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Chapter Text

November 1918 19:00 - Berlin 

The wind whipped around her as her wings beat hard. The scythe she held helped her cut through. About two minutes left .. She dramatically landed, not that anyone could see, and her feet softly touched the crooked sidewalk. Her pitch black eyes landed on one specific building. 23 seconds ..

The German Empire was on the floor of his office, panting hard. His vision focused and unfocused. Es schmerzt .. <It hurts ..> His gloved hand gripped his painful chest tightly, practically ripping it apart, although he was too occupied to notice. His forehead was slick with sweat and he furrowed his eyebrows. Am I .. dying?

Phew, I got here on time. He ought to be dead by now, right? She sprinted up the stairs, almost tripping along the way. Her breath was shallow and creases formed on her forehead.

The door busted open. The German Empire raised his head, his hand gripping on a gun handle. He couldn't let anyone see the sorry state he was in. Especially not after that humiliating defeat. But what he didn't expect was a girl with wings to enter.

Her hair was the colour of a cherry blossom, and she wore a clean, white dress that went to her knees. Her face was plastered with sorrow and exhaustion, but the most noticeable part were the wings. They were stark white and neatly folded behind the girl. "You're alive?!" She shouted a little loudly, eyes widened in shock. The German Empire instinctively raised an eyebrow before wincing in pain once again.

She rushed over, observing his current status. It was not good. The girl sighed in relief, confusing the German Empire for the second time in about 5 seconds. Her mood changed, and she seemed more serious. The change was haunting, as her soulless eyes felt like an inescapable void.

"Good to meet you, Mr German Empire. You are dying. Please don't try to stop it."

-

The pain eventually stopped and his body felt light. Too light. The German Empire stood up. His body didn't follow. "So I really have died .." The girl nodded in confirmation, and the German Empire took a step forward. "Now .. who are you?" he said sternly, "and why can you see me after I've died?" His expression implied that he was not about to take no for an answer. The girl chuckled a bit before responding.

"I am @#$%^. Please, just call me Sasha. I am a servant of death sent to guide you to the afterlife."

"A servant of death, here to guide me to the afterlife .." The cogs in his brain turned. It was hard to believe, but did he really have a choice? "How do I go to the afterlife ..?" The girl gave an empty smile, raising her scythe. Did she always have a scythe? "Like this." She swung it, slicing him in half.

The German Empire flinched, but didn't move. It didn't hurt, after all. For a second, nothing happened. Then, his vision was going blurry. Sasha was the only thing he could see. She waved cheerfully, her empty eyes looking at him. "Have a safe trip."

-

The German Empire faded away, presumably to the afterlife. Sasha sighed, stretching and poking his dead body in boredom. I ought to go soon before someone sees me .. She was too late.

What an awful sight it must've been. The German Reich's eyes were saucers. His father, dead, and a woman standing over his body. Too many thoughts were racing around his mind. The woman suddenly turned, seeing him. The German Reich went cold as her eyes landed on him. "W-who are you, and what have you done with vater?" He said shakily, stepping back.

Sasha stared, wondering what to do. She was too lax today and forgot to turn back invisible. Now someone saw her, wings and everything, and it wasn't someone who was about to die in a few seconds. 

The German Reich then noticed the scythe. The handle was black and the blade shone brightly in the dim lighting of the office. Tears welled up in his eyes. Is this the end for me? He shivered at the woman, unable to run. 

Sasha blinked awkwardly, remembering the boy. She turned her scythe into a pen and she tucked it who-knows-where before giving a relaxing smile. "Hello little boy. Don't worry, your vater is in a better place now. Please don't be scared." It would be too troublesome if the boy started screaming or crying.

The German Reich processed her words. "Better .. place?" Sasha nodded, grateful that he wasn't as scared as the other children she's encountered accidentally. "Yes, it's called the afterlife! Everyone goes there eventually." The German Reich blinked, not as scared as he was before. She isn't attacking me, right? And she seems .. weird.

"Who are you, miss?" Sasha almost laughed. Like father like son, I suppose. "I'm @#$%^, but call me Sasha." She curtsied politely, hoping this would ease tensions. It certainly did, that's for sure. 

"Are you .. an angel?" Sasha's eyes widened and she glanced at her still-visible wings. Oops. "Uh, yeah, I suppose you could say that!" she said sheepishly, silently cursing herself for being so stupid. The German Reich must've believed this, because his body wasn't as tense as before. 

"I really have to go now, uh .." Sasha didn't know what to call this boy. "Call me Reich, Miss Sasha. Are you .. going to come back?" he said, looking down a little. Sasha debated on what to say, but decided to do the safest option. "Yeah, I'll come back, but I must leave .. goodbye, Reich." And then she turned invisible.

Chapter Text

December 13th 1937 Evening - Yangtze River, Nanjing

People flooded out of the gate, desperate to make it across the river to safety. It was a shame, really. Some of the Japanese were waiting for them on the other side. Their pleas to the gods filled Sasha's ears. She sighed, eyebrows furrowed once again.

She was currently invisible, flapping her wings above the river. So many people are to die today .. and tomorrow .. just what are the Japanese going to do? She took a big breath before diving into the river. The water was dark and murky, but Sasha swam on. Her wings helped propel her through quickly. 

She slashed some souls that drowned at the bottom of the river and saved some people who weren't supposed to die yet. Thanks to the darkness and confusion, none of the saved civilians realized they were just saved by an invisible being. 

She dived out as her drenched wings kept her up. She was high enough to see over the walls. The Japanese were entering the city. Sasha had a really bad feeling that she was about to have a lot of work to do.

The tanks marched through the crowded roads. Many Chinese civilians smiled, welcoming the Japanese with open arms. "欢迎来到南京!" <Welcome to Nanking!>, Sasha could hear. She looked at the list of dead people she had. All were Chinese names.

They must think that the Japanese are here to save them, since the Chinese government practically abandoned the city .. ah, look at me, feeling sympathy. I forgot I could do that after seeing so many bodies. Well, it's not like I can change it. I don't have enough authority to do that. It would be nice if I did though ..

-

Sasha had to go to Korea for a day to deal with the deaths there. It was brutal, but survivable. When she arrived back to Nanjing, she felt something she hasn't felt in a long time. Disgust.

The streets reeked of blood. Bodies lay everywhere. Fires raged in the background. Screams from every corner of the city adorned the sounds of laughter from the Japanese. Tens of hundreds of souls wandered aimlessly, hugging their fellow dead relatives and finding their still-alive ones.

Sasha didn't know what to say. She mindlessly started sending souls to the afterlife by slashing them. By enlarging her scythe, she managed to send all the souls away in just a few slashes, however, people kept dying. And then it happened.

All servants of Death are given a sixth sense of sorts. This helps them detect when someone who isn't supposed to die yet is in a life-threatening situation. It usually activates 3 minutes before the person is about to die. In 3 minutes, someone in Nanjing was about to die at the wrong time.

Sasha hurled herself up into the sky, scanning the city from above. There! She bolted to where the person was about to be killed. 1 minute and 25 seconds left .. my sixth sense is going insane .. perhaps two people are about to die? No, it's more important than that ..

Sasha screeched to a stop and carefully stepped on the ground. With a snap of her fingers, her plain clothes turned into some civilian clothes, including a pair of shoes, and her wings turned into a ragged jacket that looked like it was hastily slung on her shoulders. She scanned around and spotted the people about to die. 

Countryhumans? Oh, you're kidding, right? This makes things so much more serious .. ugh, what a nuisance, honestly

The two about to die were the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). The person about to kill them was the Japanese Empire. And the one about to save them was @#$%^.

ROC was on his feet, barely, beaten probably half to death. PRC was behind him, shaking in fear, with blood that was not hers staining her clothing. Both looked very young- ROC seemed to be the older one though. The Japanese Empire was also covered in blood that did not belong to him and he held ROC at bayonet point.

A bead of sweat dripped from Sasha. It'll be difficult to save them .. She ducked under some rubble and turned visible .. It's not impossible though. Her hand hurled a rock and it hit the Japanese Empire square on the head. She quickly turned invisible and ran to another hiding spot.

.. BONK! 

"痛い .. 何?" <Ouch .. what?> The Japanese Empire glared at the spot of rubble where the rock was thrown. His eye twitched as he stomped over to the rubble, bayonet in hand. 

Sasha inconspicuously appeared beside ROC and PRC. She quietly nudged the two of them, hoping not to scare them. "Shh .. over here .." ROC turned, and Sasha could see his face more clearly. His face was scratched up badly, and his cheeks were swollen. "你-" <You-> Sasha cut him off, motioning to a partially destroyed building. She put her index finger to her lips quickly as she continuously glanced at the Japanese Empire, who was at the piece of rubble and getting suspicious. ROC understood and grabbed PRC.

In a few seconds, the three bolted across the street and made it behind the building. Sasha peeked past the wall. The Japanese Empire noticed how the two weren't here and got mad. He fumed, but thankfully, walked away, not wanting to waste his time on those two. She sighed and pressed her back against the wall. 

Death better give me a raise after this ..

ROC passed out on the ground, with PRC crying beside him. "不用担心, 他在睡觉," <Don't worry, he is sleeping,> Sasha says to PRC, giving a reassuring smile. PRC gave her a teary glance, making Sasha sigh once again. She wiped PRC's tears and pat her head. "你做得不错中国." <You did good China.> 

Sasha checked the coast- it was clear. She grabbed some bandages from who-knows-where and patched the two up. ROC was still resting, as he should, especially after he got so beat up, while PRC was watching over him intently. The bandages covered up PRC's right eye and about half of ROC's face, as well as both their arms and legs. 

PRC spoke up. "你 .. 你是谁?" <You .. who are you?> But Sasha was gone. She went invisible right before PRC turned to talk to her. Her jacket turned back into wings, but she kept the disguise just in case. 

PRC didn't know what to do. Her big brother was out like a light. People were looking for them. The only other ally nearby ran away. How am I supposed to survive? Then she noticed a small note. 

Translated, it said something along the lines of this- <Look for the International Safety Zones. The Westerners will look after you. Stay safe.>

She gripped the paper, a small burning fire lighting up in her heart. There's a way to save me and 哥哥. 

Sasha saw this and smiled, flying above, before going to the rest of the city.

-

"救命!救命!" <Help! Help!> The westerner turned, recognizing the flag instantly. "China? Are you two okay?! Over here, over here!" They motioned towards the refugee camps. 

PRC piggy-backed ROC towards the camp. Fellow refugees turned their heads towards the country, a spark of hope lighting up. PRC did her best to smile and encourage everyone to keep going on. ROC was still sleeping when he was lowered onto a bed. 

"哥哥 .." PRC clasped her hand around her brother's, laying her head on his chest. I know he is breathing; I know he is fine, but .. wake up soon 哥哥

"China, China! Could you spare a moment to-" the westerner, who was holding a voice recorder and some paper, stopped when they saw the tired body of PRC sleeping beside her brother. " .. never mind."

Chapter Text

September 1st 1939 - Poland

Sasha flew down to the Second Polish Republic's land, looking at her list. Polish names littered the page, and a mini-map of the world showed the amount of deaths today. Practically all of them were on the Polish-German border and the Polish-Soviet border. Suspicious .. wait, Germany? Isn't that-

An explosion cut her thoughts off. It's started. Sasha kicked off the ground to fly up high and survey the scene. Screams were heard from the east and the west. Everyone ran around in fear and confusion. 

Sasha flew to the west first, sending many souls to the afterlife quickly. A person was stuck under a broken building. Their legs were pinned down by rubble, with the potential of being broken. Sasha's forehead became slick with sweat, and her eyebrows furrowed. 

Her clothes were turned into some random civilian clothes Sasha saw on many other people and her jacket became some suspenders. Her scythe turned into a ribbon that was tied into a bow around her neck as she quickly turned visible and rushed towards the trapped civilian.

"Czy wszystko w porządku?!" <Are you okay?!> The person winced and looked over. "Nic mi nie jest .. " <I'm fine ..>

Sasha carefully lifted the wall on their legs and they dragged themselves out. Their leg was bleeding, but nothing except skin was broken. She gave a sigh of relief and bandaged the person up quickly. "D-dziękuję bardzo, panienko." <T-thank you so much, miss.>

Sasha gave a slight smile. "Bez problemu." <No problem.>

-

"Привет, Польски." <Hello, Polski.> The USSR said slyly, his gun pointed to Poland's forehead. A shot from this distance would be instant death. Poland's fingers couldn't stop shaking. "Witam .." <Hello ..> he quietly responded, eyes constantly watching the USSR and the gun on his forehead. "Unfortunately, I must pull the trigger." He smiled. "Пока!" 

"Нет!" <No!>

Sasha dived, pushing Poland to the side as the shot whizzed past them. She breathed heavily, tired due to crossing the entirety of Poland within a matter of minutes. Sasha wiped the sweat off her forehead and glanced at the two.

The USSR was glaring, but it wasn't full of anger- it was a mix of confusion and curiosity. Poland was sitting on the ground, the push snapping him out of the frozen shock he was in. 

"Dziękuję, ale proszę uważać, panienko!" <Thank you, but please be careful, miss!> Poland quickly stood up, Sasha eventually following suit. The USSR stepped into the conversation. 

"Кто ты?!" <Who are you?!> he shouted, now pointing the gun at Sasha. Poland quickly stood in front of her. "<Russia, she's just a civilian! Don't hurt her, or any of my people!>" he said, getting a bit aggressive. "<Shut up, you don't have a say in this. She interrupted me!>"

The two started yelling at each other, with Sasha, as well as many civilians and Russian soldiers, watching awkwardly. Sasha looked around, carefully slid into the crowd, and became invisible. Whew, the death was avoided. I can only hope that nothing too bad happens for the rest of the day.

Oh boy .. 

-

On the western front, Polish soldiers desperately fought back the Germans with machine-gun firing, although the effort was somewhat futile. The German troops pressed forward, outmaneuvering the Polish slowly. Sasha slashed at most of the front lines, sending the souls to the afterlife quickly. The deaths weren't as fast and brutal as just an hour ago, but that didn't mean that it was much better.

The Third Reich was at the back, elevated so that he could see what was going on up front. He grinned manically as his troops pushed on. Everything goes according to plan. 

Well, he sure thought that it was going according to plan.

In reality, he was about to die. A Polish soldier spotted his head out of the crowd and shot. He was a countryhuman after all. Luckily for him and unluckily for the Jews, Sasha knew ahead of time.

In all honesty, Sasha always had a bit of a bad feeling about the Third Reich. Ever since their short, unpredicted meeting, she felt like one day, he would do something drastic. It seemed like today was that day. 

All the death he caused, unbeknownst to Sasha, would be catastrophic to the humans. Sasha, however, wasn't inclined to care. She wasn't a human, after all. Why should she? All Sasha cares about is whether people die at the right time or not. Unfortunately, now was not his time to die, according to Death at least. And so, she saved him.

Sasha flew down to the Third Reich, invisible. Huh, he's grown a lot. Wait- now's not the time. She shook her head and looked around. The Polish soldier just shot at the Third Reich. Sasha's eyes widened, not realizing how little time she had left. She had to think quick.

What do I do? Should I shove him out of the way? He's a bit too high up though, and the ground is littered with his soldiers. Plus, he might recognize me. Well, it's been so long, and he was so young .. but I literally appeared when his father died, and it would be unlikely that he were to forget such an important part of his life. Ugh, what a nuisance. I mean I could also .. no, I can't do that .. 

Her face twisted into an annoyed smile. Do I even have a choice to do anything else? 

Sasha's eyes focused on the bullet, carefully timing when it would hit. 

.

.

.

Now

With her wing covering where the bullet would hit, Sasha instantly turned visible right when the bullet got close enough. Once the bullet bounced off into who-knows-where, she became invisible once again. 

His eyes were playing tricks. They were, right? There was no way he just saw something white and fluffy in front of himself. Wait, something white and fluffy? Reminds me of ..

Sasha gave a large sigh of relief when she saw how the Third Reich's confused expression reverted. Now, back to work ..

Chapter Text

May 10th, 1940 - Western Europe

Sasha felt her sixth sense going wild- something bad was going to happen, wasn't it? She flew around to the country of Belgium, looking around to find the person that was about to die. The streets were filled with the bustling city folk hastily making their way to work. Sasha furrowed her eyebrows. With the amount of deaths scheduled here in the next few minutes, she doubted that the people would be so focused on work afterwards. Her dark eyes flickered around, before spotting the person about to die. She cursed herself.

Another countryhuman. Do the gods hate me or something? This must be the countryhuman of Belgium .. 

She looked around. It was happening. Sasha rushed over to the countryhuman, who was sitting unknown of the danger he was in on a park bench, and became visible. Her clothes became those similar to what a mother that just walked past her wore and her wings were visible. Before Belgium, or anyone else, could notice or freak out about a random woman with wings, a loud bomb struck the place. 

Sasha's hands covered Belgium's eyes as her wings wrapped around the two of them, shielding the two from the bomb and flying debris. Sasha closed her eyes as she could feel the dead souls around her. It was nauseating. 

What was that sound?! Huh, are those .. feathers? Why is someone covering my eyes? Is everyone okay? What's going on?

After a full five minutes, Sasha opened her eyes and uncurled her wings. The two were trapped under two large walls that must've belonged to a supermarket, because a squashed apple was found lying nearby. The walls were luckily put in a way that would create a gap large enough to fit two people. Her fingers were still locked together in front of Belgium. Speaking of Belgium ..

Belgium realized that she couldn't feel the feathers. Was I imagining it all along? Her eyes shot open and she looked around. Well, she looked around as much as she could. There were gaps between the hands that held her tightly, so she could just barely make out some shapes. Rocks. Debris. An apple? Belgium was about to say something to the person who saved her, until a loud crack from behind was heard.

