Thanks to Ate Luya, AquaEclipse and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 37
India stepped into the kitchen, seeing that Bangladesh and Myanmar were already there, sipping on black tea. The bags under their eyes told him that neither of them had gotten sleep. India couldn't blame them. He was also pretty tired. And the looks that they gave him told him that he still wasn't forgiven for his deception.
"We have a problem," India said.
"You, or us?" Bangladesh asked.
"Depends on whether or not you care for Tibet."
The two gave him odd looks, and India knew that he could continue safely.
"Gilbert – Prussia – is with China at the moment," India said. "During the night, China woke up screaming in pain. He could sense that Tibet was being tortured. And I was hoping that you might help me save him. Perhaps, in the process, we can learn more about Loday."
The other two glanced towards each other, silently communicating with each other, before turning back to India.
"Do you even know where to find him?" Myanmar asked.
"Not yet," India said. "But I can find out."
"If you can, and if you're telling the truth, then we're in," Bangladesh said. "Loday did say something about Jampa being in trouble."
India sighed in relief. Now, he just needed to find someone willing to track down Tibet.
…
South woke up from his nap, before turning to Tibet. The monk was still not revived, and his body was still recovering. He didn't heal as fast as a nation, and until he woke, South had nothing better to do.
He stretched his hands above his head, before wandering around the former village. He was pleased by the destruction he caused. It had been tricky to contain it so as to avoid detection from his target, but everything had been worth it.
He just wished he knew what was going on with China. That China was suffering. Well, he had a way to find out. He quickly took out his second phone, the one he reserved for calls like this, and pressed the number. He so loved the invention of speed dial.
"Hello?" a groggy voice responded.
"Nolae," South said. "What news do you have of China?"
"China is with France," the same voice said, this time in monotone. "Last night, he woke up screaming in pain. He could sense Tibet being tortured. He wanted to leave for Tibet, but everyone convinced him that it was a trap and a bad idea."
"Hmm, they're half right. Tell me, who else is there?"
The other listed the names, and South nodded his head, arching his eyebrow as he heard one particular name. He finally chuckled.
"Thank you," he said. "Go back to sleep. Nolae."
The call was disconnected, and South started wandering back to Tibet's location. There was still time left before he could continue. He might as well spend the time sharpening his blades.
…
Palestine was anxious as she prepared breakfast. She wanted to take down Israel, and the small attacks at the border weren't enough. She needed to strike him where it hurt.
Egypt had informed her that the nations of Requiem weren't bothered by attacks to their countries, and that Alvora seemed to be on the same page. So she knew that attacking a major city like Jerusalem wouldn't be helpful.
However, Egypt had told her something the previous day that could, perhaps, prove useful: India.
She found it a bit too hard to believe, but then again, a few days ago she would have thought that Egypt and Peru being a couple would have been impossible. The fact that Israel might have decided to get a boyfriend shouldn't be too shocking. She couldn't really imagine Israel and India, but she'd learned that stranger things had happened.
Now, she just needed to find a way to get to India.
"You look like the gears in your head are spinning."
She wasn't too surprised to hear Egypt, and she turned to face him, her arms crossed.
"Attacks to Israel's country are proving fruitless," she said. "I want to hit him where it would hurt the most: India."
Egypt smirked.
"Now we just need to find out where India is," Egypt said. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Not really, no," she admitted.
"What is the point of having a good idea if you don't know how to implement it?"
She averted her eyes, knowing that he had a point.
"As it so happens, I have a way to reach India," Egypt said. "Not directly, but we could make him suffer. Severely."
"What, are you going to send one of your ancient curses?" Palestine scoffed.
"As a matter of fact, yes."
…
Kiribati opened her eyes, her brain feeling as though it was trying to escape from her skull. She looked around, seeing that she was alone. And when she checked the clock on the wall, her eyes widened in shock.
It was already nine in the morning.
She quickly jumped out of bed, before she quickly grabbed onto the bed. She felt woozy. She waited a while, before she made her way to the door. Just as she was about to open it, someone opened it from the other side.
She and Tuvalu stared at each other for a long moment before Tuvalu's face lit up, and she pulled Kiribati into a tight hug.
"Aulani, you're awake!" Tuvalu exclaimed.
"Sefina, what's gotten into you?" Kiribati demanded, trying to pry the other off.
"You were asleep all day yesterday."
Kiribati paused. She gently pulled herself away, staring down at the slightly shorter girl.
"What?" she asked.
"We even called the UK to tell us about what could be happening," Tuvalu said. "They said that, if it's magic, the best thing to do would be to let you rest."
"Magic?"
"New Zealand can't get close to you. He said you keep blowing him away."
Upon hearing New Zealand's name, Kiribati was filled with a deep sense of dread. She couldn't help but think back to the dream she'd had. A black sheep standing in a blood-drenched field. The sheep that revealed itself to be a wolf. And all of the other sheep had their fleeces stained with blood.
