil continued. "Take a right and you'll see a door that will let you exit."

Thinking that was the end of it, Indo's attention returned to his cards but the guest didn't seem to appreciate being ignored.

"Oh don't worry. I'm pretty sure I'm not lost. I heard UN, EU and ASEAN are supposedly just beyond this maze." a woman's voice purred mischievously.

In a blink of an eye, Indonesia drew his twin keris daggers to block the golden staff that had appeared in the intruder's grip. Two spears flashed into existence and he used them to drive the weapon down to the side.

Philippines joined the battle with a greatsword, slamming down at the attacker before morphing into a chain mace. The opponent brought her staff up to block the swinging spiked ball from caving in her skull. She was thrown back but still relatively unharmed.

"Oh, not bad." she chuckled before brandishing her staff and darting right back in, seemingly taking the fight more seriously now.

Despite his +2 limb advantage, Indonesia found himself completely occupied as the quick and skilled movements of the opponent utilized the two odd ends of the staff perfectly.

The hooked end effectively blocked and interrupted any attacks while the pick-like side carved down attacks of her own.

That didn't mean that she was stronger than an expertly trained and exclusive warrior. Especially one with 4 arms and teamed up with a fallen god.

"Tch, I actually broke a sweat for this. Impressive, but if you don't surrender now... I will have to actually kill you," Indo chuckled as his spear morphed into a multi-fanged battle axe.

"Heh, so the Eastern Branch isn't just all talk. That's a relief," she replied haughtily but her usual arrogance had been toned down from the intense fight. "I might actually have to use Sekhmet."

"Hmph." Indonesia darted forward with his new, incredibly offense-driven weapons in hand. She barely had any time to counter before Indonesia lifted his keris blades into the air. They shifted into heavy, cleaver blades and its newly added weight gave even more power to his already devastating strength. This was a blow that could not be parried so retreat was the only option.

She leapt away, as nimble as a cat and using the wall to push off, she propelled herself back at Indo and swung the pick end of the staff in a wide arch, aimed straight for his neck. The massive cleavers were stuck soundly in the ground so he abandoned them. With one hand, he stopped and locked the staff by allowing it to plunge through his palm. His trusty keris re-appeared in his other hand and with a tug using his ruined hand, the hooked end of their staff pulled the opponent right towards the gleaming tip of the dagger that he thrusted. Under her cloak, her dark eyes widened in surprise as everything seemed to move in slow motion as the blade point drew closer.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!"

A shining wall of gold exploded out from the ground right between Indonesia and his opponent and with a clang, the keris was brought to a halt right before any impaling flesh could be done. The peculiar staff also clattered to the ground, effectively disarming both parties.

The chamber began to churn and shift as a new passageway opened out of nowhere, revealing a very ticked off Singapore. Her usually lightless dust-gold eyes were absolutely burning with annoyance as her Awakening churned the walls like liquid metal.

"Are you out of your minds? Attacking a guest like that?!" she exclaimed as her gold rings rocketed off her fingers to clock them both on the forehead.

Singapore then turned to the hooded figure, "I'm truly sorry about them. They're a bit dense sometimes and probably a bit hard of hearing too."

"H-hey! You never told us about a guest!" Indo protested as he tried to pry his unusual, curvy blade out of the soft metal wall. He had actually pierced right through solid gold.

Singapore glared at him, daring him to repeat that.

"Oh don't worry about it," Egypt replied with a bubbly laugh as she peeled off her cloak to reveal herself. "I might have also provoked them a bit, just for fun."

"A BIT?!" Indonesia exclaimed but his words dropped right out of his mouth mid sentence as his attention was immediately drawn elsewhere.

"Hey! Show some respect, you idiot!" Phil hissed as they clapped their hands over the Indonesian's eyes.

"But... wow they are huge- MMFFF!"

Singapore sacrificed her bracelet to shut him up and coughed awkwardly, "Anyways, don't let us hold you up anymore. UN is already expecting you."

The walls around them began to shift again until one long corridor appeared. Singapore gestured down the hall and a shadow stretched along the path.

"Malaysia will escort you to the chamber," she explained. "You'll find the Powers at the end of the hall. They'll begin an audience with you shortly."

The open passage to the chamber shut immediately after Egypt set foot into the long corridor, ripping all the light away.

Egypt followed the path up to a massive, beautifully decorated door, humming to herself as drops of starlight guided her way. Once she reached the door, she tapped against it thrice with her staff and it opened with a slight hiss, as if all the air had suddenly rushed out.

Within it, the room was pitch black. Not even the stars could illuminate it but she thought nothing of it. Egypt was no stranger to suffocating blackness.

"It's been quite a while, UN," she smirked as she gazed up to see a sight from beyond this world. "You're looking more messed up than usual."

"My apologies," a melodically haunting sound echoed from somewhere deep within, "that you have to see me like this. But I guess this isn't your first time so it should be alright.

"Do tell, what is the reason that you, of all people, have come to seek an audience with me?"

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

aaaaah I'm rushing this a bit I might change some things later but school's about to start see ya-

Edit: I'm back from school and I feel tired as heck.

Recap of the chapter uhhhh...

Germany turned into a fuckin tachyon and in turn pissed off every physicist to ever exist...

Poland bby throws sticks at anyone who isn't Germany...

India and Pakistan lowkey have some anger issues...

Mexico is snek and Peru is earthworm.

Ame is rainbow fruit gummy.

Russia is deadweight.

Phil can't play cards, don't mess with Indo and Egypt has huge-

...talent for antagonizing people.