In a nearly unanimous vote, the nascent United Nations had passed legislation condemning the expansionist regime in Nazi Germany, with regard to their rampant imperialist ways, their ruthless subjugation of numerous independent countries, and their alleged cases of brutal human rights violations. It, along with Italy, were the two black sheep of the world. While their new empires were vast, and their ambitions sufficiently satisfied, it was up in the air whether or not the two powers had the potential to expand their reach even further in the wake of this wide victory over the Allied Powers.

However significant it may have been, the new UN consisted of countries mostly from both the Americas and the Middle East, as well as a good amount of countries in Asia. European countries within the UN amounted to Britain and Iceland, neutral countries in Europe yet not within Germany's sphere of influence never joined the UN out of fear of provoking a violent and rapid German response.

Suffice it to say, the news of the United Nation's staunch disapproval of his Reich's actions didn't disturb the Fuhrer's lunch at all.

- Germania, The Greater German Reich -

As groups of Leibstandarte guarded the pillars of the newly-rebuilt Reichstag, the victorious Fuhrer was celebrating his nation's newest victory alongside his numerous cronies. The signature sound of cutlery on dinner plates could be heard, along with the hearty chatting of Germany's elite. He no longer wore his old uniform from the First World War, now adorned in his brown shirt suit from the 1930s. The atmosphere was jubilant, Generals boasted of great victories, while Hitler's political colleagues congratulated him profusely on the success that had brought Germany back to the world stage

"This United Nation is nothing but a mere Judeo-American farce, no different from the weak and pathetic League of Nations I had swept aside. If it comes to that, I shall do it once more. Do they have the nerve to vote against me and call me a tyrant? A victor is the word they should use, the victor against the damned Red plague that threatened Germany and her people." Hitler took a bite out of his meal. "After all, who are its members? South American puppets of the Monroe Doctrine, Canada and Australia, nothing more than extensions of the dying British Empire, as well as the Chinese, who are a great people, yet nowhere near the power of Germany."

"I can assure you, Mein Fuhrer, that this nascent United Nations is of no threat to us. Whatever force they choose to send, a million Americans, or ten million Chinese. They will be unable to break the Atlantic Wall or Fortress Europa. Its fortifications are strong, and the soldiers guarding the coast are stronger." Field Marshal Walter Model assured.

"I agree, I may not be a military man myself, but such an operation is blatantly impossible. Contending not only with the rough English Channel but also with pure Aryan supremacy." Assured Dr Goebbels. Earning him a nod from the Fuhrer.

"What of the casualty rates from Operation Barbarossa?" Hitler questioned.

"Estimates greatly vary." Replied Chief of Staff Wilhelm Keitel, "As of now are counting perhaps 3 million total casualties."

"All of them German soldiers?" Hitler asked with curiosity.

"Not all are German soldiers, we estimate about 900,000 are of other nations. The Italians, the Romanians, Hungarians." Keitel assured, listing off the other nationalities like mere items on a grocery list. Hitler was quite pleased.

"Excellent, a necessary sacrifice for Endsieg. One truly worthy of the great Germanic victory of Teutoburg" Hitler replied. "What news of the Bolsheviks? Those Slavic peoples aren't much of a threat anymore, right?"

"My frontline Einsatzgruppen units report interesting news of infighting among the Communists, the Soviets are destroying each other out of sheer inferiority. I for one advocate for the continued offensives and drive the scum into the Urals to destroy this Slavic plague once and for all." Himmler chimed in. "It is the only reasonable response to the continued threat of Russian Bolshevism, even in Germany's most secure state.."

"What of your Einzatsgruppen, Himmler?" The Fuhrer asked, curious to hear of the progress towards his final dream of Lebensraum for the German people. A fertile, empty land devoid of resistance and ripe for the taking. The German people were at the cusp of greatness, something Hitler could only have dreamed of a few decades ago... while he was a broken and defeated man roaming the streets of Munich after the First World War.

"My commanders speak of great success rates, occupied Russia will be cleared within perhaps a few years, maybe even less." The Reichsfuhrer-SS assured his superior. "Unless I am able to procure more funding for my units. Which would tremendously boost our progress throughout the new Reichskommisariats."

"Marvelous, my friend. Simply marvellous." All Hitler could hear was good news, good news for all of Germany. He let out a raspy cough, clearing his throat as he continued to speak.

