42A/N: Hello everyone! This is the first update for Forget Me Not. According to the poll, there was a tie between updating/uploading while I plot future chapters and just updating and uploading without plotting future chapters until needed. I decided that I will try to update all the chapters on here first as fast as I can. During that time, I won't be plotting future chapters. Once I actually update chapter 7, I will work on chapter 8 and plot future chapters as well. I'm thinking that I can do a upload a chapter then plot a new chapter cycle so updates won't be consistent but they'll be happening at least. Currently, I'm a bit stuck in plotting out chapter 17 because I decided to be a tad bit historically accurate for a portion of this story but I'm hoping to break that once I upload chapter 8!
Anyway, enjoy the update guys! I'll be working on chapter 2 soon!
Italy cheerfully skipped through the forest on his way to Germany's house, smiling as he thought about how surprised the German would be. The young Italian wasn't exactly supposed to be at Germany's house today. Germany had said that they could take a break with training since there was a major breakthrough. Italy had done something that impressed Germany enough to allow the Italian a day off, but everyone knows that even if Germany were to send Italy home the Italian would find his way back to his side.
Pausing for a moment, Italy looked at his surroundings. He had been using this path as a shortcut to Germany's house for years now. It was a lot faster than one would suspect and it was great way to catch the German off guard! As Italy scanned the area, he heard a faint click. The Italian froze, unsure if it was his imagination or if a gun's safety was just turned off. When something cool touched Italy's left temple he became rigid, feeling as if his blood ran cold.
"Italy?" Switzerland's voice sounded just as surprised as the Italian felt, "What do you think you're doing on my property?"
"Ah, S-Switzerland." Italy laughed nervously, "I d-didn't know I came on your land."
"Big brother…" Liechtenstein came up in front of Italy and offered him a smile before looking at her brother, "Italy didn't do anything wrong."
"Yes, I know Liechtenstein. But he's still trespassing." Switzerland pressed his gun closer to Italy, causing him to squeak in fear.
"P-Please Switzerland!" tears started to form in Italy's eyes, "I'm not at fault. Besides, I'm not at war with anyone! Please let me live! I'm still a virgin and I have family in-"
Switzerland pushed Italy forward, causing the Italian to stumble and lose his balance. Italy fell on the ground, and when he looked behind him, Switzerland had his gun pointing at him. Italy's scream came out as another squeak as the gun was angled at his heart. The tears started to fall freely as Italy saw his life flash before his eyes and began to scream apologies and pleas of mercy. Switzerland looked at Italy with disapproving eyes, a frown on his face. After a moment of listening to Italy, Switzerland became annoyed and rolled his eyes. His frown deepened and his facial expression showed clear irritation.
"Italy." Switzerland sighed.
"I'm only a virgin!" Italy cried, "What good would it be if you go and kill me?"
"Italy."
"I'm still young! I haven't even had a chance to start a family."
"Please, Italy." Switzerland rolled his eyes as he lowered his gun.
"If you do shoot me, please just leave me mortally wounded and leave me be! I don't want to die!"
"Italy, just-"
"I didn't even eat pasta today! Let me eat one last bowl of pasta before you send me to my death bed!"
Switzerland could only stare at Italy as he continued, his eyebrow twitching with irritation as he put a hand to his temple with a sigh. The Italian continued to beg for his life and Liechtenstein giggled, waiting for the other Nation to realize he wasn't in danger. When she noticed Switzerland motion her to get behind him, she silently complied as the gun was pointed at Italy once again. His irritated expression became serious as he changed the angle of his gun and pulled the trigger. All was silent other than the Italian's ragged breathing. Italy was barely able to open his eyes in time to see Switzerland put his gun away kneel beside him.
"Y-You…" Italy was at a loss of words.
"I missed on purpose." Switzerland sighed as Liechtenstein giggled, "As I was trying to say, you could just go. You're not my intended target today."
"B-B-But-"
"Go before I change my mind!" Switzerland's hand jumped to his gun and Italy was gone before his hand even touched it. The man sighed and brushed off the dirt off his pants. Switzerland looked at Liechtenstein who was looking around nervously. "Let's get going Liechtenstein."
"Do you think we should apologize?" Liechtenstein asked as she moved closer to her brother's side.
Switzerland looked down at Liechtenstein's face, seeing guilt mixed with nervousness. "Once we find that perverted Frenchman, we'll explain to Italy what was going on. We've been out here for an hour now since you saw France in your room."
"I wish we could have told him instead of scaring him off."
