The Trouble with Time Travel, a Hetalia fanshort by Mocha-san

((Author's Note: This was written last night when I was searching for inspiration, randomly wrote a sentence, and then a plotline started flowing from there.))

“...and that was when I invented it!”
Hong Kong stared warily at the little go-cart-like machine Korea was gesturing to. “Korea,” Hong Kong sighed, “You and I both know you didn’t invent this “time machine” you have.”
Korea drew back, indignant. “I did too, da ze! Everything originated in Korea, so why not this time machine?”
“I saw you borrow it from Norway’s garage.”
Korea sighed in defeat. “Anyhow, I still say we should use it to go back in time!”
“First of all, how do you know this thing even works?” Hong Kong asked simply. “Second of all, why would we need to go back in time? We’re all over, like, 200 years old at least.”
“So? We can revisit the good times, da ze!” Korea argued. “Hey, how about we do something nice for aniki and go back to Ancient China and prevent Chun Li from dying?”
Hong Kong considered that for a moment before common sense came back and he shook his head. “No. Terrible idea. What if living with Chun for the rest of his life, telling that Chinese dragons are immortal too, ends in, like, Japan never being born or found? Which would lead to us never coming to be? That’s technically suicide.”
“You and your common sense, da ze,” Korea mused, crossing his arms. “Fine, then. Let’s go back to a year ago and get back at Macau for that one game of Project Diva,” Korea said, climbing into the machine. “Come if you want!”
Hong Kong knew that the chances of something good coming from this venture would be a very definite 9941890 to 1, but he had nothing better to do. So he shrugged and climbed in next to Korea.
Korea turned a dial on the dashboard to “Last Year”. “To the past, da ze! uri nara mansae!”
With that, there was flash of hot pink light and they were gone.

One time journey later…

The time machine deposited them back in the same spot they had left. Hong Kong was drooped over the edge of the vehicle, the rides through time giving him a stomachache.
Meanwhile, Korea was celebrating. “MANSAE! We returned alive! Right, Hong Kong?” No answer. “Are you still nauseous, da ze?”
“No,” Hong Kong replied, “But we kind of have a situation.”
“What would that be, da ze?” Korea looked up. “WHAT THE HECK?!!”
China’s house, where they were supposed to be, was gone. Heck, not even the bamboo forest was there. It was all plum groves.
“Where are we?!” Korea was flipping out. “What happened?! Did we get dropped off in the middle of nowhere?! Oh my God, aniki is going to kill--”
“Hold that thought, Kimchi Lad,” Hong Kong interrupted, placing a hand on Korea’s shoulder to stop him from moving. “I think we got a bigger problem.”
Korea and Hong Kong looked towards the gray sky, where they found the glimmer of skylights.
“Come on,” Hong Kong said as he climbed out of the time machine. “Let’s go see what happened.”
Korea climbed out after them, and they scrambled out of the plum trees towards what they hoped was civilization.
Of course, they found just that. However, this definitely wasn’t the kind of civilization they hoped to see. Everything was grey, white, and red, with maple leaf flags everywhere and on every billboard. People walked around wearing tan coats, and a lot of them had baby polar bears in their arms.
“Holy…” Korea couldn’t even finish.
“I knew this time travel thing was a terrible idea,” Hong Kong deadpanned.
Just then, to confirm their fears, a TV screen next to a billboard turned on and revealed the gently smiling face of Canada. “Hello, this is your ruler Canada speaking,” said Canada, “The time is 9:45, and today, breakfast is pancakes with the best maple syrup around! If that’s OK with you, that is. Have a nice day!”
Korea was visibly trembling. “CANADA took over the world, da ze?!”
“Time to go back to the past again,” Hong Kong said just as flatly. Korea grabbed his collar and started dragging him in the direction of the time machine.

Another time journey later…

Korea opened his eyes, sat up, and looked around frantically.
Blue sky, bamboo, and China’s house. Everything was as it had been.
“YES!” Korea hollered in delight. “YES! WE SAVED THE PRESENT, DA ZE! URI NARA MANSAE!”
“Great,” Hong Kong deadpanned. “Can we take this thing back to Norway’s and go back in now?”
“What were you two up to, aru? And what in the name of Confucius is that?”
Korea watched China approach them, already feeling trouble was around the corner. “We went back in time, da ze! We just fixed a tiny detail, but when we came back, Canada had taken over the world! So we went back again and fixed it, da ze!”
China raised an eyebrow. “Hong Kong, is that true, aru?”
“Yes, and I need to lie down,” Hong Kong replied, still drooped over the side of the machine.
China rolled his eyes. “Well, after all the magic mishaps, dragons, and then the Jiangshi incident, I’m not surprised anymore, aru.” He went back into the house. “Come inside for lunch, aru.”
“Mansae!”
“Ugh.”

