Title: Martyr's Stone

Author: Eeevee

Rating: M

Warnings: Germancest (is this a warning or a bonus buy?), "Nyotalia", moral scientific issues, selfcest, and probably gore, guts, and language. Mild sex scenes and character death are inevitable. Unconventional pairings and strange premise. NO rape but may contain dubcon or intent to do bad things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia characters do not belong to me; this is written for entertainment purposes only.

Summary: Science created them, Society depended on them, Humanity needed them, and now Government has set out to eradicate them. In this future, the blood is in the stones. Dark fic. Warnings inside.

Prologue

Germany sighed and put down the morning paper. Slowly he pulled his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose with big fingers. The slow, familiar motions soothed him a little. There wasn't much these days that did that for him anymore. The tribulations of the past seemed to be so simple. Of course, he was aware that most things looked better in hindsight, but just glancing at the front of the paper made him sigh again.

The world had changed dramatically as it modernized. New sciences and healthcare and cheap food fed into a booming population. Even countries like Italy and Japan that boasted one child families soon found themselves scrabbling for extra space and resources. As the populations expanded, it was clear that the citizens were stretching their nations to the breaking point. The nations were ill and unstable. War and famine were imminent. Diseases and malnutrition were already a problem. Ineffective population controls were in place, but the lack of cohesive laws worldwide made them impossible to track.

The world was in crisis.

And since it was impossible to control the people, a much more manageable goal was being sought.

Scientists in the top elite of the world frantically raced to find a solution. Dr. Bergen and his team were the first to propose a break through idea. Create a nation clone to help share the burden. The technology, however, wasn't perfect. Because nations were not humans, they could only speculate how successful the experiment would be on nations.

China, in agony from his overflowing population and polluted body, took the bold step to have it done first. It really wasn't an option. Something had to be done before he either was torn apart or incapacitated. Either way his people would suffer, and in turn the precarious balance of power would tip, striking up more conflict.

The results were better than expected. The clone was a perfectly function opposite half. The clone looked similar, acted similar, and believed similar. Automatically half the nation's citizenry – fifty-one percent actually – was assigned over to the new nation. The new China was a perfect compliment to the original China in every way except one.

A Y chromosome.

Somehow every clone was the opposite sex of the original nation.

The procedure was expensive and need based. It took years for some nations to get relief and assistance in managing their countries. In the meantime, vicious wars broke out over resources and the crowded conditions led to super viruses and the revival of several strains of the plague as well as influenzas. World hunger ended up at an all time high as the farmers were drafted or died or lost their land. For several decades it was torture.

Germany himself was a special exception.

He didn't have a clone of himself.

He certainly had the money to fund a clone early on, and he was definitely feeling the pressure, but he had support that few other nations could boast of. Loud, obnoxious, reckless, loyal support in the form of his older brother. Prussia defied all laws of existence. He lost his land, he lost his people, yet he soldiered on, lending his strength to Germany. Building him up and encouraging him when necessary. And Germany didn't know what he would do without his big brother.

It was a gut-wrenching time when he realized that Prussia was fading away. It wasn't immediately obvious, since it was a slow downhill slide. Prussia was a little quieter, maybe not eating as much, taking naps in the middle of the day. His skin grew paler, his frame wirier. But he hid it well, and by the time Germany questioned his infallible and unconquerable brother, it was almost too late.

He couldn't lose Gilbert.

So he made a deal with the scientists. It was unheard of and not done; however, it wasn't impossible.

He wasn't the only exception. Some nations were already stable due to the fact that there were already in a joint rule. The Italies were the best example. North and South had been ruling together forever, although at some point over the last few decades they split into two separate countries, and they still worked closely together to manage the territories. It was the same with the Koreas, who has never reunited, as well as several other split nations. These nations faired the best, while big nations like China, Russia, and America struggled. For a while the world was petrified that America was going to snap and nuke half the planet in his pain. He spent years sedated and incarcerated until a clone had been created for him.

His clone had acquired an unfortunate quirk. Instead of representing the female half of the population, she represented the Democratic party. Or the "demoncractic" party in the eyes of America because he represented the Republican party. As a result, the two argued and bickered constantly. It got to the point where they lived on opposite sides of the country and could barely stand to be in the same room for world meetings. In fact, the only reason they tolerated each other at all was neither could stand the thought of the other being at the meeting without them.

Things were just now starting to stabilize, and Germany could only hope that it would continue to wind down. Cloning had been banned, deemed 'unnecessary' and 'playing God.' The scientists were disbanded, the lab taken apart, and the documents burned. Germany highly doubted the secret of cloning was lost however, and he wondered just what else the scientists had done with the nation's DNA.

It was one of many worries he had about the future.

The blonde man jumped in surprise as the cellphone next to him went off. He eyed it warily for a moment, wondering who would be calling him so early in the morning. Early morning news was rarely good.

The phone abruptly stopped as he started reaching for it. A ding indicated he had received a text. He snatched up the phone and flipped it open. It was a text from France. Since the two counterparts tended to keeps the same moniker, it was difficult to tell who exactly sent it. It didn't matter; it would be the same regardless. France and France were practically conjoined twins about everything. France had even set aside his outside relationships and turned all his attentions inward.

