Thanks to AquaEclipse, Ekfreet and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing.

And I'm sorry about the time, but I have some good news: My work folder is currently empty, and we don't have any major deadlines soon, so I can pay a bit more attention to my stories. Yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 75

Romania flinched when he heard Poland's desperate screams. He kept his shield up while dealing with his two opponents, and he took the chance to see what was going on with his allies. He felt himself pale when he saw what happened to Finland, and that Poland had seen it happen.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Italy asked mockingly. "Well, at least we managed to succeed in one area today."

"Bastards," Romania muttered, turning back to glare at them. "You think this is amusing?!"

"A little. But most importantly, it serves a purpose. Jamaica has the ability to shut the mind of his victims off. Think of it as an instant, hassle-free lobotomy. And while in that state, Poland can only recall the death of his beloved."

Romania felt a stab of cold horror. Knowing what exactly they had just done…

He needed to get Poland out of there. He suspected that they weren't going to leave things like that. And besides, there was also the risk of…

He could feel a heavy aura coming from Poland's direction, and he knew that it had been activated. Due to Poland's near-death experiences with the partitions, his soul had added an additional layer of protection, drawing power from the capital and the former capital. Warsaw, the phoenix city, and Kraków, with its dragon legend.

"Idiots," Romania muttered. "You have no idea what you just did."

Italy and Bulgaria looked confused for a second, before a powerful shockwave nearly blasted them off their feet. Romania turned his attention back to Poland's location, and saw that his suspicions were confirmed: the dragon and phoenix resting in Poland's soul were unleashed, and unfortunately, they didn't know the difference between friend and foe.

"Shit," Romania muttered.

He would need to get to Poland. It was the only hope he had of calming the situation.

China stared at the person that rescued him, who calmly turned around to face him. He looked Asian, and China was almost inclined to say that he appeared to be Japanese. But, why would anyone or anything from Japan come to save him?

"Are you China?" the man asked.

He jerkily nodded his head. There was something about this man… China could tell that he was an immortal, but the type of immortality he possessed… It couldn't be…

"W-what are you doing here?" China asked. "Who are you?"

The being cocked his head to the side, as though contemplating how to answer the two questions.

"Mie pointed me in your direction," he said. "It took a while, tracking you down, but it looks like it was just in time. It helps that your opponent has been dealing with someone similar in his own country. As for who I am… Call me Susanoo."

China's eyes widened in surprise. Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the Japanese god of sea and storms. And Mie sent him towards China. And the god had just saved him from Greece…

China swore that he would never complain about a deus ex machina again.

He was startled when he heard Greece chuckle, and both he and Susanoo turned to regard the European, who stood up from where he landed. His knees were a bit shaky, and China wondered how much force was used against him.

"Interesting," Greece said. "We have gods, Alvora has gods, and now you have a god. Isn't this funny?"

China didn't like the insane smirk on Greece's face. It looked out of place on the nation that until recently had been known for his laid-back attitude.

"Why's it so funny?" China asked against his better judgement.

"The neo-pagan movement," Greece said. "Part of our goal is to restore that which had been taken from us by the two most dangerous cults that ever existed. More and more humans decided to go back to their cultural roots, before the invaders. And now look. I don't think the gods had been this active since the days of the Ancients. But what do you say, China? An ancient who has thrown his mythology away?" Greece's smirk fell a little, and his expression turned sad. "The irony is, if the gods had been as active then as they were today, then none of this mess would have happened. There wouldn't have been so many nations stripped of their individuality. If not for them, then my mother would still be alive."

China felt as though he was looking at a vulnerable child. Part of him wanted to console Greece, even if the latter had been trying to kill him moments before. However, before he could say anything, a shockwave rolled through the area.

The moment Haiti and the others returned to the South African base, they all fell into the nearest piece of furniture. Haiti had been smart enough to transport them to one of the living rooms.

"Let's not do that again anytime soon," Prussia said.

"Which part of you referring to?" Lithuania asked. "The rescue or the attempted brainwashing?"

"Everything. I do not want to do anything from the last few days again."

Lithuania smiled softly, before he wrapped Prussia in a hug.

"I'm glad we managed to succeed," he said. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you."

Prussia returned the hug, breathing deeply.

"You'll never lose me, Puppy," Prussia said. "I'm too awesome for that."

"Oh, you're back."

The moment was ruined by a sudden female voice, and all nations turned to the door, where Angola and Ecuador were standing. Both nations looked relieved as they scanned the group, eyes lingering on Prussia.

"Glad to see you're all safe," Ecuador said.

"Yeah," North Korea said. "With a lot of divine intervention. Which reminds me…" He turned his attention to Haiti. "I'm going to assume that the lao need some compensation."

Haiti winced, nodding his head.

"Oui," he said. "I'll have to ask Anika or Themba to take me out shopping."

"Um, Themba's out of commission," Angola said. "Long story short, Egypt is an asshole."

