Where Winter Meets Summer (Rusame Countryhumans)

Appeals for the Unmended

(NOBODY POV)

A lump formed in Russia's throat as the wreath was taken from the scale and placed around his head, connecting him to COE's Awakening. Her glimmering amber eyes glowed regally beneath the pearly silk in the dim light as she motioned for him to step forward.

"You will speak the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Answer my questions sincerely and judgment will smile kindly upon you.

He nodded, and an imaginary weight was lifted off his chest, allowing his throat to work properly again.

"I understand," he coughed as he prepared himself. COE nodded in acknowledgement and presented the first question.
"The expectations and consequences have already been set. The presence of the forbidden elements were clearly recorded- there is no doubt in that. However, there was a lapse in the system that seemed to have transported you two into an unsupervised domain. We have no information of what you two had to experience, therefore we cannot punish you. Therefore, you are here to prove that your use of Core Polaris and America's use of Sunfire was justified."

"It was," Russia assured her. "I can only speak for myself since we were separated shortly after entering the trap but it was a life or death situation."

The scales proved nothing against his statement and COE nodded.

"Very well. Now, what exactly prompted you to use Core Polaris?" she inquired. "You are not required to answer since it does not pertain to the judgment of your innocence but it would be helpful to our investigation in the matter."

Russia hesitated for a moment, seemingly to consider how to answer, "It was a game that led to a fight with a monster- no- a god. I needed to keep it distracted long enough to escape."

"Do you have any idea who was behind it all? Was it that god that you described?"

"No. I don't believe so."

The scales stayed unwavering and murmurs rippled through the stadium once more. COE considered all the new information and dismissed the Russian from the stand. He audibly sighed with relief but the anxiety he had felt was nothing compared to what America was experiencing.

Russia had nothing to worry about since he had no reason to lie. He really had used the unbreakable ice to escape from Apophis.

America, on the other hand, (even though he didn't show it) was panicking so much that his mind was absolutely blank. He would be unable to lie because the scale would see right past it. COE was basically EU 2.0 so no excuse was going to get past her. He was stuck.

Why?

Because during the whole time they were trapped, he had been extremely careful not to unleash Sunfire in any way, shape or form. He had not used Sunfire.

It was CSA who had.

(AMERICA POV)

Too late. The wreath was placed upon my head, brushing coldly against my temple. With a resounding 'fwoosh' the crushing pressure that had kept me silent was lifted and I was forced to step up. COE regarded me with the same, unseeing stare and asked me the same question; my justification of using the forbidden element.

I paused, wracking my brain for any way to wriggle my way out of my unfortunate situation.

'Think, America think!' I cursed at myself as I did everything in my power to keep my hands still. It was either nail-biting or hand-wringing, horrible nervous habits that never seemed to go away. In my panic, I glanced at Russia who seemed to have guessed my predicament but he had finished his turn on the stand. There was no helping me now.