Chapter Text
It was a bright and sunny day in the United States of America's house as the distant murmuring of voices down the corridor grew louder until numerous countries entered the large room. First to enter was America himself, a tall man of 19 with the distinctive 'blonde hair, blue eyes' look, framed by his red glasses and emphasized by his brown bomber jacket over his khaki army clothes. A wide grin was plastered onto his face as he quite literally threw himself into a chair at the end of the table, signifying that he was in fact, the hero. Next to enter came France, also a blonde-haired, blue eyed man of 26 who strode into the room with a manner of elegance as his dark blue jacket fluttered behind him. Upon noticing the American he gave a smug smile and sat down on the seat nearest to him, clicking his tongue and looking back towards the door. Other nations such as Italy, Japan, China, Germany and Russia came strolling in and each took their usual seats at the long table until every chair but one was filled.
America shot up with the energy of a 12-year-old at the sight of an ice-cream van and strode over to a large touch-screen that resembled a giant iPad built into the wall.
"Alright, dudes! Let's get this show on the road!" the American's voice echoed throughout the room, leading the other countries to shut their mouths and start listening to what the young American had to say. "So, as you know already... since I'm the hero of technology, my people have invented this....!"
America laid his whole hand on a square on the touch-screen and the whole room went dark, lighting up what appeared to be the center of the long table. The light went from a bright green to a neon blue, and flashed to life as an object was created in mid-air and was hovering above the heads of the surprised countries as they looked on, mouths open in disbelief.
"It's a hologram! We've all seen them in the films; from Hollywood in my country by the way; but now we've finally managed to create a real-deal 3D version!" America's voice was almost trembling with excitement at this opportunity - finally, he'd managed to do something right - finally other countries would be proud of him for inventing this amazing piece of technology, finally-
"You called us all the way here just for this?" A harsh voice that no doubt belonged to Germany rumbled among the silence that led America's trail of thought to break.
"Oh! Could you possibly create a piece of pizza from mid-air using this whatchamacallit? That would be absolutely amazing!" a peppy voice that obviously belonged to Italy interrupted Germany halfway through his comment.
"Shut up! All you think about is pizza, Italy!" came the reply from the German as he whacked the Italian on the head.
The countries then started talking among themselves once more, causing America to wilt a little as no-one had even bothered to congratulate him for all of his hard work. Frowning, he flicked the switch again which made the lights come back on and the hologram to turn itself off, and sighed before turning back to the screen.
"Mon ami, I think your invention is wonderful," America spun around to see France standing in front of him, an apologetic smile on his face. "I know we never really talk that much, but I will say that you 'ave impressed me this time."
America replied with a grin of his own. "Aw, thanks man - that means a lot! Although the only reason I even bothered to invest in the hologram was so I could impress you guys... but it didn't work on anyone but you." the American wrinkled his nose. "I guess I'll throw the thing away and get back to the drawing board!"
"What?! You can't just throw it away, Amérique! It is a state-of-the-art piece of technology you have there!" France replied in shock. "Plus, 'ow much money did you spend on it in the first place?"
The frown returned to America's face as he struggled to remember. "Er... a few million bucks, I think. Well, I don't want the stupid hologram, so you're free to take it if you want! Consider it a gift from me!"
France glanced over at the center of the table where the hologram had been. "Erm, merci?" the Frenchman replied as America made his way out of the room. The other countries soon followed, which left France standing on his own, looking at the table in thought.
'How many people were here today, again...?' he wondered as he started to walk around the table slowly, looking at each individual chair and adding the country to the list of names he had in his head. 'Hmm... I guess not that many people showed up today. C'est dommage.'
He went to reach for the hologram and picked up the device it was projected from; a small, silver sphere with a lens in the middle of it, it gave the impression of an eyeball. Clutching the cold metal with his right hand, he strode towards the door, before he remembered exactly who was missing from the meeting today.
"Ah...!" the Frenchman dropped the projector in shock as he recalled everything about the particular person. "Angleterre... hasn't been around in years! 'ow did I not notice that before?! I am so stupide!" he turned to the door to leave, before looking back at the projector on the floor. "Ahem... I think America can keep his little toys for now." he muttered to himself as he half-walked, half-ran out of the door, eager to do a little more research on the long-term absence of his childhood friend.