Thanks to Time Turner, Terra, Bubblegum Royalty, magicflyingmintbunnies, snowgem33, pastaaddict, ScandinavianTrash and Skye Phoenix Dove for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 36

France sighed, looking towards his companions. They were right outside Italy's Roman house, and it disturbed them to see that there really weren't any guards around. It made them feel even more nervous about what they were doing.

"Who will we call?" Belgium asked, eyes locked on France.

France sighed.

"Well, we can't reach Angleterre," France said. "So I was thinking perhaps Russia or China."

"Russia," Monaco said. "We won't waste time getting scolded by him."

France sighed, nodding his head. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialled the Russian's number.

"Privet, Frantsiya," Russia greeted. "How can I help you?"

"I received a call from Prussia…" France started.

"It's a trap," Russia interrupted.

"I know. But this is a good opportunity. We know where one of their bases is. We're going to try our luck at trying to kill one of them. With those Bonds of theirs… A death would have devastating results."

"…You know that this is a suicide mission, da?"

"Oui. I'm aware. Perhaps I'm like one of Japan's kamikaze pilots."

"Why are you calling me, if I might ask?"

"We're going to see if we can get them talking. Anything that could give us an advantage. I'll keep my phone on speaker, and you just need to mute yours."

"I see. Good luck."

"Merci."

France put his phone on speaker, before placing it in a phone sleeve attached to his belt. This way, it wouldn't hang up and the sound wouldn't be muffled. When that was done, he turned to his companions.

"Let's go then," France said. "Luxembourg, Monaco, I want the two of you to stay outside. If we need to, we'll either tell you to come help us or to run away. There's no need to place the two of you in unnecessary risk."

The two looked as though they were about to protest, but surprisingly it was Austria who halted them.

"The two of you are very small," Austria said. "Even in regular warfare, the two of you wouldn't be able to last long. It's senseless to send you to what might be your doom."

"And you're young," Belgium said. "Young, but strong. We need nations like you."

"Sis…" Luxembourg said.

"Wait for us," France said, smiling. "Either we will have some success, or we will die. You would know regardless."

To everyone's surprise, Monaco rushed forward and hugged France. He was startled for a moment, before he hugged back.

"Try to come back," Monaco said.

"I'll try," France said.

…

On the other side of the line, Russia was listening to the conversation with a small smile on his face. He was glad to know that France knew the risks, and he was also glad to know that he was trying to keep the younger nations out of danger.

He still wasn't sure why he specifically had been called, but he didn't mind. It made him feel appreciated.

…

Turkey sighed, rubbing his temples and phone pressed to his ear. One of the reasons why Syria was so hard to find was because he had at least ten different phone numbers, and he kept changing them, sometimes several times a day. And there was no pattern to his choice.

When Cyprus had called Syria to warn him to be careful, he had been very lucky to get him on the first try. Turkey wasn't.

After the twelfth number (that was what it had come to), the phone was eventually picked up.

"Finally," Turkey said. "Syria, this is Turkey."

There was silence for a moment, then…

"I assumed," Syria said on the other end.

"We need to talk about Egypt," Turkey said.

"Go on."

"We've decided to go on the offensive. Problem is, we don't know where he is. But we know where he's going."

"Me, you mean."

"Yes."

There was silence for a moment.

"Have you tried attacking his country and people?" Syria asked. "That should be easier."

"He's behind all the mosques being burned down in his own country," Turkey said. "Do you think attacking his land and people would stop him? And he's already killed Saudi and Iraq. He's added their lands to his own, I'm assuming."

There was a sigh on the other end.

"He's even more annoying than a certain someone else I have to deal with," Syria said.

Turkey nodded in understanding, not caring that Syria couldn't see it. It was taboo to mention it to Syria, and Syria hated saying his name.

"Alright," Syria said. "I'll help you. When are you coming?"

"We'll leave in about an hour," Turkey said. "Where should we go?"

"Remember the one time in my life I got drunk?"

Turkey grunted. Syria was being careful, and only Turkey knew where the location was. The night he had to take care of a drunk Syria… it was the first time in two hundred years that either of them had mentioned it, and Syria refused to drink alcohol ever since. It was a traumatising night for both of them.

"One more question," Syria said. "This isn't a number I gave you, so how did you get it?"

Not only did Syria have different numbers, he also gave different numbers to different nations. No nation had more than four of his numbers, and no one knew exactly how many numbers he had.

"Greece, Hungary and Cyprus are also here," Turkey said. "By the way, why did you give Hungary seven numbers?"

"Other than Afghanistan, she's the only woman I fear."

"…She hit you with a frying pan when she was angry, didn't she?"

Syria didn't answer, and in the next instant Turkey realised that the other had hung up the phone. He sighed in frustration. Syria wasn't much of a talker, and he didn't like phones, for several reasons.

He pocketed his phone, and went to get something sweet from the kitchen. And afterwards, he would need to tell the others that they would be leaving soon.

…

France, Austria and Belgium made their way into Italy's house, none of them wanting to admit that it was too easy. They already knew that it was a trap. They didn't want to have to put any more thought into it.