"I know, but its best that I did. I nearly shot him when I heard his footsteps and I don't want to make that same mistake again." Switzerland scanned the forest to see if he could see any moving shapes, "He was probably heading towards Germany's place. Can you call Germany on my cell phone for me? I don't want to miss that bastard."
Italy ran as fast as could, the world around him getting less clear as more unshed tears welled. He could barely see where he was going, much less know where he was headed but anywhere was better than back with Switzerland. He was sure that man would kill him the longer he stayed on the other's land. Switzerland had always chased Italy off his land in the past with guns blazing, but what confused the Italian was why Switzerland started his old habit of shooting trespassers again. Italy had been using that path since forty years after the Second World War and never once did he bump into Switzerland, believing he finally found a path off the other's turf. Also, what did he mean when he said that Italy wasn't his intended target today? Italy shuddered at the thought of Switzerland hunting someone down. Who would dare anger such a man?
As Italy attempted to wipe away his unshed tears, he felt something trip him. He stumbled, trying to regain his balance, but a sudden dip in the ground sent the poor Italian sliding down a slope. Italy did all he could to stop, but his body began to roll instead. It was when he reached the bottom of the slope that he finally skidded to a stop. Unable to process what happened, the Italian stayed still until his body began to register pain. He opened his eyes, finding the world spinning faster than it should have been. In that moment, Italy only thought of getting up and continuing on until he was out of Switzerland's land.
He slowly staggered to his feet, wincing as his body shot waves of pain. Ignoring it, Italy moved forward and tried to keep his balance. He tripped over his own two feet several times before feeling something trip him once again. Italy groaned, deciding to wait until everything stopped spinning to continue. Once everything settled down, the Italian took the chance to look around as he got to his feet once more. He was still in the forest and had landed in a clearing. The slope he managed to roll down wasn't too steep, but he ended up quite a ways from where he had been. Squinting a bit, Italy was able to make out a chain near the top of the slope. Scanning down to where he fell, he was able to see a metal sign that must had been on the previous chain. Italy was able to see a few faded words, but time and weather made them illegible.
Looking at the clearing a bit closer showed that the ground was uneven. There were random ditches and the ground visibly rose and fell. It was a wonder how the Italian was able to even move a couple of feet without falling sooner in his previous state. Examining the ground closer, Italy located something that possibly tripped him the second time. Nature had covered it well and curiosity won the Italian over as he bent down to pick the object up. Just as he was about to unearth the object, the sound of heavy footsteps reached Italy's ears and he froze. Legs began to shake, expecting the worse as he slowly moved to look behind him. Maybe Switzerland's coming to kill me after all.
Behind Italy was what he supposed was the opening to the clearing. There was another chain with an illegible, metal sign attached. There must have been some kind of path over there that he could use to escape, but the Italian found his legs wouldn't move. As the footsteps came closer and closer, Italy couldn't help but tremble. There was no point of escape. He would be caught and once Switzerland saw him, the Italian would be a goner.
A boot appeared near the chain and as soon as Italy saw the familiar German uniform, he sighed with relief. The soldier who appeared wasn't Germany himself, but in that moment anyone was better than Switzerland. Once the soldier was in clear view, Italy saw him freeze in place and offered the man a wave with one of his signature smiles. The solider seemed to be very surprised, stepping ever so slightly forward as he looked around before giving his full attention to the Italian who was sitting in the middle of a clearing.
"Are you Italy?" the soldier asked and Italy nodded with a smile as he got to his feet, "Wait! Don't move!" the soldier shouted, seeing the Italian intended to walk over to him.
"Huh?"
"You're in a minefield." Italy jumped back with a yelp and the solider quickly shouted, "I said don't move! Do you want to step on a mine?" The man saw the Italian shaking like a leaf, but he unfortunately had to be blunt about the situation. "Look, there are a few ways we can get you out of there. Just try to stay calm." Upon seeing Italy nod, he continued.
"Which way did you enter?" Italy pointed back towards the slope. The solider frowned at this information as he examined the slope behind him. "Can you backtrack? You have to look behind and make sure you place your feet exactly where they were before."
"I-I was a bit disoriented when I fell down here..."
"All right, how do you feel about probing? You can use your hands, feet, or another object so you can make your way towards me. You'll have to make sure you probe at an angle and once you clear a small area, move forward and continue probing."
"U-Um… I don't feel comfortable using my hands or feet…"
"It's okay Italy!" the soldier called out, seeing the Italian looking on the ground around him, "Don't worry about probing. It's best that you don't pick anything up just in case. I'll call for help." Pulling out what looked like a walkie-talkie, the man spoke into it, "Sir, I have located Italy."
