Thanks to ColoredAugust, snowgem33, Cardfighter By Maple, fishstick1999, ScandinavianTrash, topaz3, magicflyingmintbunnies, , pastaaddict, 12Green Rose18 and Time Turner for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 24

Wales had wandered off from the rest of the nations. After hearing France talking about the Bonds and what the benefits would be, he knew that he had to see for himself.

He went outside, making sure that he stayed out of the sight of England's cameras. He had taken the time to learn their locations, and knew exactly where to go to avoid being seen. He went towards a blind spot, where a huge tree could be found. Normally, he would never think of doing something like that, but he was curious.

He clenched his fist, before launching it at the tree. He was thrilled when the tree came crashing down, and he didn't even feel pain in his hand. Luckily, the tree wasn't anywhere near a fence, otherwise that would have created a bit of a stir. He only hoped that the other nations would think that the tree had already fallen before they arrived.

Or that it fell when the others came.

He could feel them coming closer, and he supposed that they would be there in the next three minutes. Now, he could either pretend to go for a stroll, or he could go inside, wait for the inevitable to happen, or…

He looked towards the felled tree, a smirk on his face.

…

Switzerland, South and Belarus arrived at the base, and they decided to take the way through the woods. They didn't need to take a lot of things with them, just the devices and the weapons.

As they neared the base, they each felt a tug at the black ribbon, in a direction that was not the base. They shared a glance, before going towards that direction first.

They found a large, felled tree with Wales lying on top of it. He opened his eyes, sensing their approach.

"What are you doing?" Switzerland asked.

"I heard that the ribbons are supposed to give us extra strength," Wales explained. "I came to test it out. And then I felt you approaching, and…"

"And you thought that, since you wouldn't have time to get back inside, you'd make it look as though we did this to you," South finished.

"Is that alright?"

"It's brilliant," Switzerland said. "Anything to draw suspicion away from you. Though, your lack of injuries won't make it convincing. If you want, we can help you with that."

Wales nodded his head, and South smirked, stepping closer.

"Sorry about this," South said. "Even if you're an ally, I wouldn't be able to hold back. But try to make your body as soft as possible."

Wales simply sighed, nodding his head.

"As long as it's convincing," he said.

"Oh trust me," South said. "It will be."

…

North waited patiently for the others to arrive. He could sense their presence, and wondered what was keeping them.

The door opened, and he smiled when he saw Hutt River standing at the door.

"The computer room is right, three hallways, then right again," Hutt River said. "I think things are about to go down very soon."

North nodded his head, both in acknowledgement of what he had said and in thanks for the information he had provided.

It would make part of his job easier.

…

"This isn't good," America said, as England was pacing nervously. "If North Korea really wanted to be captured, then…"

"What is he after?" Russia finished.

"Je ne sais pas," France said, "but I have a feeling that it won't be good. It was too elaborate, and the things he did to himself…"

"It was unnecessary," England said. "He didn't even need to hack into my computer. If he wanted to be captured, then that couldn't have been his plan."

"That also explains why he didn't attack Wales when they got him cleaned up," Northern Ireland said. "He was exactly where he wanted to be."

"But for what purpose?" Ireland asked.

They were interrupted from their musings when they heard a loud crash, followed by the alarms going off.

"Looks like we're about to find out what this is all about," England said, as many of the nations went towards the commotion.

…

"Scatter," South said. "Nat, keep them busy."

"With pleasure," Belarus said, running straight ahead.

"You know where to go, right?" South asked, looking at Switzerland.

"Si," Switzerland said. "Sealand had been kind enough to give me the layout."

"The same here. Avoid the main fight, but search for the targets. Notify me if you found one."

"Of course."

They had devised a communications' device a long time ago. The microphone would be implanted in one of their molars, and the earpiece looked just like an earplug. It was actually very inconspicuous. Belarus had one on as well, and so had the micronations.

They could just pretend that they had an ear infection if it drew attention.

And so South turned left, and Switzerland went right, and they wouldn't stop until they've located their targets.

…

North smirked when he heard the bang. That meant that the others had arrived at last. Of course, he had already known they were there.

