Kuri: Wow, I'm writing my second Hetalia fic, already! And it seems that all of the Hetalia fics I write have been kind of serious/angsty lately... whatever. And don't worry, the next chapter of STB is coming out soon! (*looks at Julia/Jade/any other reviewers*)

England: How did you come up with such a ridiculous idea like this? And why did you decide to write about China? Isn't the usual fanfiction work a GerIta or US*blush*UK lemon?

Kuri: First of all, I don't even like those pairings, and second, I believe I was delusional after eating some of your cooking.

England: My cooking is DELICIOUS! Stop insulting it, you git!

America: Hey, that's England's nickname for ME! Stop stealing it, Kuri!

Kuri: *sigh* It's all yours, Alfred... *facepalm*

Anyway, I don't own Hetalia: Axis Powers. Obviously. All characters (not the actual countries, though) belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. Peace!

It was like something out of a dream.

"Taiwan? Korea?" asked China, walking around. "Japan? Hong Kong! Where is everyone-aru?"

This was weird. There was mist, or rather, fog, everywhere. It was freezing. China could hardly see his own house behind him. This was even stranger, because with its vibrant colors and elaborate decorations, he could usually see it clearly from a mile away. This fog was extremely thick.

Where had everyone gone? His neighbors were nowhere in sight.

Wait a minute, there... there was a figure in the distance!

"Hello! Hey, you there-aru!" called China, waving to the figure. The figure was slowly walking towards him.

"This fog is pretty thick, huh-aru?" he said to the figure, now that it was closer. The figure did not reply. On closer inspection, China noticed that it was a person walking towards him, probably a man. A tall man, at that. Very tall. He also seemed to be carrying something… a… faucet, of some sort?

"Wait, is that you, Ivan?" he asked the figure. Now, the figure had come close enough so he could see who it was, and, he had been right. It was Russia, also known as Ivan Braginski.

"Hello, China." said Russia cheerily, smiling at him. He had his water faucet in hand. Now that China could see it through the fog, he noticed it had blood stains on it. China shuttered.

"N-Not to be rude…" said China nervously, "but, what are you doing there in Nepal's yard-aru?"

Russia's face took on its usual innocently child-like look. He giggled. "Oh, that's funny, China." He told the older nation. "You know that this is part of my territory!"

China blinked. "No, that's impossible-aru." he replied. "That is Nepal's yard. It's right next to my house, bordering my yard. It says it right on my world map. Your house is to the north of mine."

Russia looked confused. "How long has it been since you've looked at a world map?" he asked him. China thought about this. It was true that he hadn't looked at one in a while, but he knew the positions of each nation by heart. He was positive that it was Nepal's yard. Nepal had been his neighbor for many years.

"Could you excuse me for a moment-aru?" he asked Russia, walking towards his house. He knew he didn't actually need to say this, as he had seen Russia staring at him for many hours some days, in the place where their houses bordered each other. And he would never take his eyes off of him… not once.

China briskly ran inside and met with his official map maker. "Do you have a world map I can look at-aru?" he asked the man, in a tone that was a little bit louder than what would pass for calm. The man nodded.

"Make sure it's as current as possible-aru!" ordered China.

The man nodded again and took out his most current world map. What China saw, honestly, shocked him. Horribly.

There was no Nepal to be neighbors with. Russia had telling the truth—it was Russian territory. But it wasn't just Nepal. It was Mongolia, and India, and Afghanistan, and besides himself, all of Asia.

China felt sick. If Russia had claimed all of Asia, then that would mean that Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong were…

Oh no.

It didn't stop at Asia. All of Europe, not to mention North America, South America, Australia, and Africa as well, was now part of Russia. England, Seychelles, America, Germany—all gone from the map. Even Antarctica was not called Antarctica anymore. The only words he could see on the entire map (besides his own name) were three horrible, sickening words that he never thought he'd see on a world map: Great Russian Empire.

China fell to his knees. He held his stomach. This wasn't possible! There was no way Russia would be able to do all that! How had he not found out about this sooner? Perhaps he should have attended all those missed world conferences, rather than calling in sick. It would have been worth putting up with America's foolishness and France groping the shit out of him if it meant knowing about Russia's sudden world conquest.

"China? Is there something wrong?" called Russia from outside. China looked up. He realized that crying and sitting on the floor would accomplish nothing. He had to get more information.

Soon, he was marching outside into the snow.

Wait, snow? thought China. That couldn't be right—it didn't snow at this time of year!

"Oh, are you wondering about the snow, Yao-kun?" asked Russia, using China's human name. "It seems General Winter has followed me," he explained, "all the way here. He must know I'm trying to escape from him."

Russia got a firmer grip on his water faucet. "You are wondering why I am here, though, da?" he asked. He did not wait for a reply.

"You must have seen what has happened by now. The entire world has become one with me. It is nice, da? But what I mean to say is, I want you to join me."

China did not reply to this remark. (Though it shocked him greatly) Instead, he asked, "What happened to my family-aru?"

"You mean Japan and the other three?" asked Russia.

China nodded.

