Disclaimer: Do not own Hetalia!

Note: So this is chapter 2! It's a bit confusing I know, but I clear everything up by the end of this chapter, so enjoy and pretty please with a cherry on top review!


At the sound of the gunshot, the Philippines expected an explosion of pain to erupt from her forehead and winced, but it did not come. As she opened her eyes tentatively, she saw her counterpart lower the gun and smirk. When she looked behind her, she saw that the bullet had left a crater in the wall, and finally processed that the bullet had passed through her completely. Once again, she found herself utterly speechless.

"Japan claimed in his presentation that two counterparts from different dimensions cannot touch or harm each other because of some universal law that we cannot screw with time and space or whatever," the other version of herself explained to the Philippines. Then she grinned and began pacing back and forth. "He's going to be overjoyed when he realizes that you exist! He'll know that he was right all along. The fact that you popped in next to me proves his theory that two counterparts are drawn to each other when in the same dimension."

The Philippines blinked, and then shook her head, still overwhelmed by the intake of all this information. "Well," she started, "If that's true, then he already knows he's correct, because Japan from my world is here with him." Now it was the other girl's turn to be in shock again.

"Really? That's great! Then we should go to his house at once," the other Philippines said, heading towards the door. Still getting over her initial feeling of disbelief and terror of being shot at, the Philippines picked herself off the floor and followed the other version of herself. Halfway through the door, the other girl stopped.

"I just remembered what I was about to do before you came…" she frowned and furrowed her brows. "This—this is a bad time for you to drop in. My Earth is about to plunge into World War III."

"What? H-how?" she stammered, even more information crammed into her head. She was still in the process of collecting her thoughts. The other nations from her world must be with their counterparts and must be safe if counterparts could not harm each other. That much was certain. But now a big war?

"Yes, you see, Japan and I are still neutral, and so are Spain and Italy. I guess it started when Canada's economy collapsed a few months ago. His government fell into anarchy, and before anyone noticed enough to do anything, America had annexed him."

"What?" Now this she could not believe. The North American brothers were so tight; America would never do that…

"It's true. Everyone else was shocked as well. There was a world meeting shortly afterwards, and Britain was especially angry. I think he was so mad because he didn't get a share in the piece of land. Russia was upset because now America is a massive country. I'm not completely sure what happened next. China got involved in the heated argument and then Russia got so mad he began insulting his Asian neighbors. Then the whole room went crazy. Britain declared war on America, and Russia, who's had his eye on China for a while now, declared war on China. So America and China teamed up while Russia and Britain did, too."

"No way…" the Philippines trailed off. This world was already experiencing WWIII. Is this how it was going to play out on her world, too?

"I know, I don't want to fight in another war, but I'll fight alongside Japan," her counterpart said, mostly to herself, the Philippines observed. In this way they were alike; she thought that she would also fight with Japan if another war came up.

"Well, earlier this week France joined America's side and the German brothers agreed to fight with Russia and Britain."

"So," the Philippines said, a new, scarier thought coming to mind, "Who has the most nukes?" The weapons that had the power to wipe out the human race. She wished they had never been created.

"Nukes? What are those?" The other girl inquired curiously.

"Wait, this world doesn't have nuclear warheads?" The Philippines asked, since the other girl's face was sincerely inquisitive. The other version of herself shook her head. "Oh…forget I said anything." She was not about to lead to the creation of another deadly weapon on this Earth.

"Okay. Our next move is to go to Japan's place, then. But first, you need to change into a uniform. Your white blouse and maroon skirt will never do at his house."


Meanwhile, across the Pacific Ocean, France, China, and America were spit out of the portal and onto the plush, carpeted floor of a conference room. The three of them groaned and got off each other, but when they looked up, they saw three figures sitting at the table gaping at them. Then they, too, dropped their jaws at the sight of three men that were mirror images of themselves.

"Whoa…guys, do you see what I see?" whispered the one that was identical to America. The corresponding China and France nodded mouths still wide open.

"America…" China said softly with a frightened look in his eyes, "I think your machine worked." He simply nodded back, still staring at the other version of himself. If his portal actually worked, then that was this dimension's America staring into his own eyes.

"What—how—why are you here? And how do you look so much like me?" cried the other Chinese man as he pointed an accusing finger at China.

"Oh mon Dieu! They're frauds sent to carry out a coup d'etat!" the other French man shouted and reached for his sword that hung from his belt.

"No! We come from—we—I am not an ennemi!" France said frantically as his counterpart advanced towards him. He instinctively blocked his face with his hands as his counterpart lashed out with his sword, intending to decapitate him.

"NO!" cried America, who finally found his voice again. However, the sword sliced right through him, as if France were a ghost, and he was unharmed. The other France staggered back, dropping his sword, which clanged on the carpet. The other Chinese man, who still sat at the table, stood up as he made a connection to Japan's previous presentation.

"They're…not from this Earth…are you?" he said reluctantly, struggling to remember Japan's words that he had laughed at. By now, America's counterpart had his pistol at hand, and America held his hands over head to show he meant no harm.

