Day 51: Breakfast

[thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie Kisaragi, indomitable bouncing ball of sunshine and unfathomable ebullience, was tired. It'd been a long night full of gibberish and getting nowhere fast.

"Can't I—"

Plucky, who had been busily loading a plate full of French toast and bacon, tittered. "I'm afraid not, Hanna, darling. A chat over a nice, hearty breakfast would do you a world of good, don't you think?"

"Aaaaactually—"

"Come on, let's find you a seat. Plenty to choose from this morning!"

For a long moment, Yuffie seriously considered doing something—anything—to act out. Punch her nurse, rub jam in an orderly's face, climb a wall and hang off the ceiling, jump on a table and parody Loveless… A ruckus like that would definitely jolt her back into gear, right? Sedation aside. And it'd turn Plucky's good day right on its head, which was always a bonus worth shooting for.

But, by the time she'd reached a decision—and it was an epic decision, a really awesome one; everybody'd appreciate the genius, she was sure—she was already alone. Her breakfast tray had been set down neatly by the nurse, who had left with an infuriatingly winsome smile.

"Wow," Yuffie muttered. Shaking her head, she picked a chair at random and threw herself into it. She kicked back, one arm slung across her eyes, to wait. For what, she wasn't totally sure. Some moron to decide that she looked like good company? That was how it usually went.

Comments

[hat_einen_vogel]

While he'd been expecting to at least run into his brother at some point in the day, Prussia hadn't quite expected West to be the one to come find him... especially not right away, even if he had missed the meeting in the end. But found him West had, and he'd skipped any pleasantries. There was no "Good morning, Prussia. How was your night? The meeting was terrible; you didn't miss anything," or even a "the meeting went well; here's a copy of the notes that I made for you"... Nope, West was cutting straight to the chase.

Prussia couldn't say that he minded.

What he did mind was the disapproval in West's expression, and so he chose to ignore it, focusing on his brother's words alone. "Around," he answered vaguely, shrugging as if what happened last night wasn't that big a deal. Missing the meeting, at least, probably wasn't; he'd meant to go and wanted to go, if only to prove in some small way that he still mattered no matter how far in the future the rest of them were from, but West could represent them both these days... And that was assuming, of course, that a single meeting would accomplish anything at all.

He fiddled with his fork for a moment, and then stabbed a sausage. "I couldn't remember the room number," he admitted, leaving out that he'd also made a wrong turn when he'd gone to find out what it was. His tone was sullen as he added, "The nurses drugged me with something."

And with that, he popped the sausage in his mouth.

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

The shift from disapproval to concern was a subtle one, perhaps too subtle for most nations to grasp. Only someone like Prussia could tell when the disapproving tone shifted from Prussia himself to those around him, and likewise, when the scowl was less about the past and more about helplessness for the present. While Prussia did sometimes deserve it, he was still Ludwig's brother; he still felt an entirely irrational desire to find the nurse responsible and punch them. Repeatedly. Even if that wasn't how things were done anymore, old habits did die hard. Especially in a brutish place like this.

Regardless, the change was there, as slight as it was. "What did they hit you with? ...you didn't wander too far in such a condition, surely. Going against a monster in that state would have been reckless even for you."

...ah yes, and then what remained of his frustration dissipated when he decided that he should at least give a brief recap. Brief being the key phrase. "Japan, Russia, America, and England all attended. ...nothing useful took place. Even before our languages were canceled the usual bickering took place. ...therefore, I have no other notes for you."

[hat_einen_vogel]

Prussia hadn't missed the tiny shift in his little brother's attitude, and it cheered him up more than trying to concentrate on eating earlier had. A small, contented smile flickered across his face before he laughed.

"Worried about me, West?" he teased, resting an arm against the table as he ignored the remainder of his breakfast for the moment. The small smile from earlier had been replaced with a confident grin. "Don't be! If I'd ended up in a fight, I could've handled it... drugged or not."

He didn't need West to tell him that fighting in that state would have been a bad idea; he knew that it was—he might have slept off the majority of its effect, but what had lingered had been enough to impair him. Even so... that didn't mean he would have backed down from a fight if one had found him. And hell, maybe if he'd gotten to that hall sooner, maybe... Well, it didn't matter what might have happened. What-if's never did any good to change what had already happened; Gilbert knew that perfectly well.

