Purple and Gold (The Many Colours of Life and Death AU)

Chapter Thirty-Five

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth gave up on fighting the Roman Empire after a while. Nothing he tried ever worked. ROE simply made it all disappear. It was useless.

So he went back to watching his mind controlled self break into the gold walls that the Austrian and British Empires trapped themselves in.

As PLC brought his sword down upon BE, he blocked it with his hook as AE reached for PLC. Without his gloves on.

Without his gloves on.

PLC watched helplessly in stricken horror as the gold spread up his arm, to his wings, his eyes, his legs, everywhere! ROE left him halfway through the process, leaving him free to control his body. What good that was.

"Wait! It's me!" He cried, hoping to get AE to stop in time. "Stop! Please! I'm not mind controlled anymo-" Then he couldn't speak.

"I'm sorry, PLC." AE told him before he found himself outside of his body, a ghost. Other dead countries stood near him, although they were focused on other things. Prussia was the only one closest to him.

"What. The. FU-" He was in the process of saying before Prussia interrupted him.

"Don't freak out! AE is just temporarily putting you in this state so that he doesn't have to deal with you mind controlled. He can always change you back!" He explained.

"What happens if he dies?" PLC pointed out, but he knew that what AE had done was good, even if the feathered country didn't like it. It meant they could stop the mind control, without knocking them out or anything. So long as AE didn't die, they would be alright. And, PLC could figure out what was happening in the ghost world! Ugh, he hated it when other countries had better ideas than him.

"So what's going on here?" PLC asked, looking around.

"The Russian Empire's trying to talk to the Mongol Empire, and everyone else is just watching. It's honestly kind of boring. Of course, there's still the problem that we're all dead." Prussia scowled.

"If AE ends up living and getting me out of this state, do you have anything I should tell him?" PLC offered.

"Tell him to not mourn me too much, as I'll always be watching him, by his side."

"That sounds creepy without proper context." PLC remarked.

"I didn't word that quite right..."

The Dutch Empire sobbed quietly, thoughts whirling around in his head. His previously injured arm throbbed in pain, not meant to be used in such a state. It didn't matter. He wasn't getting out of here.

He went through his memories, as if his life was flashing before his eyes. He remembered Prussia telling everyone about being a ghost. About how he watched over other countries, by their side even when they thought they were alone. DE wondered who was watching over him now.

Perhaps it was Bulgaria. The poor country had been thrown onto a sword by someone trying to save a different doomed country. DE had watched, helpless as Bulgaria died alone in a room filled with people. By the time he decided to try to help, and leave the falling ceiling for someone else to deal with, it was too late.

"I'm sorry." The Dutch Empire breathed, hoping Bulgaria could hear him. Oh, how he wished the teleporting countryhuman was here right now. He could have whisked them away with just a thought. But Bulgaria had died alone.

That was it. He wasn't going to wait around and die! He was going to do what the fallen hadn't got the chance to do.

He was going to live.