Thanks to AquaEclipse, NadiaJA627 and World100 for reviewing. Sorrry for the wait, had a very hard time with this chapter. Now on with the show!

Hungary surprisingly didn't end up having any nightmares after the world around her went black, despite all the things she'd seen before her eyes throughout the war, death and destruction and all. Maybe it had something to do with the film Turkey showed them. Speaking of the film, she just didn't know what to think of it.

Forget how that's supposed be possible, that was... a weirdly generous thing for Turkey to do. Hungary would be lying if she said that she still had a lot of question, and that she didn't care about them. There're still things she and everyone else didn't understand, even at this point, and as one of the many people who got duped, she deserved answers, didn't she? And if Turkey was willing to give them, then…

But should she even care now even after so much has happened? Hungary briefly wondered, before inwardly frowning and pushing that thought to the back of her mind. No, there's nothing wrong with wanting answers.

But anyway, back to more important issues…

A trap door? Really, Turkey? Hungary knew that Turkey's sanity had deteriorated at this point, but still the idea was just so ridiculous.

On one hand, Hungary couldn't believe that Turkey had something so cliché put in the middle of the room, but on the other, she felt very frustrated that they fell into said trap. Shouldn't they have noticed something odd about the floor? Then again, it was rather dark in the room, and the floor was carpeted…

That damn Turk…

Hungary woke up to a pounding headache and to the smell of rusted metal and dust, and it didn't take long for her to remember what happened before she blacked out. She looked around frantically, both for Egypt and to see just where the hell they ended up. Everything was kind of blurry, but she could tell that she was in a dark room, not much light to guide her.

Did they fall here? How big was that fall? It couldn't have been that deep, considering that Hungary's alive… unless of course she did die from the fall, and she just came back.

Groaning, Hungary rubbed her head, trying to ignore the throbbing headache as she tried to lift herself off the… ground? She moved her hand around, expecting to feel some sort of dirty old floor, but she got none of that. Wait. What? Damn Turkey for making the room so poorly lighted. No, more importantly, where's Egypt?

The worry and confusion motivated her to keep trying to regain her sense of reality and helped her give some more energy, so with that Hungary turned and nearly gasped when she suddenly found herself on solid, flat ground.

What the…

"Egypt?" Hungary called out as she slowly her vision started to become less blurry. "Gupta, where are you?"

She frowned when she didn't receive an answer. Rubbing her eyes, Hungary looked at the spot

Egypt broke her fall.

After seconds of staring at his limp body in shock, she snapped out of it and nearly found herself shrieking in alarm as she realized that there's a chance that she accidentally killed Egypt… if the fall didn't do it first. Oh god, she didn't… she didn't mean to do it! She didn't even remember…

"E-Egypt?" Hungary bit out, shaking him by the shoulder. "O-Oh no, I'm so sorry- I didn't mean- Are you alright?! Can you hear me?!"

No answer. No reaction either.

But before Hungary could get into too much of a panic, she realized two things: One, despite the rather dim lighting Hungary saw that there was no blood coming out of Egypt, so maybe, he didn't die. Two, she realized that she could have just checked his pulse or his breathing to see if he was really dead, and suddenly Hungary felt like an idiot.

Biting her lip, she prepared to do just that, but the sound of a deafening beep and monitors suddenly materializing into view and blaring up to life interrupted her.

Oh, just terrific.

/ / / / /

Even as a little boy, Morocco had a feeling that something was wrong.

It was nothing depressing or anything debilitating that ever showed, no, nothing like that. It was just a small feeling of uneasiness or slight frustration that wound up bothering him for a great deal of his childhood. At the time, he had no idea what on earth it could be, so he continued with his childhood like nothing was happening.

But over time, the problem became clearer. Morocco's world was grey. He knew it wasn't normal, but he didn't know what it meant either. Still, there was nothing he could do at the time except to wait.

After the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, Morocco felt lost, confused, and most of all, alone. He hated the Muslims. Their book… all their accursed laws… it was suffocating. He often wandered the forests and the mountains to clear his mind and hopefully get away from everyone. He encountered a human there, a religious man. Was he an imam? Morocco couldn't remember very well.

But he did remember that after a few words, the stupid human slipped and then hanged onto the ledge for dear life.

He begged for Morocco's help, but he felt no urge or need to jump forward and so just that. After all, this human was of the Islamic madmen.

He begged again, almost crying, and Morocco felt disgust well up within him. This was a man devoted to God?

He fell, screaming too, and then Morocco sprinted forward, just to see how he would fall.

The human crashed and rolled over from sharp rock to sharp rock, and Morocco could hear the cracking and splattering sounds of bones breaking and blood spewing out, before the man finally collapsed to the ground. Even with all that, Morocco just knew that he was still alive.

He will die slowly… painfully…

Morocco remained there standing in awe for a long time. When he finally got over it, a strange yet pleasant feeling began to burn in his heart. He let out a chuckle. And then suddenly, something just seemed to click.

"The death of a religious man was what helped make you aware that you were a sadist?" The disgusted voice of Western Sahara snapped Morocco out of memory lane, and he once again came face to face with the scowling woman. "How disgusting."

Ah, right, she was here too. Morocco forgot that he was finally telling Western Sahara his life story over dinner as a reward for doing her work today so well.