"I don't know what the nurses used. Some kind of sedative, I guess; I fell asleep until that screech on the intercom woke me up. They got America with it, too, but they must not have used as much on him if he made it to the meeting alright." Or maybe the effect of the drugs just hadn't hit the younger Nation as hard, though Prussia liked to think it was the former.

He still couldn't remember much from reading the notes on the bulletin board while drugged, so the news that more than just West, America, and England had been there came as a surprise. "Japan and Russia are here, too?"

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

"...possibly." At the same time, Ludwig expressed his disapproval- he knew that Prussia would have gotten into a fight, that was simply how Gilbert was- and his agreement that if anyone could handle themselves in such a situation, it was his older brother. Yes, it was an idiotic situation in the first place, and yes, he couldn't give his approval to someone who incapacitated themselves unnecessarily. However, Gilbert's strength was a constant at that time. ...it was just a pity that it wouldn't stay that way. How could it be that someday Prussia would become such a drain on the lands that he himself had made his own?

But Ludwig didn't dwell on that for long. There were more important matters to discuss, after all, and besides, it was clear that Prussia was all right. What else could he ask for? "Depending on when he was taken from, he likely simply recovered more quickly. ...we both remember what he was like in the War. He's only grown in strength since then." America had always been freakishly strong, and if he came from the modern era, where he was the sole superpower of the world? Yes, even Gilbert at the height of his Empire would be no match.

Likewise with Russia. There were real strengths there, real possibilities that could be exploited if they were careful. This also meant that there were real dangers from having such egotistical nations all in the same enclosed space. They were fractious and antagonistic at the best of times, how could they hope to combine forces now? It made his stomach hurt just thinking of the stress involved with such a monumental task. Still, he sharply nodded his head in response to Prussia's question, wishing that he had more information to share. "Yes, they are both here. However, I couldn't determine from what point both of them arrived from."

[hat_einen_vogel]

It wasn't exactly agreement on what was sure to be Prussia's victory over any monster that dared cross his path, but it wasn't exactly disagreement, either. The lack of outright simply disagreement bolstered Prussia's confidence in his capability further.

America was a bit of a different matter than some monster, however. Prussia remembered what he was like in the war quite clearly, though he didn't like to dwell on it long. The idea that America had only gotten stronger since then...

"Maybe," Prussia admitted sullenly, though he still preferred his own theory that he'd just been drugged with less. Since he could barely remember the fight after the nurses had started sticking him with needles, he couldn't be sure, however. He couldn't even remember who had won, or who had walked away with more bruises if there hadn't been a clear winner.

Suddenly, missing the meeting didn't seem quite so bad to him. He wouldn't have minded seeing Japan, but Russia... He wasn't exactly eager to see Russia, and picking a fight with him over the Control Council was different than picking a fight with England, or with America. He would have to keep his guard up.

There was one other nation that West hadn't mentioned, and Prussia took it to mean that he hadn't seen her.

"I saw Hungary yesterday," he said suddenly. "She's not a—prisoner, like the rest of us. She came to visit me, and she was acting really weird." He paused briefly, and then hastily added, "Not that she isn't weird to begin with, but it was strange even for her. And the stuff she was saying... It didn't make any sense. I don't know what could have happened to her, but it sounded like what she was spouting could've been that 'fake lives' crap I'd heard about....."

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

Prussia's sullen admittance was at least something. Normally he might not even have gone that far, might not even have allowed the possibility that he'd been defeated in what was essentially a fair contest. Not that Prussia had really admitted it, considering everything that was going on and how he clearly thought that he had won anyway, but it was enough for now. Besides, Ludwig realized that there were far more important things to discuss, and there was never any profit on dwelling on Prussia's military exploits or blunders from the past. Save only as object lessons.

But the sudden change to Hungary threw him off to no end. Prussia and Hungary had... history. Germany didn't know all of the details, but the two never got along. Even as a young nation, Ludwig had learned to never get between the two of them, and even in the future, the results of their meetings almost never went well. So to bring it up now... the younger nation frowned.

Prussia knew how serious Ludwig took it. He flipped open his notebook and took out a pen, both of which he always kept on his person, and poised it to take notes. "Tell me more. Leave out nothing."

[hat_einen_vogel]

Germany may have said to leave nothing out, but there were a few things that there was no way in hell Prussia was going to share. Yet. Maybe ever. He still wasn't sure what to do with the way she'd acted, or some of the things she'd said.

