Tensions Rising

As Mortis and the A.F.A.F.I. took the last of their agreed territory fighting on the border of Sicily increased. It went from stray fire and small firefights to artillery fire with sniper patrols. It was the first act of extreme aggression since the invasion first happened. The Italian military started their movement of putting troops onto the border not notifying the A.F.A.F.I. till they brought a message as they entered the country. This was something Mortis didn't want happening but this was the one pass he would give them. It was responded with a message of his own.

------------------------------Letter Of Notification------------------------------------------------------

To the Italian minister of war,

If more of your troops show to our border without a message three days before it will be taken as an act of aggression. We are happy to be allied with you, but it should be known that we will not just be used as your gateway and wall. If this alliance is to work I will need us to have open communication between our two governments. This is the only warning that I am allowed to give you while keeping my people safe.

With regards,

Mortis

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After the note was sent the Italian government sent back an apology message just before another message about troop movement arrived. Mortis knew that the rising tensions had been a ticking timebomb that would soon explode. It was like he could feel it holding him down. He noted the gunfire had been getting more frequent in the distance. He held out the hope that maybe nothing would happen anytime soon.

"We need to be ready for the coming conflict." Mortis said to his assistant who was standing at the ready for his orders.

"What do you mean sir?" His assistant had the voice of someone in their teens but was clearly in his late twenties.

"I don't know if you have noticed but the gunfire in the distance is getting more frequent. The Italians have also started to move more troops towards the coat. We need to be ready." Mortis turned and took his seat at the desk correcting a pile of papers nervously.

"Yes sir, I will get everyone ready." The assistant said as he turned to leave.

"Thank you." Mortis's voice was low as his thoughts began to take over.

"What an empire you have built." The darkness had returned for the first time in months and its voice was as dark as it was the first time.

"It isn't an empire yet." Mortis tried to avoid thinking about how scared he was to hear the voice again.

"Why not? You control around a third of Italy now." The voice of the darkness seemed to shake Mortis to his core.

"I am going to control all of Italy before I die." Mortis said placing his mask over his face before stepping out onto his balcony.

"We will control it soon." The darkness seemed to have an air of arrogance in its voice.

"I just need to keep applying pressure to Italy when it comes to controlling and keeping the alliance going. That's when we will place a corrupted official into their government who will sign Italy over to us." Mortis looked out over the city but couldn't see anything but the fog past a certain point.

"That makes sense, but what are you going to do if these invaders attack?" The voice ratteled through his body as it spoke.

"We will attack along Italy's side as we promised to do and after the invaders are stopped then we will go after Italy." Mortis gave a small smirk to his plan.

"Keep in mind how many people will protect Italy. They will even if it was for their own good." The voice didn't seem to rattle him as bad this time around.

"I plan on spreading my papers all over the world and building a following around this planet." Mortis had a spark in his eyes that spelt doom for many of the smaller countries around the world.

"So, you just want to build a global domination army?" The voice asked curiosity in its voice.

"His plan is to build a following of people in and out of the other countries definsive structure. That also means government, military, police, teachers. When he gets this following built it would mean when he went to fight against these countries not only will he have a rebellion in the countries, he would also put their country into a handicap. The handicap would be people that would refuse to fight." Montie's voice came through weak but still strong enough to be heard.

"If what he said is your plan then go forward with it. I just need you to make sure it works." The voice began to vanish as it spoke.

The fog around him seemed to grow a darker red as an explosion sounded off in the distance. The air around him seemed to shake with it. This was the final mark of what he assumed was the bubble filling up. He walked back into his office and sat in silence as he thought about how to handle the bubble when it finally bursts.

He stood and turned on his video cameras feeling that he needed to talk to his people. He didn't want a script nor did he want anyone to distract him. After he locked the door he took the seat at his desk. When he pressed a button on his desk all of the T.V.s around the house turned on signaling that the ones around his country had turned on as well. He cleared his throat and made eye contact with the camera.

"I know that everyone here knows that the situation with Sicily was starting to heat up. Some of you have seen the Italian military making their way through our borders to reenforce their blockade. We plan on forming our official military and join them in the fight. I know that most of and if not all of you are trained well enough to take on most of this worlds militaries. I need you all to go through our recruiting check points and tell the attendant if you want to join the fight or not. The ones that chose to not join the fight will be placed in the homeland defense force. I look forward to seeing you all in uniform. Thank you for your service and God's speed." When he finished talking he pressed the button again shutting down all of the T.V.s and allowing silence to pierce the room.