"Oh, no, it's not just him, dear sister." Morocco cut her off, smiling as he petted his cobra's head. "It also came from a little breakdown I had after I fully digested the laws shoved down my throat. And the rush I got whenever I broke the laws… It felt good, it felt good to be free and not let that damn book rule over me. As for the other thing you're probably wondering about, at first it was rebellion and curiosity and on my, but then…"

Morocco snickered, feeling his body tingle with excitement.

"But then…" Morocco smirked, clasping his hands together. "I found out that the pleasure I get when I did both things were exactly the same, so naturally... Oh, I wish I could explain it to you in more, but the origins of these sorts of feelings aren't exactly easy to explain at times."

Western Sahara didn't even bother to spit out some bitter or disgusted remark and went back to drinking tea.

How would she react to this information, Morocco wondered? As serious and grim Western Sahara could be, she was certainly warmer and more open-minded than Algeria, though it's not by a large margin. And Western Sahara made her disgust at his… proclivities very clear.

But that disgust was also influenced by her hatred of him. Western Sahara and Tunisia got along well since the latter reversed his position on her issue to stay on Algeria's good side.

Very well, let this be an experiment then. If he wanted to help Western Sahara finally rid her rotten brain of the disease known as Islam and ask herself some very important questions, then good, another person will have realized the truth. If she insisted on saying 'God is great', and has her opinion of Tunisia greatly soured, then Morocco's point will have been proven once again.

"Safiyya…" Morocco said, making sure to sound serious so that she wouldn't ignore him, and the woman looked at him coldly. "You are aware that I might go to hell, right?"

"Of course I am." Western Sahara scoffed, snarling. "That's one of the few comforts I have, that when you die Allah will throw you into the depths of hell where you will suffer for eternity with the others. I'm sure Allah will have a special place reserved for people like you."

Morocco wanted to scoff. Hell was never a concern for him. While he fully believed that there was some sort life after this one, even for people like them, he never feared the notion of eternal damnation. Who knows what really awaited nations after death? Besides, Morocco would rather live his life the way he wanted it and suffer for it than obey that book.

Morocco smiled mysteriously and bit a nail. "At least it'll be interesting having someone with me in that special place."

Western Sahara stared at him befuddled, and at the same time she lifted the cup of tea to her mouth. Perfect. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, didn't you know, Safiyya?" Morocco said slyly, lips curling up in a smirk. "I'm not the only Muslim nation in this continent who will be going to hell…"

As expected, what followed was a period of stunned silence as Western Sahara registered what he just said before practically doing a spit-take and coughing, while Morocco chuckled and used this as an opportunity to give a snide remark.

"That was rather crude of you, sister," Morocco chided disapprovingly, letting a slight hint of mockery into his tone, and again sipped his tea "Not to mention rude, and no way how a lady should behave."

"Don't you dare act condescending with me!" Western Sahara practically shrilled, and Morocco had to wince. "Especially not after stating something so unbelievably outrageous out of the blue! What are you- What does that- What do you mean?! You can't possibly mean that-"

"It's exactly as I said, Safiyya." Morocco grinned widely, and he raised his cup. This was just too fun. "There is another pervert in this continent, and a non-member no less! How scandalous, don't you think?"

"Scandalous? More like ridiculous!" Western Sahara exclaimed, and she wiped her mouth with a napkin before looking at him disdainfully. "There can't possibly be another Muslim nation like you!"

Morocco's grin widened further, and he tickled Abarshane's chin. "Oh, but there is! There is another gay among us!"

"Gay?!"

To get more of a rise out of her, Morocco adopted an unimpressed expression with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, honestly, Safiyya, I never took you for a forgetful person. A gay is a person who just so happens to be attracted-"

"I know what it is, you depraved sodomite!" Western Sahara snapped, and then bit her lip for a moment, probably trying to calm herself down. Morocco merely rolled his eyes. She always had the worst insults. "How can you say such a thing?

Just to toy with her further, Morocco shrugged and grinned. "Oh, but it's true, sweet sister! There is another member of our little community who will be going to hell! Ah, but it's not Algeria, so I apologize if I got your hopes up by accident."

Western Sahara looked at him, stunned, before her face turned red from indignation and embarrassment as Morocco burst into shrill laughter. "What the- Damn you, Rahim! Don't you dare insinuate that we would stoop to your level! I was thinking nothing of the sort, and you know it!"

But Morocco kept on howling in laughter, and he nearly ended up falling off his chair and crushing part of Abarshane's body even as said cobra hissed in amusemt. Oh my, his sides hurt…! Her face was priceless! People like her were just too easy to provoke!

"Rahim! For the love of Allah, stop laughing!"

Morocco calmed his laughter and grinned mischievously. "Oh, I know. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself."

"We both you're not, Rahim. And I don't believe this, it's ludicrous."

"And yet you forget, sister, that you thought the same when you walked in on my little conversation with Turkey and America."

"…Fine. Who is this nation?"

"Tunisia."

Western Sahara gaped like a fish, and Morocco would have mocked her for it, had she not spoke first. "Tunisia?!"

"Yes, Tunisia."

"Tunisia?!"

"Tunisia? Malik? Our brother? Human Age: 21-22. Friendly, calm, and often has an adorable smile on his face? Not very good at fending for himself? Ironically very proud and fond of his culture and of Islam?"