He leaned back in his chair, but not before sticking another sausage in his mouth and chewing it thoughtfully. "The nurse said I had a visitor after brunch yesterday, and took me into a lobby to wait—England was there for a visitor, too. Hungary showed up, and said she was told about this place's visiting hours, so she had to come see me. She... wanted to know how I was doing."

That had been the weirdest thing, at least at first—even stranger than knowing they were here and visiting instead of doing something about it. Maybe she wouldn't try to break him out if she had been acting right, but West at least... She could've had some consideration for his brother.

"She said she was there when 'they' decided to send you and I here—I don't know if she meant the Control Council or whatever boss we have in the future—and she acted like I should know what she was talking about. She didn't like me calling her 'Hungary' or calling you 'West'; I figured she just didn't want to use them in public, but she also said..." What had it been? "...that the doctors wouldn't release us unless I stopped using them. She kept saying she wanted me to cooperate with the staff, and to 'get better'."

As if something was wrong with him...

"There was other stuff that was really off, too. She brought a couple of little birds with her that she claimed belonged to me. When I asked about Austria and she got quiet—said that we were the last people he'd want to see," he said. While that might have been true about Prussia himself, he couldn't think of a single reason that Austria might have wanted to avoid Hungary or West. "And she mentioned her engagement to Specs, even though they've already broken up." He paused, thinking; there was still that possibility... "They don't get back together in the future, do they?"

The weirdest thing, though, had been Hungary crying. Sobbing, even, clinging to him, and apologizing for being a bad friend. While he couldn't disagree that she had been—she'd always turned down his invitations to do stuff together back when she'd been working in Austria's house—she had never seemed to care about it before.

"She also admitted that she'd been a terrible friend over the years," he added, deciding to sum up the entire incident without going into detail. He'd covered all the major points, at least, and returned to his breakfast with renewed vigor, aiming for the potatoes this time. If West had any questions about the visit, he could ask while Prussia ate.

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

Hm... the more Germany listened to this, the more baffled he became. He knew Prussia's relationship to Hungary was rough, and they never did get along at all. From what he'd gleaned from all parties involved, it had always been that way; Prussia and Hungary had always been rather less than eye-to-eye, and it had only been worse when Hungary had been defending Austria. Indeed, their conflicts on a personal front were perhaps even more vicious than warfare; at least in times of war, they had their own people to worry about.

Therefore, hearing Prussia recounting such a tale was utterly baffling to him. To think that she wanted Prussia to 'get better,' to think that she'd want Prussia out... hm. Well, she was a kind-hearted person, it wasn't inconceivable. But she was also strong, one of the strongest among them; the idea that she would encourage giving in to what was clearly a wrong situation for all of them was baffling. More than that, it was worrisome; was there really something wrong with them, if she was insisting there was?

The younger brother tapped his pen against the blank sheet of paper, not even sure where to begin. There was so much wrong with even that synopsis that he wasn't sure how to start. ...and yes, he was fully aware that Prussia was still hiding things from him. It had always been thus. "...no. The empire of Austria-Hungary never re-formed, and while they are still close, there's no talk of marriage between them."

Perhaps it was for the best that way. As it was, he remained silent for some time, just musing it over in his careful, methodical manner. He wished he'd been allowed to see her, it might have given him more to go on. But he didn't bother regretting, he just focused on what he did have to work with. "...you do eventually grow to befriend a small bird. Yellow thing, if I'm not mistaken. But what you're saying doesn't match with the Hungary I know. Nor can I think of who might send us here. Save for one possibility..."

But that thought was too terrifying to even contemplate, so he just shook his head. "No, no, it makes no sense. I can't find a convincing reason for why Hungary would act in such a manner."

[hat_einen_vogel]

Prussia made a soft 'hmm' noise when West clarified that Austria-Hungary hadn't reformed later on, the meaning of which was somewhere between thank goodness and good riddance. Even when it was a matter of politics, marriages were just... Well, he'd always avoided them, and he'd continue to make sure that he himself was never a party in one.

West was quiet for a while afterwards, so Prussia continued eating. He'd just finished polishing off his potatoes when his brother spoke again.

"Then I guess it wasn't completely wrong," he said, thinking about the chicks. They certainly had been cute... There were worse pets he could have decided to keep. "But I can't think of why she was acting like that, either. It was..." He paused briefly, trying to think of what the best word to describe it would be. Weird, abnormal, eerie... Ah, that was it. "It was downright creepy."