"That's right! We're from another dimension! Another Earth!" America said rapidly before anyone else could do something rash. Then he turned towards his counterpart, who slowly put away his weapon. "So you're this world's version of me? Cool!" He lowered his hands and came face-to-face with his other self.

The other China slumped back into his chair and sighed. "I guess this means Japan was right that whole time, aru." China got up off the floor and smoothed out his clothes.

"So you know about parallel universe, then?" he asked his "twin," who nodded.

"Yes, Japan talked about it once. So he was right about counterparts not being able to harm each other, and then being attracted to each other."

"Huh. So does that mean I'm, like, totally invincible then?" America asked excitedly. The other China shook his head.

"No. Only to your direct counterpart. I could still kill you if I wanted." America's face fell a little, but he began to converse with his other self, and the two hit it right off.

The other France smiled apologetically and offered his hand to help France up, who still had his own hands around his neck to make sure his head was 100% attached to his body. "I can't believe I almost killed myself," he said, half-smiling. But then he frowned again, and turned away, so France got up by himself.

"You all sure picked a grand time to hop dimensions. We are in the middle of discussing our war," he said, shaking his head.

"What war?" America asked as he took a seat next to his other self, who pursed his lips.

"The war that started with the collapse of Canada," other-dimension-France said bitterly.

"What happened to my parallel-universe bro?" America pressed, frowning at his counterpart.

"I've annexed him," he answered heavily, his shoulders slumping. America gawked at him, but could not find words to express his mixed feelings. He could never picture himself overtaking Canada; sure, his brother was a pushover, but he loved him all the same. Besides, didn't he stand for liberty and freedom?

"His economy and government fell!" explained the other America frenetically, "He—he came to my house all beat up and sick, asking me to help him, or he was going to die. The only thing I could do was annex him! I couldn't support him enough if we weren't one…he's in my care now." Finally, America closed his mouth and offered up a small smile.

"I think you did the right thing, man," America consoled. The others gave their agreement as well. Then other China began to describe the events following the annexation and how each country was aligned in the war. He had just finished explaining which countries remained neutral when an American official burst in.

"America!" He said catching his breath, "Japan has invited all the nations with "counterparts" to have a temporary cease-fire and attend a conference at his house. He says it's urgent and of upmost importance and wishes everyone to be there A.S.A.P.!"


Surprisingly, the leather suit that the other girl called a "uniform" was easy to move in and comfortable. While the Philippines thought it was very tight-fit and a bit scandalous, she actually liked the way it hugged her body. Her slender form was complimented graciously by the suit much more than her blouse. She also received a military cap, but did not pull her hair back into a ponytail. "That way they can tell who's who," she had explained.

When the two Filipinos entered Japan's conference room after the long flight, they found two Japanese men waiting for them at the end of the long table. However, she could tell which one was her Japan, for he wore his signature white uniform while the other wore a black one. The Philippines found herself releasing a sigh of relief. She had been afraid that Japan would not be here and that she would be all alone in this dilemma. But she met his eyes and subconsciously put on a huge smile.

"Japan!" she squealed in spite of herself, ran to him, and wrapped him in a bear hug. Soon his moment of surprise passed, and he hugged her back. However, the other Philippines and Japan were astonished, and the other girl's face flushed.

"What do you think you're doing hugging him?" the other Philippines whispered angrily. The other Japan just blinked and threw her Japan a questioning look once they had broken the embrace.

"Um, he's my friend?" the Philippines responded, thrown off by her anger.

"I—I would never hug my superior…and he would never hug his subordinate," the other girl said in a low voice, irritated.

"Subordinate?" the Philippines repeated in incredulity, "No, I'm his friend!" The other girl opened her mouth to retort, but just then the nations started to file in through the door, but were forced to hand over any weapons. The Philippines was happy to see familiar faces with their counterparts as they took their seats. Everyone seemed unharmed and relieved as well.

"Wow, I'm seeing double," Spain said to no one in particular as he made his way to a chair with his other self.

As Prussia and his counterpart went to take their seats, the other Japan stopped the other Prussia and held out his hand knowingly.

"Kesesese, you're good at this Japan. You know me too well," the other Prussia laughed as pulled a hidden knife from his boot and placed it in the other Japan's hand. He gave him a curt nod and returned to stand at the end of the table and cleared his throat.

"Konichiwa, I trust that everyone here is up-to-date about the events in this war, and with how the parallel dimensions work." He waited for everyone to signal that they did, and then continued. "I'll get straight to the point. I called you all here to ask you all to stop the war temporarily in order to send our counterparts home." Immediately his suggestion was met with resistance.

"No! We cannot simple halt the war just because of this little complication," the other Britain said hotly. He crossed his arms over his chest to make his point.

"I agree—we won't be able to forget our…intense disagreements and work together sending them home. It won't happen," pointed out the other Russia. He was glaring in the Americas' direction, obviously fuming over their "intense disagreement." Murmurs rippled through the nations but quickly died away.

The other Japan sighed. "Well, since I'm still neutral, why don't the counterparts stay at my place? As you know, I've studied parallel dimensions so I might be able to send them back given time."