"I know who he is, Rahim." Western Sahara deadpanned, and she held her arms as a slight pained expression appeared on her face. She was feeling conflicted. "But… But you can't be serious! Tunisia, gay? I don't believe this. He is a good Muslim."

"Not a very good one since he's gay."

"He's not!"

"Why do you deny this so much, sister? Is it because you don't trust the words of a snake?" Morocco asked her mockingly, smirking. "Or is it because that if you accept the truth, you, being the good Muslim you are, will be obligated to hate him and make his life a living hell? You don't want to disappoint Allah, do you? You'll have to push him off a roof, stone him, beat him…"

"I WILL DO NO SUCH THINGS!" Western Sahara screamed, standing up from her chair. "I would never do that to Malik. He's been so kind to me even though he doesn't help like Algeria does. He's a good man. He sided with me and Algeria instead of you-"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure he did that to stay on Algeria's good side-

"But he cares about me! I don't think I could ever hate him."

Morocco raised an eyebrow. Oh? "So you do accept him for who he is?"

"No, I still don't believe you. Yes, he is a bit more… liberal compared to Algeria," Western Sahara said uncertainly as she scratched her neck, and she looked again. "But that doesn't mean he's… like you."

She didn't sound completely confident.

"If by 'like me', you mean a sadistic monster, then no." Morocco shook his head, sticking out his tongue "Not at all. Or if by that you meant we like the same people, then yes."

"You're lying."

"Give me one good reason why I would lie to get you to hate Tunisia."

She didn't answer. Western Sahara bit her lip and turned her gaze away from him, now looking conflicted.

Morocco sighed at her dejected silence, and stood up from his chair, leaving Abarshane there, to walk over to Western Sahara. Just as she looked up at him, he went grabbed her chin, tightly so she wouldn't wrench away from his grip. She glared at him and tried to slap his arm away, but he grabbed that arm tightly as well.

"I don't see how you could consider hating him." Morocco remarked. "He's already suffering enough, even no one in his country or in our community knows about his secret."

"What do you mean?" Western Sahara asked, though she looked like she dreaded the answer.

"Remember, Safiyya, that a nation's people can affect their personification emotionally and psychologically. Can't you see how that would affect Tunisia?" Morocco asked quietly, and he flashed a manic smile. "Tunisia is gay. His people hate gays; therefore, he hates himself. His people torment gays; therefore, he feels miserable and pained. His people kill gays; therefore, Tunisia often wants to kill himself."

Western Sahara paled at this, but before she could comment, Morocco leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Also, I don't think you know this…" Morocco whispered, and jokingly glanced around, as if anyone could overhear them, and grinned. "But did you know that despite knowing their pain, Tunisia willingly rats out his own citizens to have them jailed for sodomy? He does nothing to help them, and he lets them suffer."

"He what?" Western Sahara asked in disbelief. "But why?"

"Perhaps he thinks that that'll redeem himself in Allah's eyes." Morocco shrugged, and he lets her go, only to grab her by the shoulder. "And besides, I don't know why you're so horrified by this information. Almost every Muslim-majority personification does this, including Algeria."

There was something akin to horror or shock in her expression. Honestly, did it take Tunisia being gay for her to realize how horrific the Muslim world's actions were?

"Safiyya, my pretty but stubborn sister..." Morocco began softly, kindly, and he slightly tightened the grip on her shoulder. "If you really care for Tunisia, if you're not willing to hate him, and if you are as above than the Order as you think you are, then I highly recommend you start asking yourself some important questions about 'the religion of peace'."

Western Sahara remained silent. Content with the damage he did, Morocco released her shoulder and was about to spoke.

"…What do you plan to do with this information?" Western Sahara asked quietly. "Are you going to blackmail him?"

Morocco froze, feeling a little surprised at the question, before he smirked. "Blackmail him? No, of course not, sister. I'm going to use it to make him run right into my loving arms, to make him mine."

Again, there was period of shocked silence, before Western Sahara's expression contorted in disgust. "Ugh, Rahim! You… You can't be serious!"

"Honestly, are you really surprised at this point?" Morocco deadpanned.

"Why would you… Oh, how disgusting! I can't believe you! Why in Allah's name would you want to commit incest?!"

"So, what if its incest? What's the problem in it? It's not like either of us can reproduce."

"There are many, many reasons why it's still repulsing. And you didn't answer my question! Why?"

"Believe it or not, Tunisia just happens to be my favorite sibling." Morocco put his hand over his chest, smiling warmly. "I love him, again believe it or not, though it may not be what one may have in mind. I want to show him what he's been missing. He also knows what it's been like to have suffered because that damn book and that senile old man."

"You have a very twisted definition of love, Rahim." Western Sahara said darkly, narrowing her eyes. "Out with it. What's the other reason you want him?"

Morocco felt a warmth in his chest. His sister knows him so well.

"Sadik always tells me about him and Bulgaria, how he revels in the latter's slavish devotion to him, how good it feels to have someone completely under your spell" Morocco said with a wolfish smirk, and he licked his lips. "He keeps telling me about the thrill of control. I want to experience that too, and maybe in the process find out if I can feel the same love they feel."

Western Sahara stared at him. "You want to enslave him, to make another Bulgaria, get yourself a pet."

"And see if someone like me can develop romantic feelings."

"You are disgusting."