Sasha was making a pathway out with her scythe. Her scythe swished as the blade met the rubble and carefully broke it. She had to be careful- one wrong move and she could endanger other people trapped beneath the once-tall buildings. Thankfully, the debris wasn't supporting any walls, so it broke quickly without consequence. 

It was a bit awkward cutting through the walls while her hands were busy locked around Belgium's, but it was doable. Sasha just had to tape her scythe to her foot and do it that way. I mean, as long as it gets the job done, Sasha thought.

Once there was a defining pathway, Sasha once again turned invisible. Belgium squinted at the sudden change of light. She turned around, ready to say something, until she stopped. Nobody was there. In fact, a hole to the outside was there instead. Did whoever saved me go through there? Belgium crawled out of the cave of broken buildings and looked around. Germans? Oh, not again .. Flashbacks blinked their way into her mind, but she shook it off quickly.

Sasha saved a few more people, occasionally turning visible to lead them out and turning back invisible once they were looking away. A few souls were also sent to the afterlife, despite their desperate pleas to continue staying on the face of the earth. Sasha sent them quickly, before her opinions were swayed. 

Belgium noticed a lot of people around: most were bleeding and crying over friends and family they couldn't find. Her heart felt heavy, seeing those faces of her people. Belgium noticed her fingers trembling. Ha .. She held her hands tightly, stopping the shaking. I'm a countryhuman. I can't just sit here and stare. With that thought, she steeled herself and walked towards the small crowd of survivors with a clenched fist.

Ah, I feel something. Someone in .. Denmark? Oh god, please tell me it isn't the countryhuman and it's just a normal civilian or something.

Sasha flew straight up, pivoting, and paused for a moment before bolting to her right. The wind made her bubblegum hair whip around everywhere .. not that she really cared at this point. The face of Denmark looked worse than Belgium. Fires broke out every block and people were desperately yelling at the invading Germans. 

Huh, the Germans are invading again? Didn't they invade Poland about a year ago? She paused for a moment, until the screams of people snapped her out. Eh, it isn't my business. At least, not yet. She flew down to the country of Denmark, trying to find the person about to die.

-

Please .. help .. anyone .. it hurts. It hurts. It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts. Help, please. Help. Help help help help help help help-

"<Sir, are you alright?!>"

.. Light?

His eyes slowly opened, taking note of a young woman holding her hand out to him. "<Don't worry, sir, you'll be alright! Please follow me to a safer place!>" 

Ah .. the gods have answered my prayers. I won't die today .. 

-

The man grabbed onto Sasha's hand and heaved him up, breathing in shallow pants. His head was bleeding and his arm was busted up badly. Sasha carefully led the man to the outside, where a doctor luckily found the two and started treating the man.

"<Thank you, miss .. I thought I was done for,>" he whispered as the doctor wiped off the dust and dirt that got into his arm. "<No problem, sir. Good luck with your arm.>" And she left as quickly as she arrived. 

Sasha turned invisible once nobody was watching and flew straight to Luxembourg. Someone was in danger again. No, more than that. A whole group. Her sixth sense was alerted a minute ago, but she was busy with saving the man before. Now there was barely any time until people who weren't supposed to die would die. She wanted to sigh, but there wasn't enough time. I need a raise, honestly ..

Sasha made it to Luxembourg with less than half a minute to find the victims. Her eyes desperately scanned the premises for them. The place looked about as bad as Belgium, with a group of victims and only two doctors huddled together at the corner of what was presumably once a large building. The roof of said building was barely holding together .. Oh no.

Sasha rushed over, her mind racing faster than she could ever imagine. How am I supposed to save them without them seeing? At least there isn't a countryhu- oh, you're kidding, right? The countryhuman Luxembourg is there. Okay, I'll worry about this later. For now, I must save them. So .. how? Ugh, I don't have much time left. Oh, if I just .. nah .. 

.. I don't have a choice, do I?

Sasha went behind the falling roof, out of the sight of the victims, and became visible. If anyone were to see, it would've been quite a shock indeed. Using her scythe, Sasha broke the roof with tens and possibly hundreds of slashes. The force spread the debris a little, but it wasn't enough. In less than a second, Sasha acted. She turned her scythe into a large hand fan and, using as much strength as she could muster, made a large gust of wind powerful enough to spread the debris. Sasha quickly turned back invisible, but .. she wasn't quick enough. His eyes widened in shock, horror, confusion. Sasha cursed to herself.

He saw me. The countryhuman- Luxembourg. He saw me. Shoot. Crap. Oh geez. Freaking hell. Shi-

The rubble flew around, just barely missing the group of survivors. Sasha sighed in relief, but that relief quickly subsided as the survivors shivered in fear. Did they see me too? Sweat beaded on her forehead, but her guess soon proved to be wrong. They were just shaken up by the near death experience, which should've been Sasha's first guess.

That wasn't real, right? Haha, I think I'm going insane. An angel, coming to save us? I'm hallucinating. Must've been the wind or something .. right?

Luxembourg felt overwhelmed and in response, promptly passed out with his eyes rolling back and with foam coming from his mouth. Everyone around him, including Sasha, started panicking. The doctors quickly did a check-up while someone folded their jacket up to use as a pillow. Sasha flew down and checked his pulse before confirming he was in a safe condition and flying away. 

There were, after all, a lot more souls to send to the afterlife, and hopefully only a small handful of people to save from oblivion. 

Yeah, I'm definitely asking for a raise. If only I had the time ..

Chapter Text

??? - ????/??/??

Sasha visited the afterlife. It's been half a century since she's come, which was when she was given the responsibility of people who've had "death by war." Man, did she regret not putting up a fight when she got that. How was I supposed to know that this millennium would be one of the most war-stricken ones? 

Her feet landed on a soft cloud in the sky. "<May I enter?>" she asked, looking bored. A boy who looked far too young appeared in front of Sasha. "<@#$%^, you're back! What's the magic word?>" he teased, flying around in circles with his smaller, more pure wings. "<?????,>" Sasha responded, smiling slightly at the boy in front of her. "<Ding ding ding! Correct, once again!>"

-

"<How's work been? I haven't seen you in a few decades already,>" the boy inquired, seeming to be content. "<Work's awful. I'm hoping for a raise or something,>" she complained, with earned a chuckle from the boy. "<How about you, *&^%$? How have you been doing? Thinking of taking my job over for me?" Sasha said, giving a slightly hopeful look towards the boy. "<Hey, didn't I say to call me by my alias?>" he pouted, furrowing his eyebrows in annoyance. Sasha sighed. "<Yes yes, Olive Oil.>" He swung his arms around in anger. "<Hey! It's Oliver!>"

-

. . ."<Sir, you have a visitor.>" . . . "<Who is it?>" . . . "<@#$%^, one of your servants.>" . . . "<She can come in.>" . . .

"<@#$%^, you should be busy. What brings you here?>" Death asks, turning to Sasha. Sasha entered, an irritated mood. "<I request a raise. This millennium is full of war, and I want a bit more pay for this,>" she demanded. Death gave a convoluted look, which never made sense to Sasha how they did, since they had a skull for a head. 

"<Do you think this millennium is the only one full of war?>"

Sasha's eyebrows furrowed as a bead of sweat dropped. "<You're kidding ..>" Death gave a long sigh, which never made sense to Sasha how they did, since they had no lungs. Do I even have lungs? Eh, not the point. "<Ugh, it's always the humans and countryhumans ..>"

Death raised a non-existent eyebrow. "<You say that like you weren't a human before.>" Sasha gave a bored glance. "<It's been so long; I doubt I have the qualities of a human being anymore.>" Death paused for a moment. "<Sure.>"

"<Oh yes, and my secretary told me something.>" Death's aura got a bit darker, making Sasha want to back away. "<Apparently you've been spotted by not one, not two, but six countryhumans?>" Sasha held her arms up in surrender as sweat beaded her forehead. "<If they didn't, they would've died,>" she said as calmly as she could as her heart (does she even have one?) thumped loudly. 

Death stopped moving, and for a second, Sasha thought she was done for. Then he spoke. "<I see, I see .. I suppose that's a reasonable explanation.>" Sasha would've collapsed on the floor in relief if she had the energy to. "<I suppose you must do what you must do. If people see you, it's usually fine. As long as a famous person or a countryhuman doesn't announce the information to the world, you'll keep your job.>"

.. "<Also, how come so many countryhumans need saving? Are they always in this much danger?>" Death looked at her with his non-existent eyes. "<But of course.>"

-

Sasha left Death's office, feeling like vomiting. No wonder all my other colleagues left that job for me. She walked down the hallway before encountering Oliver again. "<@#$%^! Did you get that raise you wanted?>" Sasha gave him a blank stare. "<Nah, don't want it anymore. Shouldn't you be busy with taking care of the souls I sent?>" He gasped, making Sasha smack her forehead. "<You idiot ..>"

The two made their way to the 19th floor of a large, conspicuous building. Inside was a mess of at least ten thousand people miserably waiting. When the two entered, everyone immediately turned towards them. "<Ahaha, sorry everyone! I got distracted,>" Oliver sheepishly admits to everyone. Sasha nudges him with her elbow. "<Do they look like they speak this language, Olive Oil?>" Oliver paused for a moment. "<Hehe, oops.>"

"Hello everyone. If you haven't already realized, you are dead. Please form a single file line in front of *&^%$ over here." Sasha pointed to Oliver. For a second, nobody moved. Then, someone begrudgingly got up and everyone followed suit. Oliver smiled, pleased with the efficiency, before making a clipboard appear from who-knows-where.

"<Alright, I'll leave you to it then,>" Sasha said, starting to leave. "<Wait wait wait wait wait! We haven't seen each other in a few decades and you're already leaving? It's barely been a day!>" Sasha shrugged. "<Yeah, and?>"

He sighed. "<Let me finish my work and we'll hang out. Pretty please? With a cherry on top?>" Sasha gave him an annoyed glare, but complied. "<Fine. Hurry, because I have to catch up on work after this.>" Oliver grinned in triumph.

-

"<Have you ever visited the dead countryhumans? I've heard most of them are pretty chill, despite the war crimes,>" Oliver pointed out, flying close to the ground next to Sasha. "<Yeah, I'll bet. They've been dead for so long that their grudges in life become trivial.>" Oliver looked at Sasha with saucers for eyes. "<I didn't know you were so poetic?!>" Sasha stifled her laughter to no avail. "<Ha! Yeah, I'm so poetic.>"

"<So uh, why are we visiting dead countryhumans again?>" Sasha awkwardly inquired, turning to Oliver. "<Huh? Why not? I mean- we've visited practically every place we can but here.>" Sasha sighed. Why did I expect this response? 

"<Hello dead countryhumans, nice to meet y'all!>" Oliver busted the door open, making a grand entrance. Countries splayed around the large living-room-like place. They looked up. Oh come on Oliver ..

"<Why would you be so conspicuous .. do they even speak this language?>" The countries started muttering amongst themselves in their native languages, presumably about the two strangers with wings that just entered. "<Nah, they don't know what we're saying,>" Oliver responded, rubbing the nape of his neck. Sasha furrowed her eyebrows before proceeding to apologize for the disturbance in all the languages she could speak, which was a lot.

"Oh, don't worry about it, madam," a red countryhuman spoke in Latin after Sasha apologized in Latin. She noticed that the countryhuman had the letters "SPQR" in gold on their face. "Oh, are you the Roman Empire? You're the predecessor of Italy, correct?"

The Roman Empire nodded, smiling. "Have you encountered her before?" Sasha paused. "She's a girl?" The Roman Empire looked at her questioningly. "Oh, it's just that- yes, I have encountered her before, but she referred to herself with he/him pronouns, so I figured .." 

The Roman Empire looked troubled. "I .. I haven't seen them in a while, have I?"

I feel so stupid, not knowing about my relative. What kind of predecessor am I? I'm sorry, Italy ..

Sasha got a bit worried, but she didn't know what to say, and Oliver, whom she forgot about for a split second, noticed. "<Hey, maybe you could talk to someone else?>" Sasha gave his a side glance before quietly nodding. We should probably leave the Roman Empire to their own thoughts ..

"Oh? Sasha?" 

What? Who- 

Sasha turned around to find the German Empire walk into the room. "Oh, German Empire. How has the afterlife been for you?" she replied in German, hoping to start up a conversation. "It's been good, it's been good. It's nice to see my cousin after witnessing her die and everything in that war." 

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "Your cousin?" He nodded, revealing a woman with confusing red eyes, smiling slightly behind him. "Oh .. I'm Sasha .. Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, correct?" Sasha asked, sticking her hand out. The woman shook it, smiling. "Hello, ma'am. Please, just call me Austria-Hungary; Austro-Hungarian Monarchy is too long." 

"I heard that you spoke with my cousin before he died. He said you were like an angel descending from the heavens," she said, chuckling. Sasha smiled slightly. "Yeah, I suppose you could call me an angel. Officially, I'm a servant of Death though." 

-

The three conversed as Oliver and the rest of the countryhumans just watched in confusion, surprise, and a bit of fear. "Have you heard about the war?" Everyone flinched at that word, whether they spoke German or not. 

".. War?" 

The suspense in the room was palpable. Sasha, who didn't pick up on it, continued. "Yeah, there's another war going on. As usual, it's in Europe." She paused. "Oh, no offence to any European countries who've started wars," Sasha quickly and sheepishly said. 

"It's alright, ma'am, but what war are you referring to?" inquired a country with yellow and black on their flag. The Austrian Empire? "Um, I'm not too sure myself, but I've been down to earth for work and there have been invasions all around the world, but mostly in Europe. These ought to cause a havoc around the world."

Nobody said a word. "Too much information?" Sasha asked, finally realizing the tense atmosphere. 

"My child. German Reich. Is he a part of this?" the German Empire inquired, his eyebrows furrowed. "Ah yes, I remember your child .." 

"You remember my child? How so? Have you two met?"

Sasha chuckled heartlessly. "Yeah, twice. Once right after you died." The German Empire sweat bullets. He saw my dead body first ..?

"Oh, I remember now! He was invading Poland with the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic."

"The who now?" 

"Uh .. red skin, golden sickle and hammer? I've only encountered him once, so I don't remember much," Sasha commented, shrugging uncertainly. "I wonder who that could be .." 

"<Uh, @#$%^?>" . . . "<What is it, *&^%$?>" . . . "<I told you to call me Oliver! Should we .. uh .. go now? Things are getting pretty tense. Plus, don't you have work?>"

Sasha looked at him. His eyes gave a pleading look akin to a hungry dog looking at their owner holding food. She looked around at the methodical and horrified faces of the countryhumans. "<Yeah, good idea, Olive Oil. We should go.>" He gave a playful glare. "<It's Oliver, get it right!>"

-

He was invading Poland .. that means he must be very involved in this new war. Ha .. he really is like me. Good luck, son .. hope you win, unlike me. 

(Spoiler Alert: N@zi Germany [thankfully] does not in fact win the war.)

Chapter Text

~Start of Flashback~

February 19th 1937 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 

Sasha furrowed her eyebrows. A large truck dumped out its contents, revealing the bodies of innocent civilians drenched in their own blood. Their eyes were wide open with shock and would stay that way until their eyes rotted away. The truck leisurely left, presumably to get more. Sasha's stomach turned as she followed the truck in hopes of finding the souls of those bodies.

Find the souls she did. Sasha sent them to the afterlife before looking around. The countryhuman Italy was currently spraying someone with mustard gas. The Ethiopian promptly died and Sasha quickly sent them to the afterlife before scoffing at the Italian. Not that they could see it, since she was invisible.

The day was full of bodies, much to Sasha's stomach's discontent. The Ethiopians were getting accused of attempted assassination and opposing Italian ideals; most of the accusations probably not being true. Not that anyone could know for sure anymore. 

Sasha was still getting used to the concept of war. It really didn't make much sense to her. Why would humans kill their own kind just for some more territory? She rolled her dull eyes at her own question. It was such a stupid question. The answer was obvious. They just do, those stupid humans. Well, humans weren't the only ones to blame.

Countryhumans always made no sense to Sasha. They were the personification of a country. Sounds simple, but the definition of a country makes things confusing. Some countries strictly follow their country's government. Some oppose it. Some are the government, especially back in the older days with monarchies. Well, whatever. There are souls ready to go to the afterlife. Better send them.

-

"Signore! Abbiamo trovato altri sopravvissuti. Cosa ne facciamo?" <Sir! We found some survivors. What do we do with them?> The Kingdom of Italy turned, observing the sight in front of them. Two Italians stood there, waiting for their orders, while around 30 Ethiopians with fierce or pained expressions were tied up behind them. With the simple wave of their hand, Italy gave their order. "Smaltirli." <Dispose of them.>

The Italians nodded as the Ethiopians, with raised eyebrows, reluctantly followed the Italians to what they would later find out was their impending doom. Sasha, who was watching this whole exchange, flew over. While her eyes stayed on Italy, she followed the Ethiopians, albeit a little slowly. 

The execution was quick, and Sasha sent them to the afterlife quicker. Italy was looking away the whole time.

Sasha's senses tingled; someone was about to die. They weren't supposed to die yet. She finished sending the last of the souls to the afterlife before pivoting around. Her dark eyes landed on the aloof country. A countryhuman is in danger? Wait, I suppose that they could definitely also be in danger .. but why is Italy in danger? She thought for a moment before shrugging it off, leaving it to be answered at a later time. For now, let's work on the saving part.

"Mi scusi signore. Potresti venire qui per un secondo?" <Excuse me sir. Could you come over here for a second?> A high yet drawling voice was heard behind Italy. They turned, seeing a young woman in the Italian military uniform smiling politely. Italy eyed her suspiciously. "Che cos'è?" <What is it?> 

The woman waved them over to the side. "Appena arrivato. Sarà veloce." <Just come. It'll be quick.> The countryhuman gave her a bored expression, obviously not very convinced. The woman kept smiling, but her eyes held a slight pleading look akin to someone begging for their life. Italy raised an eyebrow at that. 