"Where would they keep their prisoners?" Belgium whispered.

"Basement," France said. "It's the most logical choice."

"Alright," Austria said. "Does anyone know which door it would be?"

"Oui. Follow me."

France had been to this house before for meetings with Italy. And when the other had gone to the bathroom, France had done some exploring, easily finding the basement. There was nothing of real interest there, just old furniture. It would be a good place to store prisoners.

France led them to the basement door, and they tried the lock. It was open, and it only served to make them even more apprehensive. They shared a nervous look.

"Should we go down there?" Belgium whispered.

"We don't know yet if there are prisoners down there," Austria said. "It's too quiet."

"There aren't prisoners here at all."

The three spun around, seeing Italy and Poland standing there, guns held lazily in their hands. Poland was the one who had spoken.

"So this is a trap," France said. "And this isn't your base of operations, is it?"

"Nope," Italy said. "We wouldn't go with a place as obvious as this."

"Are you going to kill us now?" Austria asked.

"Ja," another familiar voice said.

They turned to see Kugelmugel standing to their right, a smirk on his face. Austria narrowed his eyes.

"Why exactly are you with them?" Austria asked. "Was I not a decent father-figure?"

"A father-figure?" Kugelmugel exploded, eyes furious. "You were nothing like that to me! You treated me like a pest. Like something you need to tolerate. The same way England treats Sealand! You act as though you can't wait to get rid of me!"

"Exactly," Italy said darkly. "That's similar to how you treated me. No, wait. You treated me like something you needed to control. Like a servant. And I wasn't that girly! Why did you have to stick me in a dress?! And you enjoyed making me starve!"

"I gave you food," Austria said, "you stole more."

"You even punished me for food that was given to me. How old am I? And how long did I spend as a child? All because of you."

Austria flinched, and it was Poland's turn to glare at him.

"And let's not forget how you joined Russia and Prussia in partitioning me," Poland said. "Tell me, do you know how painful that could be? Even planned, it still hurts."

"But that's why we worked on disconnecting from our countries," Italy said. "Even if our people and cities are attacked, we feel nothing. It doesn't affect us at all. Not anymore."

"So attacking Rome or Warsaw, for example, would prove fruitless," France said.

"Pretty much," Poland said, shrugging.

"Are you the only nations here?" Belgium asked.

"Ladonia arrived earlier today to help out," Kugelmugel said. "And Seborga's here too."

"Both micronations," Austria said.

"Nope. Ladonia's a nation, thanks to the penta-contract."

"What?" France asked.

"How do you think we can take everyone's lands after they've been killed?" Italy asked. "It's a spell that allows land to be transferred to another nation, as long as there are five nations that agree to it. The nations involved don't even need to sign the contract. Before we started this, we finalized the contracts and decided who would go where. We had to make some modifications to allow new members, but there have always been more than five nations present in order to ratify the contracts."

"But they still need to lose their status as nations," Poland said.

"Just like Monaco just did," Italy said.

"What?!" France demanded.

…

Monaco and Luxembourg were standing outside Italy's house, waiting anxiously for news from the trio that had crossed over into enemy territory. Both of them wanted to help the other nations, but they were also afraid of death, which for the first time had become a harsh reality for them.

"What do you think is going on in there?" Monaco asked.

"I don't know," Luxembourg sighed.

Luxembourg suddenly tensed, feeling as though someone had invaded his personal space, before pain exploded in his skull as something was slammed into his head. He sank to the ground, and Monaco gasped, before she was grabbed.

"It's fortunate that micronations can instantly go where they want to," Ladonia said, before he stuck a syringe into her shoulder.

Monaco gave a strangled shriek as the needle pierced her skin, and the contents were emptied into her bloodstream. And standing over Luxembourg was Seborga, carrying a cricket bat.

"Perhaps it's a good thing I hadn't given this back to Hutt yet," Seborga said, before he turned to Monaco.

Monaco erupted in a coughing fit, and she wondered if what had been injected into her bloodstream was some kind of poison. Ladonia released her, and she fell to the ground.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Just a potion that will rob you of your status as a nation," Seborga said, raising the bat. "We need Luxembourg alive, so he only gets knocked out. But you'll be completely unrecognisable once we're done. We just need to wait for the process to be complete."

"N-no," Luxembourg groaned.

Seborga turned to him and smiled brightly.

"Oh, you're still awake," he said. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down. You don't have the potion. I could kill you, but you'll come back. But I don't want to waste the effort, you know? But I will, if you make this complicated. Are we clear?"

Luxembourg didn't answer, and Seborga turned back to Monaco.

"He'll pass out soon enough," Seborga said. "So now, all we have to do is wait."

…

Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria and Moldova were watching movies, trying to stay out of Finland and Romania's way. In return, the two left them well enough alone. There was a clear divide between the nations, with one side in the position of inflicting pain on the other side – both physically and mentally – and the other side afraid to fight back.

Norway was still withdrawn, and at times appeared to be catatonic. He was the least likely to try to fight back, and also the one most likely to be hurt in order to keep the other three in line. And they all felt that the Norwegian had been hurt enough. They didn't want him to suffer anymore.