Why would simply hearing New Zealand's name cause her to think about that dream? It was a nightmare, and she wanted to forget it as soon as possible.
Her thoughts were pulled back to the present when she realised that she had been asleep for more than twenty-four hours. Her body was trying to tell her that its basic needs needed to be tended to.
"Bathroom," she muttered, before pushing past Tuvalu and heading towards the bathroom.
…
Romania was looking over the diamonds that the South Africas kept in their home. Romania had told them a long time ago that gemstones had the power to augment magic. Considering the wealth they possessed, they were among the best sources for things like this. Especially considering the size of some of their diamonds.
Of course, a nation had the power to create one of their natural resources at a moment's notice. That was what they did. All of the diamonds in this room were personally created by Black and White. And they also created other materials, not just diamonds, but also metals and other gems.
Some of the more beautiful and larger gems had already been set into an amulet or a ring. Even though they hadn't believed that they had magic, or at least not awakened magic, they were still kind enough to gather a large number of resources for the magical nations.
This room was the best place to gather moonlight, and so the gemstones were all purified. Romania just needed to find a stone that would be compatible with him. He needed these to fuel his magic, and consequently his energy wouldn't run out as fast. He could continue longer, and he could cast more powerful spells.
His hand lingered over one of the amulets. It was a large amulet, with the diamond cut into a sphere. The gold and platinum the stone was set in was also circular, and the chain was also made of gold. It was next to a large ring, with another diamond cut into a rectangular shape. Hovering his hand over the two pieces of jewellery revealed that the two diamonds were once one.
Romania grinned, before he took the pair. As soon as he put them on, he could feel his magical energy grow. He knew that he'd found the perfect gem.
…
White sighed, massaging her temples. Sitting across from her were Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Black had delegated the task of informing them about the current affairs to her while he calmed Morocco down. She just needed to figure out how she was going to explain to her former coloniser and his siblings.
"Where to start?" she muttered.
"Why don't you start explaining what you're doing in your country?" Netherlands demanded.
White sighed in annoyance.
"Well, there's a lot going on, so maybe I should start from the very beginning," she said.
"Is there really so much information?" Belgium asked.
White nodded.
"It all started a century or two after the fall of Rome," she said. "A young nation was questioning the rules that govern us. He was wondering why nations are slaves to humans, and why nations had to treat each other like they did. So, he decided to bring about a change to the world. That nation was Portugal."
Netherlands arched an eyebrow, but at least none of them were asking questions.
"Portugal realised that he wouldn't be able to do it alone, so he decided to look for allies that could and would help," White continued. "He found a few, but it was still a long time before they could bring about the change they imagined. And then Portugal set sail. He found nations in other parts of the world. Young nations. Nations that he raised with his ideals."
"His colonies," Belgium supplied.
"Among others," White nodded. "I was the first of these nations to join. There was a long gap between my birth and your colony, boet."
Netherland narrowed his eyes.
"And when was your birth?" he asked.
"When was my discovery?" White countered. "It wasn't long after that. Together with the new nations, Portugal and his allies – Alvora – started working under the noses of their governments and other nations. Only a select few humans were approached to aid us with our goals. I believe the Middle Ages called them 'heretics'. The ancient times would have called them 'philosophers'. We worked on a duel-system: the system governed by humans, and the system governed by us. We allowed the humans to do what they wanted, with only minor interferences. The shutting down of the government is the end of the humans' system, and the start of our own actions."
"Start of your own actions?" Luxembourg said.
"The idea had been to implement our plans on other nations. We've started work on Africa, which is why several embassies had been cut off."
"So, you're starting a new empire," Netherlands said coolly.
"In a way, yes. Just so you know, the Portuguese Empire never ended. The humans gained independence, while the nations remained loyal. We are also not underlings, but equal partners."
"And Spain?"
"He's not a part of this. Miguel approached him before, but when the Inquisition rolled around, he saw that Spain wasn't suitable for his goals."
"And the attack on one of your capitals?"
White winced, and she sighed.
"That's another can of worms," she said. "We were still not ready to implement our plans, but our hands were forced. They're called Requiem, another organisation that operated in the shadows, which we failed to notice. They're responsible for the deaths of Japan, Germany, England and America."
Their eyes widened, and they leaned closer.
"They were planning to take out the G7 on the same day," White said, "since they're basically in the role of leaders. Take out the world leaders, and the rest are easy pickings. Italy is the leader of Requiem, along with Romano. France wasn't available for assassination. And Canada is one of us."
"Matthew?" Lars asked, blinking.
"Ja. He was attacked by Mexico, who was fond enough of him to tell him enough about Requiem for us to raise the alarms. He managed to escape, and recovered from his injury. We then moved in to… I wouldn't want to say 'conquer' Africa, but that's pretty much what we did. We also exposed five African members of Requiem, who escaped with five other nations. Themba and the others are working to rescue them. We finally managed to get a lead on their location. Requiem has less than altruistic motives."