"Bene." <Fine.> The woman breathed a sigh of relief before grabbing his arm and pulling him away without warning. Italy, not expecting this, immediately got worked up. "Chi ti ha dato il permesso di toccarmi?! Lascia andare in questo istante!" <Who gave you permission to touch me?! Let go at this instant!>

The woman didn't stop, infuriating Italy. "Voi-" <You-> The place he was in just a few seconds ago, when he was talking to the woman, was struck with a bomb. Debris flew in every which way while the ground became slightly charred. Italy stood in shock, slowly processing just exactly what happened. Their eyes were saucers and the thought that they were a mere coincidence away from death was sweat-inducing. Then something crossed their mind ..

.. Was it really just a coincidence?

Italy turned to the woman, but she was gone. The woman, who was actually Sasha, was invisible once again. Her fake Italian uniform turned back into the stark white dress she always wore and her wings, which was turned into a jacket, was turned back to normal. She leaned on her scythe, panting heavily. That took a little more out of her than she expected.

Where did she go ..? Was I hallucinating? Italy's head spun, their mind racing at a million miles per second. "Signore, sta bene?!" <Sir, are you alright?!> They stiffened, snapping back to reality. The country turned to the worried Italian officer before nodded with a crooked yet reassuring smile. "Sto bene." <I'm fine.>

After Italy managed to be alone, they touched their wrist. Sasha's tight grip still lingered. There is no way she was a hallucination if I can feel it, right? So .. 

.. Where is she .. and how did she know that that bomb was going to hit where I was .. 

.. And why would she save me? 

~End of Flashback~

Sasha walked out with Oliver, pondering their reactions. 

Come to think of it, Italy themselves didn't refer to themselves as he/him, but they certainly didn't correct anyone when they were called sir .. perhaps they don't care? I'll just call them they/them, just in case. Hmm, they've caught my interest now .. I don't think this sort of thing is very accepted, so I doubt anyone knows ..

<@#$%^? Have you been listening at all?> Sasha snapped out of her thoughts, turning to Oliver. "<Uh .. no?>" she said sheepishly, averting her gaze slightly. Oliver smacked his head in annoyance. "<What I said was that that one countryhuman seemed to know you.>" Sasha waved him off, explaining. "<Yeah, I talked with him while he died. Sounds kind of brutal, but not really. Also accidentally met his son. It's a good thing Death isn't omnipresent, or I would be toast.>"

Oliver gave a sly grin, making Sasha's cheeks twitch into a smile. "<Don't. You. Even. Dare.>" He smirked.

"<Oh Deeeaaath! @#$%^ has something to confeeeess!>" Oliver flew away, prompting Sasha to chase him. Her serious nature when she was thinking about Italy completely diminished as she planted a playful glare on him. "<Get back here, Olive Oil!!!!>"

Chapter Text

December 1939 - Finland/USSR border

Finland closes one eye, with the other right in front of the glass rifle scope. He carefully adjusted accordingly, being sure to make no sounds. His rifle sat comfortably on a pile of unsuspecting snow and the target stood there, unaware that they were about to be the first death.

Finland's breath was hidden well as his finger pulled the trigger with no hesitation. The bullet flew through the lightly falling snow, piercing the target smoothly. The target, a Russian, collapsed, dying in an instant. "<Scatter!>" a soldier screamed as the snow around the dead Russian turned crimson. 

Everyone ducked, trying to find cover behind a rock or even under the snow. Finland aimed at another soldier, firing it straight through the skull. Unfortunately, the soldier flew back through impact and essentially revealed the direction of the bullet. Furrowing his eyebrows, Finland quickly and quietly slithered his way to another "base" he made. 

The Soviets and Russians, luckily for Finland, didn't notice the quick swish of white moving from where the bullet came from. The frantic nature of the soldiers led most to their death as Finland expertly shot them down.

Sasha was flapping her wings from above, watching in amusement. It wasn't every day that you saw one person beating what ought to be at least 20 other people. She smirked before flying down, wanting to see the action close up.

Finland's bullets penetrated through the Russians and Soviets, making them die in an instant. While they definitely did start fighting back, much to no avail, Finland was still decimating the battlefield. Only one person managed to make it out. The 20 or so soldiers that were situated in that region died by the end of the day. It only took an hour.

Finland waited in the snow for a solid half hour before slipping out of his hiding spot. He silently swore at himself. I left a witness .. damn it. Finland predicted that either the next day or in a few hours, more soldiers would be coming. He broke down his bases made of snow just enough that it wouldn't look like a manmade thing before picking up his rifle and leaving for the day. 

Sasha, who also finished her work for the day, watched as the country left. How curious .. She promptly flew away from the blood-soaked scene as the snow continued falling, covering the bodies in a melancholic silence. 

-

Just as Finland expected, many more Soviet and Russian soldiers stood in the cold, observing the scene. What Finland or Sasha didn't expect was the USSR himself to come. He was in a warm, brown winter coat that stuck out like a sore thumb, prompting Sasha to roll her eyes at the stupidity and possibly overconfidence. 

The bodies, which turned ice-cold overnight, lay buried under fresh snow. Soviet looked at the bullet wounds, trying to figure out who did this. Finland, who was hidden in a new base he made in the early morning, decided it would be best to take them out before he was put in danger. 

Finland aimed his rifle at a soldier that was crouching near a body and fired. The soldier stopped moving for a good few seconds before collapsing. Dead. USSR noticed first. "<Hit the deck!>" he shouted, his hands covering his head as his soldiers took cover. Finland aimed once again, before firing.

The next hour continued this way, with the USSR's soldiers dropping dead from left to right. Finland was trying to save the country for last. The last person alive, other than the USSR, died and flew backwards. USSR saw how his soldier died and turned to where the bullet came, eyes meeting with Finland's. USSR took his gun out, aiming at Finland. Finland moved his rifle, aiming at the USSR. And then they shot, unbeknownst to the other.

The aiming for both shots were perfect: they would go directly through the others' head if there was no interference. But .. Sasha interfered. 

Sasha was sending the souls Finland sniped to the afterlife when her sixth sense went haywire a few minutes ago. Her eyes scanned all the people alive at the time, which wasn't a lot of people, and her eyes landed on the two countryhumans. Sasha didn't know whether she should laugh or cry. 

Two countries. Killing each other. At the same time. And I have to save them both. .. What a nuisance.

Time slowed for all three of them as the bullets whizzed through the crisp air. Right in the middle of the two countries, where the bullets would pass each other, was Sasha, crouched in the snow. 

She changed her clothes into something warm and white, to blend in with the snow. Her hair, face, and every part of her skin was covered as best as she could. Her scythe was turned into a tiny needle and stashed away somewhere random. Sasha was facing the right, standing slightly off to the side and raising both of her wings to where the bullets would pass each other. With precise timing, Sasha appeared and disappeared to stop the bullets with her wing. Her wings helped her hide her identity.

Finland was confused. He just saw a white something in front of the USSR, stopping the bullet he just shot. Is it one of USSR's soldiers? Did I not fully kill them? 

USSR was also confused. He saw something stop the bullet he shot, but he couldn't tell what it was. It looked like .. feathers, maybe? Did Finland have an accomplice? 

The two, however, quickly collected themselves and took action. USSR shot at Finland again but Finland rolled to the side and shot at USSR, who ducked. Sasha, whose sixth sense was eerily calm, just shrugged before changing her clothes and scythe back to normal.

She also looked at her list of deaths for the day, which was a long, inefficient scroll, and didn't find the USSR or Finland on it. Sasha put it in who-knows-where and flew off, going to some of the other front lines of the Finnish-Soviet border.

I'm sure they'll be fine.

Chapter Text

June 22 1940 - Compiègne, France

His hand gripped the other's, a cold sweat dripping from him. He turned, facing the other countryhuman in front of him. "Britain. The time of the meeting is soon. Would you like to come with me?" His red and blue eyes flickered in desperation at the purple-eyed one in front of him. Britain gave a small smile, her calculating eyes glancing over at him. "Of course, France."

The Third Reich smirked, his head propped up on the palm of his hand. He glanced outside at the city, feeling a sense of glee overcome him as the thought that it would soon be his sunk in. The chauffeur stopped the car, announcing that they arrived to the destination. They opened the car door for their führer <leader>, who promptly stepped out. 

The German countryhuman strolled inside the building in front of him, observing the architecture without a hint of interest. His vermillion eyes gazed over the intricate artwork before they eventually landed on one. It depicted France, grinning in triumph with his flag in his hand. Underneath the presumably victorious country was the flag of Prussia, battered due to being trampled over. 

His eye twitched, walking away quickly before he put his fist through the painting. 

France's nails dug into Britain's, much to the latter's silent discontent. His nerves were bouncing off the walls as he made his way up to the meeting room. Britain stopped walking, prompting France to stop and turn to the other. 

"Do I have to go?" she asked.

France hesitated at her question, his hand slipping out of hers. He looked off to the side, scratching the nape of his neck. Only now did he realize how he basically forced Britain to come with him. Guilt made his stomach sink to the floor. France gave a sheepish smile, replying. "No, you don't have to go. You should stay here and wait for me to be over." 

Britain observed France with a grim expression. His eyes were staccato and despite his attempts to hide it, his fingers trembled slightly. Britain ran her slim fingers through her cobalt blue hair, pushing it back and sighing. He is not going to survive in there. 

She stuck her hand out, palm up, towards the other country. "Come on, let's go before we're scolded for being late." France's nerves visibly lessened as his lips curved up. He placed his hand on top of Britain's, interlocking their fingers. They turned towards the door, but Britain side-glanced him for a second.

He's so much more lax .. why? Well, we can worry about that after the war when we win. Yes, we'll definitely win .. Her stomach, however, disagreed. 

France pushed the wooden doors open, revealing the large meeting room. Inside was a large, round table with chairs circling it. To the right was the one and only Third Reich, sitting there and tapping his fingers on the table. The German turned at the sound of the door, making the other two stiffen.

The Third Reich grinned wider than France was comfortable with. "Du hast es geschafft!" <You've made it!>" Britain and France glanced at each other, before looking back at the German. This prompted the Third Reich to sigh, before speaking, albeit roughly, in English. "Sit down." 

"Oui .." France replied, sitting right across him. Britain followed, sitting to France's left. The Third Reich rested his chin atop his interlocked fingers as Britain fiddled with her small top hat. "Let's begin," the heavy German accent announced. 

-

Sasha was in Finland .. well, actually, the land she was above right now was owned by the USSR after the Treaty of Moscow was signed. She was, needless to say, a little curious about Finland, so she went to see the signing and was .. well .. bored. 

The few months of work since then were bearable, to say the least. Today, however, her sixth sense was going off. Sasha's head pounded with tension as she flew up to get a better view. .. To the west. 

Her stark white wings beat hard as she pierced through the air. The fact that she hadn't made it in a whole minute was worrying. I might not make it if it's across the ocean ..

Thankfully, it was not in the Americas. Sasha landed in Compiègne, bolting through the doors (literally) and trying to find whoever was about to die. She found a large, elaborate wooden door and went through, finding not one, not two, but three countryhumans. And one had a gun.

The Third Reich grinned at the shocked faces of France and Britain. His index finger lay comfortably on the trigger, ready to pull at any second. France eyed the gun that was too close to him for comfort. "Give me a reason, France. Why should I not pull the trigger?" 

The tension in the air was palpable, and the Allies didn't dare move an inch. The Third Reich gave France a good 5 seconds before his smile turned manic. "Zu langsam!" <Too slow!> 

He pulled the trigger. Britain watched in horror, as she was too far to do anything. France shut his eyes tightly, ready to bear the pain. The Third Reich's eyes widened in delight as nobody resisted. Sasha became visible.

Ugh, there's no other choice .. I have to save this country though.

She stood on France's right, her right wing wrapping in front of him and protecting him. With precise timing, she appeared, stopped the bullet, then disappeared. 

This again. I'm sure of it this time. I'm sure that that was Sasha .. but how do I confirm it? 

France peeked his eyes, wondering why he wasn't dead. He heard the gunshot, after all. Britain was about to faint, but the thought of herself being unconscious in the same room as the German was enough to keep her up. 

The Third Reich sighed, putting his gun back into its holster. His eyes scanned the room to no avail. "Sasha? Was that you?"

Silence.

In reality, Sasha froze at the sound of her alias. She spun to the Third Reich, who was waiting to see if there was a response. Her mind started racing, wondering if she should acknowledge him. I might get fired .. but the other two countryhumans' reactions would be hilarious. I kind of want to .. no, you can't! It's not responsible of you! 

.. Eh, who cares. 

Sasha turned visible, standing to the left of the Third Reich and the right of France. "Yeah, it was me," she spoke. She was wearing the same thing as last time- a white dress, no shoes, and her wings were out. Her scythe, however, was turned into a pen and tucked away to who-knows-where.

The Third Reich was surprised. He didn't think she was actually there, and if she was, he didn't think she would appear. Plus, he had no idea as to why she hadn't aged. Must be an angel thing or something. France was frozen, and so was Britain. That was no surprise. So the Third Reich turned to Sasha.

"<Hey, long time no see, angel,>" his curious and somewhat excited face said. Sasha smiled, turning to him. "<You sure have grown. I can't believe you still remember me.>" The Third Reich chuckled, an amused expression settling in. "<But of course. How could I forget such a lovely face?>" 

Sasha kept her polite smile, not affected by the compliment at all. "<Surely you jest. Also, I think I broke them,>" she announced, pointing to the two countryhumans who were half analyzing, half overrun with shock.

Who the hell is that? Why do they know the German? Am I translating what they're saying right? He's grown? Have they known each other as children? Why does she have wings? Was she the one who saved me? Why did she save me? Huhhhh?! 

Who the bloody hell is that? Why does the German know her? Are they flirting? Are they in a relationship? I didn't know this guy could pull. Is my German that bad or did he just call her an angel? Is she an angel? Why would an angel know this demon of a country? She even has wings .. and why doesn't she have shoes on?

"<Yeah .. I'm gonna go now. Don't tell my boss I showed up in front of you three, alright?>" The Third Reich nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. "<I don't know if those two speak German, so you might need to translate. Do you know English or French?>" Sasha gave a thumbs up.

"Excusez moi, ne parlez pas de cette interaction à mon patron, s'il vous plait." <Excuse me, do not tell my boss about this interaction please.> Sasha looked at France, who nodded vigorously once he realized that the mysterious winged person wanted confirmation. 

"Excuse me, but could you possibly .. not tell my boss about this interaction? Ever?" Britain looked over to France, who just nodded in encouragement. "Yes, I promise," she reluctantly responded to the angel. 

"Alright then. Oh, by the way, Reich: Ich bin kein Engel." <I am not an angel.> The Third Reich raised an eyebrow, ready to ask, but Sasha already disappeared. 

They stood in silence for a good minute.

"Q .. qui-?" <W .. who-?> 

"Nobody you need to worry your stupid selves with," the Third Reich snapped, glaring at the other two so hard that it could've pierced a bulletproof vest. "Now, sign the Armistice and get this meeting over with." 

France swallowed a lump he didn't know he had in his throat before nodding and shakily gripping the pen. 

-

"So who do you think that was, amour?"

"No idea .. the German said she was an angel, but then at the end, she denied it."

"He might've just guessed because she has wings and all."

"But they talked to each other like they've already known each other! I'm sure of it!"

"Also .. I think she saved me. So whose side is she on?"

"Ah, you're right; she did save you. She saved you but knows the Third Reich .. how odd."

"It's probably too early to judge her .. plus, she might not even be involved in the war."

"I suppose .. I suppose we'll just ignore this matter for now. Deal?"

"Deal."

-

Wow, she hasn't grown a millimeter. She's so odd. She didn't even react to my compliment! She also said she wasn't an angel .. yeah, I figured an angel wouldn't take Vater after all he's done. But if not an angel, then what ..? And who's her boss?

Does she know about the war? I bet she does .. eh, who knows. It'd be good if she was on my side though. She's obviously some sort of being higher than the human. But she looks like a human, if you don't look at the wings, of course. Oh wait, she does probably know. That time when I was invading Poland .. I thought I saw a fluffy wing. It was definitely hers. Why did she save me? Is it because we have an attachment, or was she forced to? She saved France today, so the possibility isn't zero .. 

Is this her job or something? Saving people? If so, then why did she just watch Vater die? 

I'll figure it out next time we meet, I guess.

-

Heh, that was way too reckless of me. Well, the looks on their faces were priceless, so it's fine. I wonder what they think about me. Eh, who cares. I hope Death doesn't find out. I wouldn't even be toast anymore; I'd be literal charcoal or something. Also, why did Reich call my face lovely? It's mediocre at best. Was he trying to flatter me and get something out of me? Probably. 

..

Oh, he was flirting.

Doesn't that make him .. whatever the opposite of a p3dophile is? Dang, I'm old. Whatever, I got off topic.

Those reactions were the best thing I've seen in the decade! Oh, I'm going to remember that moment well ..

Chapter Text

1942 - Majdanek

The room was stark and bare, creating an eerie aura. A handful of people entered, with all but two adorning a yellow, six-pointed star on their chest, right atop their heart. The two who didn't have the star also didn't have the melancholic expressions the others held. They shoved the others inside the small room, slamming the door once they left. The silence was heavy.

One of them went to the corner of the room, curling up into a ball. It was a child that looked like they were barely even 14. A child that has seen too much. A child that has been through too much. A child who has accepted their fate long before the other adults in the room have. 

