Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

They came to the surface, one-by-one. By the next week, hundreds emerged, and then thousands.

Underneath our very feet lay a subterranean netherworld, unbeknownst to the nations, a civilization long forgotten even by the oldest of nations. Since they were their own people, the netherworld was unknown to the territories of other countries. But when they suddenly announced their existence that day, none could begin to accept the fact.

The creatures that came onto the surface were by no means human.

An elongated neck, an arched spiny back, short bony legs, and arms with claws at the end that could cleave a body in two. And then there was the face. A pale, eyeless face with a round mouth full of sharp incisors, used for sucking the life out of those they latched on to.

The entire form spoke a nightmare.

They weren't seeking peace. They wanted to destroy, obliterate. Erase the very things from reality that reminded them of what they couldn't have, what they couldn't be.

Their targets: The people that weren't people. The so-called people-nations. The people who were countries but also held a name. These creatures couldn't understand the basis for a name, for an identity.

They were raised to be killers. They knew how to survive the worst possible scenario. There was no way that these people-nations could do the same.

These people-nations always tended to bicker amongst themselves, like that was what they could ever do, because they had nothing to worry about. They could not see what should be done in time before it's happened. They could not handle a nightmare that was unexplainable. They would just curl up and die.

It was impossible for them to survive the end of the world.

Now wouldn't you like to know how these nations would prove them wrong?

It was a bright morning in Italy. The sun shone, the birds sang, people milled about chatting with their neighbours. On this particular day, even the smallest hint of a bad omen was overlooked.

Italy Veneziano sat outside the cafe with his brother Romano. They decided to spend the day together since they've rarely been able to, with them both being split up for so long.

"What are we doing here?"

"You said you wanted coffee before we head over to the World Meeting, fratello," said Feliciano Vargas.

"I said I wanted to grab coffee before we go. I didn't want to sit out here and have tea time with you."

Feliciano frowned. "Why do you always say such mean things?"

Lovino's visage visibly softened. "I . . . didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry. What really pisses me off is why he's here."

At that moment Germany joined them at the table, followed by Japan.

"Wurst anyone?" The German set down a plate of steaming sausages.

"Ve~ Ludwig, I'm so glad you agreed to join us!"

"Well, of course. I couldn't leave you wondering the streets alone. You could get in trouble."

"Hey," said Lovino defensively. "I was with him the whole time."

Ludwig sized him up. "Exactly."

"I will strangle you, Potato Bastard."

"Ve, can you two not fight for just one day?" Feliciano pleaded. He sat back and smiled. "I want to enjoy this moment with my friends."

"I agree," said Japan, or Kiku Honda. "Days of the World Summit should be peaceful. That's the point of such a gathering, ne?" He picked up a sausage and stared at it, before deciding to take a bite. "Mm . . . This is rather good."

Ludwig shrugged. "It's the cafe's."

"Dammit, why do we even have wurst?" Lovino demanded. He stood up. "I'm going to have a talk with the chef—"

Feliciano pulled him down by the sleeve. "Fratello."

Romano huffed. "Fine. But only for today."

Feliciano's face brightened, and he leaned across the table to give his brother a hug. Lovino stiffened, unsure of how to respond. It seemed he wasn't used to personal contact, even from his twin.

"W-what are you doing?"

Feliciano sat back down. "Huh? What do you mean? Doesn't Spain give you hugs, too?"

Lovino scratched his cheek. "He did. Once. And I kicked him in the balls."

"Ouch," Ludwig commented.

"Watch me, Potato-Freak. After this World Summit's over, I'll be doing the same thing to you."

"You can try."

"Hai, hai, calm down," said Kiku. "Let's enjoy the rest of the morning, okay?"

"I have an idea," proclaimed Feliciano suddenly. "Fratello, why don't you call Spain over? I'm sure it will be more fun with more people!"

Lovino stared off to the side. "He asked me to come over earlier. I told him I was spending the day with you, so he backed off and told me to have fun. Besides, the Tomato Bastard has his own things to do. I'm pretty much useless to him."

"Ve . . . That's not true. Antonio's very fond of you."

"Yeah, well . . ."

"I hope you two have at least prepared your portfolios," said Ludwig, getting straight to the point. "I hate to have to fill in for your positions again."

"I was at the amusement park with the girls a couple streets down," said Feliciano.

"I was sleeping," said Lovino.

"So let me get this straight," said Germany. "You two . . . slacked off, again. What am I going to do with you? It's like this every meeting!"

"It cannot be helped," said Kiku. "Nations will be nations, ne? At least things won't progress more worse than it usually does."

"You have no idea. This time all the nations are attending. It will be a hellhole in that conference room for the next few days."

Lovino stood up, his coffee abandoned. "It was nice chatting with you all, really, but I have to be going now."

"Ah! Where are you going, fratello?"

"To find Spain. I said I'd go to the meeting with him."

"It's a few hours drive from here to there."

"That's why I'm going to start now."

"Okay~ Be safe now, fratello~"

"Ja," said Ludwig. "Try to keep the speed down."

Lovino made faces at him. "How do you know how fast I go? Do you stalk me secretly or something?"

"Something as common sense as that doesn't require any stalking."

"Sayonara, Romano-san," said Kiku.

"Yeah, yeah." Lovino made his way across the road to his parked car. "Ci vediamo più tardi."

Romano never managed to reach the World Summit with Spain.

I thought of this idea one day, thinking, "Hetalia is always so comedic and silly; what if the characters got to know the other side of themselves - the more serious, responsible side?" And so, the Apocalypse has come, and they'll show just what they've been hiding from us.

This is only the prologue, and the rest of the chapters are more like a series of shorts - not much detail, unlike a huge novel - so expect them to be just as short as this, or twice as long.