Thanks to MRoshka, Dragonfire78, Miss Akiyata, EverythingMath, FyingDoll4 and Don't Insult Oliver's Cupcakes for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 37: Sleep Paralysis

"That should have worked," Hungary said.

"It's hard waking them when they're like this," Wales said. "Now that I think about it, the only times they woke up was if there was interference from within their dreams."

"So in other words," Dimitri said, "all you did was make it worse for him."

Elizaveta shrugged.

"Considering it's Romania, I'm not sorry at all."

…

Marius withdrew from Vlad, his mouth red. He chuckled in amusement.

"Thanks for the drink," Marius said. "Perhaps I can ask Italy if I could have you as a pet. Your blood is by far the most delicious I've ever had."

Vlad did not respond. He was extremely pale, and the world was spinning. He figured that, had it not been for the stake that he was tied to, he would have fallen to the ground.

Marius once again chuckled in amusement, and the world they were in started fading away.

…

When Marius returned to his own consciousness, he was surprised to see Francois standing nearby, watching him with a blank face.

"Have fun?" the Frenchman asked.

"Da," Marius said. "Is there something you want?"

"Oui. Italy will be asking the same of you, so be prepared. I need you to extend the dream torture to a few other Nations."

"Do you have a personal reason why?"

"Oui. I think I'm going to teach that 'Papa Francis' a lesson in caring too much for Nations he's supposed to control. And I also want to hurt Canada."

"I see. A little revenge, as well as extra torture. I should probably do the same with Vlad's little brother."

"So, do we have an agreement?"

"I think we'll be able to work something out."

…

"Let me out!" Feliks said, banging on the lid of the coffin. "Please, let me out!"

He couldn't tell if Felic was still there, but he had to be. If Felic wasn't there, then he should have woken up.

So why was he still in this nightmare?

…

Felic chuckled. He was slowly withdrawing from Feliks's mind, but he made sure that he kept a mental image of the blonde, lying in bed, unable to move.

In Felic's mind's eye, he saw the other Pol lying on his back. Felic was straddling Feliks, his arms being pinned as well by Felic's legs. Felic had his hand on Feliks's mouth, preventing any attempt to call for help.

That is exactly what sleep paralysis felt like.

Marius had told him before that, should he decide to trap his target in sleep, all he would have to do was find somewhere to trap the target, and slowly retreat, having the picture of the target unable to move in his head. If it could replicate the feeling of sleep paralysis, then it was perfect.

He just had to make sure that his plan worked.

…

"Ow," Vlad muttered, rubbing his head.

He had expected the wound Marius had inflicted on him to sting. To be the first thing he felt.

Not a splitting headache.

"Are you alright?" William asked.

"Is there a reason why my head hurts?"

"Hungary."

Vlad glared at said Nation, who only smirked back.

"Would have been more fun if you were awake," she said.

"One of these days…"

"Alright, you two," Alistair sighed. "Let's go check on the others. If Vlad was attacked, then the others might be in trouble too. Prussia's arm still hasn't healed."

That caused Elizaveta's eyes to widen and she dashed out of the room, several other Nations following.

In the end, Vlad was left with Tino, Dimitri, Nicolai, Ivan and Natalya.

"I guess we should also check on the others," Vlad sighed. "I also want to check on Rob and Ani."

"Are you sure?" Dimitri asked.

"Da," Vlad said, standing up.

He regretted the action soon enough, as grey spots dotted his vision before he started falling. He felt a pair of arms catch him, but at the moment he couldn't make out who the arms belonged to as they lay him down on the bed again.

It took a moment for his vision to clear, and he saw the other Nations looking at him with worry. The one that was closest, and most likely the one that caught him, was Nicolai.

"I think you should stay in bed for a while," Tino said.

"Da," Ivan said. "I think it would be best."

Romania sighed, but nodded his head. He wasn't sure if it was due to the blood loss or the headache Hungary had caused when he was already out of it due to the dream.