The three siblings were silent for a long while. White allowed them to absorb the information. Finally, Netherlands cleared his throat.
"What are you going to do now that we know?" he asked.
"I'm going to have to ask you to sign a contract," White said. "Or to at least place your mark on it. See, we can't have you tell other nations about this. Not when some of them are aware of Requiem. We don't want to be associated with them."
"How is a contract going to prevent us from telling anyone?" Luxembourg asked.
"Magic. We've been very thorough."
"And what happens after we sign?" Belgium asked.
"If you sign, you agree to place yourself under the protection of Alvora, and you also agree to allow us to make changes to your government. If you just mark the contract, then you agree to secrecy."
"So, you want us to sign our independence away?" Netherlands demanded.
"Says the former colonial power."
Netherlands hesitated, and Luxembourg couldn't help but chuckle.
"You can't deny she has a good point," Luxembourg said. "If you have a problem with it, then you should go ahead and call the kettle black, Mr Pot."
"She does have a point," Belgium muttered. "I just want to know one thing: What happened to DRC?"
White flinched, before she leaned back.
"…He's one of the nations that were captured by Requiem," she said. "Like I said, we finally have a lead on his location, but we'd need some of the more cold-resistant nations to handle it."
"Cold?" Luxembourg asked.
"They're somewhere in Greenland."
"Greenland?" Netherlands repeated. "Does Denmark know?"
"He's part of Requiem."
…
Greenland was looking through her data when she felt someone moving in behind her. She didn't have to look to know that Faroe was the one behind her.
"How's it going?" Faroe asked.
"Algeria still needs to be kept unconscious for 36 hours, give or take," Greenland said. "Uganda is starting to show signs of life. His lobotomy is almost healed, then we'll see how to proceed from there. And DRC's given a few interesting results."
She turned up the volume to DRC's cell, and Faroe smirked.
"This should be interesting," he said. "Do you think there would be a triangle?"
"I hope so," Greenland said, smirking. "This would be the perfect recipe for chaos. And the perfect recipe for torture."
…
The Nordics sat down for breakfast, with the exception of Denmark. They were eating in silence, with only Finland desperately trying to carry a conversation. Finland couldn't help but worry about what Denmark might be doing, but the others weren't particularly worried.
At least, not until Sweden grew tense.
He grunted in pain, grasping his chest. Finland immediately turned worried eyes to Sweden.
"Swe, what's wrong?" he asked.
"S-Stockholm," he grunted. "It's being a-attacked."
A moment later, Norway doubled over in pain, a grimace crossing his face.
"Oslo?" Finland whispered.
Norway nodded his head, and Finland and Iceland shared a look. They were torn between confusion about what was happening, and worry that it might happen to them next.
Sweden gasped, before looking towards the entrance of the dining room. Standing there was Denmark, a grin on his face.
"The attack is from the Danish army," Sweden muttered.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Norway snarled.
"The age of Ragnarök has started," Denmark said.
"What are you talking about?" Finland asked.
"Think of it as the return of the Kalmar Union," Denmark said. "Except this time, I won't be so lenient. Not that you would be here to see it, Tino. Did you think I wouldn't realise that you were Alvora?"
Finland gasped, and he quickly stood up. Sweden and Norway were looking at him with confusion.
"What does he mean?" Norway asked.
"Denmark is part of the group responsible for killing Germany and the others," Finland said.
"And Finland is part of a group that's standing in our way," Denmark said. "Which is why he's going to die now. Icy, if you'd do the honours."
Finland's eyes widened, and a moment later, he was tackled to the ground by Iceland. Finland started to struggle, until he saw how blank Iceland's eyes were. The moment of hesitation allowed Iceland to wrap his hands around Finland's throat.
"No!" Sweden said, standing to aid Finland, before he cried out in pain.
"No one's interfering," Denmark said.
"What… did you… do to Ice?" Finland gasped.
"He spent some time in the Washroom," Denmark said. "He became one of our sleepers."
Finland's eyes widened, and he tried to pry Iceland's hands off. The island was stronger than Finland expected. Finland knew that he wouldn't die permanently by strangulation, but another possibility occurred to him: Denmark could easily kill him while he was unconscious and unable to fight.
"S-stop," Norway said, wincing in pain. "Why?"
"Like I said," Denmark said. "This is the return of the Kalmar Union."
…
Kugelmugel wandered into Austria's home. Something had happened, he was sure. The entire country had been in turmoil, and the micronation felt that it would be safer if he went to the nation himself.
He knew that Austria would be in the music room, though as he walked towards the room, he couldn't help but think that the silence was eerie.
And when he entered, the silence was shattered by his scream.
And the ANC won… Honestly, my country is filled with idiots.