All of them looked up when Romania entered the room, carrying a bag. He deposited the bag on the couch next to Moldova, and the younger looked up curiously.

"It's colder up north," Romania said. "That coat of yours isn't ideal." He glanced towards Bulgaria. "There's one for you too."

Romania didn't wait for them to say anything, immediately turning away and leaving the room. Once he was gone, Moldova started searching through the bag.

"I had been wondering if you were cold," Iceland said.

Moldova gave a nervous laugh, before he pulled out a coat that was obviously too large for him.

"This must be yours," Moldova said, handing the coat to Bulgaria.

"Thanks," Bulgaria said. "Why would he do this?"

"Because he cares about Moldova," Norway said, surprising them. "He's trying to mend their relationship. He knows that the damage has been done, but he's still trying."

Moldova looked down, fidgeting nervously. It was unclear how he felt about it, and no one wanted to press him about it. It would take a while for him to be able to look at Romania as a brother again, instead of an oppressor.

…

"What did you do to Monaco?!" France demanded.

"It took a while," Italy explained, "but we managed to find a potion that would allow us to remove the status of a nation. It turns them into humans. Seborga and Ladonia are with them right now. No guarantee that she will live. As for Luxembourg… We want him alive, along with Belgium."

"Why?" Belgium asked.

"That doesn't matter," Poland said. "And don't think we don't know about your little call to Russia."

The other three widened their eyes, and Italy and Poland chuckled.

"North Korea is an excellent hacker," Italy said. "He's been listening in on you since your little call from Prussia. He knew the moment you called Russia. And he immediately informed us."

"You always have to be a few steps ahead of us, don't you?" France said.

"We've been planning this for hundreds of years," Poland said. "We've thought of every possibility and probability. We know you inside and out. We know your strengths. And we know your weaknesses. We won't allow you to surprise us. Oh, and Russia? If the Lithuanians start to get out of hand, Vilnius will die. Last warning."

France, Austria and Belgium had no idea what Poland was referring to, but since it wasn't directed at them, they supposed that it wasn't important for them. They just hoped that Russia knew what Poland was talking about.

France kept glancing between the three Amodi members. He had a knife in his pocket, but Italy and Poland had guns, while he didn't feel right about attacking Kugelmugel. And then there was the fact that they stood a decent distance away. If he wanted to attack them, he wouldn't get far before they would shoot. And he didn't know if they had a plan with the guns. For example, the bullets could be laced with the potion Italy had mentioned.

"But I think we've delayed this long enough," Poland said, raising his gun. "We still have two micronations that need to become nations."

"One last thing," France said. "What happened to England?"

"Nothing. Yet. We have three micronations stationed there. Do you think we'd just allow their positions to be compromised? We cut off all communication to and from the UK."

"So you can do that?"

"Si," Italy said, raising his gun as well. "Now, if that's all: arrivederci."

…

Russia sighed, hanging up his phone. He had heard two gunshots, and knew that France's group was either dead or captured. And while it didn't go exactly as they wanted, he did manage to learn a thing or two.

Amodi had the means to cut off their communication. England and his brothers were still safe, but for how long? Belgium and Luxembourg were most likely captured, since they did mention that they wanted those two. They knew how to remove a nation's nation status. And they knew about Vilnius.

France risked his life to allow Russia to learn all of this, so that he could use the information against Amodi. Hopefully.

But now Russia was tasked with another difficult task: informing America, Turkey and China about what had happened and what he had learned. And it would not be a pleasant task.

…

White looked up when the door opened, hoping that it was Israel. Her stomach dropped, however, when she saw Switzerland, carrying a bag.

Switzerland said nothing as he walked in, before depositing the bag on her bed. He turned to her, and she was surprised to see a fond look.

"This wasn't easy to find," he said. "Just so you know, I appreciate it if others enjoy the things that come from my country."

She frowned in confusion, before she opened the bag. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Heidi?" she asked.

The bag contained a portable DVD player and DVDs. She looked up at Switzerland.

"Be glad I'm even doing this," he said. "But like I said, I appreciate it if things from my country are liked."

She smiled, before she started unpacking the DVDs. This was a lot better than reading the horrible books about the Boer War.

Switzerland exited the room, and he closed the door before calmly looking at the annoyed expression of Israel.

"What was that about?" he demanded.

"Stockholm syndrome," Switzerland said simply. "This would make it easier for us, once we let her go. Don't worry. You'd still be the first nation she turns to."

And Switzerland walked away, already hearing the theme song of the children's show from the room he was leaving behind.

Afrikaners really like Heidi, and there's also a movie coming out soon. South Africa first got TVs in 1975, and in the 80's Heidi was one of the shows that aired, making it one of the classic children programs of Afrikaans. It even aired in the 2000's, and most Afrikaners would instantly recognise the theme music. I did some research, and the version that aired in South Africa was actually an anime (Heidi, Girl of the Alps). This show is one of the only Japanese anime to be dubbed in Afrikaans, and the Afrikaans episodes can be found on YouTube.

The potion and contract first made an appearance in Chapter 12, and it was used against the Nordics. That is why Norway is still alive, even though he lost his land.