"I guess I am…"

"He will never love you, Rahim." Western Sahara spat, banging her fist on the table. "Especially not after he finds out what you did and sees your true personality. He'll hate you and be disgusted of you and-"

"Will he, really?" Morocco challenged. "When I give him the love that he's been denied all his life, will he really run away from me?"

"He will! And he will never love you, because you are nothing but a heartless-"

Morocco flashed a feral grin and in the blink of an eye dashed from his chair to grab Western Sahara's neck, choking her as he hissed. "Oh, he will love me. When the others shun him, I will be there to love him, and he will love me in return. I will teach him to love me. I will free him of the constraints that religion and civilization have placed on him and save him from suffocating to death."

"You… won't… get him…" Western Sahara rasped out, gasping for breath, but she still glared up at him. "I won't… let you… break him…"

"And have your people pay the price for your interference?" Morocco let her go, and she coughed as she tried to regain air. "I look forward to seeing you try."

"Damn you…" Western Sahara gasped.

"By the way, Safiyya, did you like the food?"

Western Sahara stared at him as if he grew a second head. "What…?"

"Did you like the meat?"

"Why are you asking-"

"Answer the question."

Western flinched at his harsh tone, but she swallowed and with a frown, she answered. "It was… as much as I hate to admit it, very good. The meat was very tasty, as always…"

"Really?"

"Really."

Morocco smirked. "Good, because it's pork."

Western Sahara screamed.

/ / / / /

Poor Western Sahara.

Poor Algeria.

Poor Tunisia.

Hungary had finished gathering up all the bags and weapons that got scattered through the room after they fell when it ended, and she winced as she tried not to think too much about the… Fonthill Castle incident. She's honestly glad Egypt wasn't awake to watch that, he probably would've destroyed the monitors in a fit of rage as soon as he found it was about Morocco.

She hoped Tunisia's alright. They were never good friends, and Hungary could count the amount of times they hanged out on one hand (less than one hand!), but he's a good man. With luck Algeria will-

Good god, Hungary forgot about Egypt. She dropped the supplies on a place with good enough lighting

Hungary checked his pulse and put an ear on his chest to check his heartbeat. After a half-minute she sighed in relief.

He's alive. He'll be fine.

She'll just have to wait for him to wake then, Hungary decided as she sat back down on the ground. Surely nothing bad will happen if she decided to stay here? There was a door leading to another room, and it's not locked, but there wasn't exactly any real danger here yet… Yeah, she could wait for him.

Hungary took a deep breath and tapped her fingers. Just… wait.

Suddenly Hungary felt a chill up her spine and she held her arms, then she looked around frantically out of instinct. What was that about? Nothing happened, but… she couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching her. Eh, maybe it's just Turkey spying on them through some security cameras.

She then heard banging noises in the distance as the beep sounded again.

/ / / / /

"Why?" Bulgaria would constantly ask during their time together. "Why me?"

Funny, Turkey would ask the same question when Austria came to him.

But in the end, Turkey was glad that he did. Yes, it sounded insane now, but Rome was not built in day, and besides, Turkey was insane. Also, he was sort of indebted to him for telling him to get those humans to obey him.

Due to his current status, as well as some other things, he was not an official member of the little group. Turkey was far from upset at this, hell, he even suggested that they not fully let him in until his 'death'. He didn't deserve to be involved right now like this, so he'll patiently wait until everything came crumbling down.

He will not join as the Ottoman Empire, but as Turkey.

Still… Turkey will admit… reluctantly… that life here in the empire could be a bit of bore when nations like Bosnia and Persia weren't around to keep him company. It was just him, his boss, the servants, the girls, and his charges, or as he liked to call them, brats.

Yes, yes, their anger was understandable, and Turkey will admit that he had fun in several of his battles to claim them, but that make them any less annoying to be around. Not to mention the headaches, wounds and scars he'd get as a result of their rebellions were hard to endure. Hungary, thank goodness Austria decided to take her, and Greece had the be the worst of all of them when it came to causing trouble.

Believe him. If you were in his position, then you would also find it a little hard to like those brats.

"Turkey!"

Said nation blinked behind his mask and looked back at the annoyed European. "Yes, Bulgaria?"

"I asked you a question." Bulgaria said irately, crossing his arms. "Why? Why me?! Why do you intend on torturing me like this?! Is this supposed to be revenge for my attempted rebellion years ago? If so, then why did you have to torture me? You hate Greece, so why do you not torment him?!"

Turkey stared at him. So, he was still distrusting. Understandable of course, Bulgaria never had anyone who was this loving and caring toward him.

Other than several of his other charges such as Romania and Macedonia, Bulgaria wasn't close with anyone else or had been for a good deal of his life. He also never really had anyone who loved him. So, that made him vulnerable to Turkey's influence.

All he had to do was to shower the boy with love and affection, and slowly, Bulgaria will begin to break under his 'need' to hate Turkey and his desire for eternal love. Turkey wasn't certain if there was a term for that… Eh, perhaps some human in the future will come up with a name for it, likely something beginning with the word 'love'.

"Answer me!" Bulgaria shouted as Turkey kept staring at him.

The empire cracked a smirk. "Is it so hard to accept that I want to be friends with you?"

"Da! Now answer the question!"

"Fine. I'll tell you…" Turkey said with a sigh, and Bulgaria sighed in relief, before he added. "On one condition."

"Anything." Bulgaria said immediately, and he blushed red once he realized what he said and stuttered. "I mean, what do you want?"