"My friends, my good friends... Today, we celebrate a great German victory. One our children will never forget, and their children in turn. The German people will speak of your names a thousand years from now. All your names are now in the history books throughout all eternity. And I can only give the best of congratulations to all of us for this triumph, to the future of Germany."

Everyone present raised a champagne glass to their leader. A moment all of them would remember for the rest of their lives.

"To the future of Germany!" Everyone toasted, raising their glasses filled with expensive French champagne.

Meanwhile, Hitler's trusted emissary, Joachim von Ribbentrop, entered the room, the door having been opened for him by the soldiers guarding the room. Hitler waved his diplomat over, to hear of the news he had brought him.

"Mein Fuhrer, the Duce is here to attend this occasion." Hitler nodded quickly, waving Ribbentrop off so he would inform the Italian leader of his welcome.

Ribbentrop headed for the door, knocking on it. The guards responded by opening the door, Benito Mussolini entered along with his son-in-law, Gian Ciano, his top general Pietro Badiglio, as well as his mistress. Clara Petacci. The Italians were offered the extra seats that remained in the room. With the Germans resuming their respective chats as they continued on with their dinners.

The Duce greeted the Fuhrer with a friendly nod. Hitler only mildly reciprocated it.

The Italians being present was quite the sight, in spite of the rather successful Axis campaigns throughout the forties. While they had a significant contributing hand during the Soviet Campaign, during the war against the British and French the Italians made quite limited gains. Only really managed to gain British Somaliland, French Tunisia, Corsica, the small island of Malta, portions of Yugoslavia, and the rather insignificant nation of Greece.

All of which gained them control over the Mediterranean at a time when the world had grown beyond that which the Roman Empire had resided in. A world that had largely left the Mediterranean behind as an afterthought whilst many more new empires rose after Rome's demise.

Even Greece was a nuisance during the first few days of the invasion, requiring an amphibious assault on the Peloponnese as well as a Bulgarian intervention to fully close the front. Italy's lacklustre gains were the subject that no one present at the party really wanted to speak about. Mostly because of the intent to keep good faith with the Italians, after all, Germany and Italy were the last two great powers in Europe. With only each other to worry about, the spoils of Europe would be significant prizes for each of the fascist powers.

Mussolini wasn't stupid, he knew that alliances between nations formed and broke apart at whim. Alliances between newfound great powers more so. To him, it would be preferable to be Hitler's loyal henchman for now.

"Gentlemen, I propose a toast for Germany's Fuhrer. Adolf Hitler. Protector of Europe, Conqueror of the West, Destroyer of the Bolshevist threat." Mussolini rose, holding his glass up high, "And a good friend to all peoples of the world."

Most of the people present did so, all praising the Fuhrer once more for his duties for Europe, for Germany. Hitler very much appreciated this, nodding in satisfaction at this form of thanks.

"Germany's greatness has been affirmed, my friends. Indeed, today has gifted us a new Germany, a new Europe. our New Order." He affirmed, responses full of joy further fueled the Fuhrer. Responses which mostly only came from the German guests of honour, both Mussolini and Ciano somewhat weren't as enthusiastic about Hitler's future visions.

Before the war, Hitler and Mussolini were staunch allies in the face of their hated enemy: the West. Both leaders led countries that wanted it all, territory, influence and domination on the world stage. For all the ideological similarities between the Fascist Italians and the National Socialist Germans, they had both never thought to account for the world that they would live in after their victory. One that was all but uncertain, where the chess pieces had shifted dramatically.

As expansionist powers who both hungered for conquest and war, the two allied nations never accounted for when they would now be the last two dominant powers in Europe.

- Wuhan, Republic of China -

Zho Tsiang-Tu welcomed the American navel officer to a seat while barking his order at the nearest waitress. He asked for a warm soup, with extra pieces of meat. Among the war-torn ruins of the nation's capital of Shanghai was China's parliament, the best that Tsiang-Tu could do at that point was his favourite venue. The funny thing was that it was one of the few buildings that were left virtually untouched by the Japanese bombers and occupation.

Julian Fredrickson shook the Chinese diplomat's hand warmly, accepting his offer to sit at his table. He ordered a plain noodle soup.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Zho. Strang place for two attaches to meet," Julian observed.

