Thanks to AquaEclipse for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 76

Wales had gone to North Korea's location. He was only allowed a short period with him at a time, and after the day that just passed, he was glad to be holding North.

Just after leaving Scotland, Wales saw that North had sent him a message, informing him of his safe return. And upon his arrival, North had shared with him everything that transpired that day, including the nightmare that was forced upon him.

The Asian was currently sleeping, exhausted after the day's events. And knowing what had happened, Wales was more than thankful for being able to hold him, even if their time together would be brief.

His hold on North Korea tightened when he thought back to what the other described. All of the things that South Korea had done to him… done to Wales. North described being forced to watch as Wales was tortured. Unable to move. Unable to protest. Unable to help.

It scared Wales that he was the weapon the nightmare used against North. Realistically, he knew that they couldn't have programmed the nightmare to show that in particular, but he still felt incredibly angry with the content, and the pain it had caused North.

But another part of him felt a small flutter in his chest when he realised that North's greatest fear was having Wales suffer.

He also felt intense sorrow, knowing that one of his brothers was part of this group that was causing so much pain.

At least he could take some comfort in the knowledge that Ireland couldn't contribute much. Just like Wales couldn't. In hindsight, it was a good thing that North Korea had gone with the rescue group earlier that day. If he didn't, then there would have been no way to get in contact with Wales, who couldn't have sent his own deities to help.

They said that things happened for a reason, but Wales still had his doubts.

"You don't mind if I use your kitchen, do you?" China asked.

Truthfully, Spain was too upset to eat, but he couldn't let China and Ukraine suffer, so he shook his head. As soon as China left, he turned his attention to the bed.

Romania and Poland had been placed on the same bed, with Finland's corpse having been taken to another. Spain felt a bit of revulsion at the thought, and he turned his attention to Poland. He didn't need anyone to tell him what had happened. Poland saw his lover die. And Spain's lover had been taken.

He never felt a connection with Poland before, and he felt disgusted that this was how they formed a connection.

Spain sighed, before turning his attention to Romania. He knew of the relationship Romania had with Spain's brother, and he felt responsible. Romania had been there because of Spain. It was only right that he should tell Portugal about what happened.

Steeling himself, he dialled his brother's number.

Portugal groaned when he heard his phone ring. After all of the bad news, he didn't want to hear any more.

He felt a bit hopeful when he saw that Spain was calling him. Hopefully it was Spain, and not Requiem using Spain's phone to taunt him.

"Please tell me that everything worked out alright," Portugal said.

"Um… I wouldn't say that," Spain said.

Portugal groaned when he heard that.

"Why don't you start with good news?" he asked. "I've been hearing bad news a lot lately."

"I thought your mission to the Washroom turned out well?" Spain enquired.

"It did, except that India is cursed, and now he can't touch Israel, which is bad, considering they're lovers who didn't see each other for a while, and to make things worse, one of them was sent footage of the other being tortured, plus Requiem played a brown note when they were leaving, which means that it was something that struck them to the very core, and they needed the help of gods just to get over it. So, even though they got out alright, not everything went fine."

"…Then you're not going to like this. Well, good news is, I managed to find Madrid. Poor girl's been living on the streets all this time."

"Alright. So then, what went wrong? And why are you reporting, now that I think about it? Where's Vlad and the others?"

"Well, Romania passed out, from exhaustion, I think. And Poland's also unconscious. Um… They took Thailand and… And Francis."

"Oh, Antonio, I'm sorry to hear that. I'll see if I can find out where they are."

"That's… not the worst news."

Portugal felt a wave of arctic cold crash over him, entering his veins.

"What's… the worst news?" he asked hesitantly.

"It's Finland," Spain said. "He… he was beheaded by Denmark. And then shot by New Zealand. Even I can sense that… he's not coming back. And it freaked Poland out. He was forced to watch. And then something happened that caused a dragon and firebird to appear and – I didn't know that could happen! – and Romania said that… the state he's in right now… Poland's mortal."