"No," the American counterpart objected, "We all know that you won't have enough time because you can't stay neutral in this war. Even you know you're a key player." The Philippines was astounded by this observation; the other America could actually read the atmosphere!

Then her America piped up, "What about Tony? He made a machine that sent us here, so maybe he can send us back!" But his counterpart just laughed darkly, as if he heard something ironic, and shivers were sent down the Philippines' spine.

"Tony left this Earth because he didn't want to stay on a war-torn planet. So that's out of the question." There was an eerie silence, and for a moment everyone fell into deep thought.

"First things first," the other Spain said, breaking the quietness. "I think we really need a way to distinguish each other from their counterparts, 'cause it's just too confusing!"

"We can just use our human names!" her Italy suggested cheerfully. She was surprised he had not spoken sooner since he was normally very talkative; Romano probably told him not to say anything.

"You guys have human names?" the other America inquired, mildly surprised. Italy, or now Feliciano, smiled and nodded.

"Well, we don't," the other China said matter-of-factly, "And even if we did, none of us would actually make an effort to remember the others' names, aru."

"So it's settled then," the other Japan said, "The nations from the other dimension will go by their human names and we will go by our country's names." But the Philippines did not agree to that in her head. After close examination of the other dimension-ers, she could not bring herself to call them by what she would call those from her Earth. These nations were much more enigmatic and cryptic than they were. She noted how the conference was so different from those on her Earth. Here, things were serious, and things actually got done. A heavy, grave feeling seemed to hang over the whole room, affecting everybody. No, these nations were not the same as her friends. While she would call her friends by their human names, she would refer, in her head, to the others as the Dark Nations.

This revelation scared the Philippines, in truth. While everyone was saying their human names, she intently analyzed the nations from this dimension. The Dark Nations did not smile, nor joke, nor attempt to lighten the mood. They clearly meant business, and only cared for the sake of their country, rather than the good of everybody. Then, it was her turn to give her name.

"Maria de la Cruz," she announced with pride. That's when she noticed the intense red eyes staring at her. The Philippines compared Dark Prussia to Gilbert, who sat on his right. While Gilbert's red eyes were attractive and stunning to look at, Dark Prussia's eyes reminded her of blood. He straightened up when he caught her staring back.

"Maria de la Cruz," he repeated softly, "How…exotic." Then Dark Prussia flashed his sharp teeth in a grin that was almost…sinister…

Maria, unsure of what to do next, smiled back nervously at Dark Prussia, who chuckled silently to himself. Canada was the last to give his human name.

"Mathew Williams," he said half-heartedly. Strange, Maria thought; she had not noticed him before, or the fact that Mathew had come without his counterpart. Right, Dark America annexed Dark Canada. Judging by the looks on everyone's faces, they were just noticing him as well.

Dark Russia sneered. "Mathew, why are you sitting next to the idiots who invaded Canada's home? You should be siding with me and Britain! They betrayed your nation, remember?" His condemning glower settled on Dark America and on Alfred. Mathew however, flushed, but did not budge. Instead, he looked down at the table and said nothing.

Dark America stood up crossly. "You shut up! You don't know what you're talking about! Even if you were right, you wouldn't care about Canada! You just want him for yourself, filthy communist!" he shouted. Alfred stood up on his left and tried to put a hand on his counterpart's shoulder, but his hand passed right though his body, so Dark America did not feel the gesture. Now Dark Britain was infuriated.

"Hypocritical git! Don't forget that you just annexed your brother while he was weak. You just jumped at the first opportunity to expand your "democratic influence." Dark Britain also arose from his seat, making everyone else uncomfortable.

Dark China laughed forebodingly. "You're all hypocrites, Britain. I still haven't forgotten those years you took Hong Kong away from me." Maria could almost feel the bitterness in his voice.

"Ha," Britain retorted with his nose in the air, "I made him a better place. I raised him ten times better than you ever could! My being a proper European and all." Dark China became aghast and Dark Britain's lips curled into a sneer, knowing he had hit a sensitive nerve.

"Hey!" This time Wang rose to his feet to defend his counterpart. "You can't talk about him—us—like that! Watch you what you say!"

"Do you remember the Opium Wars?" Dark Britain taunted, "You'd better watch yourself…unless you want to be totally crushed again!" The Chinas were left flustered, with their cheeks reddening.

"Da," Dark Russia smirked, still looking at Dark America, "We will annihilate anyone who opposes us! You might as well hand over Canada now. Or else your sad, weak little capitalist democracy will be in shambles." His verbal slap seemed to snap something inside Dark America, and Maria shifted in her seat anxiously, guessing what was about to happen.

"I'll destroy you before that can happen!" Dark America snarled and lunged over the table to strangle Dark Russia.


From the Author: This chapter didn't really flow as well as I'd hope but I had to put in a lot of background for the War, which was a little hazy. This is also on my dA account with some cool previews coming up hopefully! So please review and maybe even give me a couple of tips! Also, I'd like to know which characters are ppl's favs so I can include them a little more.