Slyly, Turkey wrapped his arm around Bulgaria's shoulders, startling the younger man.

"To go to the bath house with tou of course!"

"W-What?!"

Turkey removed his arm and took Bulgaria by the hand, much to the latter's shock. "Come, friend, it will be fun! And do not worry, I happen to know one where the two of us will be able to bathe in private!"

"H-Hold on!" Bulgaria protested, looking horrified. "I never agreed to this-!"

"Let us go!" And with that Turkey dragged Bulgaria away.

However, Bulgaria didn't try to wrench his hand out of Turkey's.

Not even once.

/ / / / /

Heh… good times.

Turkey smiled, though the usual energy in it was largely absent, and he collapsed onto the couch.

Now that they're gone, all that he could do now was to make sure that film still played and see how the brat and the mage were doing. Turkey was really looking forward to when they realized that they weren't quite alone down there.

A friend came by earlier just as Hungary and Egypt entered his land, and boy, was Turkey surprised to see them, especially with how they looked like now. Turkey wondered if they were even a nation anymore. Luckily, they still felt loyal to the big guys and said that they wanted to play with his soon-to-be-guests.

Of course, Turkey agreed.

The beep sounded again.

/ / / / /

Somehow, Hong Kong just knew that this was going to go horribly wrong.

'Let's get to know our fellow members better', Macau said. It'll be fun, Macau said. Hong Kong would smack him if he could see… and if his hands weren't tied up. He was all too content to remain in his house continuing his plans to improve his fireworks, but...

It's not that Hong Kong didn't like hanging out with the others… A lot of the group were fun and interesting to be around, so he didn't really mind the idea. He actually wanted to tweak the fireworks in Disney World with America. It was just him being lazy, and kinda worried about what trouble they could get with Macau's gambling addiction.

…And there was the fact that the nations Macau was interested in getting to know better weren't exactly nations Hong Kong was very fond of.

At first it wasn't too bad. Macau suggested that they visit his boyfriend and not-boyfriend but definitely good friend Brazil. Speaking of which, Hong Kong has no idea what's going on between those two. Apparently, they're an item but they're not an item and they keep seeing other, but they it's something they agreed on so it's nothing serious but they still refer to each other very affectionately...

Hong Kong was sure they had a name for that type of relationship, but he's too antsy to even try to remember. Apparently, they both found each other's respective brand of insanity very attractive and they kinda bonded over Portugal and- Wait.

"Macau, this is so not the time to evaluate your relationship with Brazil out loud!" Hong Kong snapped at his partner. "In case you forgot, we're kind of in a situation here. Besides, you're distracting me."

"Oh, no, I didn't. I just thought it'd be a nice way to spend the time."

"Wouldn't finding a way to escape be better instead of monologuing out loud?"

"Perhaps, but I'm interested in seeing where this is going."

"Of course you are..."

Dammit, he's getting too off-topic. Anyway, Macau suddenly got the brilliant idea to visit one of the Africans. Alright, sure, Hong Kong wouldn't mind seeing Nigeria and South Africa again, but he wasn't so sure about the others...

Hong Kong protested, but Macau being the airhead he was didn't listen. Well, at least they were going to go visit Nigeria first, maybe Hong Kong could try to slip away.

But then, suddenly, out of nowhere, while they were in their hotel room preparing for their next flight, sleeping gas seeped into the room! And how did he know it was sleeping gas, one person might ask? Well, luckily, sleeping gas just happened to be one of Macau's favorite prank and/or revenge tools in their games, so Hong Kong could recognize the smell of the agent anywhere.

Panicking, he tried to open the door so they could run the hell away, but guess what? The door was jammed. The rest was history... Next thing Hong Kong knew he was tied up and blindfolded next to Macau, who was treating their situation as if it were just a mild and laughable inconvenience.

"So, how much money do you bet that we got kidnapped by ISIS members?" Hong Kong asked the personification responsible for getting themselves into this mess dryly.

Macau hummed in thought. "Hmm, not a bad guess. But I think we would have been beheaded by now, don't you think?"

"You have a point there." Hong Kong muttered, and he struggled in his bonds for what seemed the thousandth time. "You think they know what we are?"

"It's extremely unlikely that they do."

Hong Kong grumbled and didn't say anything more. Time passed, obviously, where the only things that happened were Hong Kong angrily trying to rip his hands out of his bonds and Macau humming a little tune to himself. But then Hong Kong felt the vehicle they were on stop and he began hearing voices.

"They... I did what... Good luck with them though..."

"Thank... must have been... I have lots of things I want to ask him, many, many things!"

They sounded muffled but they also sounded familiar...

A few minutes of getting dragged through somewhere and Hong Kong trying to find and bite off their kidnapper's hands off, they were put on the ground and his blindfold was promptly removed from his eyes, and Hong Kong flinched at what he saw.

Cameroon was standing before him, staring down at him as blankly as always. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Cameroon kneeled down and grabbed Hong Kong's wrists, then removed the rope.

Hong Kong hissed and rubbed his wrists, and he immediately looked at his surroundings. It looked like they were... in some house...?

"Oh, come now, there's no need to give me that look, Macau."

Hong Kong flinched again, and he cursed under his breath. No way...

He looked behind him and gaped in shock when he was Morocco, smiling as always, removing the rope from a puzzled Macau's wrists. Question after question began to pop up in Hong Kong's mind, and he wanted answers now.

