Medium

Trade

= Third Person's POV =

- Real World - Austria -

In the awkward silence, America scratched his head and managed to put a smile on his face.

"All right, then. Since you seem to know nothing about us, why don't we introduce ourselves?" He raised his sunglasses, revealing his sky-colored eyes. "I'm the United States of America. You can call me the US, America, or anything you like."

"Uh-huh, America. It's... is it nice for you to meet me?" TR laughed nervously. He knew that he wasn't welcome.

"Nah, you're good." America offered a handshake. He accepted it.

The others introduced themselves, but as the USSR bent down to match TR's height, he suddenly started fidgeting. His gaze began to jump around, and he grasped the hem of his sheets.

"Are you alright?" USSR asked, his hand wavering in the air. "Umm... I don't know. I don't feel comfortable around you."

"Oh?" Someone let out a voice. TR was rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. "I... Did I do something horrible? No, I mean, I do know that I should have done terrible things, but..." He let out a groan.

"Hmm, do you think he needs a history lesson?" The UK asked. "Or, we can wait until he recalls everything by himself." The USSR said and stood up straight.

TR looked at them with a confused expression. He was still fidgeting with the hem of the sheets, anxious about who they were, what they were doing, and what they were planning to do with him.

"But, we should at least teach him some things about the world now and then. He doesn't know anything." Austria pointed out. He walked over to one of the shelves by the wall and took out a book. "Hmm... But I have no idea where we should start. The First World War?"

"Why don't you just give him the whole history book?" the US asked. Austria smiled nervously, "The world's been here for longer than any of us. Besides, he doesn't know what he doesn't know because he knows nothing about anything." He flipped through some pages of the books and handed it to TR.

"Here. It's the textbook used in schools nowadays. It should be objective, but try to read other materials so that your ideas don't get... biased." Austria handed him a reasonably thick book. The contents started from the Stone Age to the Cold War, until the Arab Spring.

"Would you want me to bring in some books too?" The US asked, too, but USSR scoffed, "Your's are 80% propaganda, and you think your textbooks work as educational resources?" "Oi, shut up, commie."

Britain cleared his throat in annoyance. The two stopped their argument and looked down at the floor like a child being told off by their parents.

Third Reich was already reading through the textbook. His eyes shone in interest, and his already red flag seemed to blush in excitement. His fingers traced the words of the book. It didn't take a lot of time until all of them realized that his nails were broken. It wasn't like he had been biting his nails but had been scratching something with a rough surface.

"Um, Third Reich, can I ask you something?" Britain asked. TR raised his head from the book, "Yes?" "What happened to your fingernails?"

TR looked down at his fingers and looked shocked at the sight of them. They were short, very short. Some very small scars were visible at the fingertips, and dried blood had blended in with his flag color. He showed a fearful expression and then covered his hands to hide them.

"Oh, um... I don't know." Everyone there knew he was lying. "You're not mentioning anything to us?" USSR said intimidatingly. "I-I really can't say..."

"Austria, did you see his body when you changed him?" Britain demanded. Austria nodded. "He came through the woods. That's the only thing at the back of the house. His clothes were tattered and his body had injuries. I tried to cure them, but some remained... You know, we can't cure injuries that are too deep or had been there for a long time without being cured."

His eyes stated, 'And I didn't want to fight him one on one if he had memories.' The countries read that accurately.

"But then, there's another type we can't cure. That's when we injure ourselves. I don't know what his body looks like right now, but his fingers don't look like they're that deep." USSR insisted. He eyed the German with suspicious eyes, but the other just let out a small voice in fear. He seemed to be scared of something. Nobody knew him as much to sense what it was.

After that small but rather long talk, the four countries were back in the parlor. TR stayed in the room provided for him; He seemed to be interested in the textbook for now.

"OK. New things to discuss now." America started. "Let's just say. We know absolutely nothing about him. Then and now."

"We'll also need to think about what to do to him. Where to keep him." Austria pointed out. "We can't keep him in Europe until everyone understands his condition..." The UK added, "And we can't kill him. Not now. He's experiencing things that none of us had experienced yet. I doubt anyone had seen countries glitch. Not even the WHO."

"America, why don't you keep him? You're the one who's the most neutral... Out of the four." USSR grinned. "Argh, actually, I was thinking the same thing. What should I say to the states..." The UK scoffed at his son's comment, "Keep it secret then. You don't live with them."

America saw the pleading gaze of Austria and sighed. "OK, fine. But only until the next meeting. Then, he'll be going to wherever the votes want him to go. Whether it's hell or a place for living."