Empire

Chapter 6

America's POV:

Oh Christ! I wasn't expecting this to turn out so bloody. The bullet hole shattered him completely. He was already falling apart, so it didn't take much to take him down. To be honest, I was not happy with my serving. I wanted England, the larger territory, but no. I'm stuck with F#cking Scotland. He should be fun, at least.

We left the room for the division to take place. I saw Mexico trying to talk to China and South Africa, as I had instructed him to do so. It was best to see what he could get out of them, but China and South Africa didn't seem fairly talkative.

Someone had tended to Mexico's cuts with little bandages. I would've made sure there weren't any hidden cameras or recorders. You can never be too careful, but I was too busy with eavesdropping on Canada.

Canada led all of us, including our plus ones, to his garden. It was a lengthy walk and gave me time to notice how uncomfortable this uniform was. After a small spy raid of the New Zealand Empire's major base. Iraq could come back with one of the Oceania uniforms which was the most commonly worn by those under New Zealand Empires' rule.

The deep blue fabric was stiff and uncomfortable and the golden threading creating the wave design around the sleeves and collar were itchy, I kept adjusting the collar. I usually wore a normal suit or casual attire. I looked over at Samoa and South Africa, who were wearing the same uniform as me, their faces trying to hide their uncomfortableness but still mirrored in their eyes.

"It becomes more comfortable the longer you wear it. Speaking of which, you look good in that uniform," Samoa said, reading my thoughts.

"Thanks... Wait a minute!" I narrowed my eyes, but Samoa and South Africa were already high-fiving.

"I ain't joining your stupid Empire!" I exclaimed.

"Calm down, Samoa is a kid, don't let him get under your skin," Mexico added.

"I didn't ask for you to speak," I ordered through gritted teeth.

"I'm not a kid, I'm like 234 years old!" Samoa called as he speeds-walked ahead of Canada.

I rolled my eyes. He was still a kid to me. The more I looked at him, the more he reminded me of his father. New Zealand. Man, if I could have, I would have tried to build a stronger relationship with my little brother. The faster the years went by, the more isolated New Zealand had become, until he shut off himself from the world entirely.

No one outside of his Empire had seen him since the end of the war. He has been hiding in that little base of his, having no communication with his family. You really have to wonder what he is doing.

We made it to Canada's garden. It had been taken care of nicely. There was a large array of flowers and plants that seemed to be perfect. It almost looked fake. Not a single dead leaf on the ground or a wilted flower. I inspected to make sure it wasn't fake. It was real.

I should grow more plants. Maybe even grow a better garden than Canada.

Wales's POV:

My head hurt. I opened my eyes slowly to see not much else as I was in a gloomy room. I put my hand to my head to try to ease the pain, only to hear the sound of moving chains when I moved my arm.

I tried not to freak out and focused on breathing. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness before I could judge my circumstance. I heard the sound of more chains in the opposite corner. I narrowed my eyes to try to get a better look.

"What the bloody hell is going on!!" I heard someone shout. I recognised the accent.

"England?" I asked to confirm.

"Wales? Is that you?" He responded.

"yeah, it's me," I answered.

"Can you explain why I am chained in a dreary room?!" He shouted in a distressing voice.

"Shut up! We are obviously in danger, so keep quiet," North Ireland snapped. When he spoke, he gave me a fright.

"Guys? Why is the ground wet?" Scotland asked.

That is all of us. Wait... wet? I placed my hand on the ground to see he was right. The ground was wet. I could start to see a little better now, but I really wished I couldn't. I examined the liquid that got on my hand and my eyes widened when I realised what it was.

Blood.

"What? Wait, where is UK?" I asked frantically, looking around. I could see the outline of North Ireland pointing to a strange mess in the centre of the room.

Under closer inspection, I worked out that it was the crumbling mess of UK. There was next to nothing left of him.

"We are independent?" Scotland asked.

"I don't think so," England responded looking at the chains that held us captive.

I felt my stomach knot as I thought about the horrifying possibilities. We all sat there quietly. We were all nervous. You could sense it in the air. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Hello? Are you guys finished?" Came a familiar voice.

"Where the hell are we?!" England shouted. I could sense his stress. The door unlocked and Ireland stood in the light that poured in. The light made the blood obvious, and I realised that I was covered in it. I felt like throwing up.

"Good afternoon," Ireland greeted.

"Brother! What is happening?" North Ireland asked.

"I will explain on the way to the holding cel- uh, chambers," Ireland tripped over his words. He entered the room and grabbed our chains. He led us out of the room like dogs on a leash. He seemed so calm.

"Now! Explain!" England demanded.

"We are being split up amongst the four Empires," Ireland explained briefly.

"Empires? What Empires?" I asked. I was a little confused.

"The four Empires. Australia, America, Canada and New Zealand. They have claimed us as territories and we will join them shortly," Ireland continued.

He led us to four separate cells or 'chambers' as he called them. Ireland divided us amongst the cells. My cell had a small washing basin and a chair. On the chair sat a tidy suit that matched Ireland's. I felt uncomfortable.