Oriental Mind, a Hetalia fanshort by Mocha-san

((Author's Note: I haven't posted on here for a while. Alright, I think it's time I posted everything I've written in the past few months, because it has honestly been quite busy posting stuff on FF.net and I'm also planning to link stuff on Twitter. Being a writer is hard! Anyway, so in this story, I kind of go into an explanation of my headcanon that China can become a dragon when severely angered or other certain triggers (mentioning Chun Li in his presence can tend to set him off, too). Anyway, this is also partly based on the song "Oriental Mind" by Rin Ginsuke, too, so...yeah, enjoy.))

"GET BACK HERE, ARU!"
"Hahahaha~!"
China was chasing Korea around the house, waving his wok. Today, Korea had purposefully switched out China's clothes with women's qipaos, which turned out a very rude awakening for the sleepy Chinese man. 
Luckily, Korea wasn't too fast of a runner and ended up tripping, giving China the chance to give him a good wok smack.
Before he could do anything, though, Hong Kong casually walked into the room and slapped an envelope on the table, getting China's attention.
"Is that the mail, aru?"
"No," said Hong Kong. "It's a telegram. For you. From dad. Bye." And with that he grabbed his firecracker basket and ran out again. 
China, whose anger had gone somewhat because of the distraction, waved his hand dismissively to Korea. "You're free, aru. I'll kick your butt later, aru."
"Heck yeah, da ze!" Korea took the chance and went after Hong Kong while China picked up the letter. He slit the envelope open and read it, brown eyes widening with each word.

Dear China,
The reason why I'm even bothering to send you a telegram is to inform you that I have finally—yes, finally—found an antidote to that dragon curse I accidentally cast on you three months prior. I'm quite sure you know what I'm talking about.
The curse is entirely liftable by magic, of course, so whenever you're ready, come over. I'm home all day today, believe it or not.
Britain

China stared at the telegram almost incredulously before bursting into cheers. "YES! YES! THE OPIUM JERK FINALLY DID SOMETHING RIGHT, ARU!" He did a little happy dance in the middle of the room and dashed off to find out where Korea put his clothes.

Hetalia!

China excitedly knocked on England's door, bouncing slightly with his energy. 
England answered the door, already in his black magic cloak. "Ah, I knew it wouldn't take you long."
"Save it," China said shortly. "If you don't mind, can you please remove this stupid dragon curse from me, aru?"
"Alright, alright. Come in."
Within minutes, China was standing in England's amazing little magic circle. "Hurry up, aru! I wanna be normal, aru!"
"As if you were normal to begin with," England muttered, hoping China didn't hear. He raised his wand, and started chanting the magic words as the circle began to glow. Soon, the whole room went white, before fading out.
"There," said England, lowering the wand. "That should do it."
"I don't feel any different, aru," said China, scanning over himself briefly.
"Well, did you ever feel any different when you were normal and calm?"
"OK, good point, aru."
"Exactly," England deadpanned. "That was the reversal spell, however, and I made sure I had all of the spell so it doesn't turn out like the genderbend incident."
China rolled his eyes at the memory. "I don't usually trust you, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now, aru."
"You're so difficult."

Hetalia!

A month afterwards, usual business had commenced around the Wang household.
Which meant Hong Kong and Korea were being dorks again.
"Ohohohohoho!" Korea laughed, sitting on top of the couch because standing meant bonking his head on the ceiling. "I, the King of Evil, rule over this land with an iron fist, da ze! None shall oppose me, or they shall meet my friend the guillotine, da ze!"
"Stand down, King of Evil!" Hong Kong announced, brandishing a Minecraft sword. "You will surrender without a fight!"
"NEVER, DA ZE!"
"Would you guys quiet down, aru?" China said with annoyance. "I'm trying to cook, aru!"
"Sorry, da ze! But Hong Kong is trying to conquer my kingdom!"
"But your kingdom is a pile of pillows, a Shinatty-chan doll, a lightsaber and some scrolls."
"SHUT UP, DA ZE! HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY KINGDOM, DA ZE! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"
"Bring it on, kimchi boy."
Cue tons of fighting, wrestling and screeching.
China was getting at his wit's end by this point. He slammed his hands down on the counter and walked into the living room, to see the ball of violence in the center. "I said to QUIET DOWN, aru!"
Hong Kong and Korea both looked up and flinched, eyes widening for a second.
China's temporary parent-mode ceased and he cocked his head at their slightly panicked expressions. "What?"
"Holy..."
"Did I..."
"Didn't England...?"
"No way..."
China was growing confused. "What? What's wrong, aru?"
Hong Kong's eyebrows knit together. "Did Dad cast that reversal spell correctly?"
"I assume so, aru. Why?"
"Your eyes are gold."
"WHAT?!" One trip to the mirror later, China stomped over to England's house.

Hetalia!