They knew that this was a gas chamber. They knew Death would be on their doorstep in a matter of minutes. But it was still scary. The thought of death was frightening, and it loomed over everyone. A tear left the corner of their eye. Death was inevitable; the child knew that much.

Sasha phased through the wall, entering the gas chamber with a solemn, blank look. She folded her wings away and sat down, right next to the child.

The gas entered. This was it: the start of the end has arrived. The child's eyes itched and watered and blinked and squinted and widened and reddened in reaction. Sasha looked away as the adults that were standing twisted in pain on the cold, concrete floors. The temperature was the least of their problems. 

The child scratched around their eyes, the stinging becoming more and more apparent as the seconds ticked on. The gas was thick, and their breathing got quicker and shallower. Oxygen was running low.

They scratched at their scalp, the pain barely registering. Blood dripped from it, but that wasn't on their mind. .. Mama .. Their heart was thumping in their chest loudly, but not loud enough to push their thoughts away. And their thoughts hurt more than the gas.

Sasha looked at the child, who was hallucinating with the rest of the room. So young ..

Mama, are you happy? I'll be joining you soon. I'm so excited to see you again! But .. it hurts, Mama. Did you feel this pain too, when they took you away from me? .. 

They shivered, and it wasn't because of the cold. Black dots tainted their vision as they groped the air for something, anything. Despite their best attempts, the eyelids they tried so hard to keep up fell. Then it stopped. 

The pain? Gone. The tears? Gone. The thoughts? All. Gone. It was just the child and darkness and solitude.

Their eyes peeled open. The sight was the same as when they died, but something was off. There was two of everyone, with one version being semi-transparent and the other being collapsed on the floor. Like they were ghosts.

They held up their arms, only to find that they, too, were in this state of semi-transparency. It was quite a shock indeed, but it wasn't as surprising as finding a pink-haired woman who wasn't in the room before. Or maybe she was and I just couldn't see her ..

She was staring off into the distance, in a sort of daze, until she felt the stare of the child beside her. The child, in response, jumped and hid themselves to no avail. The woman stood up, observing the others in the room. It was then that the child noticed her wings.

"<Hello everyone. Please do not panic, but you are dead.>" Sasha was surprised when the others weren't surprised that they were dead. "<I am here to send you to the afterlife.>"

The child's as well as everyone else's eyes, widened. This mysterious person just announced, after all, that there is an afterlife and that they were here specifically for them. It was a bit of a comforting thought: that at least Death was thinking about them when nobody else would, right? 

"<Are you .. an angel?>" asked the child, who was previously not making a peep. Everyone's eyes twinkled in admiration as Sasha awkwardly corrected them. "<Uh, not exactly .. more like a servant of Death, I suppose ..?>" 

The adults started talking cheerfully to each other, but the child poked Sasha to get her attention for a bit. "<Miss .. servant of Death? Why do we have to die? How come we don't know that after death, we become immortal?>"

Sasha hesitated. She was, essentially, immortal, since she was a servant of Death. Once someone dies, they are essentially immortal as well. But living beings didn't know that, and that was the point.

"<If you knew that you would be immortal, then you wouldn't cherish your life, right? Plus, you can't do a lot of things once you die. It's suuuper boring,>" Sasha exaggerated, earning the first smile the child has had in a year. "<Life is short. Yours was cut shorter, so you couldn't do all the things you may have wanted to do before getting a spot in the afterlife.>"

The child nodded, their smile turning melancholic. "<Will I at least get to see my mom?>" She gave a hollow smile. 

"<Of course.>" 

1942 - Amsterdam, Holland (The Netherlands)

Today, Sasha was visible. She was wearing a white blouse that was tucked into a knee-length red skirt. Her wings were turned into a black coat that hung loosely on her shoulders and her scythe was turned into a purse (the buckle on the front is sharp). Her pink hair was .. noticeable, to say the least.

She was sitting on a park bench, relaxing because she got a day off for once. The fountain water created ambient noise as she calmed down. The sounds of birds chirping, water churning, and .. footsteps?

Her eyes gazed over at the two German officers that were walking over to her. She stiffened, but plastered a polite smile on her face. When they stood only a foot away, she talked. "Hallo. Heb je iets nodig?" <Hello. Do you need anything?> Sasha really hoped that they didn't need anything. I probably should've spent my day off in a country that wasn't involved in this war, or just not on Earth.

They responded in German, despite Sasha asking in Dutch. "Dien Haar. Diese Farbe. Bist du schwul?" <Your hair. That colour. Are you gay?> Gay? What does that have to do with my hair? Would it be better if I told them I wasn't? .. Am I gay?

"Nein, Ich bin nicht Homosexuell," <No, I'm not gay,> she responded, smiling and hoping they would leave her alone already. The German on the right scoffed. "Ja, genau." <Yeah right.>

"Du kommst mit uns." <You're coming with us.> The German on the left grabbed Sasha's wrist harshly, pulling her out of her seat. Sasha, out of pure reflex, pulled away and smacked him with her purse, whose front buckle hit the opponent hard. The German on the right furrowed their eyebrows at her. 

-

Ugh, how did I end up here? Sasha awoke, dazed and dizzy. Her head pounded as she looked around. She was with 20 or so people in a room too small for 20 or so people. Her clothes were still with her, but her purse wasn't. She closed her eyes before feeling that it was still at the park bench. Sasha sighed in relief before making it come back to her and turning it into a bobby pin that she stuck at the back of her head in her hair. 

They must've knocked me out. I don't remember that much .. ugh, how long was I out for? Where is this place and who are these people?

Someone poked her, and she turned. It was a younger woman with streaks of grey hair and a few wrinkles. "Sprechen sie Englisch?" <Do you speak English?> she asked in broken German. "Yes," Sasha answered. "Good."

"You must be new to this whole thing. I'll give you the rundown: we're at a transit camp. The next stop is a killing center, where we are 'euthanized' by them. Don't try to stop it, because it's just a waste of energy." 

Sasha observed the young woman's expressions as she explained. Their eyes were dull, rivaling even Sasha's, and the glimmer of hope they used to have has faded into hatred and resentment. It was a sad sight, honestly. 

".. and that's basically it. Understand?" Sasha, who was listening fairly intently, nodded. "But I have a question, ma'am .."

"Why aren't you trying to .. not die?" 

". . ."

"Because I've already tried, and look at where that has ended me up in."

Sasha gave a sympathetic look towards her. "If you give up now, then you're going to die." The woman's lips curled into a pained smile. "So? Let me die, I don't care anymore. What's the point in living anyways?" 

Sasha stood up, hugging her tightly. "Your life is so valuable .. too valuable. Please don't just give it up so willingly." Those 15 words made the woman crack. 

The tears overflowed like a fountain, and her smile wavered unsteadily. The woman squeezed Sasha back, her chin propped up on the crook of Sasha's neck. "But what can I do? I've tried everything I could .." 

Sasha gripped her shoulders, facing the woman intently. "Just leave that to me. Also, please tell everyone else in the room that they won't die yet."

-

The moon illuminated the dreary sky, like a bit of hope amongst a sea of hopelessness. Sasha turned her clothes into something inconspicuous as she took her bobby pin (scythe) out, turned it into pickaxe, and faced a large, cracked wall. This was the wall that separated the victims of the Germans from freedom. So she swung her pickaxe at it.

She didn't break the whole wall, obviously. That would be stupid. Sasha slowly chinked away at the bottom, where it was the most cracked. A hole was made and everyone slipped through it. They patted the wall dust away as the young woman from before went up to Sasha. 

"Thank you, miss. A spark of hope has been ignited in our hearts once again. We'll forever be in your debt."

Sasha raised her eyebrows, suddenly wanting to book it. They all looked at her in admiration, making her stomach twist. "Uh, that's a bit dramatic, no? Well, you're all out now, so you should run before they find out, haha .."

They all nodded. "Let's go!" Sasha smiled, and when they turned away for just a second, she turned invisible. Phew, finally everyone looks away so I can turn invisible again. They might get caught midway and executed immediately .. but today's my day off, so it ain't my problem.

Chapter Text

April 1943 - Amsterdam

-

Dear Kitty,

I can hear the gunshots. Is there another burglar, perhaps? I hope they don't find our ration coupons; we need those dearly. Hopefully it will end soon. Peter is in the attic, trying to see if he can look out. Mrs. Van Daan is acting all tough, but I can see her hands trembling every time gunshots or the air raid siren is heard. Mommy is calling me, without speaking of course, so I must go now. 

Yours Truly, 
Anne

-

Anne put the papers of her diary away, going towards her mother, who was motioning towards the other room. "Go sleep, I'm sure it will be fine, Anne. It's always been fine, right?" she muttered quietly to Anne, giving a not-very-convincing-yet-still-somewhat-reassuring smile. Anne responded after a moment of thought with a nod. She knew deep down that she wouldn't be able to sleep though.

In her pajamas, which appeared to be shrinking every day, Anne lay awake, staring at the dark ceiling as the sound of gunshots pounded into her head. She shriveled up, hands atop her ears in seconds. Yet the sounds could not be blocked.

As minutes and seconds ticked by, Anne wondered yet again how long this would last. Her eyes closed shut in discomfort, and she stayed that way for a moment, until something caused her eyes to snap open.

Sasha was decked out in black, visible, for once, and watching the people who were wielding guns. One bullet flew towards the office building behind Sasha, and would've pierced Anne's skull if someone weren't to have interfered. 

BANG!

The bullet ricocheted off the tiny bit of exposed wing from Sasha with a loud sound that, unfortunately, the person who shot heard. Sasha turned invisible, hoping that nobody saw her, since she was hanging in midair. She didn't, thank the gods, but she was still heard by people, including the person she just saved. 

Anne, being as quick yet quiet as she could, snuck to the closest window and peeked out. She knew she probably shouldn't do this, but whatever. Her legs moved on their own. Peeking out while showing as little of the "Secret Annexe" as she could, Anne saw a peculiar sight: a bullet that must've stopped in the middle of the air. It stayed there for a second before gravity kicked in and it fell to the ground hard. 

Anne's blood ran cold. She noticed where the bullet was going to land if it wasn't stopped: her room. <Who- or what- stopped that bullet? If whatever did didn't ..> Anne shook her head, not even wanting to think about such a gruesome topic. <I should sleep. I must be too fatigued to think ..>

Meanwhile, Sasha was watching Anne from the other side of the window, invisible. She was somewhat entertained by the young girl's fearful face at the realization that she was about to die, but she didn't show it or say anything. Sasha phased through the window, curious.

Anne went back to bed, careful to not make a ruckus or she'd get an earful. Her thoughts, however, plagued her mind like a brain-eating virus, so she couldn't fall asleep after that. 

Sasha found Anne's full name in an earlier diary entry she found, which Anne would've been furious about if she knew. Her eyes twinkled in recognition, remembering seeing that name somewhere. She flicked through her handy little book before finding her name. Sasha raised her eyebrows.

Oh, March 1945 .. well, she gets to live another two years then. See you in the future, Anne Frank. 

-

1941 - Mauthausan Concentration Camp, Austria

Please .. someone, anyone .. help ..! 

The Austrian's legs felt like wet spaghetti noodles that were on fire, his eyes barely able to stay open. The granite blocks he carried dug their way into his skin, adding more to the discomfort. Despite this, he didn't stop. He couldn't. They didn't allow it. 

Just a few more steps. That was all he could think. Just a few more steps. His throat stuck to itself, parched beyond anything he's ever felt. It hurt. It has been hurting. And it will continue to hurt. And the Jew had to deal with it, just because they were Jewish.

Sasha was beside the suffering Austrian, unbeknownst to him. She was sending some souls to the afterlife at the concentration camp until she noticed a tall, tall staircase. She, being the way she is, flew over it and spotted a man near the top of the staircase, yet not looking the very best. 

He was sweating buckets, which wasn't good because he was starting to cough from dehydration. His hands went numb from holding up the granite but he didn't stop, as the top was so close. Despite his body trying to refuse, the sweaty man started forcing his way up the last few stairs. 

Her sixth sense went off- someone was about to die. And judging by the incredibly close proximity, it was the man who looked like he was about to collapse any second. In fact, he did collapse at the very second that thought crossed Sasha's mind. 

His jelly legs could support himself no longer and down came the rest of his body, like a puppet whose strings have been snipped off. The man's eyelids fluttered down, and he was unconscious. The granite block that was on his back tumbled down most of the stairs, unfortunately for him. 

Sasha observed the man like a doctor observing their patient before quickly flying away. Within a few seconds, she arrived back with a canteen filled to the brim with water from the closest source, which happened to be the concentration camp. After becoming visible, she rested the man's head on her lap since it was probably better than the hard stairs before slowly pouring the water down his throat.

The man, despite being unconscious, drank the water greedily, leaving not a drop left. Sasha figured that she would give him some more later and looked towards the starting point of the staircase, where his granite block was.

Eh, I feel bad .. I think. And I have enough time, so ..

Sasha flew down after becoming invisible again and went next to the block. She turned her clothes tattered, as to not draw suspicion in case anyone decides to look, hid her wings, tucked her scythe away and turned visible. 

She picked up the granite block and it felt like she was carrying a building. Thankfully, she's a servant of Death, so she can do things normal dead people can't. She turned herself and the granite block invisible before flying over to the hopefully-still-unconscious Austrian. 

It took Sasha at least an hour, much to her embarrassment and discontent, but the man was still, somehow, unconscious.

That must've been tiring for him if after a whole hour ..

She placed the canteen that has once again been filled beside him, along with the granite block, before flying off to the next place. 

The man would only wake up another hour later, much to his surprise, and although he wasn't feeling the best, he certainly feeling a lot better. The canteen-giver would remain a mystery for as long as he continued living, but he thanked whoever gave it to him. If he did, he wouldn't have lived so long. Instead of 27 short years, he managed to live 29 short, but longer years.

Chapter Text

June 22 1941 - Border of the USSR and N@zi Germany 

"You- what are you doing?!" The USSR's right eye stung, but he fought to stay awake. His mind raced at a million miles an hour as the country in front of him grinned manically. German troops flooded the vicinity with their tanks in tow. "Damn traitor- I thought we were on the same side?!" He asked, quickly calling his troops as well. "Was this planned? Was this your plan all along- to invade my land?" USSR growled, trying to get some information out of someone who was once his ally. The traitor smirked. "Yes, it was." 

"I despise you, Soviet. I've wanted to invade you for a while now, and I'm so glad I get the chance to." He grinned,  pointing towards the inner parts of the USSR. More specifically, towards Moscow. His troops advanced, with USSR's troops constantly being pushed back due to the lack of soldiers. USSR responded with a scowl, realizing how bad of a predicament he was in. 

The battlefield was getting bloody fast, and USSR was in the center of it all. All eyes were on him, much to his discomfort, and guns were immediately pointed towards the normally calm countryhuman. 

His eyes narrowed, focusing more on the guns than the only other country nearby. The other country in question was pointing at the USSR, adrenaline rushing through his veins. His lips uttered a single word: "Fire."

Bullets streamed towards the unsuspecting country, whose eyes became saucers. As if that wasn't enough, a few bullets hit the ground before impact, sending dust and debris into the air. The USSR snapped his once-wide eyes shut out of pure reflex. The German country chuckled; his plan was going all according to plan. Unfortunately, the USSR countryhuman was not supposed to die on this day, so Sasha, who had been watching this whole ordeal with an amused look, had to interfere, much to her reluctance. 

Sasha was glad that the USSR's eyes were closed, as it would make things just a little less complicated and confusing. The dust would also be good, since it could hide her and her wings. She turned visible, her wings wrapping around the two of them in a ball shape. The firing slowly stopped, so Sasha became invisible again. 

"Das soll doch wohl ein Scherz sein .." <You have got to be kidding me ..> The dust and debris settled, revealing an safe, unharmed USSR. The Third Reich's eye twitched, his mind remembering an awfully similar event. About a year ago, he was about to shoot France until a certain someone stopped the bullet. 

Sasha .. it's you, isn't it? Why'd you save that communist pig? Goddamn, this makes things so much more confusing and difficult. First, she saves France, now she saves the USSR?!

"Я жив?" <I'm alive?> USSR muttered, slowly uncurling from his previously hunched position. His eyes were wide and they darted around like a laser pointer, searching for the reason he's not dead. Perhaps an ally is nearby? 

"Sasha .. Ich weiß, dass du da bist." <Sasha .. I know you're there.> The German country muttered, his eyebrows knit together in a wrinkly fashion. Sasha, who somehow heard him, gave an evil grin akin to one a child might give while pranking their friends on the playground. She turned her clothes into something more natural- black leggings, a white t-shirt and a brown circle skirt- and her wings became a somewhat oversized, dark dusty green jacket. Her scythe was tucked away into who-knows-where, once again, and she turned visible right next to USSR, since she was too lazy to move. 

Heh, I hope Death doesn't find out about this. I'd be screwed for eternity, and I heard it's boring. The German Reich looks like he wants to ask something, so I'll probably have to talk to him. Yikes, that's awkward. I just saved his enemy, after all. Whatever, the reactions will be hilarious. And just like she suspected, the reactions were indeed hilarious.

It was quite a shock for the poor German and Soviet soldiers to see a random woman pop near either their country or the enemy country. The USSR practically jumped at the appearance of someone, while the Third Reich was not surprised in the slightest. It has only been one other time he's seen this happen, but he was already getting used to it. Plus, he wanted answers.

"Warum hast du ihn gerettet? Warum haben Sie Frankreich davor gerettet?" <Why did you save him? Why did you save France from before?> Sasha turned her head like a robot towards the German country. "Es ist mein Job." <It's my job.> The Third Reich nodded; his theory has been confirmed. Most of the Russian soldiers, as well as the USSR, didn't understand enough German to know what they were talking about.