He broke the bonds that held him, laughing at the other nations' naivety. Did they really think that it would keep down one of them?

He exited the room, briefly wondering what Wales was up to, before he turned right, following Hutt River's instructions.

Oh, he was going to have so much fun.

…

Morocco stayed behind while the other nations had gone to investigate the bang. Something bothered her.

She was staring at the map, specifically, South Africa.

Japan had placed both a blue and a yellow pin to signify that one part of the country was with them, while the other part had been captured by their enemies.

What bothered her was the fact that North Korea hadn't said a word about it earlier. He had figured out the colour code, after all, so he should have seen the abnormality in the southern part of the continent. The enemies weren't supposed to know about Black.

But what if they did?

Her eyes widened at the possibility. They knew about Black South Africa. That meant that they would most likely try to fix their mistake. During a war, if one country was divided, and only one part was under someone's control, then the other side would try to change that.

So why didn't North Korea say anything about South Africa?

Was it possible that he already knew about Black South Africa prior to being captured? No, letting himself be captured. They were planning something.

Morocco sighed, trying to get her mind off it. She tried to look at it from a new perspective. From the enemy's perspective. A military perspective.

They almost had an entire continent under their control. They were so close to having it completely under their control. There were just two things stopping them from having it all.

And if they were smart, they would try to fix it as soon as possible.

Her eyes widened in realisation. That was exactly what they were doing. They were trying to fix it. They would come for her and Black.

She didn't know how many enemies were attacking at the moment, but what she did know was that she was alone. Which meant she had to join the others for her own safety.

But when she turned to leave, she froze in her spot, seeing the nation leaning against the doorframe.

"Hello, Morocco."

…

Poland smirked, before he opened the door to White's room. He was pleased to see that she had started to read one of the books, even if she had gone a few shades pale and her hand, which was buried in her hair, started to tremble violently.

"Why?" she whispered.

"You need to be more specific," Poland said.

"Why did you give me this to read?!" she snapped, looking at him.

Her eyes were red, and he could see that she was fighting hard not to cry. Poland was pleased to see that.

"You need to remember that England is not your ally," he said. "You need to remember what he did to you and your people. The innocents suffered greatly. And has he ever apologised for it?"

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she shook her head. Poland crouched in front of her, taking her chin in his hand and lifting her head to look at him.

"I was technically still under Russia's control," Poland said. "I wasn't allowed to enter a formal alliance with you. But I still came. Me, Italy and Romano. We came to help you. The others sent their people and weapons, but the three of us personally came to support you."

"But you have India and Canada," she whispered. "And they helped England."

"They didn't want to. England forced them. And besides, haven't they already apologised to you? Haven't they tried to make amends? Didn't Canada make Mandela an honorary Canadian citizen?"

"…What do you want from me? Why are you doing this?"

"Think of it as your punishment for staying quiet about your friend. Be glad we don't have any concentration camps."

"Asseblief…" she whispered, eyes wide.

"Don't worry. We're not going to do that. I've been to Auschwitz…"

"Auschwitz was kinder," she said in a small voice.

"Point is, I know what it's like in a concentration camp. And so does Israel."

She was silent, and Poland smirked internally. It would actually be good for them if they managed to get her and Israel together. One more red ribbon to join the network.

Not to mention the two's history with nuclear weapons.

"By the way," he said, "where was Black during all of this?"

She avoided his eyes, and he knew he struck a nerve.

"I see," Poland said. "He was on England's side."

"Just leave me alone," she said in a small voice. "Asseblief."

Poland smirked, before leaving the room. If she knew what they had in store…

He went to find Italy, and pecked him on the cheek when he did.

"One of our prisoners has been taken down a few pegs," Poland said. "Are you going to deal with the other?"

Italy smirked, before he leaned in to kiss Poland on the lips. He chuckled when he pulled back.

"It would be more effective if we had a new arrival to taunt him with," Italy said. "And besides, the others have already infiltrated England's base of operations. I don't want to be in the middle of playing when they get here."

"Fair enough," Poland said, shrugging. "So, shall we see who our next targets would be?"