Portugal couldn't feel the phone in his hand anymore. His fingers had gone numb. Finland… Finland was dead? And… what happened to Poland? How did they…?

"Miguel?" Spain asked.

"I… I need to…" Portugal stammered.

"…You really care about them, don't you?"

Tears brimmed in Portugal's eyes, and he released a sob.

"Tino was my friend," he said. "They all are. They sacrificed so much for my dream, and… If not for me, then Tino…"

"Hermano… I've seen and heard a fair deal about your loyalty to each other, and I can hear how choked up you are. You care about your comrades. They're more than just your allies. I don't think… I've ever heard of nations with a bond like yours. So… If it somehow helps you with your final goal, then… I don't think Finland would have blamed you. Besides, shouldn't you be focusing on getting even with Requiem?"

Portugal took a shaky breath, nodding his head, more to himself than Spain.

"Y-you're right," he said. "The African nations are planning to attack Requiem's African nations… So, please, no interference. The entire continent is angry with Requiem, and believe me, you don't want to get in the way of the Africans when they're truly angry."

"Did something happen?" Spain asked.

"Uganda was rescued from the Washroom a few days ago, but he was lobotomised. He recovered, but… Turns out, Requiem forced him to cannibalise Tunisia."

"W-what?"

"Uganda is horrified, and Tunisia is traumatised by everything Requiem's done to him. They used him as a guinea pig to see how their 'recruiting' is going, and he was also cannibalised by his own sister."

"That… What demon possessed Ita and Roma? I can't…?"

"I'm sorry to say that, but humans have done a lot more damage without the influence of demons than with their influence, and the same holds true for nations. Everything that's happened is their own doing. And that's why it's important to deal with them, once and for all."

"…Romania said something about giving Finland a proper burial, but… that's going to be a bit tricky."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Well… It looks like… they took Finland's head with them."

"So, where are we?" Haiti asked, pulling his shopping bags closer to him while stifling a yawn.

"Howick Falls," White responded, a bit distractedly as she walked closer.

Haiti had been rather lucky. Some of the more common items that he needed were acquired at a simple supermarket, while the more obscure items had to be obtained at a muti shop. The human had at first been unwilling to serve them, though his reaction was funny when he realised that this white woman knew what she was talking about. The human had become a lot more compliant when White lost her temper and summoned Pinky Pinky, a tokoloshe that White had recently befriended. They even managed to get a discount out of him.

Brazil was also with them, throwing concerned looks towards White every now and again. Haiti could understand what had the other male so concerned. White had exhausted herself the previous day by altering her country, and now she was transporting her and other nations to other parts of her country. Haiti was in the mood to scold her himself for taking on so many things in such a short time.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Haiti asked.

"The inkanyamba," was White's response.

The way she said it told Haiti that it had something to do with the mythology of South Africa. Well, it would be nice to see, anyway. For some strange reason, Black and White tended to be quiet about things like that.

Well, except for when Black proved that he was afraid of cats. White eventually got annoyed enough that she locked Black in a room with kittens. The reason for that was because of some superstition that cats carried the spirits of the ancestors. And when even the other Africans scolded Black on his silly attitude, he decided to calm down a bit, and allowed White to show him that cats were not to be feared.

In hindsight, it was perhaps fortunate that Requiem didn't know of the phobia. Greece would especially not have been good news for Black.

The three came to a stop at the water's edge, and Haiti turned to White expectantly. He was curious to see what she would do with her new power, or at least, the newly-clarified power. He wanted to know how she would make friends with… whatever it was.

She didn't even have to do or say anything. Something burst out from behind the waterfall, looking like a snake with a horse-like head. Haiti tried not to stare too hard at the creature as it came to a stop in front of White, allowing her to stroke its head.

"That's a good boy," she cooed. "Do you mind helping me out a bit?"