"Ты та девушка, что была раньше!" <You're that girl from before!> the USSR shouted with a pointed finger, finally computing what the heck just happened. Sasha slowly remembered and smiled hollowly at him. "Правильно, с Польшей." <That's right, with Poland.> she responded, moving towards the communist country. "Я Саша, приятно познакомиться." <I'm Sasha, nice to meet you.> She stuck out her hand for him to shake. "Мне тоже приятно познакомиться ..?" <Nice to meet you too ..?> he replied with confusion. The country was, for obvious reasons, suspicious.

The reactions- priceless! Oh, I can't wait to tell *&^%$ about them! I just hope he doesn't snitch on me afterwards .. whatever. I don't really have anything to do now, so should I just go? Eh, why not?

"I should go," Sasha muttered, turning away. "Bye!" And just like that, the mysterious being known as Sasha disappeared just as quickly as she appeared. The rest of the humans and countries were left in awkward, confused silence. 

Oh .. I was going to ask if she was on my side .. damn it. I don't want to wait a whole other year to ask!!!

Who was she? I remember vaguely seeing her push Poland away from my gunshot .. does she save countries or something? And how does she know the German? I could just barely hear the word job .. so is her job to save countryhumans from death? That's so odd ..

December 1941 - Western Section of the USSR

"So kalt .." <So cold ..> Their fingers shook, but not from fear. The flimsy jacket they had didn't help; in fact, it probably made it even worse. They eyed the enemy, who had warm clothing and jackets on with envy and anger. Perhaps if they killed them, they could take their clothes ..

Their fingers trembled, barely managing to hold a rifle right. They aimed and, although a little off, did manage to hit something. Unfortunately, it wasn't the enemy they shot, but rather a random rock with no inherent value whatsoever. The sound of a gunshot was very obvious, so the target stiffened up immediately and spotted the cold, desperate soldier hiding shabbily in a pile of twigs and snow. 

..

BANG!

..

I'm .. dead? But- I promised Jana I would return home! I can't die- please! God, anyone- please don't let me die!!

Sasha stared at the blood that was slowly seeping out of the body. The snow that was once pure white became crimson, as if the snow was tainted and would never be pure again. It was quite a melancholic sight, but Sasha didn't bat an eye. She has seen this far too many times to be fazed.

She slashed the soul of the soldier while it was still leaving its body before flying away. She couldn't stay here, after all. There were much more souls waiting to go to the afterlife. Many more people she needed to witness the death of. 

And many more people she needed to save.

Chapter Text

07:47 Sunday, December 7th, 1941 - Pearl Harbour, Oahu, Hawaii

A man was sitting in his house. His thoughts were carefree, with things like "the weather's nice" and "what should I have for dinner" bouncing around. The newspaper crinkled in his hand, making the person on the front page look hand-less. He chuckled, flipping the page. 

A child was playing with her friends. The sun was out and the air was nice, so she and two more kids leapt out with a basketball and headed to the nearest court. Smiles plastered their faces, as if nothing could make it leave.

07:48

The man was no longer in his previous, relaxed state. His thoughts filled with fear and horror as shockwaves made his house rumble and shake, like an earthquake had hit. The newspaper crinkled again, but he was not laughing this time. 

The child and her friends were huddled under a tree, hoping for the best. The sounds of screams filled their ears. Their hands became slick with sweat as they constantly muttered reassurance to each other, as it was the only way to stay as calm as they could. 

The Japanese aircrafts appeared from the sky, launching bombs and such towards the American battleships. It was quite an atrocious sight- many went up in flames, slowly descending into the water. The air became putrid and littered with smoke, and the sounds were deafening. Hawaii looked out the window, her fingers trembling. She was small. She was young. And she didn't know what to do. 

Sasha watched as the once-blue waters of the harbour melted into oily darkness. The Japanese weren't done, as they continued continuously bombing the harbour. Her sixth sense was tingling- someone was about to die, and judging by how bad it was, she expected it to either be lots of people at once or a countryhuman, because it's a wonder how they're alive with how many dangers they face. Especially during wartimes. 

Sasha, invisible, flew down to where all the chaos was happening- where all the USS boats were. She circled around, diving occasionally towards the water to (secretly) push some survivors who made it out alive. Her scythe ran through many souls under the water like a boomerang. She sent a few souls who were on the ships directly to the afterlife before turning to the USS Arizona. Her eyes were huge, and her face was as pale as an anemic person, which wouldn't make sense because she wasn't an anemic person.

Crap.

Nonononono .. I'm not gonna make it in time .. damn it, why didn't I sense it earlier?

Sasha dived towards the USS Arizona as it slowly started sinking. If she didn't make it in time, she was getting fired for sure. Her body phased through the walls, and she bolted around desperately.

5 more seconds. The hull groaned dangerously. She was so close. 

4 more seconds. Sasha phased through the doors, trying to find them before it was too late. It felt like they were hiding from her, and the time crunch wasn't helping.

3 .. 2 .. 

Sasha found who she was looking for, thank goodness, and in the split-second time she had, she took in their features. The country- a male, she presumed- wore the US Navy uniforms, albeit a bit sloppily, and had short, ruffled hair, as if he had just blown it dry with a hair dryer. Blood seeped from his forehead down to his nose, and based on the stance, he was not conscious. That was good, because Sasha wasn't supposed to show herself around all willy-nilly. 

1 ..

Her scythe instinctively turned into a pen and tucked itself away. Without another thought to slow her down, Sasha hastily scooped him up and wrapped them both in a feathery shield. She became visible as the rubble started to pile up dangerously. 

The USS Arizona started descending into the water. The walls of the ship crumbled into itself. Sasha's mind was working on overdrive, trying to come up with a way to get out. They were surrounded by rubble, trapped in a sinking ship, and she couldn't let herself be seen. Debris piled atop them, but her wings still protected them. And before she could come up with a plan, she looked at her feet, now wet from seawater. She wasn't gonna make it. 

-

Or maybe she was. Thank goodness for adrenaline managing to create a usable, albeit stupid, plan. She put him down, taking out her pen and turning it back into a scythe. He was slowly getting soaked in water, but she could worry about hypothermia later. With a powerful slash, the debris was sliced in half and a path to the outside opened up. Sasha got lucky, because the direction she was facing was into the Pacific Ocean, away from human eyes. 

She carried him, princess style, before quickly flying out. She just managed to squeeze out before the ship started collapsing. Flapping her wings in the air, Sasha put her scythe away and dived into the water. 

I am so stupid, but whatever.

Her pink hair was soaked, and the icy water felt like spikes lodging themselves into her. She hated pain, but she wasn't about to get fired. Using her wings, she fiercely propelled herself down through the water, and she went forward until she was right underneath the sinking USS Arizona. Her throat wasn't holding up too well, because she still needed to breathe when visible, so she continued blasting forward. Sasha hoped that he wasn't dead. 

Her wings turned into a jacket that got drenched immediately. Her usual clothes turned into something you might see anyone wear at any time. It was also soaked in a matter of seconds. She used her scarce knowledge on swimming and kicked up to the surface. Her vision was getting blurry, her legs were burning, and her arms felt numb carrying him, until-

SPLASH!

She stumbled onto the pavement, coughing and hacking for a good minute. The country she saved wasn't looking too good either. He, and Sasha, were drenched in freezing cold seawater that would most definitely give them hypothermia if they didn't do something quickly. Sasha turned her scythe into a towel (you could choke someone, so it works, somehow) and started drying him off. 

His body started to stir, and Sasha started panicking. She hadn't thought this far, and she hadn't thought of what she would do if he woke up quicker than intended. He slowly sat up, eyes still clamped shut, and vomited water. Sasha smacked his back, and in doing so, a giant waterfall erupted from his mouth. Yikes. 

After a few minutes, the country finally stopped coughing and opened his eyes. Sasha, who only now registered the multiple cuts and bruises on him from when the ship was collapsing, ran away for a second, only to come back with a first aid kit. 

"W-who are you?" the country gasped out, his throat still irritated. Sasha took out the bandages from the first aid kit before answering his question. 

"Just someone."

She didn't want to reveal anything just yet. Her hands moved like clockwork, mending the country's injuries. The country in question watched in confusion and gratefulness, not knowing what else to do. 

In a matter of minutes, the wounds were mended, but the country was still freezing in his wet clothes. Sasha, who noticed how severe it was, decided that she screwed up. In a hasty manner, she turned to the country with a slight smile, in a feeble attempt to calm him and maybe herself as well.

"Could you .. uh .. close your eyes, and open them when I tell you to?" 

The country wanted to refuse- it would be too dangerous- but her pleading look made him nod before he could register what he had done. He immediately regretted doing so, but he still complied. He had no idea who this woman was, but might as well trust her for now. He couldn't really fend himself in the sad state he was in. 

His eyes closed, and Sasha breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was a good thing that he wasn't attacking her or anything. She picked him up, princess style, again, and turned her jacket back into her wings before pushing off from the ground and flying up. 

Sasha turned herself and the country invisible, making him lighter to carry and away from prying eyes. She flew towards the nearest hospital as she felt him shivering ever so slightly. The country, very very carefully and discreetly, lifted his eyelids. 

What the f-

He was translucent. The woman was translucent. They were in the air. The woman has wings? The woman has wings?!

Deciding that he didn't have enough energy to comprehend everything, the country closed his eyes once again.

-

Sasha landed harshly, jolting the country she was holding slightly. She went to a secluded alleyway that nobody would be in before turning visible, turning her wings into a jacket, and poking the country. "You can open your eyes now."

As the country looked around, dazed from all the flying, Sasha carried him towards the hospital nearby. 

"My country? Are you alright?!" A hospital personnel rushed over, grabbing the country from Sasha's arms. "I'm .. fine, I'm perfectly fine," he responded, blatantly lying through his teeth. "I'll .. bring you inside. Thank you, ma'am, for- huh?"

Sasha was gone. She actually just turned invisible, because she didn't want to interact with people at the moment. The country glanced at where Sasha stood, which, unbeknownst to him, the woman was still standing in. 

Where did she go? .. Eh, I think about it later. Maybe she's just really fast or something.

The United States of America looked away, yawning slightly. He was in no state to think. 

Sasha made sure the USA got inside before flying away, shaking off the water that still soaked her clothes.

-

The countryhuman of the Japanese Empire was in his fighter jet. Sure, he was risking his life, but he managed to spot Hawaii, a territory of the USA. Ugh, the name felt like if he put vinegar and baking soda on his tongue. Needless to say, the empire was not a fan of the USA. 

The Japanese Empire's eyes narrowed on the young territory, his lips curling upwards. His jet still had one more bomb. And his bloodthirst was at an all-time high. Not as high as back in 1937, but still high. He navigated his plane towards Hawaii, who hadn't noticed yet, and clicked a button. 

Huh?

It wasn't working. Why wasn't it working? 

Sasha, who may or may not have a bit of a grudge, used a random piece of rope she found to tie the hatch that released the bombs so that it couldn't release the bombs. 

The Japanese Empire, who had stayed in his position in the air for far too long, retreated in frustration. Sasha quickly took the rope off, so that the empire wouldn't know what was stopping the bombs.

And with her little prank out of the way, she went back to her job of sending souls to the afterlife.

Chapter Text

December 1941 - Washington DC, USA

The USA sat on his usual chair, swiveling around like a child that was bored on a Bring-Your-Child-To-Work day at their parent's boring office job. A black pen twiddled itself around his fingers aimlessly, before falling on the floor with a light clunk. USA sighed, his hand pushing his hair back. He had no idea who that pink-haired woman was, and he hated it. 

The USA was known for having a large amount of information, whether that be about people, countries, or potential invasions. The fact that he couldn't find even the slightest trace of someone who even looked remotely similar to whoever saved him was infuriating, because USA liked knowing things. Plus, it hurt his pride since he was known for being a very well-informed guy. 

Light pink hair, dark eyes, small face ..

Every pink-haired girl the USA found had a different shade of pink, didn't look like the woman who saved him, or both. It was as if she didn't ever exist .. and it was eerie. At first, USA was just a little curious, but the fact that he couldn't find anything really piqued his interest. 

Also, the lady had wings and turned them both transparent. Although he only got a glimpse before deciding that he was too tired to care, the image of large, feathery wings gliding and flapping stuck. And he became transparent. Technically translucent, but still. Not only could this person turn herself translucent, she could turn him translucent. USA also assumed that when they were translucent, they were actually invisible because he sharply remembered that there were no shouts of, "It's a bird? It's a plane? No, it's a flying person carrying the USA!" Which also explains where she went afterwards.

The door behind the country opened, causing the country in question to swivel his chair to face whoever opened it. At the doorway was the USSR, holding what seemed to be important documents. The USA groaned, prompting the USSR to respond in a thick Russian accent with, "I haven't even said anything yet."

"These are some stuff about Europe's condition in the war right now. There's also a bit about Northern Africa .. we think something big will happen there soon." USA nodded absentmindedly, still wondering who the hell his savior was. The USSR's eyebrows furrowed when he realized his reluctant ally was not interested.

Then USA had a brilliant idea: ask around. Starting with, of course, the closest person around. 

"Hey, USSR, have you ever seen a woman who looks to be in her mid-20s, with light pink hair and dark eyes? Also, she has wings on her back?" He motioned to his own back.

Honestly, USA didn't know what reaction he was expecting. Disbelief? Confusion? That one look a parent gives their child when the child does something gross and embarrassing in public, and the parent has to say that it's gross and embarrassing and that they should stop, but can't say it out loud because they're out in public? Well, it was none of those. USSR gave USA a positively horrified look. 

"You've met Sasha too?"

What. Excuse me, huh? He has actually seen her, and even knows her name?

"Did she save you too?" the Russian country asked, seemingly curious at what the conversation has turned to. USA noticed how he used the word 'too', implying it had happened to him as well. "Yes, she did .. during the Pearl Harbour ordeal. Did she save you?"

The USSR nodded, putting the papers down as if they were no longer important. "She saved me from him," USA knew exactly who he was talking about, "and she saved Poland from me." Now that was something USA didn't know. He numbly wondered why he's never heard of this before, but his thoughts were more focused on the fact that she appeared to be on his side. 

"Oh, and when she saved me, she started talking to him, for some reason. They spoke as if they knew each other a long time ago." 

Ok, never mind. Not on my side, then. The USA let the words hang in his head before he fully comprehended them. "Wait, so this girl just interacts with countries?" The USSR shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? I've only encountered her twice .. as far as I know."

Now she really really got the USA curious. A mysterious woman named Sasha with wings, who goes around interacting and saving countryhumans. 

You don't see that everyday. Maybe I'll meet her in the future, and find out who this person (was she even a human at this point?) really is.

December 8 1941 - Thailand

Sasha cruised towards Southeast Asia. There were .. going to be an awful lot of deaths in the area for the next month or so. Odd, but Sasha doesn't really care. Once land was in sight, she dived towards it. First stop, Thailand.

The first death was about five hours ago, and Sasha was .. ok, she'll admit it: she was lazy and spent the hours napping on a park bench somewhere in South America, whose numbers of death from war was comfortably low, for once. Europe, Asia, Africa (mostly the northern half) and even North America had been involved in this. The death toll was astonishing. Sasha often wondered why she, of all servants of Death, had to be given the most work when assigned this type of death. Maybe Death hated her. Hey, as long as she was getting paid, right?

She landed, fanning the dust she accidentally created away. She observed the scene, predicting massive bloodshed, but instead- it was relatively peaceful. Sasha has confirmed it- she's going insane.

While it wasn't her sixth sense, which all servants of Death have, it was more of a new, seventh sense, directing her somewhere. This seventh sense detected, well, personified countries. After saving so many, it was hard not to have this seventh sense. But Sasha was a bit curious- she was led to believe that there was another battle that'll contain lots of death, but it felt peaceful. So, she flapped her large wings towards where her seventh sense was leading: a large, official-looking building.

Sasha phased through the fancy white walls observing the room. There was a round conference table in the middle, kind of similar to the one she saw when France almost got shot in the head. Sitting down were three official-looking people, one of which were wearing very familiar greenish-brown uniforms. 

To Sasha's right was a countryhuman with red on the top and bottom of her head, a large blue stripe in the middle, and white stripes between the blue and the red. Thailand, probably, Sasha thought vaguely. Beside her was an older man with well-combed, black hair and a fancy military suit. To Sasha's left was another countryhuman .. 

Oh.

It was the Japanese Empire, who Sasha happened to have .. a bit of a grudge on. He also probably had a grudge against her, since she interfered with what would've been him possibly killing the PRC. He had on a confident smirk, wearing his usual military garb. The air between the two sides was so tense, Sasha could cut it. The two countries appeared to be having a stare down, but Thailand seemed more timid and shrunk back. Sasha froze, despite being invisible. Then someone spoke. 

"それで。" <So.> Sasha, as well as Thailand and who Sasha assumed was Thailand's leader, practically jumped in surprise at the Japanese Empire speaking. "あなたは停戦を望んでいました。そうですか？"<You wanted a ceasefire. Correct?> Sasha raised an eyebrow. Thailand offered a ceasefire? 

Well, less work for me, I hope.

"それは正解です," <Yes, that's correct,> Thailand answered in rough, heavily-accented Japanese. Sweat beaded on the female country's back. The reassurance of her leader wasn't helping. The country in front of her, which very recently invaded her for reasons she didn't know but definitely suspected, gave a look of pure ecstasy, which sent shivers down her spine. "あなたも私の側に加わってみませんか？" <Would you like to join me?> 

Thailand blinked. The Japanese Empire gave a sheepish smile, before continuing. "つまり私の側です," <That is, on my side,> he elaborated. That only made Thailand's job harder. If she didn't join him, he would probably force her to join anyway. 

It would avoid more bloodshed if I joined now, said the pacifistic side of her mind. But why would you join their side? Now you'll get attacked by the Allies, the other side argued. Thailand .. didn't know what to do. 