"You know me so well."

…

"WHERE IS HE?!"

Belarus was in a rage, attacking anyone that got close to her, and when no one got close to her, she started throwing knives at the other nations. Most nations decided to hide, but when she couldn't get her hands on anyone, she went closer and attacked.

"Out of all the nations North Korea could have had a relationship with," England said, "it had to be Belarus?"

"Who he's with doesn't matter," France said. "We would have had the same reaction if it was Italy… Sorry, wrong example. It would have been the same with one of the Baltics. As the Nordics would say, they'd go berserk. They fly into a rage, and their strength becomes phenomenal, and they don't stop their rampage until their lover is safe again."

Russia was somewhat glad to see that his sister didn't really love him (although platonically would still have been alright), but it disturbed him how effectively she had managed to pretend she was in love with him. In fact, she had always been obsessed.

That's when it hit him. How she managed to pretend for so long: her obsession. Hate could also be an obsession.

She had just managed to pass it off as being in love with him.

And the proof that her farce was over: she no longer wore the dress he had given her so long ago. Now she wore a black halter top with loose-fitting black pants, black boots and with her hair in a ponytail. It actually looked nice with her.

At the moment, no one dared to go near the angered Belarusian. Everyone was hiding behind the corners, or behind the rubble of the walls she had destroyed.

Black was hiding as well, and he looked at the insane nation with pure fear in his eyes. He'd never seen anyone looking that scary.

He suddenly felt desperate tugging on the back of his shirt, and he turned to see Sealand and Wy, their eyes wide in fear.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed angrily.

"We thought we could fight like real nations and maybe get recognised," Sealand said. "But…"

Black sighed.

"Go then," he said, turning back to face the insane nation.

"We're scared," Wy said. "Come with us."

Black glanced towards the crazy nation before he turned back to the micronations, sighing and nodding his head. As discreetly as they could, they fled the scene.

Belarus saw Black leave with the micronations out of the corner of her eye, and she had to contain a smirk. All according to plan.

She turned her attention back to the nations cowering, and she decided to take a more direct approach. She went towards one of the corners, preparing her knife to strike.

But when she saw the familiar blue eyes of the other nation, she had something else in mind.

The hand not holding the knife whipped out, grabbing Ukraine by the throat and dragging her up to eye-level. As an extra measure, Belarus sank her nails into Ukraine's skin.

"Nat…" Ukraine gasped, clawing at her sister's hand.

"Oh, I've wanted to do this for a long time," Belarus said, digging her nails in deeper. She could see beads of blood around her fingers. "You were always so pathetic."

"Stop!" Russia shouted, emerging from his hiding place.

Belarus smirked, digging her nails in even deeper.

"Privet, brat," she said. "It's been a while."

"Leave her alone," Russia said.

Belarus cocked her head to the side.

"Or what?" she asked. "Are you going to hit me with your pipe? Do you think you can?"

Russia hesitated. While she was the enemy, and clearly insane, she was still his younger sister. Could he really do that to her?

He decided to at least try to pry her hand away from Ukraine. She saw what he was doing, and poised to strike.

The moment Russia moved, her hand, which was still holding the knife, whipped out and stabbed him in the arm. He grunted in pain, and she released Ukraine in favour of grabbing his arm, and with the momentum she had built, she threw him across the hallway.

The other nations stared in horror, seeing how strong Belarus was, and knowing that they wouldn't stand a chance.

Ukraine coughed, before she scrambled away, blood dripping down her neck from five puncture wounds. Belarus watched the other for a moment, before she licked the fingers that were still stained with blood.

"I can see now why the South Americans are so fond of cannibalism," she said, before chuckling.

The other nations watched, no one daring to get too close, but knowing that she needed to be stopped.

…

Black was running, the two micronations following him. He ignored his feeling of unease that he had around the pair in favour of getting to safety.

He turned a corner and immediately froze.

Standing not three metres away from him was South Korea, leaning casually against the wall. The Korean smirked when he saw him.

"Thanks," South Korea said.

"No problem."

Black's eyes widened, before he turned to face the micronations. Seeing the smirks on their faces confirmed his suspicions.