"And you'll have to ask Anika very nicely if you want to make a request at the moment," Ecuador said. "She's a bit high-strung. Doesn't help that everyone wants a war now."

Everyone stared at the two.

"I get the feeling I'm going to regret asking this," North Korea said. "But what happened?"

"W-what the hell are those?" Hungary asked as she and Jamaica backed away.

"I don't know," Jamaica said. "But they look angry."

It had been sudden. They were still enjoying their victory when suddenly, Poland's body started to glow and vibrate, and then these came out. Hungary recognised these creatures to be a dragon and a phoenix, but how or why they were there, she couldn't even begin to offer an explanation.

Poland's prone body was in the centre of it all. The blond was facedown, but the two of them knew that he was very much alive. The creatures prevented them from getting close, and it almost seemed as though they were protecting him.

The two creatures focused their gazes on the two of them, and Hungary immediately knew what was about to happen. She grabbed Jamaica by the wrist and started running, just as the dragon unleashed its fiery breath on them.

Hungary cried out as the heat seared her back, but she was fortunate enough not to be hit by it directly. Jamaica was a bit behind her, and he cried out in pain as well. She knew that he wasn't as lucky as she was.

Belarus ran up to them, completely ignoring the bloody and battered Ukraine. Belarus gasped, warning the other two that another attack was incoming. Together, Belarus and Jamaica managed to raise a shield for their protection.

Their magic might have been weaker than Egypt or Ireland, but they were able to at least do this.

"What are those things?" Hungary demanded again.

"I could give you the obvious answer, but I know that would get me smacked," Jamaica said.

"…Does Poland have any dragon or phoenix legends?" Belarus asked.

Hungary took a moment to process the question.

"Yes," she said. "The Wawel dragon, which was part of his old capital's lore. And then Warsaw is called the 'phoenix city'."

"…I was afraid of that," Belarus said. "It's only a suspicion, but I think Poland's spirit created a protective layer."

"Meaning…?" Jamaica prompted.

"Poland's spirit created guardians, which manifested as those!" Belarus snapped. "I've heard of the possibility of it, but I never thought that it could be a reality."

Some of the other Requiem nations approached, falling in behind the shield.

"I think it's time we leave," Italy remarked. "How much time left?"

Bulgaria checked his watch.

"I think we can go now," he said.

"Great," Italy said. "We need to get France, otherwise this whole thing would be a waste of time."

"Is that… Romania?" New Zealand asked.

Hungary could see him too. Romania was manoeuvring between the flames to reach Poland. The dragon was ignoring him in favour of focusing on the Requiem nations, but the phoenix looked poised to attack.

"…Let him distract them," Italy said, before turning to where Chile was still fighting Spain. "We also need to put Spain out of commission before we can take France. Because monsters or not, he's not going to let us go with his precious lover."

"Let me just go back to get Thailand," Philippines said. "We need more recruits."

"Allow me to deal with Spain," Belarus said, withdrawing a few daggers.

"You're persistent, aren't you?" Chile asked as he blocked Spain's strike.

Spain didn't answer, in too much of a blind rage to really care about what was being said. France had been killed by the nation in front of him. He was not going to allow Chile to receive any mercy.

He didn't even realise that there were two fiery beasts nearby.

Spain cried out in pain when he felt something bury itself in his calf, and a second later another similar pain struck him on the other side. He looked down to see two daggers lodged in his legs.

Chile took that moment of distraction as an advantage, and used the handle of his axe to hit Spain's head. Spain cried out in pain as he was thrown to the side. It took him a few moments to recover, and when he did, he noticed that Chile was gone. And he noticed the two magical creatures.

"What?" he whispered.

He shook his head, looking around. He paled when he realised that he couldn't see France anymore.

"España!"

He turned to see Madrid running towards him, before she wrapped her arms around his neck. At least she was safe.

"W-what happened?" he asked.

"Don't know," Madrid said. "But Requiem's gone."

But they didn't leave empty-handed.

"What's going on with you two?" Scotland asked, hands on his hips.

It hadn't escaped his notice that Ireland and Wales had been trying to avoid each other. They tried not to look at each other, and when they were forced to speak to each other, then it was brief, almost cold. Northern Ireland had also picked up on it, but no matter how much either of them pried, they just couldn't find an answer to what was bothering their brothers.

"It's nothing," Ireland said, glancing towards Wales.

"Right," Wales said. "I guess we're just a bit stressed."

"Bullshit," Scotland said, glancing between the two of them. "Now, why don't you try that again, without lying?"

Both of them narrowed their eyes, and surprisingly, the one that chose to stand up and walk away was Wales.

"I'm going to take a nap," Wales said. "Wake me when it's time for dinner."

Scotland clicked his tongue, and Ireland decided to leave as well. He wanted to go after them and demand an answer, but he could tell that this went beyond mere stubbornness. There was something serious going on between his two brothers, and neither of them would tell him or North what it was.