"考えておく," <I'll think about it,> the country replied coolly, which surprised her because she felt like she was sweating buckets just being in the same room as the other country. The Japanese Empire's face hardened. "10分。私が与える時間はそれだけです." <10 minutes. That's all I'll give you.> He slammed the palms of his hands on the table, raising himself up, and left the conference room.

Thailand decided to use the scarce time she was given to discuss with her country's leader, who had been watching the exchange awkwardly from the sidelines.

Sasha, meanwhile, flew out (or through, since it was closed and she didn't want to open it) towards the direction the Japanese Empire was headed in. Curiosity plagued her mind. Where was he going?

Well, she got her answer pretty fast. The answer was: nowhere in particular.

The red-and-white country wandered the halls, seemingly bored out of his mind, observing the place. The halls had smooth, marble-like floors and a yellow walls that gave the place a warm and comforting feeling, especially when the light from the sun setting was filling the interior. Small plants often lay on tables presumably used as waiting areas. The soil was rich and dark, as if just watered the day before. Curtains hung loosely around but not fully blocking the open windows. The Japanese Empire propped his elbows on the edge of the window, looking out and facing the orange hues of the sunset. Rarely did he ever get the chance to relax, even if he felt the sneaking suspicion that he was being watched from behind. 

The empire turned around. No one. He must be sleep deprived. 

The wind felt nice, tickling his face and cooling him down. He relaxed, shoulders slouching and what Sasha thought was his resting face turning into a calmer, softer look. It reminded Sasha of how Death looked when pitying her, which was crazy, because Death's face was a skull. But enough about her boss that was definitely on the verge of firing her. 

The country closed his bright-red eyes, taking a long, deep breath before stiffening. The nine minutes had passed. I ought to get going. He pushed himself from the calming peace of the window, stretching and making his joints and neck pop in so many places that Sasha thought he'd accidentally snap his neck and die in the process. He didn't though, whether that was good or bad. 

The Japanese Empire's sharp eyes glanced around. His hands suddenly turned sticky. The unfamiliar walls taunted him. His memory failed him. Sasha stood there, unbeknownst to him, watching in confusion as to why he wasn't moving. The country squeezed the bridge of his nose.

He, the Japanese Empire, great conquistador of the Pacific, had gotten lost while on official business. 

He could not be late. That would damage his reputation, and raise questions. He didn't even know if he could make it back to the conference room at all. That would be embarrassing, and a great empire like him couldn't afford such a thing.

Oh. He's lost. Sasha finally realized what the heck was going on. The country's flitting eyes, the nervous, sweaty look he had- how did she not figure out sooner? Sasha wanted to laugh at this ridiculous situation. The great Japanese Empire, who dared to even attack Pearl Harbour, right in front of the USA's eyes, was getting nervous because he was lost. She remembered her first encounter with him, when he was beating up the ROC. He seemed like a hauntingly formidable foe, and he probably was. But at the moment, he was like a little kid panicking because he got lost in a supermarket and he doesn't know where his mom is. 

Sasha had to stifle her laughter- it would be better if he couldn't hear her. Don't get her wrong, she still absolutely despised this country with a burning passion (she held grudges very well), but it was funny to think. The very nice part of her nagged, saying that she should help him get back to the conference room. Every other half practically screamed no, but then the logical part mentioned that if he doesn't get there on time, the other Japanese soldiers, who were waiting at a camp nearby (Sasha saw them as she flew to the building, but paid no mind) might get suspicious and attack, leading to more bloodshed and thus, more work. 

Ew, more work. 

And so, Sasha flew a little ways away from the Japanese Empire and turned her wings into a inconspicuous, dark-coloured jacket with a hood that hid her hair (which was an obvious and recognizable pink she was debating on dying to be more discreet) and face (her eyes have been described as a defining physical trait of hers, which wasn't good for these stealthy sort of missions). Her usual white dress turned into something that matched her jacket (she didn't bother to look) and her scythe was already a pen, tucked away into who-knows-where. She quickly phased her head through the wall, making sure her path was actually right, because it would be incredibly embarrassing if she got the two of them even more lost. Then, she turned visible.

The Japanese Empire was debating whether he should go left or right. He decided that right should be right, so he went right. "待って," <Wait,> said a somewhat drawling voice from behind him, from the left path. He turned, finding himself face-to-face (well, not really, since he couldn't see their face) with a hooded figure that was a few inches shorter than him and slouched forward. Their hands were in their pockets and they gave off a very approachable aura, despite their appearance. The Japanese Empire was not aware of why this person was here. When he, Thailand and her leader decided to have a secret meeting, no one else was allowed to come inside. He was about to ask, but they spoke first. "会議室をお探しですか?" <Looking for the meeting room?> they asked, their fluency surprising the countryhuman. He was, in fact, looking for the meeting room.

The Japanese Empire scanned the surrounding area- no traps. He eyed the mysterious person who broke in and offered help- they didn't look like they were going to hurt him. So, reluctantly, the country swallowed a bit of his pride in front of this human (or at least, who he assumed was human) and nodded sheepishly. The person waved him over and started walking in the left direction. 

So right wasn't right this time ..

The country followed beside them, and in less than a minute, they made it back to the gilded doors of the conference room. He turned to his left, about to thank whoever helped, but they were gone. 

Appeared then disappeared as soon as the job was done. How odd.

Most of the Japanese Empire's subordinates helped him for the sole reason of getting a favour from the country, since they were so nice and all. Not needing to reward someone was refreshing. His back straightened. His eyes hardened. It was politics time, and he needed those ports. Plus, having Thailand on his side would make it easier to invade Thailand's surrounding countries. Sasha, who was still beside him but invisible, watched in amusement, as if he was an animal at an exhibit in a zoo.

He opened the doors, seeing a stiff country and an equally stiff human. Sasha followed him inside, floating around the Thais. The smirking country sat on the empty chair, facing the other two. "決めましたか？" <Have you decided?> he asked, staring daggers through them. Thailand gulped in response. "私たちはあなたの側に加わりたいのです," <We want to join your side,> she answered, her eyes averting. The Japanese Empire's grin widened. "素敵な." <Lovely.> 

December 25 1941 - Hong Kong

Fire raged in the distance. Hong Kong's white pupils contracted, shaking in pure, uncontrolled fear. The Gin Drinkers' line had been breached long ago. In his hand was a single pistol- not nearly enough. He looked around his territory, which was now overrun with Japanese soldiers. He thought it would be safe. Britain said it would be safe. She wasn't even here, fighting alongside him .. neither was the ROC or the PRC.

His grip on the pistol tightened. He stood up, pain stinging the side of his shoulder from that damned bayonet. His now-frayed clothes stuck on his sweaty skin. It was now or never. He numbly spotted the Japanese Empire advancing and, out of pure instinct, charged.

Sasha flew down to the region? Territory? Whatever. She flew down from the clouds to the place called Hong Kong, where warfare had been happening for seventeen days. Her fingers rubbed eyelids tiredly, technically falling more than flying. Her wings were stiff and ruffled, flapping uselessly around. Once Sasha finally woke up properly, she stopped her descent and managed to not fall and hit the ground. 

Some buildings were on fire, and there was a lot of rubble everywhere. British officers were seen attempting to push the Japanese back, but to no avail. The air was tinted orange, screams of terror coming from every which way. Sasha landed on what was once an apartment building, folding her wings behind her. There were a lot more souls to send to the afterlife, so she got to work. 

The Canadian thought she was done for. She, a fellow Canadian, and a few Indian soldiers who were also stationed in Hong Kong were in the middle of a plain area. The Japanese quickly surrounded them, bayonet tips pointing at their necks. It wouldn't be long before they either died or became POWs, neither of which were good. The Canadian's breathing grew erratic, and sound of her heart pumping drowned out the sound of fires and screams and shouts. Her vision tunneled, only seeing the soldier in front of her. This is it, isn't it?

Except it wasn't. The Canadians and Indians had to do a double take, to see if what happened had actually happened. A rock about the size of a fist hurled towards the bayonet from who-knows-where, shattering it to pieces. It was a slightly horrifying sight, because those bayonets were not easy to break. More fist-sized rocks broke bayonet upon bayonet, causing the Japanese to panic and run off, presumably to get a better weapon. Once they left, no more rocks were thrown. 

The Canadians and Indians shivered in fear, excitement, adrenaline- or maybe all three. Whoever had saved them, they were grateful for, but for now, they had a place to protect. So after a moment to calm down and think rational thoughts, they went back into the fighting. 

-

The Japanese Empire spotted someone advancing towards him. After squinting, he saw that it was the personification of Hong Kong, with a pistol in hand and a glare that could pierce through tungsten. He almost laughed- this would be the perfect opportunity to kill him, which would make Hong Kong a part of himself and his country. The country aimed his bayonet at Hong Kong, who only now realized that he'd been spotted. But he was too late. 

The Japanese Empire had already aimed, his finger about to pull the trigger, until- BONK! 

A rock hit the country square on the back of his head, causing him to lean forward and almost jab his eye from the eyepiece he was using to aim. The hand that was on the trigger reflexively went to rub the back of his head, and in the time, Hong Kong managed to get away. 

I'm getting .. a really weird sense of deja-vu ..

When the Japanese Empire realized, he scowled, cursing in his native tongue. He very clearly remembered that day he managed to break through, to 南京 (Nanjing), when he was glowering over the young siblings, about to claim China as his own territory. It was only due to that nuisance of a rock that he those two got away. A vein popped from his temple. He turned to where the rock was thrown from, but saw nothing.

The Japanese Empire knew it would be unlikely that someone way over at China's capital would be down here in Hong Kong, pissing him off in the exact same way as last time, but he didn't rule the possibility out. His annoyance for whoever (or whatever) it was was as large as ever.

Sasha snickered at the country's reaction. He must've remembered what happened five or so years ago. She flew over to where Hong Kong decided to hide, which was behind some more rubble. The personification was breathing heavily, his hand on his heart as he tried to calm down. 

Hong Kong .. you are an idiot. What were you thinking, charging up to the Japanese Empire so obviously, and only with a pistol?! You could've died and let all your citizens down!

He mentally berated himself, but he knew that it was no use to do that. With a clenched fist, Hong Kong decided to try one more time- but with a better, less suicidal plan. Between two large pieces of wall was a tiny hole, large enough to fit the barrel of his pistol, as well as a bit more room so he could aim. 

Hatred boiled his blood as the personification aimed at the cocky invader's head, and- 

Another piece of rubble fell from somewhere, hitting his pistol and almost his hand. The pistol was now bent in a weird shape and didn't seem to work anymore. 

Damn it. 

Hong Kong glared at the Japanese Empire through the hole, before carefully making his way somewhere else. The personification remembered what the ROC looked like after his encounter with the Japanese Empire. The look on his face made Hong Kong's heart fill with guilt. The ROC and the PRC changed after those weeks. They were less cheerful, more dull. Hong Kong wanted to kill the Japanese Empire for subjecting his closest family to such a life-changing event. But ..

Maybe he'd do that later.

Chapter Text

????/??/?? - ???

'You reap what you sow.' Something Sasha has heard many times, but never took the time to actually think about. Perhaps it was the years of secretly clinging onto a shattered dream, or the thought that something like this would never happen for eternity, but dread filled her stomach so much, she felt like she was watching a certain massacre again, wanting to barf up what little she ate, since beings like her technically didn't need to eat. 

She thought she was in the clear. She thought she was hiding the fact that she'd let multiple countries accidentally (or intentionally) see her. She thought she had resolved her past, which was haunting her once more. 

Sasha wanted to forget those things, which had no relevance now. She had forgotten those things, for the past few millennia. So why were they surfacing back up now, of all times?

-

"<You are an idiot,>" *&^%$ stated firmly, poofing into existence right next to the unsuspecting Sasha, who jumped at the sudden voice behind her. "<Olive oil? What are you doing here?> she asked, her eyebrows raised. Oliver's eye twitched. "<It's Oliver, and I'm here because you are an idiot,>" he repeated with no further context. His chin jut to the side, as if he was offended by the nickname of a nickname he was just called. Sasha rolled her eyes, still not understanding. "<You already said that, and no I'm not!>"

At that statement, the young-looking boy turned back to Sasha with an incredulous look. "<Are you kidding? May I remind you that Death sees practically everything? He saw you reveal yourself to all those countries!>" Oliver waved his arms around dramatically. "<I was sent here by them to go get you! Death has a few words to spit.>"

Sasha shrugged. So what if a few countries saw her? It couldn't possibly be as bad as *&^%$ was making it, right? Plus, she was just having a bit of fun, surprising and interacting. She didn't get why it was such a big deal, but if Death wanted to talk to her about it, then so be it. 

"<Yeah, whatever. Let's go, I guess.>"

"<Whatever?!>"

Sasha glanced up. Oliver- no, this was *&^%$. *&^%$'s face was twisted into a look she hadn't seen on him in a while- anger. His eyebrows furrowed, deep crevasses appearing in between them. The corners of his lips quirked downwards in an unflattering way, eyes piercing through her with the power of a thousand suns. Sasha had forgotten what it was like under his glare. Sweat beaded her back, but she stood her ground. There was absolutely no reason for him to be so mad in the first place. 

"<What are you so riled up on? It's just a little fun, no harm done.>"

The anger slowly dissipated into exasperation. "<Y'know what? It's fine, I don't even care anymore. Just come along, yeah?>"

Sasha got up, stretching her oversized wings and arms. "<Yeah, let's go.>"

As they made their way to the afterlife, Sasha could've sworn she'd heard Oliver say something along the lines of, "<How in the world are you older than me?>" But she decided to ignore it.

-

The afterlife was the same as it was the last time Sasha came, about three years ago. The 'grass' was vibrant and dense, tickling the soles of her feet as she trudged through. 'Flowers' budded every few steps, as the afterlife tended to have 'spring' as its dominant season. The sky looked as if a child had dumped a giant pack of silver glitter atop a black canvas. While it was 'night' (in this part of the afterlife, at least), the sky shone as bright as it did in the day. Unlike on Earth, the second the 'sun' had 'set', no one really went out of their houses except, perhaps, the newly returned souls. Why didn't they go out? They didn't have much reason to. They had all the time in the world to do things the next day, or the day after that. 

The looming tower of Death's headquarters could be seen up ahead. It was like a black hole, drenched in darkness and sucking what little light was around it. Oliver, who was hovering next to Sasha, set his feet back down and folded his wings behind him. 

"<Well, this is it. Good luck, and don't say I didn't warn you.>"

"<Warn me for what?>"

"<..>"

"< .. Why do I associate with you?>" he muttered, holding his head in his hands as he flew off into the distance. Sasha was left to wonder why Oliver was so disappointed in her. If only she was 'less of an idiot', or whatever Oliver was ranting about. 

Now that Sasha had made it to headquarters, she was starting to get a bit nervous. Whether she was in the right (which she believed to be in) or not, she had to face her skull-headed boss who happened to be the embodiment of the phenomenon that every living thing must go through to be considered living, and that is to stop living. Quite ironic, how things like these work. A living thing was only living if it would eventually stop living. 

As for Sasha, she stopped living long ago. But that was a story for another time. 

Sasha glanced down at her clothes. As usual, she was wearing a stark white dress that just reached her knees and cinched comfortably at her waist. It was slightly battered, with specks of dirt near the hem of the skirt part and a few loose strings around the short sleeves. She carefully pat some dirt off.

Perhaps she should go shopping afterwards. It had been a while since she'd been to the shops, which were a lot more lively than the ones up on Earth. But she would worry about that after her unnecessary meeting with Death. 

-

"<Death .. you have a guest.>" . . . "<Is it Sasha?>" . . . "<Yes, shall I bring her in?>" . . . "<Please do.>"

Sasha pushed the plain wooden doors open, revealing Death's office. It was the same as last time, as Death rarely remodeled. They were an old-fashioned being(?), that was for sure. Dark, black walls that were just short enough for Sasha to touch the tops of (and for Death not to hit his head on the ceiling) held up a contrastingly bright ceiling that resembled our 'sky', though more ethereal in a sense. At the far wall was a blazing fireplace, the lingering warmth of burning oak diffused around the room, and near it, to Sasha's right, was a desk that sat her one and only boss, Death themselves. 

They were scratching something on a piece of paper, but paused and looked up when they heard the door creak open. "<Sasha.>" Sasha closed the door behind her, essentially trapping herself in a lion's cage, and walked forward a bit. Death put his pen down a bit forcefully, causing her palms to get slick. They walked forward until they were in front of Sasha, about a foot away. The looming figure of an animate skeleton cloaked in black was not helping. 

"<Have you gone insane?!>" The loudness of their voice struck like lightning. "<Why in the worlds would you do such idiotic things?! You've been spotted with wings by ..,>" they paused for a moment, "<.. 12 people, give or take! Most of which are countryhumans! Do you know how bad this is?!>"

Sasha fought the urge to roll her eyes, as it would probably bring her into more trouble. She didn't get what was so bad. It wasn't as if she was going to die from it or anything. 

"<It's not that bad, calm down,>" Sasha said, prompting an incredulous look (how did a skull look incredulous?) that looked shockingly similar to the one *&^%$ wore a good half hour ago. It also had a bit of that are-you-an-idiot look that Sasha often wore with Oliver.

"<Not that bad?! Do you understand what you have done? Twelve people are now vaguely aware of the existence of you, and thus, the afterlife. May I remind you that we are supposed to be secret so people actually value their lives and all?>" Death sounded like an exasperated parent, but their tone indicated that they were being very serious and they were very angry.

"<Most of those interactions could've been avoided if you were being more proactive with your rescues and less reactive. Some didn't even need to happen, and yet you made them happen 'for fun'!>"

Sasha cowered slightly at the glare(?) of Death, but still managed to stand her ground because, well, she disagreed. And she started getting angry too. As she spoke, her arms flew upwards in fury.

