I don't own Hetalia! end/AN/
By the third time that Australia had thrown up, he was sure there was nothing left to throw up. Green and blue crackled at the edges of his vision, and he gasped for air. The whole world looked like a crazy movie screen, tilting and whorling away from him as he crawled on the ground.
"Hong Kong," he muttered, pawing the ground looking for him.
Crazy foreign words filtered through, sounding like the pronouncements of a witch to Australia. He shook and shuddered, whimpering, "England, Wales, Zea… somebody…"
He lost his train of thought partway through, and he felt the concrete floor pressing cold up through his hands and knees.
A face appeared in front of his, and it was speaking in words he would normally understand, but they seemed distorted by the strange shapes the man's lips made.
Hands cupped his face, as the man repeated something, so calmly Australia was sure that he should be able to understand and stop having his breath whistle in and out of his lungs.
One of the hands stroked his hair; beyond the man (China. It was China…) he could see a pile of red, and it oozed through his hot brain that Hong Kong wore red. China was wearing a uniform, but Hong Kong was a civilian…
He lurched forward, falling into China. Again, caught him, smoothing back his hair and saying something. As his whole stomach seemed to try to force its way up his esophagus, Australia whimpered, and clung to China. He wanted England, or Scotland, or Wales, Zea… He could even stand Ireland right then.
China clutched him, and rubbed his back as he sobbed raggedly with the pulsing, gnarled feeling of his insides.
He didn't remember anything else after that.
When Australia finally woke, his head buzzed and his mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. He licked his lips, trying to bring moisture back.
"I knew you wouldn't die," China commented, and right then, he had Hong Kong's head in his lap. "But I believe now you have a better understanding of what it is like here."
Australia shakily put himself up on his arms. His voice came out scratchy. "What did they do to me?"
"Poisoned you," China said simply. "If you didn't notice, you're lying a puddle of your own piss. You may well have 'died' in the human way, but your country's still strong, so you didn't truly die."
He realized he didn't just stink of urine; he smelled heavily of sweat as well. "Do they do this every day?"
"They'll try a new poison tomorrow, I'm sure," China said, and his eyes were sharp. "Now you understand why you have to kill Hong Kong."
"I'm not-!" he paused for a moment for a shudder to go through him. "I'm not killing Hong Kong!"
China's eyes became venomous. "Will you only understand once you're too weak? I would kill Hong Kong if I could, to put him out of his misery, but I fucking can't, so you have to do it!"
Australia came crawling over, and he could see that Hong Kong's eyes were closed. "Is he sleeping?"
China gently pulled Hong Kong's limp hands up to his slightly rising and falling chest. "If you can call it sleep. His body can't handle the extreme dehydration, so he's unconscious. He can't die, and you know that."
His face was red, but his brow was papery dry, Australia realized, as he felt it. He swallowed thickly, saying, "England will come…"
"England is busy a world away! He doesn't care what happens in Asia or Oceania!" China snapped.
"He will come!" Australia snapped back, saying hotly, "He cares about us, about me and Hong Kong. He won't just leave us!"
"Oh? And who did he send when Hong Kong was under attack? Did he come himself, or did he send poorly trained Canadian troops to be vanquished?" China said in a poisonous tone. "And for you; did he send his own troops, or did he pull them out of the corners of his empire?"
"India," Australia admitted. But then he clenched his jaw. "But it doesn't mean he doesn't care! If he didn't care, he wouldn't send anyone!"
"Or he'd send who he could spare to put a up a good show," China said bitterly. "None in the world care what is going on in Asia; Japan has been brutally taking us down. First he took Taiwan, then Korea; and you know what? He's even extending his claws towards Mongolia and Vietnam. Of course, Russia gives a shit about Mongolia, unlike the rest of us, so he might make it out, but the rest of us have none who can spare troops or want to!"
His tirade had gradually gotten louder and louder, until, abruptly, he coughed up blood. It dribbled down his chin and onto his uniform, where similar stains lay.
"England cares about me," Australia said stubbornly, "And I'm not killing Hong Kong!"
"You have no idea… you just have no idea," China muttered, mopping his chin with his sleeve.
Australia didn't say anything else.
/AN/ I have nothing against Ireland, btw. Also, references to history! Yay! Russia was Mongolia's ally at that point, so the Japanese couldn't get into there, despite attempts to do so. Hong Kong was defended by Canadian troops, most of whom hadn't seen battle yet. It was a slaughter, though far more of civilians than soldiers.
Indians, as far as I am aware, did not come to aid the Australians.
