Operation Red Herring (Countryhumans Alternate History)

Chapter 7

It was weird, not being the one flying the plane. To be at someone else's mercy whilst they take you higher and higher in the air. America didn't like it all that much- not knowing exactly when the plane would shift and turn made her slightly queasy- but she supposed it was for the best. She really didn't trust herself to pilot right now- hell, she didn't trust herself in general.

When she had originally gotten home from Japan, she had crashed on her couch for over twenty-four hours. She was exhausted both physically and mentally, and blissful unconsciousness was much better than dealing with the nightmare her waking world had devolved into. That was probably the best time she had had during the past few weeks- when she was laying there, fading in and out of consciousness, each time waking to a new time of day that she probably should've been up before.

At a certain point, when she had woken up to moonlight, she discovered that couldn't force her body into sleep for a fifth time, and had slowly sat up, staring out the window of her living room. The moon had peaked through her lacy curtains, its cool, gentle light illuminating her in its faint glow. She had turned away from the light, stumbling numbly into the kitchen. She had opened a cabinet, grabbing a box of corn flakes and stuffing a handful in her mouth. That was probably her lowest point- when she was standing in the middle of her empty, cold kitchen, stuffing her face with sugar cereal in a pathetic attempt to drown out every feeling of loneliness and betrayal that seemed to scrape at her insides until she was hollowed out like an october pumpkin.

America had allowed herself to stay in that state of mind for the rest of the night- a grieving period, she supposed. Then, the next afternoon, she had taken to following Japan's instructions. She had packed a small suitcase of items, and had gotten a uniform ready to go, along with informing her officials of her plans. After that she just had to wait. She had never been good at waiting, but the sheer lack of distractions made it nearly unbearable this time. When she wasn't busy, her thoughts always seemed to drift back to her father's betrayal, and then swirl and swish around until her head felt like it was filled with soup. So, she had kept busy. She cleaned her house twice, made repairs to the barn she kept Nelson in, and ignored any phone-calls from her father and other family members. Finally, after almost 9 days of waiting, she had gotten the call that the plane was ready to pick her up.

Now, she sat in the back of a plane, staring aimlessly out the window into the never ending abyss that was the ocean below. It was December 17th. America hadn't been planning to cross the Atlantic for another few days. Originally, she had been planning to leave on the twentieth, in order to get to England in time for Christmas. Her whole family had planned to meet there, despite the war, just so they could see each other... she supposed it would have to be canceled now, given the recent events that had taken place. She tried to push away the sadness that occured at the thought... She didn't want to miss them, especially since they obviously weren't feeling all that sad about her, given the mess she currently found herself in. America fidgeted with the rim of her hat, the coarse green material single-handedly keeping her from drifting off completely into her thoughts.

After a few more hours, they landed in Germany, the landing causing the plane to jolt roughly, effectively snapping America out of the nap she had almost succumbed to. She looked out the window, noticing they were in a field of some sort, which was surrounded by trees. She noticed a small, wispy column of smoke in the distance, making her wonder if that was where the base was.

The American stood up, grabbing her suitcase and exiting the plane, making sure to give the pilot a small wave as she left. She squinted for a moment before spotting an automobile towards the edge of the field. Next to it was Imperial Japan, holding her hand up in a wordless greeting. America walked briskly over to her, smiling.

"Hey there!" She said, almost going for a hug, before quickly switching to extending her hand for a handshake. She remembered that Japan wasn't too keen on physical touch (something that she had worked very hard to keep in mind over their years of friendly relations) and although their last meeting had involved an embrace, America didn't want to assume that it was suddenly alright. Japan seemed to appreciate the gesture, smiling slightly as she shook America's hand.

"Hello." The empire said simply, glancing towards the westerner's suitcase. "Is that all you brought?"

America raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you tell me to keep it light?"

She nodded, "I did, but I didn't think you would actually listen."

America rolled her eyes. "Anywho, where's the base you were talking 'bout?"

Japan nodded, "I'm about to take you to it. Get in." America reached for the door handle, only for Japan to grab her wrist. "Passenger seat is on the other side."

"What but-" America stared at her for a moment, before it clicked. "Oh. Right. European car." She sheepishly plucked her hand out of Japan's grasp, muttering something about Europe being weird, even though she knew that the rest of the world operated the same way, and really she was the estranged one. The two of them got in the car, and started off towards the base.

America looked out the window, "Uh Japan? Isn't it the other way?"

Japan glanced over at her, "What?"

She pointed at the smoke column, which was shrinking as they kept driving. "There was smoke in that direction. Isn't that where the base is?"

Japan's eyes widened slightly, before she quickly shook her head. "No, it's this way."

"Then what was-"

"Don't worry about it." Japan said with a strained smile, causing America to drop the issue. The last thing she wanted was for her strongest ally at the moment to sucker-punch her in the face for asking too many questions.

America stared out the window, watching as they drove through a few small towns and stretches of rural land. It was a little off-putting, seeing red, black, and white flags on every building, but she simply figured they were showing extra support for their country during war. Afterall, her own people were known to hang 'Old Glory' from their homes to show their patriotism, maybe people in Germany did the same. If that was the case, then they were definitely a patriotic bunch, as America had failed to find one building without a nazi flag during the hour-long drive.

After the hour was up, Japan pulled to a stop in front of a large house. It didn't look much like a military base, but America supposed that was the point. It looked more like where someone's grandfather would live than where one would plan air-raids. The two women sat in the car for a moment, before America finally spoke.

"Japan?"

"Yes?"

She hesitated, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked, an uneasy feeling in her gut as she stared straight ahead.

Japan looked over at the younger country. "You trust me, right?" The empire smiled slightly when the younger country nodded, "Then come on. You'll be fine. I wouldn't have offered this if I thought it was a bad idea."

Japan stepped out of the automobile, followed a moment afterwards by America. The two stood together, still looking at the old house. The taller of the two looked at the star-spangled woman, raising an eyebrow. "Are you... having second thoughts?"

America broke her anxious gaze at the door, looking up at Japan. "Huh? Oh, no! No! Of course not!" She laughed nervously, but quickly let it die off once she noted Japan's serious expression. She sighed, "I'm just... nervous? I guess?" Scared was a much better term for it, but America did not want to admit that aloud. She had gone against her family before, of course, but something about this seemed so different. So... drastic, and nerve-racking.

Japan sighed, "You'll be fine. You've already known Italy for decades."

"It's not Italy I'm worried about."

Japan's eyes widened slightly, before she nodded. "I see... well don't worry about Third Reich either. He'll only do something if he thinks you're hurting the war effort for us," Japan sternly pointed a finger at America, "Which I know you won't. Because if you betray us after I let you in, I'll kill you myself, got it?"

America nodded, giving a quick salute, "Yes, ma'am."

Japan nodded in return, "Good. Now let's go inside so we can make things official."

And with that, the two walked up the steps, and went in.