"<A few people know; so what? I just revealed it to people for fun, can't I have some fun? And other times, it was an accident! I had to save them and there was no other way! You don't have to get so riled up->"

And before anyone could register anything, the hand bones of Death harshly and sharply met Sasha's left cheek. Sasha's eyes widened, her trembling hand touching her now swollen cheek. The crackle of firewood suddenly wasn't so warm, and it seemed to Sasha as if nothing else existed but herself, Death, and the burning pain. Perhaps it was the fact that one of the few people she truly confided in had been the one to do it, but the pain stung more than a knife to the chest. Sasha's 'breathing' was calm, for whatever reason, whereas her 'heart' was beating twice as fast. She could barely think; it was like she was trying to find one bit of water in a sea of swirling chaos fueled by emotions she thought she'd long lost by now, with that bit of water being her coherent thoughts. Sasha could feel all the anger and disappointment of Death from that slap, mixing in with her own emotions. Humility and self-awareness crashed into her like waves smashing against the pier. Sasha didn't know if she'd survive this storm of thoughts. She could barely even move.

With humility and self-awareness came realization, which would later turn to guilt. Realizing that what you've been doing wasn't good. Realizing that you will now face consequences. Realizing why Death and *&^%$ looked at you so incredulously. Realizing your mistakes. 

She really was an idiot, as Oliver said. Sweat ran down Sasha's back.

All you've been doing was flaunting your abilities as an undead. You've been showing off and revealing your identity, showing the world of our other world- the afterlife. Showing how incompetent you are. Can't even save someone without revealing yourself? How come the others can do it and you can't? Incompetent. Death was so nice with letting you become one of their servants, and this is how you pay them back? Revealing the secret of the worlds? Something they explicitly told was not supposed to be known? Incompetent. No wonder your father-

"<.. sha .. Sa .. SASHA!>"

"<Ye-yes?!>"

Sasha jumped in surprise, but she was even more surprised at the worried demeanor (how did a skeleton look worried?) plastered on Death's face. Why was he worried about her after all that she'd done?

"<Now, what you did was very bad and should not be done again.>"

Sasha nodded, looking too humiliated to retaliate. It seemed Death didn't want to bring up how he'd slapped her a minute ago. 

"<I'm sorry, Death. I was just doing it for fun, and didn't realize it would be so bad. I promise to not do it unless I absolutely have to and there's no other choice or else someone will die.>"

Sasha was rambling a bit at the end, but she felt that her sincerity came through well enough. Death certainly seemed to think so, with how their furrowed eyebrows (they doesn't even have eyebrows, how does it work?!) softened, but that was probably because of the lenient vibe he had when it came to practically anything. 

"<I'll forgive you .. for now.>"

Sasha, not realizing she was holding her breath, let out a large sigh of relief ..

"<However, this does not mean you'll get away scot-free.>"

.. before immediately tensing back up. 

Death threw something over to her, which she promptly caught. It was a thin silver necklace with a chunk of obsidian clasped by silver metal, about the size of a pistachio, as the pendant. The back, where the necklace could be clipped and unclipped on, seemed suspiciously thin and fragile. The quality suggested that it either cost Death quite a bit of money or quite a bit of time. Sasha's head tilted. Why were they giving her this?

"<I put some stuff on there. When you turn visible while wearing that, your wings are automatically hidden and turned into something else. Doesn't do anything about your clothes, but it's better than nothing. In case of very very NECESSARY emergencies, you can rip it off,>" Death stated, pointing to the fragile links. "<They'll mend themselves in an hour, give or take.>"

.. This is a punishment?

Sasha could see how controlling this necklace was. Death could've put some extra stuff without her knowing. Plus, her actions (like when saving) now had to hinge on the fact that this necklace was automatically hiding her wings. Like a beautiful collar to control the rabid dog. 

"<And.>"

Sasha straightened out again, her this-is-a-punishment? look fading into pseudo indifference when she was actually thinking of all the different punishments she might be given. There were many, the worst being a tad too harsh even by her standards. There were some that were more humiliating than painful, which were more of Death's sort of thing. If Sasha were to guess what they'd do, it'd probably be .. ah, don't tell me ..

"<You are not allowed into the afterlife until I have deemed you worthy.>"

"< .. >"

Of course she was right.

Sasha squeezed her slippery hands into fists so they would stop shaking. She basically got banned from entering her home territory. Sure, she rarely entered in the first place, but it was different when she wasn't given the option of 'should I go or not?' Getting kicked out was equivalent to being a rat- you don't even have the right to enter your own home. And Sasha also had to prove she was good enough to gain access back. 

She would've refuted if she didn't think she was worthy of such a punishment.

"<Understood.>"

Death's features(?) softened, and they rested their hand, the same one that slapped her, on Sasha's shoulder. Her cheek, despite not being in contact with the bones that made up Death's hands, started healing as softly as a mother's kiss. 

"<Don't be so hung up. I'm sure you'll do fine and be able to visit quickly.>" 

Death started walking(?) back to his desk slowly. "<The ban starts after the 'sun' 'rises', so you have two more 'hours' before you're back on the job. Let me remind you that this is your second chance.>" They turned towards Sasha. "<Don't mess this up.>"

Death's eyes were as hollow as a skull (literally), reminding her how Death could be sometimes. She honestly wondered how she was still existing as whatever she was and not torn to oblivion. Sasha did not want another Black Death, and certainly didn't want to go through it. 

"<I won't.>"

-

"<Has Death knocked some sense into you?! You're an idiot, ya know?>"

Sasha turned, finding a small figure rapidly approaching. After squinting, she realized it was none other than Oliver. She sighed. "<Yes, I've gotten some sense knocked into me and I'm an idiot.>" After a pause, she continued, "<Were you waiting for the moment I left HQ to ask?>" In return, he pouted and turned away. "<No I wasn't! I just happened to be nearby!>"

"<Yeah, sure.>"

"<Shut up!>"

..

..

"<Oh, so that's what happened?>" Oliver flew in circles, as he usually did, after Sasha explained what went down. It helped him think, he once told Sasha a long time ago. She was sitting on the 'grass' below, a rain cloud over her head. 

"<You look so depressed.>"

"<Really? Didn't notice. Just thinking about how I won't be able to come back for a while.>"

"<Don't worry, I'll visit you!>"

"<Pfft. Who said visiting you was what I would be missing?>"

"<Hey! It's obviously because I'm awesome!>"

"<In your dreams.>"

"<Hmph, I guess I won't visit then!>"

"<Hey, you gotta visit!>"

"<See? You do miss me when you're working!>"

"< .. >"

"<Check and mate.>"

Sasha rolled her eyes at Oliver, but had no words to counter him. She let the 'wind' make her hair dance as her fingers touched the cold metal that held the obsidian on her necklace. It would apparently force her wings into hiding when she turns visible. What an odd, specific tool.

"<Hey Olive Oil->"

"<- it's Oliver->"

"<- wanna go shopping with me real quick?>"

He gave her a look she couldn't quite decipher before nodding and flying towards the market stalls. Sasha glanced at her wings before quickly flying after him. She was never quite good at understanding how people's faces twisted in accordance to their emotions, even after all this time.

Chapter Text

December 1941 - Berlin, Germany

Sasha ran her fingers down her hair, which was now dyed blonde. Well, she had tried to dye it blonde, but the pink persisted, so now she only had a few blonde highlights while the rest stayed stubbornly cotton-candy-coloured. Absolutely wonderful. There goes her plan of "blending in."

At the moment, she was walking along the crowded streets of Berlin with a not-so-inconspicuous hood pulled low over her eyes. Her wings had turned into a warm bomber jacket, and dirty jeans covered her legs. Her scythe had turned into a pocket knife that was, true to its name, tucked away in her pocket. The obsidian necklace glimmered on her neck, though it was hidden by the jacket. Sasha didn't bother hiding her void-like eyes ("It's not like people are scared of my eyes," she argues, unaware that they very much are). An angry look was also present. In other words, she looked like a colourful street thug ready to throw hands at a moment's notice, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Sasha was trying to be proactive. It was a term she was unfamiliar with, which was quite embarrassing considering how long she's been around. Of course, she can't exactly be the most proactive, or else she'll be too involved in the mortal world's shenanigans and change the course of history (Life and Death would not be amused), but a little bit goes a long way, or so people say. 

After sitting down on a random bench nearby, Sasha sighed like an 60-year-old that still needed to care for their kids. So .. what was she supposed to do again?

It was very easy for her to do things if she was given step-by-step instructions on what to do, but telling herself to "be proactive" didn't really help. How was she supposed to control the situation if her sixth sense only appeared a minute before someone was about to die? She could be on the other side of the world, for gods' sake! But at the same time, knowing the people she'd saved these past few years, it was easy to tell which mortals were in the most danger.

Countryhumans. Always countryhumans. In every single godforsaken conflict, event, massacre, or invasion, the damned countries had to make an appearance, putting their lives on the line despite the fact that if they die, their regime dies with them. It was stupid, honestly. And while their livelihoods affected the continuity of their nation, the opposite was also true, so to prevent their nation (and by extension, them) from perishing, they had to put themselves (and by extension, their nation) in danger ..

What a convoluted mess of a system. Sasha promptly decided that she would not be digging into that topic any deeper, in case she passes out. 

The sky was bright and clear, as if the sun was smiling upon the capital, but with the birds chattering about food, swooping low to the ground, it was most likely not going to last long. A short, heavy shower was probably coming soon, and Sasha would rather not have it rain (literally) on her non-existent parade. She wished she had a parade for it to rain down on, but with the obsidian necklace hanging low on her neck, she knew things wouldn't be very happy-go-lucky for her. 

Although Sasha had only just sat down, she had to stand back up, because wet clothes made her want to crawl into a ditch and die again. But before she could take a step forward, her seventh sense (the one that blared alarms in her head when a personified country was nearby) mimicked an ambulance as imagined red lights flared all around. Judging by the shiver down her spine, it probably wasn't one, but two countries. 

Absolutely wonderful. I'm so, incredibly happy. It's like a dream come true, Sasha said in her head with the blankest, most sarcastic tone she could muster. 

She debated on whether or not she should do something about these countries. To be perfectly honest, she really just wanted to turn back invisible and find refuge in a small island nation that wasn't involved in the wars. (Un?)fortunately, Sasha didn't need to decide on anything, because the personifications came right to her.

Or perhaps it should be: they ran right into her. Literally. Sasha felt a short body run into her leg, and the surprised yelp of a child falling down made the pink-haired immortal glance down, confused. 

At her feet, sitting awkwardly on the ground, were two little girls with black, red, and yellow (top to bottom, in that order) stripes on their faces. They were probably only ten years old, and wore tan-coloured shorts with short-sleeved white dress shirts on top. Their hair was short and black, covered by matching hats that Sasha had once seen on a paperboy back in the 20s. With bright red eyes wide with shock (where had she seen those eyes before?), the twins, she guessed, scrambled up and stammered apologies. 

"Es tut mir schrecklich leid. Ich wollte dich nicht treffen!" <I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to run into you!> the twin with a twitchy eye said nervously, bowing so low she almost hit her head on the ground. 

"Bitte verzeihen Sie uns. Es war nur ein Unfall!" <Please forgive us. It was only an accident!> the other twin, the one with a small limp on her right leg, blurted out in a anxious frenzy. 

Sash put her hands up, overwhelmed at the fact that these two children were both speaking to her at the exact same time. Her mind was still on English mode, so she quickly put it on German mode and interpreted their words. 

"Es ist alles gut, es ist alles gut. Keiner von euch ist verletzt, oder?" <It's alright, it's alright. None of you are hurt, are you?> Sasha said, squatting down so she could meet them at eye level. 

Judging by the flag colours on their faces, she'd guess that they were the children of the Weimar Republic, now known as the Third Reich. These two would probably be the representatives of Germany after their old man finally croaked (which would be nice, but don't tell him that Sasha thought that). If there were two personifications for the country, then wouldn't that mean that the country would be split apart in the future? And if this prediction were to be correct, then couldn't other countries also foresee the future of their country based on their children or something?

Huh. The Fates should fix that plot hole. 

The twitchy-eyed twin stood up first, relief washing across her face like beach waves. The twin with the limp got up soon after, patting her clothes down. They seem to have recovered from their fall very quickly. Ah, to be young again. Wait, now she sounds like some old geezer. Never mind. 

"Uns geht es gut, danke." <We're fine, thank you.> they said in unison, for some reason (how did they do that?). As an uncomfortable silence blanketed the premises, Sasha finally noticed a lack of adults around them. Call it a gut feeling or maternal instinct (Sasha has never had a child), but things didn't quite feel right. The children still looked incredibly nervous, and they weren't going back to their guardian like a regular child would. Then again, they weren't regular children, but that wasn't the point. 

"Bist du von einem Erwachsenen begleitet? Wo sind deine Eltern?" <Are you accompanied by an adult? Where are your parents?> Sasha asked, scrutinizing the kids for any sort of raised eyebrow, widened eyes, or stiffened back. It seemed as though she didn't need to view them like bacteria under a microscope, however, because the twins burst into tears after a few tense seconds. 

"Hä? W-was?" <Huh? W-what?> Sasha stammered, trying to hush the kids as every head within a certain radius of them turned in confusion. Tears gushed out of their eyes as they wailed in despair, desperately trying to explain through warbled cries of anguish. The great, practically-immortal servant of Death, who has been around for longer than most nations, was frozen in shock, frantically trying to think of a way to calm them down before authorities caught wind of this or something. 

How do you calm kids down? I've never had a kid before, dammit! Sing them a lullaby? Reassure them? Wait it out?

And then, a memory surfaced from the deepest corner of her mind. A memory of something that happened a long time ago, somewhere practically unknown, at a time when Sasha was not named Sasha, @#$%^, or anything at all. When the world moved by slowly, and people had time to appreciate things. Back when she was just a kid.

-

<Mama!! Wah, Mama! Where are you; where are you?! I tripped on the big rock again!> 

The young girl's bottom lip quivered as tears welled in her eyes. Before they could fall, however, a tall woman, with a face lost to time, rushed out from the trees, her eyes fixating on her daughter's trembling face. The woman ran over, lowering herself to meet the child's eyes and giving a warm, gentle smile that seemed to glow. 

<Don't cry, sweet little child. Your attachment and compassion is a fatal flaw, though it stems from goodness. Your mother is here, safe and sound. You're strong enough to keep the tears away. Now, give me a smile and tell me what's wrong.>

-

Sasha blinked, staring at the tear-streaked children, before remembering where she was. She was not in the past; not anymore. She was in the present. She had a job and a friend to go back to in the clouds. Now was not the time to be zoning out. 

Sasha calmly held the hands of the twins, who were still crying at their situation.

"Süße kleine Kinder. Ihr braucht nicht zu weinen. Ich helfe euch, egal was passiert, okay? Und jetzt wischt euch bitte die Tränen ab und schenkt mir ein Lächeln," <Sweet little children. You don't need to cry. I'll help you, no matter what, okay? Now please wipe away your tears and give me a smile,> she said, giving them her best don't-worry-it'll-all-work-out smile. 

It worked like a miracle. The children slowed their breathing, and while their faces were still messy and tired, they seemed a lot calmer. Sasha used her thumbs to lightly push the corners of their mouths upward. 

"So. Ist es nicht viel besser zu lächeln?" <There. Isn't it much better to smile?>

The twitchy-eyed one stepped forward, playing with her fingers. "Wir haben uns verlaufen. Wissen Sie, wo der Reichstag ist?" <We're lost. Do you know where the Reichstag is?>

Sasha paused before nodding, remembering where the building was when she was flying over the capital. "Ja, das tue ich. Soll ich vorangehen?" <Yes, I do. Shall I lead the way?>

The one with the limp genuinely smiled as she raised her arms up, tugging on the sleeve of the bomber jacket that was actually Sasha's wings. "Kannst du mich, ähm, tragen?" <Can you, uhm, carry me?>

She must've twisted her leg or something, because that limp looked painful for a child to endure. Sasha easily picked the child up, with no questions needed, and she silently thanked whatever deity listening that the children trusted her so quickly. One hand supported the child she was carrying and the other gripped the hand of the twitchy-eyed twin. The silence was no longer uncomfortable as two children and the immortal that shouldn't be trusted with children made their way down the Berlin streets. 

A few pleasantries were exchanged. Apparently, the kids didn't have names yet, besides maybe being called "Germany," or "Future Germany," so they merely introduced themselves by their preferred human names- Hilda (the one with the limp) and Matilda (the twitchy-eyed one). The matching names were undeniably adorable, and it appeared that they didn't yet realize that Sasha could tell they were personified countries. It was probably a good thing, at least for now. 

According to the children (in very nervous, hasty remarks), they were going to the Reichstag because their guardian worked there. Not technically a lie, Sasha will give them that, and it wasn't exactly the worst excuse either, but it was still very obvious that there was way more to the story. She knew better to comment on it though. 

They finally arrived in only a few minutes. Perhaps Sasha did too well, because the kids didn't want to leave anymore, and would rather find out more about their saviour. 

"Sind Sie ein verkleideter Engel?" <Are you an angel in disguise?> Hilda asked curiously, since the woman had swooped in and helped them find their way back when they were at their lowest points. 

Sasha almost choked on air at the familiar phrase, which the twins immediately noticed. There was no doubt about their lineage, that was for sure. She grinned at them playfully, the corners of her eyes crinkling. 

"Vielleicht, vielleicht auch nicht," <Maybe, maybe not,> she said vaguely, a tiny bit of sparkle showing in her pitch-black eyes. 

And before the children could question anything, she left. 