He looked his brother in the eyes. West had started to suggest something, or he'd hit upon an idea before (apparently) changing his mind, and Prussia wanted to know what it had been. "Listen, West... If you have any idea why we're here—or who put us here—tell me. I don't care if it's something that has to do with the future; I want to know."

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

"It would have to be. Nor can I think of any reason why Austria would be unwilling to see the both of us." That was another thing that baffled Germany to no end. He could understand why Austria would be less than keen to see Prussia, especially considering their history, but why wouldn't he want to see Ludwig? They had gotten along throughout their long history; even so far as happily cheating on the votes to forge a union with him. So to be told that Austria thought it best not to see him again stung Ludwig. Not that he'd admit it, of course.

Even still... he had to think about that for some time before he could consider answering Prussia's question. There were too many things that just didn't add up, that just didn't make sense. Why America and Russia? Why Japan? What did any of these things have to do with the others? Ludwig wracked his brain trying to think of a plausible explanation, but none took into account everything that was going on. He simply didn't have enough information to work with, and that was frustrating to no end.

But in the end he had to share what he thought. It was an imprecise theory, but it was all he had at the moment. "I've been wondering why the group of us has been taken. It's a very specific list; you, me, America, Russia, Japan, and England. Of course, it could be that this Landel has nothing to do with our worlds, but that wouldn't explain why we specifically were chosen. I can only wonder if perhaps we were chosen because we are the most independent-minded of the nations. Perhaps the old view of many different nations is being implemented while we're gone." He gnawed his lip for a moment, then shook his head. "It doesn't explain the time differences, nor why the normal humans were taken, however. It's a flawed theory, so ignore it."

[hat_einen_vogel]

Flawed theory or not, West may have been on to something. The list of who was here was a bit odd, no matter how he looked at it: their group wasn't one of geographical neighbors, nor one with a language—or even an alphabet—in common... He and West had a familial connection, of course, as did England and America, but then Russia and Japan were the odd ones out. Even without knowing when Russia and Japan were supposed to be from, there was also the oddity of England and West being from the late 2000s when to Gilbert himself, it was only 1947.

Maybe time was the important factor? He'd wondered before about whether this was supposed to be some shitty version of the afterlife, but...

"You and England are both doing alright in the future, aren't you?" he asked. It was difficult to come up with any possibilities when he there was a significant gap in what he knew in the form of the sixty years between now and then, so he could only go on what he did know. He'd used to be strong—stronger—as an independent nation; now he was on the verge of abolishment and the brother he'd raised held the reins of their country. England's empire had once stretched across the world. If there was some connection between their former glory and present situations... "I mean... you're not dying or anything... And I'm still around then, too, right?"

A little confirmation wouldn't hurt.

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

"Hm? Yes, I think so." Germany frowned as he considered that question. Could he be considered to be doing 'alright'? Yes, in theory, he was stable and for the most part managed to remain one of the stronger nations in the world. Amongst the top five for economy, and certainly one of the power brokers for the European Union; in that aspect he was in no threat of dissolution. But with the wave of economic disasters and everything else... mm, it worried him. He'd been an adamant voice for responsibility and national responsibility. Had that been the reason he'd been removed?

Doubtful. That theory made no sense. The only way it could work is if other nations were removed for being trouble-makers, but that still wouldn't explain all of them here. Hm. The younger nation frowned as he considered the situation carefully. Unlike Prussia, Ludwig tended to think over things carefully before he spoke, and this was certainly a difficult problem to muse through. "I... after the war, a community of European nations is eventually forged. This 'Eurozone' eventually becomes the most powerful economic force in the world, and I'm the heart of that apparatus, along with France. While England and I are both facing troubles at my time, we're in no threat of dissolution."

And as for Prussia... Ludwig sighed as he looked away. That was a sore spot. His older brother was still around, but as 'East' to his 'West', there were... problems. Problems he didn't want Gilbert to know about, that he barely even acknowledged himself. But nevertheless, problems still remained. For Ludwig, that was inexcusable, for both of them. "...yes, you're still around in my time."

[hat_einen_vogel]

"Oh," he said, though he couldn't help but grin at West's confirmation that he would still be around... and the fact that it sounded like West would be a European leader (along with France) in the future. It was encouraging; no matter how grim the situation had been since the war, things would get better.

"Never mind, then. If you're doing alright and I'm still around, I guess that ending up here wouldn't have much to do with falling out of power. I'd been thinking maybe we'd been targeted because we were in trouble," he said as he skewered the last of his sausages.

