Post-Nuclear (Hetalia Based)

1

"Mateo!" Maria called across the icy village as she stood by the village of Unity's large port, alerting the secretary to her country's leader. "The newest shipment has arrived!" Only in the past few years- not even a decade- had Antarctica been able to support the growth of life akin to plants and animals. They had attempted to innovate their own methods or improve upon the ideas of long-gone European countries, but nothing was like the real thing. Plus, the ideas of countries that have been dead as long as Maria has been alive don't often hold up nearly three hundred years later. Maria often wondered what life was like when they were alive, but she would never know, would never even get to meet them. But that wasn't what was important right now. What was is that she could celebrate the fact that her people would no longer be hanging on by a thread. The relief of being habitable after so many years was overwhelming and the day it was announced quickly gained traction as a national holiday akin to that of the Antarctic Union's independence. Finally, so long as no one was an idiot, they would be as habitable- on the coasts only, but that's where all the towns were anyway- just like any other surviving country.

This was wonderful news for the Antarctic Union's representative, for reasons that are likely obvious. Now, not only would her people not be at risk of dying should other countries no longer be willing to fund their existence, but those other countries would no longer have to waste resources on them. Her brothers and sisters would have much more cash now. And sure, she still had to keep her people safe through harsh colds, but they had developed a level of resistance to it. Unfortunately, being used to the cold meant they were banned from visiting her brother Australia's home, as there was a high likelihood they would die upon encountering the heat.

Mateo- the secretary mentioned earlier- huffed as he approached Maria, his hair a mess as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. The man had clearly not been awake ten minutes earlier.

"The... guys'll be here soon to help unload the ship, M. Why're you-" he cut himself off with a large yawn- "sticking around?" Someone slept in... Maria shrugged.

"Kaelin decided he wanted to come for a visit so he hopped aboard the trade ship, with permission from his boss, of course. I needed to discuss something with him anyway, so I might as well wait for him at the port. He'll only be here a short while, don't worry. He's bringing Jett, though." Mateo nodded, yawning again.

"I wonder what it's like in New Zealand," he stated wistfully. Because of their affinity to cold and not so much to heat, Antarcticans were heavily advised not to travel to most countries and banned from some others. It wasn't a surprise, seeing as Antarctica was one of the only countries around anymore that still saw snow on a regular basis- not to mention subzero temperatures- but it did severely limit vacation opportunities. Mateo was one of those who had gone against the recommendations one time and had visited his ancestral home of Argentina once. He was returned within twenty-four hours, having fainted of heatstroke not long after arriving and was in danger of death. So yeah, most didn't go against the recommendations.

"Oi! Maria!" The voice snapped the representative out of her internal monologue, her head turning to see Jett and Kaelin approaching, both covered head to toe in jumpers. "Why does it have to be so bloody cold here?!" Jett demanded. "I'm wearing so much clobber I can barely see!" The younger representative chuckled.

"Not my fault you live in a place so hot I literally am not allowed to go there! Should've cooled down a bit if you didn't want to experience the icy pits of Earth!" The Australian laughed.

"Careful, cunt!" He teased. "You're reminding me of the old days! Russia and America kindly donated a fuck ton of trees after all the bombs! Should-a seen how to outback used to look!" They all laughed, though Maria could see that the thoughts of the past did upset the two brothers. Not like the Antarctic could blame them though- they watched the world fall. And while she hadn't been there herself, the sheer amount of people that died was staggering. Hell, the world was nowhere near even a quarter of the population it once had. In hindsight, the war between the Americans and Russians was absolutely pointless. In fact, the reason why it started wasn't even taught anymore- no one wanted to give even an inkling of justification to the horrific actions committed.

"Come on into the village hall," she invited her brother figures. "I have a plan I want to share with you so you can help me refine it before I bring it up with my boss." Curious, the two brothers followed the Antarctic Union through the wintry village that acted as the country's capital city. The village hall was exactly in the middle.

Maria had only ever been more passionate in her life about her people's safety than her current work-in-progress idea. Because of this, showing the two older brothers, wouldn't be her asking for permission, as they might assume. No matter what they said- good or bad- she would be going through with her plan. She was asking them, however, because she still needed to develop it. She had a basic premise, sure, but only the surviving countries of the One Day War of 1983 would be able to formulate her plan. And Kaelin and Jett happened to be two such people. And survivors like them were the only ones with knowledge of the Earth at that time. They were the only people who might be able to help her find where survivors would be.