"Hello, little Hong Kong." Morocco greeted amiably, waving a hand. "I trust the trip here was decent enough? I do apologize if you got bored on the way. I would have provided some entertainment for you to pass the time, but I think it would have ruined the atmosphere."

Boredom was one of the last things Hong Kong was angry about and definitely not the thing Morocco should apologize for! But now that he mentioned it, yes, the trip was pretty boring.

"Oh, no, please, don't get me wrong." Macau said calmly, rubbing his wrists. "It's nice to see a familiar face, but I speak for Leon and I when I say that we would like some answers."

"Damn right they owe us an explanation!" Hong Kong exploded, and he wouldn't be surprised if he literally did considering that he's the closest thing to a sane person in this room. "What's going on?! What was all that kidnapping for?! Don't tell me this is all part of a coup!"

As soon as he said that, Hong Kong yelled as he was suddenly hoisted up by the collar by none other than Cameroon, whose expression became nearly feral in rage.

"Leon...!" Macau called out, eyes widening fractionally, and he actually looked and sounded worried. Hong Kong would have appreciated it more if he wasn't about to get killed.

Cameroon growled, disturbingly like an animal. "How dare you accuse us of treason! Do you really think that we would let years of effort be for nothing?

But as terrifying Cameroon would be to any normal person, Hong Kong wasn't about to let himself get pushed around. He snarled. "Get... off!"

"Down, Roshaun." Morocco chided softly, narrowing his eyes, and Cameroon did so, albeit slowly and still glaring at Hong Kong. "We really can't blame them for jumping to that conclusion, now can we?"

Cameroon grunted, and he looked away, whatever that's supposed to mean.

"Well then, what do you want from us, Morocco?" Macau demanded calmly, actually looking a little displeased for once. "We have plans, and now we'll be late."

"That's the problem you have with this?!" Hong Kong practically screamed.

"Oh, I know you have plans, my friend..." Morocco said softly, and that's when Hong Kong noticed something off about the way he's looking at Macau. "It's not everyday that we have visitors from East Asia, you know. Once Nigeria told me about you visiting our home, I just couldn't resist! I wanted to finally to have a little talk with you!"

"Really? You wanted to speak with me?" Macau blinked, then he smiled. "I'm flattered! And what a strange coincidence. I've been wanting to speak with you as well."

Morocco chuckled at this. "Is that so? How very nice, and you flatter me as well, But I'm not surprised we wanted to meet with each other."

Macau looked at him puzzled. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Um, excuse me..." Hong Kong piped up, raising his hand, scowling in annoyance. "I don't mean to interrupt, but if you wanted to meet Macau so badly, then why didn't you call instead of knocking us out with sleeping gas?!"

Morocco grinned and clasped his hands together, and it looked like he's... blushing? "Well, I was going to give a call, but then I heard Hong Kong was coming along, so since we don't know each other well I wanted to make a good impression."

Hong Kong could feed his eye twitch. "You... wanted... to make... a good... impression...?"

"Well, you like pranks, don't you?" Morocco asked innocently, tilting his head. "Making you think that you were kidnapped by terrorists, that was the prank."

What followed was silence, which seemed to last forever before Hong Kong groaned loudly and let his back hit the floor while Macau and Morocco had the nerve to laugh.

God, he didn't even know where to begin on that one...

"Well, that was quite the prank alright..." Macau grinned widely in amusement, and he turned to an equally amused Morocco. "And I have to congratulate you. I certainly wasn't expecting you to be the one responsible. Also, I rather enjoyed the uncertainty and mystery, it gave me quite a thrill."

Morocco's grin broadened, and he blushed again. "Oh, it's nothing... And don't thank just me, thank Cameroon for helping getting you two all the way here to my house."

Macau nodded, and he looked at said nation. "Ah, yes. Thank you, Cameroon."

Cameroon nodded back, and he actually cracked a small smile.

Hong Kong buried his face in his hands. Why...?

"You and I really do share a lot in common, Macau..." Morocco whispered in an creepy tone. Hong Kong dared remove his hands, but when he did, he paled when he saw Morocco crawling towards Macau, who didn't seem to have a problem with this. "That's why we wanted to see each other. We both wanted to meet someone who understands us. Though our ways are different, our desires are the same."

Morocco started to crawl on top on Macau, but despite the hungry smile on his face the latter was all too happy. Feeling he should do something, Hong Kong tried to call out. "M-Macau..."

"We are the same in certain aspects..." Macau said thoughtfully and offered a innocent smile up to Morocco. "But how can you be so sure about my desires? All I want to do is gamble to experience the excitement of risk and see interesting things."

Morocco hummed and then smirked and reached out a hand to pet Macau's head. "Oh, I don't doubt that. You continuously gamble on high stakes, not caring if you win or lose, because you want the risk and despair that come with it. You do it because it feels good. It feels so good to leave your life up to luck and to see your opponent get crushed as they lose everything they worked so hard to obtain. It's the same feeling I get when I torture others. You get off of it. I wonder if even a simple coin toss will be enough..."

Macau giggled as Morocco pet his head, before returning the smirk as well. "It depends on the stakes, of course. To think that such a simple game of luck has the potential to destroy you... it's fascinating. But I can tell you get off easy too. Your case is interesting… No, you are interesting. I think the feeling you get is unique compared to your fellow Africans."