'Check email.'

No frills and that scared Germany the most. France never sent anything less than a lengthy, frivolous introduction with the message tacked on the end as an afterthought. He reached for his laptop, pushed to the side of his breakfast. Prussia had insisted he stopped taking his work to the table. He humored her to stop the nagging and was surprised when his indigestion eased. It seemed Prussia had been right that his work was making him sick.

Hesitantly, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, he flipped the top up and expertly put in the first password then the second and finally a third. If he didn't go to extreme measures he would find his hard drive loaded up with amateur porn and viruses. And while Prussia wasn't a computer expert, she found it funny to make sure the most disgusting video popped up the moment he logged on then played in an endless loop. The first time Prussia had done this he was presenting at the world meeting and had the desk top projecting on the wide screen at the front. It took months before he could look any of the other nations in the eye without one of the following happening: a lewd comment, laughter, or disgust. America somehow managed all three, the hypocrite.

He immediately spotted the email France wanted him to read. The pit in his stomach grew heavier and colder. Any mandate from the United Global Confederacy promised an unpleasant experience in the future. It was ultimately the UGC that had banned cloning and held sway over the governments of the world. It was far more powerful than the UN of old and its decrees were irrefutable law.

'Dear Nations of the World,

As you know, the population of the world has started to decrease. We find this an encouraging sign and hope implemented programs will keep the population sustainable in the future.'

Germany snorted. Of course the population was dwindling. War and disease had been nature's way of population control since the beginning of time. Trust this arrogant committee to take credit where no credit was due.

'However, the dwindling population creates a problem. There are now too many nation representatives to be supported without future issues.'

Here was the mandate coming down the sugar chute coated in oozing honey of apologies and excuses. Germany hovered over the delete button. He couldn't make himself press it though. Deleting the email wouldn't make the problem go away. In fact, it would get him in trouble for disobedience.

'In order to solve this problem, we have decreed that a tournament shall be held to solve the problem.

All nations with clones are required to meet at the following coordinates. Any that refuse to cooperate will face punishment for disobeying the law and have heavy sanctions imposed until cooperation is given.

You are allowed to bring one bag of supplies. Please pack appropriately for both of you. Do not bring suits; bring comfortable, durable clothing suitable for bad weather. If you decide to bring weapons, please contact us to check that it is allowable within the rules. Non-perishable food is recommended. Personal items are discouraged.

We look forward to seeing you to further clarify the situation and state the rules.'

Germany frowned, wondering just what that meant.

"Mornin' West."

Oh dear lord. Prussia's newest trick in the female body was to use her breasts as a weapon of assault. Her favorite move was to plop both of them directly on top of his head and press down, probably hoping to either muss his hair or suffocate him. Her long, white hair brushed against his nose and her slim arms wrapped around his neck, the nails brushing against his tank top in idle spirals.

"Gil, this is not a good time." Germany warned but not really meaning it. In truth he was happy she woke up and stumbled out to the kitchen. He could feel her chest expand as she breathed in for a big, sleepy yawn.

"Sure, sure, West. You always say that. I could be going down on you and if that little pager of yours beeped, you'd tell me to hold on, it's a bad time." Prussia chuckled as Germany turned red. He didn't argue the point though.

She slid down onto the flats of her bare feet so her chin rested lazily on his muscular shoulder, both arms draped down loosely over his chest now. She silently read the email then gave a mirthless chuckle, "Sounds like an order to deploy."

Germany frowned harder. It DID sound like they were getting orders to assemble to ship out. Germany wasn't sure how Prussia knew that, as she had never experienced wars first hand. On occasion Germany wondered if she was truly a clone or if she was something deeper than that. The thought was unsettling: how she seemed to remember things only Gilbert would know, how she fit right into his routine without any prompting, and how she slid into his bed like she owned it.

She was silent for another moment, "You think they'll take away my Makarov?"

"Perhaps you should call and ask." Germany rolled his eyes, "I am surprised you did not suggest any beer."

"The beer is going in your pack, big, strong, handsome man," she purred in his ear then bit down making him swat irritably at her, "And you damn well better not lose it. Besides, we both know I'm the better shot."

Ludwig had already tuned her out, considering the implications and how to pack 'appropriately.' Somehow he didn't think they were packing for a week long picnic.

A/N:

Test prologue to see if there is any interest in this story. Depending on how it's received, I may or may not continue. I don't normally hold fics hostage, but this fic is a bit more work and a bit less play, so I want to see how many people enjoy it before investing in it. The idea is far less humorous and far more serious than my usual style.

Inspired by "nyotalia" fanart that make me drool and the thought 'what if each country had two personifications but could only support ONE?' And a weird dream I had a few months ago about wars in the future.

The title is based on heliotopes also known as bloodstones or martyr's stones. They are green jade or quartz with blood red spots from oxidation. Heliotopes were thought to have been created by the blood of Christ, and before that, they were regarded by the Greeks as heralds of change. Bloodstones are believed to aid soldiers with courage, victory, and protection from injury. The next chapter will go into depth the significance of these stones for our beloved nations.