"Good." Italy heard Germany's familiar voice, "It's a good thing Switzerland called. Italy would have been lost since he ran the wrong way. What is your position?" The man was quiet as he watched the Italian begin to tremble once again. "Soldier, is something wrong?" Germany's voice held concern.
"Sir… you won't like where Italy is right now."
"What do you mean?"
"Italy is caught in the middle of a mine field."
Italy was permitted to sit as he waited for Germany to come to his aid. According to the German soldier, Germany had sent out a scouting crew to help guide Italy into Germany. Switzerland only indicated which direction the Italian had gone and seemed to be too occupied to delve into details so Germany's Federal Police Force and a select number of soldiers were dispatched. Italy had been found relatively quickly and due to his current situation he didn't have to wait long. Germany came within the hour and would have rushed into the mine field if his soldier hadn't been there to stop him. The German gave Italy a look of sympathy as his Italian friend gave him the smallest of waves.
"Italy, how are you doing?" Germany asked.
"I-I'm fine. I just fell in here while running away from Switzerland." Italy laughed nervously.
"Yeah, I heard." Germany gave Italy what he hoped was a reassuring smile, "Everything will fine. We just-"
"Okay you potato eating bastard!" Germany turned to see Italy's brother, Romano, stomping towards him, "What have you done to my brother and why the hell is he in a fucking mine field?"
"R-Romano," Italy gave his brother a small smile, "what are you doing here?"
"He called my house and asked me to help look for you." Romano responded, giving the taller blond man a glare, "What did you do to get him in there?"
"It wasn't Germany's fault Romano."
"Like hell it wasn't!" Romano stabbed his finger at Germany's chest, "You're always doing something to keep Veneziano away from home. Why do think he always-"
"What are you talking about?" Germany asked, looking down at Romano.
Romano backed away thinking Germany was giving him a dark look, "I-It's j-just…" Romano's anger flared and he shouted, "J-Just go home! I'll get my brother out of there."
"And how are you going to do that?" Germany gave Romano a tired look. When Romano didn't answer, Germany sighed and turned to his soldier. "Contact Belgium and ask her to send some rats over here as soon as possible."
"What the hell are rats supposed to do?"
"These rats have been trained to detect mines. If we have the rats detect the mines, we can find a safe path for Italy to walk on."
Germany and Romano watched as several rats scoured the mine field, looking for deadly explosives. Belgium was kind enough to send a lot rats to save Italy, but since rats are nocturnal and their shifts were three hours long Italy had to wait until it was dark. Lights were placed to shine on the rats work area and Belgian workers marked the areas where it was safe to walk and where there were mines. The safe paths were marked with a white powder, the mines covered with bright red. Progress was slow for such a large area, and with each rat working only three hours… it looked like Italy wasn't going to get out until possibly morning.
Germany dared to look at his Italian friend. Italy was shaking from both fear and the cooling weather and when he clutched his stomach the German couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Italy had said he hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was way past dinner by the time the rats were able to start. His stomach must be knots right now, Germany thought as he turned his attention to the workers and rats. There were so many red areas in the field… how could Italy have gotten into the middle without crossing over them?
"Maybe Italy weighs less than we expected." Germany said out loud with a humorless laugh, taking notice of the many red spots behind the younger Italian.
"That, or my stupid brother's just plain lucky." Romano muttered as he eyed all the workers. Romano's gazed moved to his brother and worry took place for a moment before he called to his brother, "Hey, Veneziano! How in the world did you get out there? Did you fly or something?"
Italy looked at his brother and smiled grimly at the joke, "I-I'm starting to believe it at this point." Italy gave a pitiful laugh and his smile disappeared much too quickly.
"You'll have to show me once you get out of there. Maybe I inherited the same ability too!"
"Heh… Y-Yeah…"
"Don't worry Veneziano, we'll get you out of there." Romano called once again when he saw his brother shiver, "After you show me how you flew, I'll make you as much pasta as you want!"
"You can even sleep in once you get home." Germany added which earned him a dirty look from Romano, "Just try to stay calm."
Italy only gave a weak smile that went away in a flash as tears started to fall down his cheeks.
"V- Veneziano!" Romano called out not even trying to hide his concern.