Soon enough he had fallen back asleep, and the others, save Nicolai, left to follow.

…

"Done," Marius said, looking up at Francois. "So, who are you going to go after first?"

Francois smirked.

"It doesn't really matter," Francois said. "As long as I can hurt them."

…

The next morning, nearly everyone was gathered in the same dining room again. No one, other than Vlad, was attacked during the night. It made them both suspicious and relieved.

Anika was awake, but her movements were slow and careful, and Omar kept close to her, his eyes watchful.

For some reason, Feliks hadn't joined them yet, and some of the others became worried. So Toris volunteered to check on his friend.

…

Luciano chuckled as the others reported. There were also a few other Nations there, and he had just been told which Nations were particularly close to his rival's counterpart.

"Romania, Inghilterra and Norvegia," Luciano said, "I would prefer if the three of you worked together this time. We don't want another mishap."

"Alright," Sigurd said, nodding.

"And afterwards, I want you to allow the new arrivals to take part in the game as well."

…

Toris sighed, seeing Feliks was still asleep. He didn't particularly find it strange, since Feliks sometimes liked to sleep in.

"Come on," Toris said, getting closer. "It's time to wake up."

To his surprise, Feliks didn't groan and glare at him, as usual. He frowned, before he tried another tactic, shaking Poland's shoulders.

This also did nothing, and Lithuania became confused. Feliks was sleeping deeply, no sign of having a nightmare at all. So why…?

He grabbed the pitcher that everyone had in their rooms, and poured the contents out on his friend. Once again, nothing happened.

Now the brunet was starting to panic.

"Guys!" he shouted, hoping the others would hear him in this large mansion. "I think we have a problem!"

…

"Like, what do you think you're doing to me?!" Feliks shouted. "Let me out!"

He had felt the sensation of someone shaking his shoulders, and for some reason, his head became wet. He had coughed and sputtered out of shock for what happened.

There were tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, and he wondered what Felic had planned.

But there was one thing he knew for a fact.

He should have been awake by now.

…

Ricardo sighed.

He was watching Roberto through the mirror, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness. His counterpart was still unconscious, and he wasn't sure if it was because of what Italy attempted, or what the Deathplayer did.

Speaking of which…

For a moment, the reflection disappeared, and Brazil could see himself, but he was not alone. Behind him was a figure that looked like him.

He spun around, but the Deathplayer was fast. It pushed Ricardo back against the mirror, grabbing his wrists in the process.

"Let go of me," Ricardo snarled.

Not yet. We showed White, so now it's time to show Black.

Before he could ponder it, he suddenly received a large amount of psychic information. Unlike Roberto, he had control over it, but with the amount of information the Deathplayer wanted to give, it grew too painful for him, and he followed his counterpart's example and lost consciousness.

…

The magic trio, as well as England's brothers, were examining Poland. There was definitely something wrong, but what, they were not sure.

"There's no sign of head trauma," Patrick announced.

"His blood pressure and heart rate also seem normal," Seamus said.

"So why can't he wake up?" Toris asked.

William frowned, before his eyes widened.

"It can't be…" he whispered.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"It could be a magical sleep paralysis," Wales said. "It's sometimes done to victims of those dream spells that you were affected by. It requires a series of events inside the dream itself, and the torturer traps the victim inside their dreams. Somewhere that's not easy to escape. It allows the torturer to return any time he wants, without having to wait for his victim to be asleep."

"Is there some way to get him out of this?" Arthur asked.

Wales's eye travelled to the dresser, where Poland had created a nest for his phoenix. The bird was chirping restlessly, demanding to be fed.

"We could try the phoenix," Will said, going over and picking up the small creature.

He placed the phoenix on Poland's chest, and the creature saw that its 'mother' was in some sort of distress. It started to glow, and after a while, the glowing stopped.

Poland was still asleep.

"I'll see if there's something useful in my library," William sighed.

