Zoethian's 1oo One-shot Challenge //Posting open

[Zoethian]

➸ ['Cause we're running in slow-motion]
[Can't keep life from going] ➸

--100 One-shot Challenge > Main thread
Hello! I'm Zoethian and this is my thread for the 100 One-shot Challenge I'm Not The Only One is doing and I'm overly happy to say that I'm a part of it c: I'll be using the Hetalia: Axis Powers characters for this as I feel more confident writing FanFiction! The characters of Hetalia belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. Now, here's the list that we've been given.
Done! -> ✔
Not done! -> ✘
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Injured ✔ | Sinking ✔ | Father ✔ | Exploit ✘ | Boredom ✘ | Art of Conversation ✘ | Take your Best Shot ✘ | Creativity ✘ | Flash ✘ | Puzzling Words ✘ | Ill ✘ | Skeleton ✘ | Nothing ✘ | Servitude ✘ | Possibilities ✘ | Weightless ✘ | Just Say It ✘ | Last Words ✘ | Immature ✘ | Blazing ✘ | Help ✘ | Presence ✘ | Because ✘ | Forced ✘ | Reversed ✘ | Cast Away ✘ | Emotions ✘ | Questions ✘ | Wishing ✘ | Crackling ✘ | Curl Up ✘ | Together ✘ | Look Again ✘ | Brief ✘ | Space ✘ | Special ✘ | Jinx ✘ | Stop Fussing ✘ | Cosy ✘ | Breaking ✘ | Either Or ✘ | Tell Me a Story ✘ | Waiting ✘ | Willpower ✘ | Who Am I? ✘ | Idol ✘ | Unseen ✘ | Just Try ✘ | For Me? ✘
Your Choice! (You got to 50!) ✘
Useful ✘ | Treasure ✘ | Ceremony ✘ | Lightning ✘ | Protection ✘ | Stay With Me ✘ | Mint ✘ | Rescue ✘ | Dominant ✘ | Thief ✘ | Deserter ✘ | Stolen ✘ | Sarcasm ✘ | Darling ✘ | How Much is too Much? ✘ | Over ✘ | Try Again ✘ | Hidden ✘ | Forgotten ✘ | The First Time ✘ | Ageing ✘ | Soldiers ✘ | Justice ✘ | Tread Carefully ✘ | One False Step ✘ | Connection ✘ | Mess ✘ | It Can't Be ✘ | In Due Time ✘ | Awake ✘ | Delicious ✘ | Fallen ✘ | Trickery ✘ | Around the Bend ✘ | Well Travelled ✘ | Choices ✘ | Surplus ✘ | Rough ✘ | If ✘ | Friend ✘ | Found Not Lost ✘ | Spiral ✘ | Deep ✘ | I Could Have ✘ | Desirable ✘ | Resentment ✘ | Build Up ✘ | Inch by Inch ✘ | Dilemma ✘ | Blue Sky ✘ |

While some of this will have a running story, some will just be one-shots!

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Characters && Hetalia (C) Hidekaz Himaruya
FanFiction (C) Zoethian
Gif (C) Owners
Stamps (C) ChickenSmoothie - Personality & Profile > Countries

[Zoethian]

America dug his boots into the horse's side, pressing him onwards through the undergrowth and glancing back only a few times to check for if England was following or not--oh, of course he wasn't! He was hurt and that was how it was going to stay if Alfred F. Jones couldn't speed up, get back to the Halfway House and be an awesome hero! "C'mon, c'mon," the American breathed, edging his horse into a faster canter and jumping the log between the forest and Halfway House.

Finally, the barn and red-bricked house on the hill was in sight and he pulled back on the reins until his mount was in a trot; Alfred sheepishly patted the sweating horse's mane, realising his mistake in powering the horse on for so long and so fast without consideration for its health--whoops. But he had Arthur's health to worry about! Arthur needed a hero and that hero was America! And their sorta-heroic-but-not-as-heroic-as-him friends, too!

As quick as shooting stars, Alfred leapt from the saddle, fell against the wet earth and got up, tripping once more and losing his glasses to the mud. With a groan, the American hauled himself to his feet, cleaned his glasses, put them on and bounded towards the stables where he could see Japan sweeping dried, broken mud out the large doors. He was humming--this was no time for humming! "Japan! Japan! You've gotta help me, dude! Arthur fell off his unicorn-thing and landed in the river and I pulled him out but he wasn't conscious and his head is-"

"Shush." Honda covered Alfred's mouth with his palm, the man's pleading eyes staring widely into his own. "What happened?" He removed his hand.