"You've been working with them all along," he whispered.

"Of course," Wy said. "With the promise of becoming true nations, why wouldn't we?"

Black turned his attention back to South Korea, swallowing nervously.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Can't you figure it out?" South Korea asked. "We've got one part of a nation. We're missing the other part. We want you."

"All of this is just because you wanted me?"

"Of course. You and White South Africa can share information between yourselves without breaching the contract, and you can share that information with our enemies. We can't allow you to roam free. And England and the others knew that, which was why they didn't inform Italy when he asked about you. So we had to infiltrate, and then we had to distract. You're our main target."

"But not your only target," Black said, stepping back. "What are you going to do with me?"

South Korea took out two little balls. He threw one to Sealand, who caught it expertly.

"Give that to Hyung," South Korea said, stepping closer. "I'll take him."

Black tried to run, but the two micronations blocked him before South could grab him. South smirked, before throwing the ball to the ground, causing the hallway to be filled with smoke. Once the smoke cleared, they were gone.

…

White looked up when Poland entered the room again, and he smirked down at her.

"Come with me," he said, before he dragged her to her feet. "We've got a little surprise for you."

She went along, in no mood to fight. At least, until they arrived in the living room, where her eyes widened.

"Themba!" she shouted, trying to run to her colleague, but Poland pinned her arms behind her back.

Black was held between South Korea and Canada, and he struggled when he saw her.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted.

"She's not the one you should be worried about," Italy said, holding a pistol in his hand. "After all, she's the one that belongs to us."

"What are you going to do to him?!" White shouted, but Italy ignored her, eyes on Black.

"The way I see it, you have two choices," Italy said. "Either you agree to join us now, or you will die."

"The choice is simple then," Black said, looking towards White. "I'd rather die than join you."

"NEE!" White shouted. "Jou moffel! Don't you dare!"

"Fine," Italy said, cocking the gun as he moved behind Black. "Any last words?"

Black sighed, before looking at White. He smiled at her.

"'Sounds the call to come together'," he sang, "'and united we shall stand. Let us live and strive for freedom…'"

"'In South Africa our land'," White whispered.

BANG!

The part that Black sings and White whispers is the English stanza of the South African national anthem, and is also the song's ending.

As mentioned, White is the former Boer Republics, and the region would be the Orange Free State and Transvaal, while Black is the former Zulu Empire which would be in Natal. During the years of Dutch Cape, White was the Cape as well, but just before the Great Trek it became British territory, and when White left that part of the country with her people, she allowed Black to have it due to the Xhosa influence. So White is Transvaal and Free State, while Black is Cape and Natal. And in the Boer War, asides from England, the Boer Republics also fought against the South Africans in the British territory, which happened to be Cape and Natal. And then there was the fact that a lot of blacks chose to fight with England because they were promised freedom from their Boer masters, and a lot of the black workers betrayed the farmers they worked for. But a lot of them were then betrayed by England and sent to concentration camps, and even in the camps they acted as spies for the British.

I once overheard two of my friends explaining to our Spanish friend that the Afrikaners still have a grudge about the Boer War (which is true), and one of them said that the Nazi concentration camps were kinder, since they were meant to kill, and it wasn't as drawn out. While the Boer War concentration camps were originally meant to be refugee camps, but due to a lack of planning and foresight, instead of protecting the women and children, the concentration camps were basically a death sentence. There were concentration camps for blacks and whites (and that's one of the reasons why we say England was to blame for Apartheid). In the white camps, 116 572 Boers were held prisoner, and 1 676 men (most too old to go on commando), 4 177 women and 22 074 children died, while in the black camps 115 700 were kept prisoner while officially around 14 154 people died, but it's possible that it was at least 20 000. So White isn't too fond of the idea of concentration camps.

England called in a few of its territories for aid, notably Canada, New Zealand and Australia, but also India and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). And while the Boers didn't have formal allies, they did have foreign volunteers, namely from Italy and Poland. When I remembered that part, I started thinking about how the two of them would have used it to their advantage.

And I'll continue with Morocco next chapter.