"You can check mine as well," Alistair said.

"And mine," Patrick said.

"You're going to leave?" Toris asked.

"We really didn't want to run into each other, so we each have our own libraries," Arthur explained. "Don't worry, Wales will still be in this house."

…

Gilen glanced outside the window. The storm had been raging for hours, and there was no sign of it letting up. In fact, the storm remained constant, and that worried him.

He remembered the first superstorm Europe had suffered, and shuddered to think of what would happen if another struck them. The last storm had severely weakened them, and for another to appear during this time would seriously spell bad news for them.

Greece and Turkey were especially not fond of the last superstorm. The two of them still have scars from the lightning that had struck them. Over and over…

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Alejandro said, startling the Prussian from his thoughts.

"Depends on what you're thinking about," Gilen said.

"Superstorm. I checked. My country also has heavy rainfall, as well as a lot of unrest among the people. Many of them went insane, in fact."

Gilen arched a brow at that.

"I will have to check on my own country then," Gilen said. "If it's another superstorm, then we'll need to plan accordingly."

…

"A lot of relatives," Marius said, looking at the blood they were using for their spell.

"This better get her here," Luciano said.

…

"Sounds like you'll need a hero," Alfred said.

"Sit down!"

The magic trio had told the others about Poland's sleep paralysis, which managed to alarm the others as well.

Toris was feeding the phoenix, noting that it seemed bigger than it used to be after it hatched.

"But, we can't let the bad guys win with whatever they're plotting now," Alfred said, pouting. "Brazil's still unconscious."

"I hate agreeing with the gringo," Mexico said, "but he's right."

"Uh oh," Argentina joked. "Mexico and America agreed. It's a sure sign that the world is ending."

Argentina had wavy brown hair, hazel eyes and tanned skin. She wore a light blue blouse, a dark blue skirt and ankle-length black boots.

"It just might be," America said. "And as the hero…"

"Shut up!" many Nations, especially the ones from the other world, shouted.

"Wales is searching for a solution," England informed them. "So for now, there is nothing we can do. If only Jamaica had offered to stay and help."

"What can that lazy stoner do?" America asked.

BAM!

"Give me back my frying pan!" Hungary shouted.

"Thank you, Netherlands," Matt said.

Lars simply shrugged his shoulders, giving Hungary her frying pan back.

South Africa hissed, clutching her head.

"Ben je in orde?" Netherlands asked.

"Ja," South Africa said. "Ek het net 'n hoofpyn."

"Wil je gaan liggen?"

"Nee dankie. Ek sal orraait wees."

"Ben je zeker?"

"Ja."

As the two conversed, Omar kept his eyes on her. Actually, many Nations were keeping an eye on her, and the few that could understand Dutch or Afrikaans managed to follow the conversation. But Omar was the only one that had an idea about what happened.

And he was glad that his plan worked.

…

Marius frowned when nothing happened.

"Is something wrong?" Luciano asked.

"I'm not sure," Marius said. "But it's almost as though something is blocking the connection."

"I wonder…" Oliver said. "Is it possible that someone cast a spell on her to make sure we couldn't pull her through?"

"It's possible," Sigurd said. "Now the question is, who? And which spell did he use?"

"I don't care," Luciano said. "Figure it out."

…

Tolys had noticed that Felic had been acting strangely. He knew that the other wouldn't be too happy about Italy taking over his game, and he needed to find him before he did something potentially dangerous.

When he found the Pol, he was sitting in front of the mirror, possibly keeping an eye on his counterpart. Nothing risky. Whenever he got the chance, he also liked to check on his counterpart.

"You are behaving yourself, yes?" Tolys asked.

"Tak," Felic said. "Just making sure Feliks is still asleep."

Tolys frowned.

"Is he really that lazy?"

"Nie. I just put him in sleep paralysis."

Tolys's eyes widened, before he smirked.

"That's a good idea," he said. "I think I'll do the same to Toris."

"Is Italy busy?"