"Just as I said, dude! England fell off his horse and landed in the river and now he's injured!"

"Hej. What's going on?" Denmark peered out of a stable, a speckle of mud smeared across his cheek. "What's all this stuff about England? Huh?"

"Oh, please, you were eavesdropping!" Alfred huffed, wrinkling his nose at the Dane. "That's not nice!"

"Uh." Honda scratched his head, eyes curiously widening. "America, I think Demark wants to help, too--did you say the river?"

Alfred blinked, looking from Mathias to Honda in confusion, and finally it clicked and he started nodding. "Oh! Well, he should've said!" Bounding over to Mathias, Alfred opened the stall door and the Dane led his large horse out, loosely tacked without its saddle; only a pad and bridle. "Dude, don't you need a saddle?"

"Awh, don't worry about me, Alfred!" said Mathias, swinging his head around to call further into the stables where a few countries were already looking out in confusion, fear, annoyance and worry. "Guys! England's in trouble! We've gotta go save him!"

"Why?" asked Russia, though he began to tack his large horse up unhurriedly.

"Because he's hurt!" bellowed Alfred before retreating from the barn with Honda trailing. "Don't you need a horse?" Alfred asked, frowning towards the man and moving to his mount still panting by the forest.

"Yes, but Prussia needed him for an extra horse today for pulling the cart--the other Shire is pregnant and could-" Honda was cut off by the sound of hooves and turned to see Mathias and Ivan cantering towards the forest, racing one another passed Alfred and Honda and disappearing into the thick woodland; a few mouse-tail lengths behind them was Sweden.

Honda was so busy watching the intimidating man he almost missed when Alfred reined up beside him and offered him his hand. "Don't worry! We'll be there in record time! The heroes always arrive in time!"

Honda wrapped his arms awkwardly around Alfred's waist and rose to protest when the American kicked the horse onwards, shouted a loud, "Let's go!" and they thundered into the forest, over the log and towards the river, following the normal path - though it looked as if someone had already trailed off it and damaged a bush while doing so.

Alfred soon halted his horse and Honda almost toppled off, catching himself only seconds before he would have hit the muddy earth. "Arthur!" gasped Alfred, leaping from the saddle of his panting mount and running to where Mathias was clenching an unconscious body in his arms and Ivan was less then gently poking a wound on their forehead and arm.

"He is OK," said Mathias, looking up. "But France should look him over when they return from market. Berwald's gone to look for his horse."

Alfred jerked up, eyebrows furrowed. "But-but I tied Alfred's horse to... the... tree over... there..." With each word, Alfred looked around the clearing and soon discovered said tree where no horse was tied, but a knife dug into the bark. He approached and worked the blade from the wood. "Uh..."

Ivan rose, adjusting his scarf once, and turning to Alfred. "Where is the horse, then?"

"I tied her here..."

"Well, that's not good. Arthur won't be happy."

Mathias stood up as hooves trotted closer through the river, and Berwald appeared on his horse, but only his horse who was panting loudly from racing through the cold water of the river and climbing the bank. "I cannot find her," said the Swede, downing his eyes.

"Take the river back, then," Mathias commanded his brother, motioning towards the water. The river ran right past Halfway House. "She probably scared and bolted."

"That doesn't explain the knife, Denmark," said Japan.

Mathias clenched Arthur's body and bit his lip as the Brit groaned, waking and falling back asleep far too much to be good. They settled Arthur on Ivan's horse and began riding back to Halfway House.

---
Word count;; 946
Edited;; Once
In-Story Notes;; 'Hej' is Danish for 'hello'.
Other Notes;; So, decided finally to rewrite this in FanFiction mode instead as I'm more comfortable writing FanFiction! This will carry the same plot as I worked it out pretty well, but will be modified slightly--yay!

[Zoethian]

Alfred - Arthur - Honda - Mathias - Ivan - Berwald - Francis

Russia dropped England on the sofa inside the house. "Careful!" America scolded the Russian as Japan fetched some tea and a bottle of water. Sweden rested a blanket over the Englishman. Denmark started to light a fire to ward off the cold of the livingroom.

"Should we wake him?" asked Honda, tilting his head to look at the others, a curious spark in his dark eyes. "We should have France look at the cut, too. Or it might get infected."

"We probably should," Berwald agreed, going to help Mathias with the fire.

--

He was sinking.