England was expecting another magical case to solve or maybe even America, but even America didn't pound on the door that hard. He answered the door. "Hullo?"
He immediately drew back once he saw the frazzled-looking, dragon-eyed China. "Oh, China! I didn't expect to see you. Wha—" 
He was cut off as a wok came down on his head. "I actually trusted you, aru! I gave you one simple job, to remove that curse, and yet you still screw everything up, aru!"
"What are you talking about?" England exclaimed, after recovering from the hit. "I made absolutely sure that that spell was correct! I checked everything I could to make sure everything was in place, complete, and ready! There was no way in hell that spell could've been messed up!"
"You...you..." China was ready to bring his wok down again when suddenly, something in his mind clicked into place, making him freeze.
"China...?"
China found himself unable to move as memories started flooding into his mind.

*******
The world was burning, or at least it felt like it to him. China ran through the debris of the battle and searched the sky, the smoke, the bloody ground, all for her.
"CHUN!" he called. "CHUN, WHERE ARE YOU?"
No answer, until a small voice cried, "I'm over here!"
He brightened instantly. He ran towards her, seeing her beautiful horns and tail glistening as he moved to her. He was so grateful—she was OK, and everything would be alright in the end...
Chun stood, smiling in happiness as he came, until something that changed everything happened.
BANG.
She had been shot.
Chun Li fell to the ground, her face turned into an expression of pain as she plummeted. She laid on the ground messily, her hair strewn over her face and her eyes closed.
China came to her body, eyes suddenly devoid of emotion. He wouldn't see her again. She was dead, she had died, she will never see him again...
He dropped to his knees in the sadness that came over him. She was gone.
Suddenly, there was light. A small bright blue light was peeking out from the sky, shining down on China and Chun like a spotlight. China stared at the light, bewildered. 
Suddenly, a shape started coming out of the light. It was long and snakelike, running down towards the ground where the dead girl lay. China realized what it was instantly.
A dragon. A Chinese dragon with pearly blue-white scales and a long tail. 
Just like Chun.
"Ch-Chun?" China croaked.
The dragon did not speak, but the voice was there. "Thank you, Yao. Thank you for getting me to believe in myself, to know what it truly feels like to be loved, wanted, and happy. I will never forget you." 
One of the dragon's long whiskers were placed on China's forehead, much to his bewilderment.
"As my thanks, I have brought you a gift," said dragon-Chun. "I herenow bless you with the fire dragon's spirit, a form after your own heart." China felt a hard surge of power run through his body as the dragon's whisker began to glow.
The whisker was removed, and dragon-Chun said, "I have to go now. I love you, Yao. I always will."
Then, the dragon turned and started soaring for the sky, back into the blue light.
China chased after her, a hand outstretched. "No, Chun! Don't leave me! Please, I'll be all alone without you! CHUN, DON'T GO! WO AI NI! WO AI NI!!"
The dragon did not seem to hear. It soared up into the light and faded, leaving the dirty red sky.
China stood there, grief surging through his form. Chun Li, the half-dragon, was gone. She would never come back. And because he lived forever, he would never be able to die and see her again.
He grasped his head in his hands, tears spilling from his eyes. 
The eyes that were now golden, like a dragon.
And then he threw his head back and screamed.

*******
"CHINA! CHINA!! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!"
China found himself being shaken by England, who started freaking out upon seeing China's utterly blank, faraway expression. And then keeling over.
China blinked and stared up at England, his eyes filled with sudden remembrance and tragedy. "Ah...yes...I remember now, aru..."
"What? Remember what? Tell me!"
"Stop shaking me and I'll tell you."
England released him and pulled up some chairs for them as China began to explain. 
"Many centuries ago, before I even found Japan, I met a girl. The girl had horns, gold eyes and a tail, just like a dragon's, aru. I had found her attempting to kill herself in an alleyway, and she explained that she was proclaimed to be a devil because of her horns and tail. I, knowing how I was a nation and wasn't human either, sympathized with her and helped her become happy again, aru. But...in the war...she was shot...and her dragon's spirit was released..." He took a deep breath. "Before she passed, she gave me the fire dragon's soul. That's why I have these abilities, aru..." The look on China's face was one of remorse.
England was shocked. More shocked than China had seen him be in a very long time. "Dear me..."
China stood up, smiling sadly. "I know now why all this happened. I had that power dormant all these years, I even forgot about it when I found Japan. You must have woken it up again, aru." He turned to leave. "I'm sorry I accused you like that, aru. It was wrong of me. I'll be going now, aru."
England stared after him as he left, still bewildered. It was days like these when suddenly he didn't see an annoyingly scary Asian with girly tendencies.
He saw an old, troubled soul that endured years of wisdom.

Hetalia!

China listened to the gentle swaying of the bamboo in the wind as he walked the path to his house. He didn't feel anything; he hardly felt the breeze at his back. No, he was too busy thinking, remembering. Mourning.
China sighed. He was such an idiot—he knew he would never forget about Chun, even when he really tried. The fact that he was suddenly reminded of that grim day really gnawed at his heart, cursing the ways of the world somewhat.
He chuckled grimly. "Me and this old, oriental spirit of mine," he joked to himself, staring up at the gray clouds.
He continued down the path, giving farewell to those old memories.