"Yes, strange place. We meet when parliament is finally rebuilt." Mr. Zho affirms, his stance wasn't that of a calm, collected, jokester, however. Both Julian and Tsiang-Tu knew the reason that they were both here, two men in a city being rebuilt to as near as it could be to its former glory.

China had been hit the hardest by the Japanese Empire, enduring a destructive campaign of genocidal intent launched by devout ultranationalists. By the defeat of Japan at 1945, millions lay dead, and unthinkable atrocities of the foulest forms have been committed on Chinese soil, but now was the time to rebuild and move on from the brutal war. To forget the gunpowder, artillery and war itself for the time.

Now, both men were working as hard as they could to keep it that way. Sporadic gunshots could still be heard throughout the city, and troops of the Chinese army were scouring the streets of Shanghai and many other Chinese cities, searching thoroughly.

"Gunfire? At a time like this?" Admiral Fredrickson asked.

"Apologies, Admiral. General Chiang. Chiang and the civil war." Tsiang-Tu admitted outright. His Chinese accent wasn't too heavy, which saved Fredrickson the trouble of bringing along a translator.

"The Communist Party?" Fredrickson replied, "Tsiang-Tu, I personally don't believe that the Communist Party will ever again pose a threat after this. Neither does President Truman. Not after the Soviet surrender to the Germans."

"General Chiang doesn't seem like that." Tsiang-Tu shrugged. "The past two years are spent hunting down communist guerillas. Many Russian weapons were found. Mao Tse-Tung was never found. He may be in hiding."

"Mao Zedong is nothing but a bandit at this point, I doubt he's a credible threat to your General's republic." Fredrickson thought out loud. "Surely. The US General Staff believes that-."

"That is the belief of America, and what about China?" Tsiang-Tu asked. "America has no communist party, no communist rebels. China does. China has dealt with conflict for centuries, but this time is different. This time, the rebels won't tear the nation apart."

"Even if Mao has escaped somewhere specific..." Fredrickson looked around, before leaning in closer as his voice was lowered to a whisper. "...an invasion of a sovereign country is not the way to do things."

"Vietnam is the most likely place, the communists are likely harbouring Tse-Tung," Tsiang-Tu sighed. "I do not like the idea, but Vietnam has Ho Chi Minh. Vietnam has armed the CCP before. The invasion is for China's safety. Rest assured, no plans exist yet. The army is too weak right now."

Their respective meals both arrived, and Tsiang-Tu paid the waitress for both bowls of soup. Much to the surprise of Fredrickson.

"Eat, Mr. Fredrickson. You must be hungry." Tsiang-Tu smiled as he grabbed a pair of chopsticks.

Fredrickson attempted to use the chopsticks for a few seconds, before excruciatingly grunting in mild frustration. He tried to call the waitress, and when she returned to the table he asked her for a fork. Unfortunately, she didn't understand a word of English. Tsiang-Tu spoke for his American counterpart, translating his request to the waitress. She then finally understood what the American had been asking for, reassuring him with a slight bow before returning to the kitchen and giving him his much-needed fork.

The Admiral enjoyed noodles for a moment before momentarily returning to his conversation with the Chinese diplomat.

"Tsiang-Tu, we both don't want a state of confrontation between China and the United States. Especially in such precarious times as today. If Chiang can somehow be convinced against an incursion into Vietnam. I strongly suggest that his position be changed." Fredrickson urged.

"Mr. Fredrickson, you say that as if I was simply going to a marketplace and buying fish. Mr. Chiang is not a man who is easily convinced. But I agree that confrontation between America and China is not ideal, I will see what I can do..."

The two men stayed mostly silent for the rest of the meeting, after finishing their bowls. They stood up, nodded respectfully at each other and shook hands. It was obvious that the two men wanted the most ideal situation for the both of their countries, they not want to revert to war right after the destructive war against Japan. China's war against communism was one that the American general staff feared was the first step towards an increase of Chinese influence in Asia and the Pacific and an increase of tension between the two countries. Both men were aware of the rising tensions between the two allied victors, what they weren't sure of was what it would lead to the end.

What Admiral Fredrickson wasn't aware of yet, however, were unforeseen factors brewing in the Pacific that threatened to break the balance of power in the region and possibly lead to a bigger war than both he and Tsiang-Tu could have ever imagined.