Arthur tumbled from his horse's saddle and right into the cold water of the river and under until he was gasping for air and filthy water was sliding down his throat. "Alfred!" he tried to say even as his horse's hooves uncontrollably flailed around him, one sharp point hitting his arm. A flourish of red gently trailed from his sleeve and into the water, fading and flittering in the light as a face appeared above and arms scooped him from the water, but he was already dozing into a land of induced sleep.

"Arthur?" Alfred's voice slipped into his echoing mind. "Uh! Um! I-I'll get help." Arthur felt his body being gently placed against the rocks and his horse stomping by. "Stay awake!" Oh, Alfred, thought Arthur with an inward laugh.

--

An hour or so passed, and in the end they'd decided on not waking Arthur until France got back-

"What's going on, mes amis?" Standing in the doorway, was just the Frenchman they'd been waiting for, a smug smile pulling at his lips. "Why is darling Canada running after le horses?"

"France! Thank the star-spangled banner you're here!" Alfred rushed around to pull Francis into the room and over to Arthur, pointing. "We were riding and he fell off and hurt himself!"

"Did he now?" asked Francis, wrinkling his nose at the sight before him. "First, take le blanket off before he gets too hot--thank you, Sweden. Now-" Francis pulled up his sleeves, turning to take Honda's water bottle. He uncapped it and poured the drink over his friend. "Good morning, Angleterre!"

England spluttered and sat up as the water poured over him, sending him back to the river and his fall as two arms grabbed his shoulders and forced him to stop shaking--shaking? He hadn't even realised he'd been shaking. What's happening? Where's Elizabeth? Alfred left me... again...

"England! Dude?" America stared down at him with eyes so wide they looked about ready to pop out of their sockets, his breath blowing over England's face. "Are you OK?" France was already busying himself with the bleeding wound on Arthur's forehead, gently pressing cotton wool to the cut to clean it. Japan had left to get himself another bottle of water in case Francis needed more.

"I-I think so?" Arthur tried to wipe his face, but soon discovered Francis had moved on to the long scratch, pushing away the torn fabric.

"Whoa, that don't look good," Denmark commented, looking up from the fire and over to the other men, eyeing the blood seeping into the cloth of Arthur's clothes.

"Don't say that!" Arthur, with his other arm, hauled it over his face as a whimper escaped him, feeling the pressure being applied to the injury--wound. "Am-am I going to live?" This wasn't his character, he wasn't normally the one to fear for his life because of a little pain - but this pain wasn't little. No. No. It was a lot of pain- physical pain. He wasn't used to physical pain. He was used to mental pain, and used to bottling it up. Physical pain is another ball game.

"It'll heal quickly because you're a country, England," said Honda, returning to the room and nodding an acknowledgement to the wounded man. "I can't say the same thing about your horse, I am sorry."

Arthur's face drained. "Wha-what?" He sat bolt upright, dismissing the physical pain in his elbow and the huff from his French friend. "What happened to her? Where's my lovely Elizabeth? She-she didn't get hurt, did she?"

"We don't know," said Sweden, warming his hands in front of the fire. "She wasn't there. She might have bolted, though."

"Except," started Alfred, blushing brightly. "There was a knife stabbed into the wood where I'd tied her."

"WHAT?" Arthur could hear his heartbeat sounding through his ears. "She-she's gone? Someone--someone took her? My unicorn? Someone stole my unicorn?"

"Angleterre," said Francis, placing a hand on Arthur's quivering shoulder. "While I do not wish to interrupt, I am sorry to report that your arm is broken."

Russia blinked, smiling like always. "Oh, well, that isn't good."

Arthur fainted.

---
Word count;; 789 - haha
Edited;; Once
In-Story Notes;; 'mes amis' means 'my friends' in French // 'le' means 'the' in French // 'Angleterre' means 'England' in French // Heh, this ends like the least part in The Great Snowfall.
Other Notes;; I will confess to not knowing much about medicine or how to wake people up when they're knocked out passed smelling salts or water--and Francis strikes me as the person to dump water over someone when they almost drowned; yup. // I am aware that Elizabeth (Arthur's horse) is very close to Hungary's (Elizabeta) human name; I am sorry if this confuses anyone!

[Zoethian]

Arthur - Tino - Berwald - Peter (Sealand)

England's face was content by the sight of Sealand running through his garden with Harry, chasing the browning leaves and the silvering of his unicorn's flake, her graceful hooves thundering through the wet ground and leaving no marks in the soil--he loved that unicorn.