Switzerland looked up from his book, nodding his head in greeting to Jamaica before he turned his attention to Denmark. His eyes flitted to what was in Denmark's hand.

…It was a good thing they weren't at Switzerland's house.

"I'm going to assume that all went well," Switzerland remarked as he stood.

"You better go gussy up," Denmark said, smirking. "I'm taking you out on the town. Tonight, we'll dine like kings."

"Is that all?" Switzerland asked, raising an eyebrow.

Denmark pulled him closer, wrapping one arm around him.

"Oh, we can do much more," Denmark said.

"Ugh," Jamaica groaned. "If you're going to be like that, at least wait until I've left."

"Well, why are you still here?" Denmark quipped.

"Because unfortunately, using magic that's stronger than what I usually use is exhausting, and I need to take a few moments to recover before I can do anything else."

Switzerland and Denmark smirked in amusement, before a thought seemed to occur to Denmark.

"By the way, do you think that Norge was stupid enough to try to escape with magic yet?" Denmark asked.

Switzerland felt a small stab of annoyance at the 'affectionate nickname' for the nation whom his lover had pretended to adore above all others.

"I'm not sure," Switzerland said. "I think a part of him still thinks that this is like all of the conquests of the past. Same with Sweden."

Denmark chuckled.

"They're going to be severely disappointed," he said. "Speaking of which, I have to make a delivery."

Switzerland watched as Denmark left the room, before he turned to Jamaica, who collapsed into a nearby chair.

"Can I get you anything?" Switzerland asked. "Tea, coffee…?"

"Coffee would be nice," Jamaica said. "Thank you."

Norway and Sweden looked up when they heard footsteps approaching. They were too heavy to be Switzerland, so they assumed that the footsteps belonged to Denmark.

Norway narrowed his eyes. What could that traitor want now?

Denmark stepped into view, grinning broadly while hiding something behind his back.

"Good evening, you two," he greeted. "I got you a little souvenir from my excursion. I hope you like it."

Norway was confused as Denmark reached through the bars, throwing something on the floor. Norway turned to see what the object was, and immediately recoiled in horrified disgust.

"T-Tino?!" he stuttered.

Finland's head was staring at him, and Sweden lost his usual stoic demeanour as he turned to the bars.

"What the hell?!" Sweden demanded. "What's the point of this?! What is wrong with you?!"

Denmark smirked, whether it was the situation or Sweden's reaction that amused him, Norway wasn't sure.

"Consider this a warning," he said. "Neither of you are going to escape from me this time. And if you try…" He glanced at the head in the middle of the cell. "Well, I think you get the picture."

Denmark turned around and walked away, his goal of crushing their hopes completed. Norway couldn't tear his eyes away from Finland's head. The other's eyes were staring at him. He didn't know what emotion was frozen, but he didn't like seeing it in Finland's eyes.

"We shouldn't surrender," Sweden said. "We can't let him win."

Norway didn't know if he had the strength to hold on.

A scream echoed through the compound, and everyone went running. They found Mozambique in the kitchen, hand pressed over her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. Kenya was on the ground, holding onto a phone. Those who knew the two nations well recognised the phone as Mozambique's.

"Theresa," Colombia said, approaching her lover. "What's going on? What happened?"

"M-Miguel," Kenya stammered. "He… he sent a message. Didn't you get it?"

The Alvoran nations removed their own phones, and screams and cries of horror and fury echoed through the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Netherlands asked, head darting around.

"It… It's Tino," Ecuador said. "He… He's dead. Requiem killed one of our own."

By now, everyone was aware of Alvora's loyalty to one another. And so, they realised that this was a real blow to all of them. And it caused the other nations to feel a rush of despair. No one was safe, it would seem.

All the more reason to get rid of Requiem.

"Shit," Turkey said, staring at the phone screen. "Requiem took France and Thailand."

Saudi Arabia looked up, taking a moment to swallow his dinner before he could speak.