Germany looked back at the colored ground, looking for any available white patches as he walked around the perimeter of the field. His eyes followed every bit of white he could find, often becoming disappointed when a path snaked toward Italy just to curve away into a blotch of red. Germany heard Romano following him and glanced at him just to see Romano give him a look that said 'What are you looking at?' The German wasn't quite sure what the eldest Italian was doing, but he figured Romano wanted to keep an eye on him. Germany continued looking for paths until he came upon one that was still under construction. It snaked toward Italy, a Belgian worker covering the ground with white powder while the rat moved lazily towards Italy. Germany rushed forward along the path, seeing that this was the closest anyone has gotten to his best friend.
"Hey!" Romano shouted, following close behind.
The Belgian worker looked up from his work, nearly dropping the bag of powder as he signaled Germany and Romano to slow down, "The path isn't complete yet!"
"Yes, I know." Germany replied quickly and he looked over to Italy who was five feet away, "Italy!" The Italian, who had his eyes on his crossed legs, looked up. He got up quickly, looking as if he would jump up in the air with how much excitement he felt at seeing the people he cared about so close to him. "We're almost there. Just hold on for a bit longer."
Italy nodded and a few tears slide down his face, "I-I'm trying not to panic."
"Hey, Veneziano." Romano's voice was quiet and he had a small smile on his face, "Why don't you tell me about what you did to Austria's portrait when you were younger."
"Why?"
"To pass the time dumbass." Romano laughed lightly.
"Oh… okay." Italy thought back to when he was smaller, "I-I wanted to paint but Austria at the time didn't have many painting supplies. I went and looked all over the house and finally found some ink and a brush someone would use to paint a table…" Romano nodded, encouraging his brother to continue. "The thing was… there wasn't a single canvas to paint on and the only paper Austria had been too important to use. As I was walking through the halls, I noticed a picture of Austria. I was amazed by it, but I thought it was missing something. I-I went and got a stool a-and…" Italy shivered as the wind blew at him, "S-Sorry."
"Continue Italy." Germany gave Italy a smile seeing that the story was distracting him.
The Italian nodded, "I then painted a mustache on Austria's portrait." Italy managed a small smile and giggled, "I thought he looked better with a mustache on him, but Austria thought it was just rude. He had at least acknowledged my love for painting and he went to get supplies so I didn't paint on anything else."
"He must have removed that painting a while ago." Germany muttered to himself, noticing that Italy was calmer. Germany stole a glance at Romano and it looked like he was raking his brain trying to find something else for his brother to talk about. "Italy," Germany got his friend's eye, "why don't you tell your brother what you did during training?"
"Huh?" Germany raised an eyebrow, surprised that Italy forgot his achievement already. "Oh! You mean when I threw the grenade correctly."
"You actually threw a grenade?" Romano asked, raising an eyebrow.
Italy nodded and looked like he was ready to jump in the air, "Germany said that we were going to practice throwing grenades but the last time I threw a grenade… I threw the safety pin instead of the actual exploding part."
"The body." Germany corrected.
"Yeah, I didn't throw the body. Anyway, I went and saw the practice grenades and I took hold of one and threw it. It didn't explode because I didn't take the safety pin out, but Germany sure thought I did." Italy laughed and Romano joined. Germany cleared his throat and motioned Italy to continue. "I did this several times while Germany went to get the other training equipment from his basement. But I had to go and gather the grenades again because…"
Italy looked at Germany with a nervous smile, "I threw them all. None of them exploded, but I still didn't want to go and touch them. Especially since I did all that work to get them away from me… But I got all the grenades back just in time. Germany went and came back and demonstrated how to throw it, and I made sure to watch very carefully. When he threw it, he made us both duck and I heard it explode. Germany then told me to do the same, so I went and pulled the safety pin out with my mouth and then threw the grenade out into the field. Germany didn't duck when I did, so I went and tackled him down right before the grenade went off."
"You mean to tell me that my idiot brother actually went and saved your sorry ass?" Romano turned to Germany.
"I half expected him to keep the grenade in his mouth." Germany rubbed the back of his neck and a smile crept its way onto his face as he turned to Italy, "I was so proud that I gave you today off. Not only did you correctly throw one grenade, but ten to be exact."
"Impressive, Veneziano." Romano smiled, his eyes falling on the rat to check its progress. It wasn't moving, almost looking dead except for the fact that its tail was swishing back and forth. The worker seemed to have forgotten that he was supposed to be putting powder on the ground while Italy was telling stories. "Hey… what's up with this stupid rat? Is it's three hours up or something?"
The Belgian worker jumped and quickly looked down at the still rat. The worker stared a moment before slowly shaking his head with a low voice, "No… We can't go any further."