"But of course! After all..."

Morocco was straddling him now, and Hong Kong didn't know if he should keep looking.

"We are perverts who get off on sick thrills." Morocco stated proudly, tracing a finger up Macau's chest.

Macau blushed red and he cupped his face (he was flustered?) while he laughed. "Oh my, a pervert? How lewd. Don't call me that!"

"Don't try to act innocent…" Morocco grinned and gently grabbed Macau's chin. "Although that is something we like to do too."

Macau grinned sheepishly and raised his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, you win."

"It's nice to speak with someone who shares so much in common with you, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"You know, I think we can become very good friends." Morocco cooed and slowly started to lean down to- Oh, what did Hong Kong do deserve this? "I heard stories of how excited you can become, and how interesting games become when you participate. I really want to see it and enjoy it for myself, and in the process, you can have a lot fun too."

Oh god…

At that moment, Macau's face lit up like a child during Christmas. "So, you want to gamble with me? Well, why didn't you just say so? How much do you know about the games?"

"Not much, I'm afraid." Morocco sighed sadly, leaning his head on his hand. "Gambling has never been popular with my people. South Africa tends to be quite the gambler, but I don't often join him in his games. Sorry for disappointing you."

"No need to worry, I'll be more than happy to teach you." Macau reassured him, but then he froze before an unnerving smile slowly spread across his face "But you don't mind betting on high stakes, do you?"

Morocco frowned slightly and shook his head. "I don't think I've ever known fear, at least not since I was a child, and I have a high pain tolerance. So, no, I don't mind at all."

"Perfect!" Macau cheered, grinning excitedly. "As gratitude for such an interesting meeting, I don't have any problem with you deciding the stakes."

"Really?" Morocco asked

"Really?!" Hong Kong shrieked.

"Really?" Cameroon asked emotionlessly.

Everyone looked at Cameroon oddly, who shrugged.

"I thought it would feel a little odd if I didn't say anything." Cameroon explained simply.

"You want me to decide the stakes?" Morocco asked incredulously, before he promptly burst out laughing wildly, keeping a firm hold on Macau. "My, my, you really are as insane as everyone says you are."

"Thank you, so are you." Macau nodded with a polite smile. "So, do you have anything specific?"

"Well, do you have any limits on what you bet?"

"Not really. The stakes can be anything and as high as you want."

"Anything?! Don't say anything!" Hong Kong screamed from the sidelines, but as the background character in this sick show, no one payed him any mind.

"Very well! But since you are my guest, I think it's only fair you decide what game we play. As for the stakes…" Morocco's smile became a feral grin and he leaned down again, their faces only a few centimeters apart. "If I win our little game, then you'll become my pet for three days and nights. You win, and you will get to do the same to me for the same amount of time."

….WHAT?!

"Your pet, you say?" Macau asked, blinking, and whatever hope Hong Kong had that he'll change his mind got crushed when he saw Macau blush and smile again. "What an interesting gamble. Tell me, will I have to act like a dog? A cat? A gambling-addicted loser cat? Or is your definition of a pet something else entirely…?"

Don't sound so excited!

"Well, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for you if I win." Morocco stuck out his tongue playfully. "But I think you know what I mean by pet."

"Alright, I accept." Macau declared cheerfully, and Hong Kong banged his head against the ground. "I have to be honest, I'm sort of excited to see what would happen if I lose."

"I'm excited too." Morocco said, finally getting off Macau, and they both smiled at each other. Chuckling, he reached out a hand and cupped Macau's face. "I do hope you have fun."

Macau raised his hand and cupped Morocco's face as well. "We both will."

"Kill me now…" Hong Kong muttered.

/ / / / /

Somewhere under the earth, there was a certain someone crawling on the ground. They still felt a little uncomfortable with their new body, but it was nothing unadaptable. What mattered was finding them, and tear their organs out, burn them alive, whatever he'll decide on once he found them.

The beep sounded again, and they grinned.

/ / / / /

Switzerland surprised quite a lot of people when he showed up at Austria and Hungary's wedding, including the bride and groom themselves.

He was all too aware of the big event that represented the creation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many in the organization were invited, and those who weren't were due to relations or being busy dealing with things in their respective nations.

Switzerland merely grumbled to the ignorant masses that he was only here because he wanted to save money on dinner and they happily left him to his own devices, though not without some of the more irritatingly curious nations casting puzzled at him every now and then. Switzerland wanted to hiss at them to leave them be, but it would ruin his indifferent persona.

Those who weren't part of the ignorant masses either politely greeted him or stared at him with the slightest hint of curiosity or concern in their eyes, but Switzerland refused to meet their gaze and ignored them too.

However, one thing that certainly helped better his mood was when he caught the grateful look Austria gave him during Switzerland's search for a place to hide for the night. Switzerland only nodded in his direction and continued on his way, unable to express anything resembling a positive emotion to him, much to his frustration.

…Why did he bother coming here? The only thing he'll get from this wedding night was even more pain.

Switzerland grit his teeth and shook his head, all the while hoping no one, especially Austria, would notice his conflict. No, that was wrong. There were several reasons why coming here was the right thing to do. There was the fact that it would have been rude if he didn't attend the wedding of a good friend, and Austria would have been hurt if Switzerland didn't decide to show up. Then there was also his pride…

It would have been cowardly to run away from his problems and pain by not attending such an important event. There was a part of him that felt self-satisfaction that he swallowed his distaste and bravely went all the way here for the sake of a good friend.

