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Trapped

Singa couldn't move. In front of her stood a country she had spent 14 years trying to repress in her memories. A country that had left her broken and alone. A country who still held a spot in her heart. Now, after 14 years of seperation, they were in the same room for the first time but with some changes. Britain stood awkwardly off to the side as Singa turned back to the door,not making any move to open it. Britain hadn't meant to pull her in his study but there she stood,a woman so unknown yet so familiar. Remembering what Ame said about socialising,Britain extended a hand to the country. "Good evening ma'am. My name is Britain and may I ask whom I have the pleasure of speaking to this fine evening?"

The rest of the Asean family were waiting out in the backyard. Brunei and Thai were looking around nervously and Asean was rubbing his temples. Cam,Viet and Laos were trying to help Myam find a way back inside the mansion while MalPhilIndo were awfully silent. Of course, they had known from the moment that Britain had grabbed Singa that it wasn't an accident. They had planned for Singa and France to be swapped in the chaos so that Singa could at least try to fix her bond with her father. Now, it seemed like a lost cause. "What do we do now?"Asean looked to the trio as though they were the only hope left. In a way, it was true. Their uncanny ability to come up with prank ideas on the spot make them quite skilled at thinking on their feet. All eyed turned to them as Phil grabbed a nearby twig and began sketching in the ground. Indo and Mal crouched down next to him and soon, the perfect plan was born.

Singa looked around at the family pictures decorating the room. She had deflected Britain's earlier question and was now wandering around aimlessly. Picture after picture lined the wall and Singa couldn't help a tinge of sadness looking at all the framed memories on the walls. "Forgive me Mr.Britain but could you tell me about your family? You seem awfully close." Singa looked for an excuse to learn more about her brothers. Britain looked up from where he was studying the floor. His face lit up with joy and maybe the pride that comes with a chance to talk about one's family. Singa looked back at him, her hair covering the moon and stars. Her eyes were soft and she had a small smile unbecoming of someone who should be smiling more often. In that moment,Britain thought she looked like the child in his dreams.

"Mal will throw a durian at Britain, effectively breaking the window. While he's unconscious, Singa can escape through the hole in the window and we can all go home and watch Bob The Builder without anyone knowing what happened here." Phil ended with a flourish as he finished his drawing in the ground. "Any questions?" Indo glanced up at the gathered countries and wasn't surprised when Cam raised her hand. "What if we hit Singa instead?" total silence for a minute until Brunei spoke up. "We could use morse code with my phone's torch," he pointed out as he slipped his phone out of his pocket. "And if we get caught?" Asean asked the trio. Mal piped up with certainty in his voice. "We can just blame someone else. In all the chaos we created, no one will ever know who started it!" nods all around until a new voice shattered all hope for anonymity. "You guys did that?" the group looked up as New Zealand came out from where he had been hiding.

"...New Zealand and Australia get into fights sometimes but never over something too serious. Though what with Aussie's flare ups, it's hard to predict when he'll be back to fighting NZ. He's always so careful now." Btitain's tone turned sadder as he brought up Aussie's condition. Singa looked away again, not wanting him to recognise the look in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to tell me about it." she lowered her eyes, knowing that it took the British man courage to tell her all this. "No no, it's not your fault I'm a terrible father." Britain shrugged his shoulders and chuckled softly, trying to ease the tension. Singa's eyes followed him as he sat back down at his desk,framed by the stars and the moon on the other side of the glass pane. His eyes told volumes about why he perceived himself as winner of the worst father of the year award but Singa still went ahead and said "No sir. You're a good man. And an even better father" Britain smiled up at her.....just as a durian came crashing through the window and into his head.

"You guys did that?" New Zealand looked around at the group of countries before him. There was MalPhilIndo,Brunei,Thai,Cam,Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam but where was the last member of ASEAN? In fact....where was Asean himself? From behind NZ, a shadow loomed over him and knocked him unconscious with what looked like Martial Law's favourite shotgun. Brunei lunged to catch NZ as he fell to the ground and everyone else just stared up at Asean flabberghasted at what he had done. "So you're okay with throwing durians at people's heads but not with knocking them out directly?" nodding begrudgingly, the Asean family went back to what they were doing.

The minute Singa was out of the hole in the glass, Brunei had swept her in a bone crushing hug and even took the liberty of hauling her over his shoulder as they raced through the backyard. Phil was similarly slung over Indo's shoulder and Laos grumbled over Viet's. Myammar was cussing in Burmese when Cambodia did the same to her but Mal was the most protestant when Thai carried him. "THIS IS VERY GAY AND VERY HARAM!!" he had cried out repeatedly until Asean had shoved a piece of durian into his mouth. Once they reached the cars, Vietnam and Myammar hit the gas pedal as hard as they could without breaking it.

Back in Britain's study, 4 particular ghosts were debating whether it was wise to haunt his dreams just to snap him back to his senses."Clearly locking him and Singa in the same room won't work so I honestly don't see why we shouldn't haunt him," Japanese Empire pointed out as they gathered around the sleeping man's head. "If we haunt him, we risk detection and he might call an exorcist. Besides, he's the one that made flying with umbrellas possible" USSR retorted back as though flying with umbrellas was on the same level as ghosts. "I'm sorry Mahal but I have to agree with Kuya USSR on this one. It's too risky," Perla tried to convince Katipunan. Sighing, Kati finally agreed with his wife. "Alright Mahal, but we still have our own three ring circus to sort out," Kati pointed out even as he agreed with her. "Then it's decided. We will let nature take its course and instead focus on helping Perla and Kati with their kids instead." USSR decreed as the leader of their small group. With that being said, only time can tell whether the father-daughter duo would ever reunite.