Chapter Text

January 1, 1942 - Washington DC, USA

Sasha was flying over the Atlantic, as one does, to go from Europe to Southeast Asia the long way. There wasn't much of a rush, and she'd missed feeling the salty ocean breeze filling her lungs in a way flying over land just couldn't do. Plus, she'd be damned if she had to go through the freaking Caucasus Mountains, stupid Ural Mountains, or those godforsaken Alps for the billionth time ever. She could totally just go around them, but where was the fun in that?!

Right as Sasha saw the foggy beaches of the east coast, a giant shiver went straight down her spine. Her large wings paused in the air, before remembering that they were supposed to be keeping her afloat. It was her seventh sense again, telling her that a country was nearby. But that shouldn't be possible, because she was still floating above the Atlantic, a few kilometers away from the land, and there were no ships close enough to warrant such a strong reaction out of her. Which only meant ..

Oh gods. Sasha could feel it- not her sixth sense or her seventh sense, but rather, a gut feeling (despite no longer having a tangible gut at the moment)- something big was about to happen. Big enough for lots of countries to gather, at the very least. Assuming that the countries were gathered at Washington DC, the closest major city she could remember at the moment (Sasha was never good at remembering these sorts of things. Whoopsies), there must've been at least over 15 for her to feel it in spite of the distance. Yikes. Death would probably find a way for someone to die twice just to kill her if she didn't make sure nothing bad happened at what she guessed was a big meeting involving lots of countryhumans. Oh, great heavens above, when could she retire, and why hasn't she retired already? But she knew exactly why she's been working this job for so long. Not that she'd ever admit it.

Gusts of wind wrapped around her wings as she propelled herself towards the capital city. She was right when guessing Washington DC, somehow, even with her very limited knowledge of the land. Hey, it was only named Washington DC three centuries ago! Don't blame her if she still called it the "land where Nacotchtank were", or even the "place with Virginia bluebells," though that is a pretty vague term. The USA, with all of its 48 states, was like a little baby in Sasha's eyes. He was just a wee lad, which sounds really weird when considering how they look basically the same age, appearance-wise.

As she got closer. her seventh sense went absolutely insane, bouncing off the non-existent walls of her body like a rubber ball. There was probably over twenty countries, in that case. She really didn't want to do this now. But, 'tis the life of the working class.

Sasha landed on top of a pole right outside the White House, flying an American flag in the sky. She fluttered down, using her wings like a parachute to slow the descent before casually walking right through the front doors, as if she owned the place. Being intangible had its perks, indeed. The inside of the White House wasn't nearly as white as the outside, though that was to be expected- presidents would go crazy working in the stress-inducing, asylum-like space the place would've turned into if the inner walls were as white as the outer walls. Then again, no president is, in Sasha's opinion, every fully sane either- not when they can convince the majority of a country to vote for them. Anyone with their workload would go crazy. But hey, as long as they get the job done, right? 

After phasing through a few more walls and climbing a set of stairs, Sasha made it to a very red room- red carpets, red decorations .. weird. Whatever. What really caught her eye was the almost dizzying amount of countryhumans, all lounging around this one place. After counting one by one, Sasha concluded that there were about twenty-two countries. Twenty-two! What in the worlds could be going on today?!

Most were, of course, European countries- while this war was being called "World War II", the focus was really just on Europe, as per usual. She should go to Tuvalu or something, and meet their countryhuman. 

There were, however, countries not technically from Europe, like the Commonwealth. Some Asian countries were also there, but there were too many flags for Sasha to name everyone. She could barely deal with one country at a time. Now there were twenty-two, all jam-packed in a single room?? 

Sasha paused her internal rant, frowning. Her pitch black eyes flit around the room, recounting. Yep, still twenty-two. So why did she feel four more countries within the vicinity? Were they in another room? She glanced back at the countryhumans, debating. Eh, they'd be fine without her. Surely it'll be okay.

And with that final thought, Sasha flew through the door again, feeling her way to the other four countries.

-

Oh, goddammit! Of course, of all the countries, it had to be these ones again- USSR, USA, Britain and the PRC. She wasn't annoyed at Britain or the PRC; she'd only really met them (during this war, at least) once. But USSR? Again? And she really didn't want to see USA again, because she was sure she'd seen him peeking his eyes open when she saved the guy during the Pearl Harbour ordeal. Ahaha, if Death found out ..

Anyways. The PRC was older than she'd remembered- it had been a little over four years, after all. Kids grew up so fast .. even when that kid was the personification of a highly-influential country. The other three looked about the same as last time- USA was relaxing on a swivel chair, in a suit that exuded confidence, while USSR was in rather warm clothes, eyeing the American's nonchalant attitude at, well, everything, and Britain rested stiffly on her own chair. The atmosphere was horrendously awkward, considering that these were supposed to be the "Big Four." Sasha was getting secondhand embarrassment at this point. The tension was thick enough to be cut with even the dullest of knives. Yikes.

"So .." USA said, immediately bringing all the attention towards him. "The war. What're we gonna do 'bout it?"

"That's how you start this meeting?! You daft idiot!" Britain complained in response, immediately purifying the thick fog of unease that had blanketed over the four. USSR immediately went to agree with Britain, while the PRC merely watched in amusement. Sasha, standing in the corner of the room, rubbed her temples in an attempt to keep herself focused. She couldn't get annoyed at the countries for being, well, countries. Not when she had to listen to what they were saying. 

..

Oh. 

Oh shoot. 

This had to be a joke. Now, of all times?

Sasha's sixth sense really had to go off now, right when they were about to start the meeting?!

Oh, for the love of-

Sasha flew up, right past the roof to float above the White House. It was definitely a country about to be killed- somewhere really close by as well. It was probably one of the countries in that red room, but .. somehow, that didn't feel quite right. In fact, Sasha thought with a startled and confused frown, I can't feel them at all! Just what was going on in this not-so-white White House?! It was as if the one that was about to die wasn't even alive yet.

Alive .. ah, this had to be some twisted joke that Death was playing with her, right? But knowing Death, that probably wasn't the case. Everything lined up just a little too perfectly: the meeting, all those countries, the Big Four- the points were all being connected like pins on a corkboard. It was annoying. Really annoying. Sasha had to save someone that, quite literally, wasn't "alive" yet, because the person she has to save wasn't created yet. But they would be, once that stupid meeting progressed, so she had to act fast. Find out what the cause of death was. Eliminate the threat. Surely that was easy enough, right?

Sitting on the top of the White House, as one does, Sasha closed her eyes, ruffling the snow-white feathers of her wings occasionally. Her sixth sense was directing her to .. the library?? Uh, okay? Sasha flew down towards the library that she didn't know existed, glancing around before her eyes zeroed in on a large, glowing chandelier in the middle of the room. It was probably made of glass, reflecting light to every corner of the room dazzlingly and shimmering proudly. It also looked very sharp. 

If I were to take one of those pieces of glass and stab someone .. ahem, anyways.

She flew towards it, squinting at the sheer brightness of it. It didn't take long for her to notice that the cord holding the huge chandelier up was on the verge of snapping. Yep, it was definitely the cause of death. Now that Sasha knew, she had two options- either fix the chandelier, somehow, or push the new countryhuman away before they would be crushed to death. The first one was less stressful, so she'd try that out first. 

Tape, tape .. ah, there it is! Sasha yoinked a roll of masking tape from some random cupboard, wrapping heaps of tape onto the cord until it became twice as thick. The chandelier, in response to all the sudden movement, swayed gently. She frowned. Yeah, tape isn't going to work. I need something stronger, like glue, or-

Sasha's thoughts were abruptly stopped when a flash of glowing light appeared on the table right below the chandelier. The biologically immortal being closed her eyes instinctively, her nose crinkling as the light slowly dimmed. It all happened in less than a second, so Sasha wasn't even sure if it had actually happened. When she glanced down, however, her doubts were washed away like a young child's dreams drawn in chalk on the sidewalk on a rainy day. Right underneath the chandelier, curled up on the table and in the perfect location to die, was a young boy that appeared to be no less than five, wearing what could only be called a burlap sack. 

The boy had short, black hair and rather pale skin- in other words, he looked like a human. Even when countryhumans had a veil on, servants of Death like Sasha could see through it, and yet, the boy had no flag of his face, no distinct colours dyeing his hair and skin. What was this kid the personification of, then? What the hell was going on in that meeting, dammit?!

Sasha shook her head. Now was not the time to be questioning things, even though she'd much prefer to do just that. Whatever and whoever the boy was, it didn't matter, because either way, he was about to die very, very soon. 

Aaaand she jinxed it, didn't she? The second Sasha thought that, the chandelier started creaking as the layers of tape did nothing to stop it. The winged woman hastily flew down, thanking whatever deity listening for the fact that the boy was asleep and no one else was in the library as she picked him up and flew away just as the cord finally snapped. Sasha covered the boy's ears- partially because they were probably way more sensitive and mostly because she didn't want him to wake up- momentarily going deaf herself as the glass chandelier let out an ear-splitting crash, cracking against the wooden table. Sasha had instinctively turned herself, and by extension, the boy, invisible and intangible, so the piercing glass shards skirt right past them instead of into them. 

Sasha's ears rung loudly as she sat, dazed and invisible in the corner of the room with her hands still clasped tightly over the boy's small ears. Once the ringing died down a little, she could make out the sounds of many rapid footsteps coming closer and closer. The other countryhumans must've heard the chandelier fall, she thought numbly, still staring at nothing in particular. It was just so loud- 

Right as the door started creaking open, Sasha panicked, flying off while still carrying the young boy in one arm. She eventually landed in an abandoned building, setting the boy upright on a crusty old pillow she'd found before finally being able to calm down, turn them both tangible, and realize that she had basically just kidnapped a child. It wasn't just a child, either- it was a countryhuman! What he represented, she didn't know, but no five-year-old appeared with a bright flash of light wearing a burlap sack underneath a safety hazard! 

The black-haired boy started stirring, groaning as he rubbed his eyes. Sasha quickly changed her appearance into something more normal- a white dress shirt tucked into a long, blue skirt that reached her ankles, with brown boots, thin silk gloves, and a blue bandana to cover a majority of the pinkness of her hair. Her wings were gone and her scythe, which she'd forgotten she was carrying this entire time, had become an umbrella (hey, umbrellas could really hurt someone if they wanted to) as the boy blinked to reveal hazelnut eyes that shimmered even in the dark, abandoned building they were in.

"Who .. где .. 什么?" <Who .. where .. what?> he muttered, glancing around before his eyes inevitably met Sasha's sinking, obsidian ones. Wow, three whole languages at once? The boy stared unapologetically, looking like he was about to either burst out crying, yell at Sasha, or spontaneously self-combust. He did none of the three, surprisingly enough, and just rudely pointed a finger right in Sasha's face. 

"我在哪儿? Кто ты? And why are your eyes like that?" <Where am I? Who are you? And why are your eyes like that?> he asked pompously, as if he was hot stuff. Sasha had to resist punching a child because he was a bit rude. She smiled, crouching down to meet his gaze at eye level. 

"You're in an abandoned building in Washington DC, USA. My name is Sasha. My eyes are just like that. Does that answer your questions?" She tilted her head at him, keeping her cool. She was not about to get petty with a kid that was literally born a few minutes ago. "Now it's my turn. Do you know who you are, and what you represent? Do you know that it's basic human courtesy to not point at people?"

Whoops. The passive-aggressiveness must've slipped out again. The boy, in response, narrowed his eyes, puffing his chest out. "Ну конечно. I'm .." <Well, of course! I'm ..> He faltered, looking much less confident now. "Huh? 我 .. 我是谁?" <Huh? Who .. who am I?>

The boy looked like he was about to be on the verge of an existential crisis, so Sasha loosely held his hand, prompting him to look up. She grinned, thinking about how much the boy acted like an overdramatic Oliver. "Why don't I give you a name then? Starting today, you're Jeremy, understood?"

The boy stared and blinked for a few seconds, before his eyes lit up. He crossed his arms, acting as if he didn't like the name one bit when it was very obvious that he did. "Bah! 真无聊啊. Понял," <Bah! How boring. Understood,> he grumbled, glancing away. "Могу ли я получить новую одежду? 我很冷," <Can I get new clothes? I'm cold,> the boy- Jeremy- complained, reminding Sasha that he was still wearing a burlap sack in the middle of winter. 

"Right, right. Of course, Jeremy."

And as Sasha quickly borrowed (stole) some clothes from the store (she'd pay later, okay?!), she finally realized, a little late, that she was probably stuck taking care of this prissy kid for a while. He had no guardian, no money, no knowledge, no nothing! Sasha wasn't cruel enough to leave this kid in a busy city in January. Plus, nobody knew of his existence since he was literally just born. In other words, he would probably die unless some miracle or coincidence happens that works in his favour. Sasha knew, having worked with miracle makers, that they didn't come nearly as often enough for her to bet a kid's life on it.

So now, along with work, she now had a kid to keep alive .. oh, for the love of-

-

"I know we're here to discuss the war, but I'd like to also talk about a certain pink lady," USA said, looking comically serious. Britain and China raised their eyebrows, glancing at each other with the same confused expression as the USSR merely sighed. 

"You don't know if they've met her. Must you talk about her at every chance you get?" USSR responded in a thick Russian accent, exasperated as he pinched the bridge of his nose. China decided to speak up, tilting her head curiously at the American's words. 

"A pink lady? Who?" she asked, her English not quite as fluent as the other three but still understandable. She had only been learning English for a few years, after all. USA smiled rather manically, as he always did when he found a new mystery to uncover. 

"She's in her early or mid-twenties, I believe. Light pink hair, with pitch black eyes? Have you ever met anyone with that description, China? Or you, Britain?" 

While China took a bit of time to muse and scour through her memories, Britain's eyes turned into saucers as she remembered the features. Her red-and-white eyes locked onto the American's immediately; her expression was now a mixture of disbelief and confusion. "With .. with angel wings, right? And she also knows that guy?" 

"Angel wings?" China muttered, confused, as the USA perked up. "Yeah, her! So she's even interacted with you, huh? Interesting .."

The USSR groaned. He knew how excited the capitalist could get when he found out more about his new mystery. The Russian turned towards China, who appeared to want to say something but didn't know the right time to butt in. 

"How about you, China? Have you met anyone with pink hair, black eyes and angel wings?"

China hesitated as the focus shifted towards her. She still wasn't quite used to all this attention. "I don't know about the angel wings, but I have met someone with pink hair and black eyes .."

"So she hid them from you. Fair enough, fair enough .."

China fought back a scowl. What the hell was "fair enough" supposed to mean? Was that a diss or something?! "Anyway," she said, a little louder. "I met her during the .. massacre of my capital. I'm pretty sure she distracted Japan before pulling me out of sight. She saved 哥哥 .." <brother>

The Chinese countryhuman got silent as the topic shifted towards the massacre and her brother- both very sensitive topics for someone that was still quite young. "Mm. She saved 哥哥 and helped me get away. I'd never forget."

The room was rather silent after that. Most of the other countries didn't have as devastating, traumatizing massacres to be saved from. 

"I see. Thank you for the information, China," USA said with a nod, to which China cheerfully said, "No problem!" to. The American turned to the Brit, who was fidgeting in her seat. 

"And you, Britain? Tell us about your experience with her."

Britain sighed, pushing her hair back. The stares she received were expectant. "This is peer pressure, you know. But I am willing to tell you, if both you and the USSR reveal your own interactions with this strange lady."

"Deal," USA said easily, not faltering in the slightest. Britain, mildly concerned, rolled her eyes and started. "Well, it was the day of France's surrender. I also went because he was being a wimp, and that guy had the nerve to pull out a gun. When he shot, however, the pink-haired girl, with large white wings, appeared right in front of France, shielding him."

The crowd listened intently, gasping at just the right moments like a practiced audience. Britain wanted to throw herself off the London Bridge. She was the oldest, sure, but did was she really telling this like it was story time in kindergarten?

"Those two talked as France and I watched. He called her an angel, but then she denied it at the end. Blah blah blah, France surrendered. End of story, and don't you dare clap, America!"

The USA, whose hands were already about to meet, paused, pouting like a child. But his face showed that he was actually quite interested in what the British woman had just revealed. 

"Interesting; interesting indeed. Well, as promised, I'll tell you about my experience. I was on one of the ships as Pearl Harbour was bombed. Sasha- oh yeah, that's her name by the way- protected me, dragged me out from the water, and flew me to a hospital. Your turn, commie!"

The USSR, who wanted to take no part in this seemingly pointless discussion about some unknown, inhuman being, reluctantly told his tales, if only to stop the USA from giving him those pleading, puppy-dog eyes (they looked so goddamn disgusting on the USA's face; the USSR couldn't help but want to grimace every time the American tried and failed to act cute). 

"She pushed Poland out of the way when I shot at him, and she also protected me from a bunch of bullets when that guy shot at me. I don't get why this is relevant to our original topic."

"Aw, pshaw, man! Can't we just talk about something other than this depressing war from time to time? Plus, it's very much relevant!! I'm supposed to know everything about everyone, but that girl- I don't know anything! I hate it! How can I sit back as someone flies under my radar?!" the USA argued petulantly. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"But anyways. That's not the point: the point is that Sasha, this pink-haired lady, keeps doing weird stuff. She knows that guy. She keeps saving countries! What kind of niche hobby is that, huh?"

"So .. what even is she then? Is she an angel, because of her wings?" China asked, trying to follow along. "Wait, but Britain said that she denied being an angel .."

The Brit nodded in confirmation, frowning. "If not an angel, then what is this being you all call Sasha?"

The USA grinned, like he'd found a new puzzle to crack in the mystery. Of course this guy would grin at this like the insanely curious country he was. He folded his arms, leaning back on his chair as he stared down at the other three countries with a smirk.

"Yes, what is she indeed? Is she an angel .."

".. or a demon?"