…A very good friend.

The fact that he was a part of this entire conspiracy with Austria still left him a little bewildered at times, but he never regretted it, no, not once, never.

Switzerland still fondly remembered their days together as children, where he would scold Austria for getting beaten up again and carry him back home with an arrow in his ass. How they've grown up since then… Austria was more capable than many people realized, and Switzerland didn't need to bail him out anymore…

"But I have you to thank, Vash."

Switzerland couldn't help a small smile, though he quickly suppressed as he reminded himself that he was in public with the enemy. He didn't know why he was feeling nostalgic, he was the one who kept telling Austria to man-up and stop depending on him so much after all.

He also remembered that day, when Austria approached him.

Switzerland felt his bitterness well up again, and with a huff he looked away from Austria. "We fell out because you and your stupid, foolish, deluded boss…"

"You are half-right, Vash." Austria shook his head, and suddenly he began to slowly to lean forward with a strange smile on his face. "My boss, your boss, our bosses, the humans… they were the ones who tore us apart, not me, and certainly not you. They encouraged us to fight each other, make us think that the other is at fault."

"What on earth caused you to come to that conclusion?

"Neither of us wanted our friendship to end, for one."

"So? That proves nothing."

"I will not deny that I share part of the fault, more than you, I'm sure, but you cannot deny that we let our friendship be broken because we could not go against our bosses."

"If you truly think this is the truth…" Switzerland began cautiously, frowning. "Why didn't you do something about this earlier? Why did you stick by your boss instead of trying to salvage our friendship, regardless of what he thought?"

"Because, much to my shame, it took me many years to realize it." Austria gave a small, self-deprecating laugh, and his smile broadened a bit. "Don't you see, Vash? Unlike most of the incidents and chaotic events that happen with the others, we had no part in motivating the humans to ruin what we had."

"Really? Because I happen to remember you and I fighting about-

"But did either of us truly wanted that to happen?"

Switzerland didn't answer.

To this day, Switzerland deeply hated how stubborn he was after their meeting that day, for refusing Austria.

Austria kept telling him that it was an understandable reaction, but Switzerland was inclined to disagree. He told him that things were different then, but that didn't stop Switzerland from feeling like a colossal imbecile. Austria just smiled and often laughed it off, but Switzerland banged his head on a concrete floor whenever he recalled that memory.

Never again… What mattered was that they were together again and no one, not even the humans or their fellow nations, will ruin it again.

Switzerland was just thankful for whatever deity that really did exist that he did see reason within a short time later, after Austria demonstrated his 'theory' of how to influence their human populations. After Switzerland finally realized just how much he'd been had by the humans.

Speaking of the wretched insects crawling on the world's surface, Switzerland looked up from the glanced around at all the humans occupying the massive room, laughing, drinking and dancing. Many were nobility or other important figures, including the empire's royal family. Perhaps there were other sorts, but Switzerland didn't care, they all made his stomach turn.

Barely managing to hold back an expression of disdain, Switzerland clenched his fists, not caring that he might harm himself, and he then spotted the new couple dancing. Hungary was grinning and laughing, she was having too much fun, and even took the lead in Austria's stead as she twirled him around and all that. One might think Austria would be embarrassed, but Switzerland saw that he was smiling.

An honest, genuine, sincere smile.

Switzerland couldn't help but smile too, but he then felt someone bump into him, and he scowled when he saw it was just a human, who didn't even mutter an apology as she laughed haughtily with her friends.

Humans… they take everything given to them for granted, they take and destroy, they couldn't even coexist within their own groups, they kill and destroy, they refuse to see the fault in their actions and ideas, most of them were hopelessly stupid no matter the race, religion or culture. More importantly was that they dare think they have the right to order their nations around and… Switzerland glanced at the dancing couple one more time. They were the ones who caused him and Austria to grow apart.

For that, Switzerland will never forgive them.

/ / / / /

Egypt will be honest, he expected to wake up tied up and gagged with Turkey laughing over him, not getting suffocated by Hungary's chest and iron grip.

Considering everything, he really wasn't that surprised that Turkey had a trap door.

He woke up feeling dizzy and with a pounding headache, as expected, along with a feeling of confusion. However, he didn't have enough time to ask himself what happened, because he soon heard someone exclaim his name and before he knew it his face was shoved into something suffocating.

"Oh, Gupta! Thank god you're alright!" Hungary. Right, he was here with Hungary. "I'm so sorry. It turns out you broke my fall and so it took a while for… Are you feeling alright?"

"Elizaveta…" Egypt rasped out, reaching out a hand shakily. "Stop… You are… Can't breathe…"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Hungary immediately let him ago. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine. Where are we?"

"I don't know. There's a door here though, and that's pretty much our only option.

Egypt rubbed his eyes and sighed. Great…

He then heard familiar laughter, and he looked up at Hungary. "What's so funny?"

Hungary looked down at him oddly. "That wasn't me."

Egypt opened his mouth to ask more, but then he heard a door creak open. He looked towards the direction of the sound, and he gaped.

"Uh…"

"Oh."

Looks I reached OVER NINETHOUSAAAND words! (I regret nothing, sorry) God, I hope this is the last time I do a chapter with so many words... Please review, if you have a minute