"Why not?" Romano was almost too afraid to ask.
"There's a mine there."
Italy's face turned white as he looked around himself. There were only a couple white spots in the clearing that lead to him and the closest one to him was just declared unsafe. He could only watch as the worker got a different bag and lightly coated the area with red powder. Italy felt his heart sink along with all of his hope. All around him, there was red and who knew how many more spots needed to be covered. Italy was surrounded by danger spots and there was nothing anybody could do. The Italian's eyes started to sting as he looked at Germany and his brother. They were four feet away from him… what was he going to do?
"Damnit!" Romano shouted which caused everyone to stare at him, "We were so close!"
"This could work." Germany looked at the distance between himself and Italy.
"What are you talking about you bastard?"
"Italy," Germany watched as the Italian's eyes snapped up from the newly marked spot to look at him. The German sounded serious. "How far can you jump?"
"What?" Italy tilted his head to the side, "Why do you-" Italy paused and stared at Germany with a horrified expression, shaking his head slowly. "No… I won't do it."
"Italy, just listen to me!" Germany sounded like he was pleading.
"No, I'm not going to jump! Knowing me, I'll fall in the red and-"
"I won't let you fall into the red area. Just jump and I'll catch you."
"Ger-" Italy was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot.
"What the hell!" Romano exclaimed as the still rat jumped up and scampered between his feet. The Belgian worker had to quickly scoop the small animal into his arms before it ran into a red patch.
"Keep them from running!" a Belgian coordinator shouted, moving to grab hold of a loose rat.
All the workers quickly gathered the rats together to prevent them from running all the while looking in the general direction of the noise. Soon another shot was heard and all the rats were put in cages until things quieted down. The workers moved quickly as they heard another gunshot go off even closer than the last.
"We better go and see what's going on." Germany stated, looking over at the entrance to the clearing while Romano nodded nervously.
"Wait!" Italy cried out, "Don't leave me alone."
"Italy." Germany turned to the Italian, "We'll be back, promise. Sit down for me and as soon as this is all settled we'll be back."
Germany waited for Italy to nod before he went to see who was shooting a gun off in the middle of the forest at such a late hour. By the time Germany and Romano reached the entrance to the clearing, the gun shots had gotten closer and they came more frequently. Germany was even able to hear shouts from two people. Someone soon came dashing toward the field and Germany had to grab the person before they could enter. As Germany shoved the person into a tree, he was able to tell who it was at first glance.
"What the hell France!" Germany shouted at the dazed Frenchman, "Who are you shooting at?"
A bullet pierced the bark above France, which snapped the Frenchman out of his daze and gave him some sense and nerve to hide behind the German, "Please get him off my tail Germany!" France pleaded, "He's been chasing me all day and I only want to get out of the forest."
"Who?" Romano asked, glancing at the spot where the bullet was embedded.
"I'm coming after you, you perverted French bastard!" Switzerland came sprinting from the darkness; a gun loaded and ready to lock on any moving target was in hand. Switzerland reached the others and pointed his gun at Germany, "Get out from behind that man and face the consequences of your actions!"
"What is going on Switzerland?" Germany asked trying to calm the angered man in front of him, "Why are you trying to kill France?"
"Why, you ask? WHY?! France went into Liechtenstein's bedroom this morning and tried to seduce her! Then, when I thought he was gone, he snuck back in my house a few hours ago and waited for Liechtenstein in the bathroom! I'm not going to hold out like I did this morning."
"I did no-" France stuck his head out from behind Germany and Switzerland nearly blew his head off.
The bullet penetrated the dirt that was too close to the mine field. "Don't shoot Switzerland!" Germany tried to put some distance between the gun and the ticking time bomb in the field, "I need you to calm down at least for-"
"That bastard is going to pay!" Switzerland shot his gun again, this time nearly hitting Romano.
"That is enough!" Germany shouted while back tracking to push Romano out of shooting range, "Your anger is causing your aim to be bad. If you keep this up, someone is going to get hurt!"
"You can't stop me!" Switzerland shoved Germany to the ground and took aim at France.
France was able to dodge Switzerland's next shot, bumping into Romano in the process. They both fell on the ground as the bullet went and dug itself deep into the earth. Someone shouted 'Hit the deck!' but not everyone was able to by the time the first mine exploded. The shockwave from it caused another one to go off and soon… there was a chain reaction as one by one, mine after mine exploded. Pieces of dirt and shrapnel went flying in all directions and screams filled the air. Yet, despite all the noise, only one scream reached Germany's ears.
"Italy!"