He made a looping gesture with the hand holding the fork. "If you weren't, that can't be the case... But I'm still having a hard time picturing anyone capturing us under normal circumstances, if they were humans."

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

"No. If it was because of that, I would expect many more before myself; Greece and Iceland in particular." The economic problems facing the world in Ludwig's time had hit himself perhaps the least of all of the others. He was still strong enough to send money to others; those like Iceland or Greece had none. And if it came to a fallen empire, Greece could certainly qualify as such, couldn't he? So no, he doubted that such would be the case. It probably wasn't because of trouble in their states.

Yet even still... "That is another problem, yes. Even our bosses control us only to a limited extent, so usurping that position wouldn't be enough either. And I don't remember any amount of force it would have taken to bring me in." Nor would it be possible to change them in such a dramatic way as Hungary had been. That was far beyond any one man's power, and yet there clearly weren't enough involved in this Institute to form a faction large enough to do the same. Therefore, how was it even possible?

...and yes, Ludwig was adamant on that point. Perhaps he wasn't the powerful military machine that he once was, but he was still no pushover. It would take more than a few men to keep him down. As it was... Ludwig finally bit into one of his own sausages, frowning as he tried to come up with some explanation, and coming up completely blank. After swallowing it down, he gazed at his brother again. "We need more information. About the other nations, and also about the other people taken here. All of our explanations only work for nations; they don't take into account the sheer volume of other individuals here."

A pause, and then he made one final question. "...and also, about where you came from... the Council hadn't yet determined what was to be done with us, correct?"

[hat_einen_vogel]

So Greece and Iceland were having trouble in the future, or at least weren't having as easy of a time was West was. Good to know, though he couldn't think of a practical application for the knowledge, without either of them here. But at least West's words served as further confirmation that his brother was just fine in the future.

Not that Prussia doubted any brother of his would be kept down for long.

His face darkened when West brought up the Control Council's plans for them, but only for a moment. Prussia covered up his disquiet with a laugh; knowing that he would survive helped, but it didn't exactly make up for everything. Things may have been bright sixty years from now, but sixty days from now still looked grim.

"Well, they've issued a bunch of proclamations and instructions and orders and directives and laws ever since the end of the war, if that's what you mean," Prussia said, shrugging nonchalantly. "But if you mean what they're going to do next... Right. They had told me that they'll be abolishing my State next month, but they haven't really told me anything about what they're planning to do after that. I guess they think they don't need to, but they're underestimating me!"

[neuepolitik.livejournal.com]

Ludwig remembered those words, or rather, ones much like them. Back when they had both been defeated, when the Allies had beaten them both into the ground and left them to await their fate, Gilbert had said similar words. 'They're underestimating me!' It hadn't been simple bravado, either; his older brother had survived what no one else thought a nation could endure, and he wasn't much the worse for that wear. Granted, it was still uncertain if it had truly worked, still not entirely solid in its formation, but Prussia had survived. Even in the dark days after the War, he had survived and carried on as he always had. Perhaps it was too much to say that he had made a complete recovery, but it was at least not an end to the one who had raised him and made him who he was.

...no, what worried Ludwig was the immediate future. Prussia had no idea what was in store for him. Their survival had been predicated on their lands being ripped in half. Half, Ludwig's, had been allowed some measure of self-determination. He'd recovered from the worst ravages of the war, and slowly grew into an economic power again. And half... half was Gilbert's. Half had been thrown to be savaged by the Russian Bear. Half had been decimated and ravaged and left a broken husk of what it once was. Did he dare speak about it? Should he let Gilbert know, or was it better to leave him in ignorance?

"Ah... on that topic..." But he couldn't say anything else. Suddenly the intercom chimed in, and it broke Ludwig's nerve. Later on, perhaps, he'd come to a decision about it. For now, however, he scooped up his journal and changed subjects quickly. "Hopefully we can speak again tomorrow during this shift? I hope to have more to report then."

[hat_einen_vogel]

Damn announcement, interrupting things... The last of his sausages was still hanging off the end of his fork, so Prussia quickly shoved it in his mouth to finish it off in anticipation of the nurses coming over to insist he leave the mess hall whether he'd finished his breakfast or not.

He was curious about what West might have been planning to say 'on that topic', but it was obviously going to have to wait for another time. Must not have been that important, anyway, or else his brother would surely have brought it up immediately.

"Alright," he agreed with a nod, watching West's preparations to leave but not making any move of his own just yet. "I'll see you tomorrow."