"I think he's still with the magic trio."

"Good. I think it's time to play with Feliks again."

"I'll make sure he doesn't interrupt you."

"I'll try not to take too long then."

…

Omar stuck to Anika like glue. He wouldn't allow her to get hurt like that again while Italy tried to take her. He had conveyed the message to Valeria as well, and she got the message. She will stick close to Roberto.

It was a simple spell, really, but one that proved very effective. As long as he was close to Anika, she would be safe from any threats.

It had annoyed her at first, until a conversation with Alida managed to convince her to allow him to stay close. She didn't know the reason why, but she didn't argue. Her body still felt a little sore.

And Brazil still hadn't woken up.

…

Wales sighed, leafing through the pages of his fifteenth book.

He had found a lot of other spells, but not the one he wanted. He found spells created by himself, and even his mother, but none of them proved useful.

Well, he wouldn't say that…

He had found the spell that was used on Matthew, and also the spell to undo it. So at least, the Canadian wouldn't have to go unnoticed for too long anymore.

He paused when he saw this one spell. It was not the spell he wanted, but he marked it anyway. His mother had created it a long time ago, in case she wanted one of her sons to spend some quality time with her. He had kept it in order to prank the others, especially Arthur, but never used it.

This one could prove useful.

…

Natalya locked the door behind her. She drew the curtains as well, making the room extra dark.

She didn't want anyone to spy or interrupt, not even Ivan.

She had asked the Kirkland brothers if they had all the things she needed. Being magical Nations, they naturally had it in their extremely large family home.

Her magic touch lay in two fields: seeing spirits, and predicting the future. She usually went with the simplest forms of prediction, namely fortune-telling, but now she needed to dig deep enough.

She needed to know what would happen.

She had obtained a crystal ball, and through that, she could see the other world. She was a little annoyed when she saw her own counterpart, and a little creeped out when she saw her brother and sister's counterparts.

But if they tried to hurt either of them, then she will show them how nasty she could be.

But the events that were to follow somewhat terrified her. This would not end well.

…

Feliks yelped when the lid of the coffin was suddenly opened. Blue eyes glowed down at him, and his blood ran cold.

"Are you ready to play a little game, Feliks?"

"NIE!"

…

Viktor was bored.

Alright, so they all went to Italy's place, the promise of having fun with their counterparts a temptation that no one wanted to pass up, but he wished that Italy will get on with it.

Ukraine was next to him, on the phone with Belarus. Italy hadn't called the less violent Nations, since they didn't have as much fun playing as they did. And Belarus wasn't exactly the most bloodthirsty among them. Plus, he didn't want his little sister getting hurt because of the other Nations that were there.

Italy chose that moment to enter the room, and all of them turned their attentions towards him.

"The other thing I wanted to do isn't working out, so you can all go through," the Italian said. "The magic trio is waiting for you."

Viktor smirked. Finally, something fun.

…

Vlad glared at the mirror. He saw that Marius and the other two were about to perform a spell, but which spell, he wasn't sure.

Ever since first seeing their alternate reflections, they had gotten nothing but trouble. And now, they were going to get more trouble.

Out of anger, Vlad pounded his hand against the mirror, but quickly withdrew his hand.

Marius had shuddered, but that was about the only reaction he got from the other side. Vlad slowly backed away, staring at the mirror in horror.

It didn't feel like he was touching a mirror. It felt like he was touching the surface of water.

Netherlands' and South Africa's conversation in Dutch and Afrikaans is due to the fact that the two languages are about 90-95% identical. A Dutch speaker and Afrikaans speaker can more or less understand each other if they speak slowly, and it takes a while to get the hang of it. The case with Flemish and Afrikaans is more or less the same, the languages being 99% similar.

I was originally going to have Luciano succeed in capturing Anika, but I figured that I gave enough attention to her for a while. So now, a few of the other characters will get the limelight. Also, you'll get a little surprise soon enough.