It didn't help that he couldn't get in touch with France. It was as though the other was deliberately ignoring his calls. Was an update regarding the situation in the world too much to ask for?

There were too many people keeping secrets, and Scotland didn't like it. He just needed to figure out who the first person would be who he would take his anger out on.

…Not Wales, though, especially if the other was tired. Scotland didn't want to take that chance, because based on how annoyed Wales got, he might get angry if Scotland pushed him too much. And an angry Wales was almost as terrifying as a forcefully awoken Wales.

Romania managed to calm down Poland's soul, which in turn caused the dragon and phoenix to disappear. He almost collapsed right next to Poland, which wouldn't have helped much at this point in time. He looked around, and felt despaired when he realised that Requiem had left.

But he still had another set of nations to worry about.

He watched tiredly as China and Ukraine walked closer. He also saw Spain and Madrid somewhere behind them, and… Was that a deity?

"What was that?" China demanded.

"Defence mechanism," Romania explained. "The partitions put Feliks in danger of dying, so his spirit created a method to protect him, by borrowing the legend of his old capital, and the title of his new capital."

"Is… Is he alright?" Ukraine asked, looking at Poland.

"He's asleep right now," Romania sighed. "And they lobotomised him. The reason why the defence mechanism was triggered is because he's mortal in this state."

"So… he can die?" China asked.

Romania nodded.

"He's been stripped of his nation status," Romania explained. "I don't know if it's permanent or not. But, if they used the same tactic on their own members, then it's safe to say that it's temporary. But, I have no idea what would happen if he wakes up."

By now, Spain and Madrid had joined them. Spain glanced down at Poland before fixing his gaze on Romania.

"They took Francis," he said. "Thailand's gone too."

"What?" China demanded, looking around. "What would they want with him?"

"My guess, they plan to 'recruit' him," Romania said distastefully. "Our latest mission to the Washroom turned out to be a success, for the most part."

"What mission?" China asked. "And what do you mean, for the most part?"

"Some of our own members were captured," Romania said. "We sent a few to rescue them, along with as many nations as possible. They managed to get Bangladesh and Tibet out. But they fell into a trap. I don't know what the status is now, but… Let's just say, they were already angry with us."

China looked relieved upon hearing that Tibet was safe. Romania looked towards the direction where Finland's body dropped, and he pushed himself to his feet with some difficulty.

"I just… need to get Tino's body," Romania said, taking a shaky step forward. "Arrange… a proper burial."

He only managed a few steps before his knees buckled beneath him. China, who was probably the least injured person there, caught him.

"You're exhausted," China said. "You need to rest."

Romania shook his head. He didn't have time to rest. He needed to get to Finland's body. He needed to take him back home.

"…We can go to my house," Spain said. "I don't think Russia's going to be too happy if we come with Alvora nations."

"R-right," Ukraine said. "I'll call my brother and let him know."

"And… what about you?" Romania asked, looking at the deity. "Who are you?"

"Susanoo-no-Mikoto," China said. "Japanese god of sea and storms. By the way, he said something about someone similar being in Greece?"

"Oh yeah. Anika sent Adamastor to torment Greece. Doesn't seem as though it's really bothering him."

"Adamastor is real?" Spain asked. "Wait, let's discuss this later. You said you wanted Finland's body, right? I'll go after that. And then I should probably tell Miguel about what happened."

Romania nodded his head. He was glad that he at least wasn't treated as an enemy at the moment. And he marvelled how all the magic he used could have drained him so much. Those were his last thoughts as he succumbed to oblivion.

Haiti approached White, who was in what looked to be an office. He paused when he saw that she had several maps out, and he realised that she was planning the attack on Requiem's African nations.

Angola and Ecuador had explained what happened with Uganda, and that it was the final straw for everyone. No one wanted to be attacked and tormented. They wanted to launch an attack for a change.

And Haiti didn't blame them.

"Agewe?" White asked upon noticing him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering if it would be possible to take me shopping," Haiti said. "I asked the lao for help, and I need to give them proper compensation."

White seemed to know what he was referring to. The African nations had their fair share of traditional religions, and they knew all about spirits and summoning them, even if they didn't practice it themselves. Black was more knowledgeable with this matter than White.

She looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding.

"I needed to go out anyway," she said, standing up. "I wouldn't mind taking you. Might I just suggest that Roberto come with us? I know he's pretty worried about me, and I don't want to worry him even more."

Haiti nodded. He'd searched for Sao Tomé earlier, only to find that his lover was in bed. Apparently, he was coming down with a cold or something. He would also need to buy ingredients for an herbal remedy for him.

"…By the way," White said, "how's Raj doing? And Gilbert?"

"Raj was cursed by Egypt," Haiti said. "He and David can't even touch each other. And he scrambled Gilbert's mind a bit."

White sent a cold glare towards the map.

"I hate that man," she spat.

Chapter 61 ends with someone approaching Mie. And I've been trying to figure out a way to add him for a while now. Deus ex machina, it would seem. Literally.