"What do you think they want with them?" he asked.

"Does it matter?" Turkey asked. "Based on what we know about them…"

Saudi nodded his head. No matter their intentions, it couldn't be good.

Russia was outside, pacing. He had chosen to go outside to calm his nerves. The fresh air of a country that wasn't trapped in a near-permanent state of winter tended to help.

France was taken. Not killed, but taken. It wasn't just concerning because he was a strong nation, but also because they were currently in his country.

It was only a matter of time before Requiem's influence could be felt in the country of France. And what would that mean for the rest of them? The fact of the matter was, they needed to find another place to go.

But where?

He wasn't going to fool himself into believing that any of the others would be willing to go to his house. He especially didn't want Latvia and Taiwan there in their current states. The fact that they were sleepers made him want to add as much distance between him and them as possible, at least until they could figure out a way to counter all of this.

He took a moment to consider France's geography. Out of all of France's neighbours, Spain was the only available option. And he also didn't feel comfortable with staying in a country that was such a high risk. Preferably, he would like to add as much distance as possible. Thinking about all of the nations involved, he would have to say…

"If you're trying to make a decision, might I request that you consult the rest of us?"

Russia whipped around, seeing Estonia standing there. The smaller nation had been given a pair of France's reading glasses, at least until he could get a proper replacement. There were several small cuts surrounding Estonia's eyes, and Russia supposed that the other should consider himself lucky that none of the shards had pierced his eyes.

"Pardon?" Russia asked.

Estonia sighed.

"There was a report from the others, wasn't there?" he asked. "And something about the report bothered you a lot. Now, do you mind sharing with the rest of us? And could you consult us with the decisions you want to make? You yourself were mad when Spain sent Andorra to Alvora without consulting us. And… I just realised how similar those words are…"

Russia sighed, before he thought about it. Perhaps… it would be best to consult the others. At least then, he wouldn't have to deal with many unhappy nations. That wasn't something they could afford now.

Nodding his head, he followed Estonia inside the house.

Australia sighed in relief. Finally, his plane was touching down. This was why he didn't like going to Europe: too bloody long.

Now, he had to go back and tell the others about New Zealand. When he called earlier, they appeared to be alright. Hopefully, they remained small targets, and Requiem didn't want to waste their time with them.

Hopefully.

Egypt stared out of the window. He had noticed it earlier, but his gods could use help. And he had the perfect idea on how to help them. They were like him in a sense. They drew power from the country. The people. And it would help if there weren't so many people who followed a different path.

He closed his eyes, focusing on his people. He could sense all of them. Some of them had returned to the old ways. And some of them were children who could easily be influenced. He turned his attention away from them. They were the useful portion of the population. He had faith that the adults of the group would allow the children to return to the right path.

He focused all of his attention on the others: the descendants of those that destroyed him. And, one by one, he allowed their lights to be snuffed out.

I've been wanting to write Egypt's scene for a while now, but I keep running out of space.

Black's fear of cats was inspired by my father's interactions with his black colleagues. The courthouse where he works attracted a colony of cats, and my dad's been feeding them. Some of his colleagues are astounded by all of this, especially how some of the cats would open up to them. But they would jump whenever a cat comes in their direction, or when they see a cat nearby. There's apparently a superstition regarding cats in the tribal traditions. My dad once grew annoyed at the way one woman reacted, and asked her if she was an educated woman, or someone living in the bundu's (wilderness, basically). After he put it in perspective, she felt a bit ashamed for the way she acted around a cat.

My dad has actually used the wildlife around the courthouse a few times. One time there was a mouse in the courtroom, and everyone was staring at it as it moved, and he made a comment about snakes… That case was handled very quickly. My dad's actually the person I inherited my sadistic tendencies from.

Muti shops are basically where you would be able to buy traditional 'medicine'. Basically, if you need a witchdoctor, you go to them. There's actually a shop like that right next to the mechanic. The irony is strong there.