"Oh, they're fine, I can assure you." replied Russia. "In fact," he said, looking behind him, "they're here right now!"

"What?" China asked, feeling a spark of hope flicker in his heart.

"They're right here!" exclaimed Russia with a smile. "Guys? Come out, China wants to make sure you're okay!"

Yes, it was definitely a spark of hope that China was feeling.

A spark that died as soon as it had appeared, that is.

Out from the mist, three people appeared. They were people that China knew all too well, but also, they were people that China didn't know at all.

It was Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. They were three of his little siblings, which had strayed from him after some time but he still held feelings for as an older sibling or even a parent. He was relieved to see that they were alive, but he was also sad, because they didn't look like they were necessarily "okay" in the slightest.

All of their eyes were dull and lacking in spirit. Japan's eyes, which were always dull, were now lifeless. They were all impossibly pale. He could hardly recognize them, with their zombified appearance.

"I made sure to keep them in better shape than the others." said Russia, with apparently no sense of how horrified China was now. "I know that you liked them especially."

China faced Russia with trembling eyes. "Where's Korea-aru?" he asked, frowning.

Russia looked up, as if remembering something. "Korea…" he began, "that boy... he's being punished for resisting, right now."

China gasped. Punished? What did that mean?

"Anyway, it's like I said before." continued Russia like they were having a completely casual conversation. "I want you to join me, Yao-kun."

China actually replied, this time. "Wh… why would I want to do that-aru?" he asked, staring at the saddening figures of Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong. Russia's face contorted in surprise.

"Why would you want to?" he repeated. "Why wouldn't you want to? You'd become part of the largest country in the world! No, you'd become the world! Because then, once you came to live in my house, that would be every landmass on Earth, all together, living in harmony in my house. You can even hear how fun it would be from your friends—right guys?"

He turned to the three husks-of-what-were-once-lively-countries beside him. They nodded.

"You should come and live with us." said Hong Kong in a dead, monotone voice. "We need you here." China was not convinced at all. Russia had obviously brain-washed them. (China knew that Hong Kong hardly spoke, and if he was asked this question and actually had free will he would have simply nodded. There had to be something wrong.)

He was about to reply when suddenly, Taiwan stopped being a zombie.

"Please, don't do it, China!" she yelled at him, with her hands clenched into fists. The light had returned to her eyes and she was crying. "It's miserable here! Please, don't—"

"That'll do for now, miss." interrupted a Russian soldier behind her. He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away.

"No, you can't do this!" she protested, wriggling in his grip. "China, don't listen to them! They're—mmph!"

Another soldier had appeared by now and had his hand over her mouth.

"Taiwan..." whispered China.

"Please listen to Taiwan!" added Japan, just as surprisingly. His eyes were still dull, but now lit up with passion and life. "Please, I know that it may seem hopeless, but—"

"Enough with your pointless squawking!" commanded a third Russian soldier. He took the back of Japan's shirt and dragged him away.

"Kiku!" yelled China. He couldn't believe it! Just as the fight had returned to Japan's soul, they had dragged him away, silencing him. It was cruel.

"Let me go!" screamed Taiwan, struggling against the two soldiers' restraining her. Overcoming her struggles, the two soldiers dragged her back into the fog, out of sight.

Was this really what the world had become? Was this real?

China's head was spinning. No, this wasn't happening.

It couldn't be! No, it couldn't be!

Russia giggled, "China, you look silly." He crossed the border between him and the older nation.

Slowly, he reached out a hand. "I like you, Yao." he said. "But if you refuse, I am prepared to use force."

As if on cue, what seemed like a million soldiers came out from the fog surrounding them, all carrying weapons that could do a lot of damage just individually. If all of those weapons were pointed at his house and his people… attacking at once…

China felt a haze of dread and despair fill up his stomach.

"So, because you don't seem to have any other choice," continued Russia,

"Become one, da?"

The other nations, which had all disappeared from the map, came out from behind him. Like with China's siblings, they seemed to have the life sucked out of them. Their clothes were in rags, and they all muttered the same words, like a zombie horde,

"Join him, become one..."

China backed away. "No…" he whispered, not daring to look the monster in the eyes. "No…"

"NO!"

"AIYAH!" shouted China, sitting up in bed. He was sweating bullets and his pillow was soaked. He was panting and gasping for air.

On China's alarm clock, 3:24 A.M. flashed back at him, as if saying, "Welcome back to reality."

Instantly, just to make sure, he rushed into his office and took out a small map of the world. Sure enough, Russia was still the largest country in the world, but not the only one. And look, even Nepal was back to being his neighbor!

China let out a sigh of relief. Everything was still normal. Just a dream, just a dream…

"No, it wasn't a dream." China decided later, as he had his breakfast and stirred his cup of morning coffee with a little straw.

"It was nightmare."

Kuri: And, scene!

Thanks for reading! Review! And remeber, criticism is welcomed, but flames only make you look like a jackass!

England: Isn't that another word for donkey?

Kuri: ...yes, but, donkey is just another word for ass!

(This is true! Or was it the other way around...?)