Almost as much as he loved the boy.

His face fell then, turning slightly to the door he expected to be opened any time now by what his watch read; 6:45 PM, 23rd of September. Finland and Sweden would soon be here to collect little Sealand, and England's heart hurt at the thought he'd soon be alone again. America was away with Canada at the moment, and though England knew he'd see the man tomorrow and he'd done perfectly well to be by himself for a week and five days already, it was just beginning to hit home that he, England, was alone even with his friends next door.

"England!" Arthur looked up at the voice and discovered, surprisingly, Peter standing in front of him with Harry sitting at his side, nuzzling his head against the boy's legs. "When can I have ice cream?" he asked curiously, eyes seeming larger than normal in the rays of the late sun.

"Now." Arthur shrugged his jerkin on and buttoned it, grabbing his glass and disposing of the lingering drops of lemonade into a nearby push. "Come on, Peter." He reached out to the boy and, using all his strength, hauled him into his arms to carry him inside and prop him on the chair, ruffling his hair. Harry padded in after them and waited beside his bowl; he hadn't been given his dinner.

"Can I have chocolate ice cream?" Peter pressed, knowing full well Arthur was already digging through the freezer. "And when are Tino and Berwald coming to collect me?"

"Seven o'clock, poppet," said Arthur, closing the freezer door with his hip. "You know, this'll be done quicker if you feed Harry for me." Much to the Englishman's surprise, Peter leapt up and jogged over to stroke the cat, finding his food in the cupboard.

Arthur could only smile. He walked across his modern Victorian-style kitchen with its big beams across the ceiling and walls, bending down to open one of the cupboards. He grabbed the nearest bowls and took them back to the ice cream, putting a little in both and placing them on the table with a spoon each. "You need to buy some more cat food soon." Arthur looked over to where Peter was smacking the underside of the box, trying to get the remains of the dry food into Harry's bowl.

"I'll need it to my list for tomorrow," said Arthur, sitting down to eat.

Peter rejoined him, sitting down in his comfy seat to munch the quickly melting ice cream, smearing chocolate across his lips and chin. Arthur shook his head at the messy child, getting up to find the kitchen roll.

The doorbell rang.

Arthur's content expression fell into another frown, glancing at his watch; 7:03. They were on time. He hurriedly put the kitchen roll down and went to let the Nordics in. "Hello, Finland, Sweden."

"Hallå, England," replied Sweden, looking over Arthur's shoulder curiously. "Where is Sealand?"

"In the kitchen finishing his ice cream. I promised he could have some before he left," Arthur replied, smiling to the Finnish man beside the Swede. "Come in--Would you like a cuppa?"

"No thank you--Norway is cooking and we must get back," said Finland with an upturn of lips towards England. "Sealand, have you had fun today?"

Arthur turned and was staggered to see Peter standing behind him, face clean of chocolate and standing with a childish pride. "Yes! It was wicked! We had tea and discussed some musicals England has seen! And I played with Harry and Elizabeth too!"

"My cat and unicorn," Arthur laughed, said cat appearing and climbing up to sit upon Arthur's shoulder, twitching his whiskers in greeting.

Tino laughed and took Peter by the arm. "Thank you very much, Arthur. We were afraid of him being bored today--would you be able to babysit again soon?"

"Of course, just give me a ring." Arthur saw them out the door then returned to his kitchen to find his ice cream had been eaten. He glanced at Harry, but the cat seemed OK and his gingery pelt didn't seem sticky--Oh, Peter. Carefully, the Englishman put his cat on the chair and carried the bowls over to the sink, turning the tap on.

While washing the bowls, Arthur discovered a mistake. He hadn't used the bowl Sealand painted with his 'country's flag, and had instead grabbed the one Alfred used in his young years. A slight feeling of hollowness came over the man as he stared at the plainly painted American flag, remembering those years. He wasn't a father anymore.

The phone rang and Arthur leapt at the chance of it possibly being Alfred, saying he was coming home sooner then he first thought, "Hello?"

"'Ello laddie!" Nope. Just Scotland. "Just checkin' in ta see how me wee brother is today!" Again.

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Word count;; 856
Edited;; Once
In-Story Notes;; Harry is my headcanon for Arthur's come-and-go pet/magical companion // A jerkin is a man's short close-fitting jacket in case anyone was wondering // 'Hallå' means 'hello' in Swedish
Other Notes;; There's no flag for Sealand ;-;