'ᴛʜᴇ ɢʟᴏʙᴀʟ ᴊᴏᴜʀɴᴀʟ' || ʜᴇᴛᴀʟɪᴀ

Prologue

Sealand was tired of it. He was sick and tired of being useless and unable to help anyone. Sure, not many people saw him as a nation - let alone a micronation - in his own right, but he couldn't hold a grudge forever. He wasn't England, after all.

He hadn't been in the world for long, but in that time, he'd witnessed a lot of things. He'd seen the aftermath of war, assassinations, break-ups, arguments... It was a lot for him, and he didn't always understand it. He'd also managed to befriend someone who came to be one of his closest supporters and friends. Prussia.

Sealand knew that he had little knowledge about the lives of the personifications before World War Two, and Prussia had been his go-to guy. And now, with the Prussian's help, he had finished writing a journal in the name of the entire world. Each page had an entry, each entry was about a country. Some countries had more than one entry, and some were good where others were bad. Prussia had managed to get his hands on the diaries of most of the nations that would be attending and some of the entries were copied into the collection. It was tiring, but it was necessary. Both of them knew they couldn't let their friends and family suffer any longer. All of the countries had more than one secret to tell. How were they coping with it all so seemingly perfectly?

They had it all planned. A final note from the duo was left tucked into the back page of the book and the package was sealed with a neat, blue ribbon tied in a bow. Before the next global meeting, due to be held in London, Prussia would leave the completed journal in the conference room in plain sight. From there, it was in the hands of the nations present. Prussia would stay in London, and Sealand would be at home, watching from the pre-installed cameras Gilbert would set up.

The G8, along with China, Romano and Spain, did not form the entirety of the world, but they held more frequent meetings in each other's capitals. It was Germany's idea primarily, but all of the nations involved had agreed.

Prussia never got involved in meetings anymore. Germany took the speaking front, talking to political figures, leaders and other nations, and Prussia helped with the paperwork back home. He didn't stay at meetings because they held a lot of memories for him that he just couldn't face. Sealand was never deemed worthy of being there because of his status as a micronation. He knew he'd be there with them one day, and he would wait, but he was slowly becoming impatient.

It was the middle of March. The next meeting was tomorrow. Everyone was already in London. Prussia had managed to get into the conference room and had placed the cameras and wires where needed. Peter was connected and would be able to watch as these countries saw what each other went through. He'd witness as they cried, reassured, apologised and became better people for it.

Gilbert placed the journal on the table, where his brother would be sat within the next twenty-four hours. He knew some things would hurt. He knew some things would make them all laugh. He also know that some things in there would send an angry mob of countries chasing both himself and Sealand endlessly for the next few centuries. But it was worth it. For their own sakes, it had to be done.

He left the journal there and left the room, then the building, then the inner city. His hotel was in the outer circle of central London, away from the hotel that all of the other attending nations would be staying at. No one knew he was there. He wanted it to stay that way. In his hotel room, Prussia had all the necessary equipment to talk to Sealand and watch and listen to what was happening in the meeting room. The stage was set. The lights were on. The cameras were rolling. In nineteen hours and forty-three minutes, the journal would be discovered.

Gilbert turned on his laptop and opened all the necessary programs and windows in preparation. As he was double-checking the feeds, he started to receive a video call via Skype, and he hastily answered it, knowing exactly who it was.

"Hallo, squirt."

"Is everything ready? I don't know if I can wait... I feel nervous..."

"Why? We are helping them. Remember that, ja? If anyone dares say otherwise, or tries to tell you how unawesome this idea of yours is, I won't hesitate to intervene." Gilbert said. "Don't worry, kiddo. This'll do them some good."

"I hope you're right, Prussia."

"Of course I'm right! I'm always right!"

"That's what you think! What about that time with the prank we tried to pull on Rus-"

"DON'T-! We don't speak of that... That was a genuine mistake that anyone would've made."

"Bull-twoddle!"

"Hey, watch your mouth. Honestly, England really is a bad influence on kids..." the Prussian sighed. "Alright. Just chill out for a bit, and tomorrow morning, we can tune into the meeting, OK? It might last a long time... There is a lot to go through, after all."

"Alright. Talk to you tomorrow, Gil."

"Ja, talk to you tomorrow, squirt. Auf wiedersehen."

The two had collaborated often - sometimes with America as well - to prank other nations relentlessly for that past few years. They were a nuisance, but they loved it. It was a unique bond. But now they were bound by a different cause that was more serious than either of them could've expected.

As he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling of his room, Gilbert's mind started to remind him of everything he'd read and written over the course of the past few weeks. He didn't understand how his friends had managed to keep so many things hidden. Sure, he had his own secrets that he hadn't shared, and he put those in the journal too, but were they all that scared?

'I really hope the positives outweigh the negatives for everyone. I don't want them to be upset... I want them to realise that they don't have to suffer in silence. Sealand did good by bringing this to my attention. I just hope that this doesn't backfire in any way...'

He turned his thoughts to Peter. The kid was brave for doing this, and perhaps smarter than anyone else. Gilbert couldn't take credit. He'd only taken the initiative to gather more information in questionably covert ways, so that Sealand's idea could get into motion. If this did go pear-shaped however, Prussia was willing to take the blame. Peter was a kid. It was only fair.

It took him a while to fall asleep that night. Saying his mind was troubled was an understatement and a half. The things he'd learned were swarming in his mind and projecting scenarios that he saw each time he closed his eyes. It was 3am when Gilbert finally fell asleep. Five hours later, he'd be up again and doing final checks of all his equipment. He'd call Peter. He'd watch the screens. He'd listen in. He'd be ready. The truth would finally be set free.