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Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 77

"Alright," Haiti said. "Where are we now?"

"Richtersveld," White said casually.

Brazil shuddered when he heard that. White had taken the three of them to a cave, and the only light source was her flashlight. If she was thinking what he thought she was thinking…

Brazil caught her drinking some sort of dark fluid in a water bottle, and he had a suspicion that he knew what it was. He looked towards Haiti, who appeared to be fighting off his own exhaustion.

"You okay?" Brazil asked.

"Oui," Haiti said. "I guess the day was longer than I thought."

White handed the bottle to him, which confirmed Brazil's suspicions. He glared at White.

"Energy drinks?" he demanded. "Why did you decide to do this if you know you're going to need something like this?"

"Because I don't want anyone else to be a victim of Requiem," White said. "We need to deal with them, before they hurt anyone else. The ends justify the means."

Brazil shook his head. She was right, of course. He still wished that she didn't place herself in situations which ended up using more energy than she had. At least she hadn't put herself in any real danger yet.

However, considering where they were, that might change soon.

Brazil stopped when he heard something. It sounded like large feet, accompanied by something large slithering, and he was sure he could hear faint trumpeting sounds. White moved on, though she seemed to walk with a greater sense of purpose.

"Do you have any idea what we're looking for?" Haiti whispered to Brazil.

"I have a theory," Brazil whispered back. "I just hope she knows what she's doing."

White held out a hand, and the other two stopped. She flickered the flashlight a few times, and Brazil could definitely hear the sound of movement coming closer. There was a turn ahead of them, and from that turn…

"W-what is that?" Haiti stammered.

Brazil was right in his suspicion. He knew enough about the grootslang to know what to expect, but actually seeing it…

He never thought he'd get to see what would happen if a snake and an elephant had a baby together.

Haiti and Brazil remained silent as they allowed White to try to tame the beast. They both instinctively knew that this was a very dangerous creature, and any distraction could be deadly. But Brazil could definitely see why White would consider this creature. It would definitely give them an advantage over Requiem.

"So, what's the latest news?" Vietnam asked.

Everyone was looking expectantly at Russia, who was the one to receive the call from Ukraine. Of course, everyone wanted to know about the fates of their comrades, and the fact that he immediately had to step outside after hearing the news didn't help ease their nerves.

Russia sighed, trying to find the place to start. As his eyes scanned the room, they fell on Taiwan, and then Latvia, and he remembered something else that Ukraine told him.

"Latvia, Taiwan, I would need to confiscate your phones," he said.

"W-what?" Taiwan demanded. "Why?"

"They apparently admitted that part of your conditioning is to always answer your phones if they call, and you won't remember the conversation. They've specifically used you to spy on us."

Taiwan turned pale, but she still shook her head in denial.

"I-it can't be," she said. "They… they were lying! They were trying to… to…"

"To cause distrust among us?" Laos suggested.

"Yes! Exactly!"

"Well…" Estonia said. "There is a way to find out for sure. Taiwan, could you please open your phone's call log to the received calls?"

Taiwan nodded her head, her eyes widening in understanding. Latvia checked his phone too, but only Taiwan grew horrified by the contents of the screen.

"South Korea…" she whispered. "He… He called me a few times recently, but… I don't remember getting any calls from him."

There was silence for a long moment. Latvia swallowed thickly, before he handed his phone to Russia. Taiwan followed him a few seconds later.

"Does this mean they know about everything we've been up to?" Vietnam asked.

"It's a strong possibility," Russia said. "Ukraine says that they knew how many of them were going, but she said that some of the things they said were confusing. They were also prepared for Alvora."

"You don't think they have a spy among their ranks, do you?" Hong Kong asked.

"No, I don't think that's the case," Laos said. "Bangladesh and the others were concerned about Bhutan, and that he seemed to know that something was wrong with Tibet. I think… Bhutan's latent prophetic abilities might have manifested, and Requiem's taking advantage of it."

"Are you sure?" Cambodia asked.

"I'll admit, I'm mostly guessing, but I think that might be the case. Nepal was with them when this all happened."

"We should probably warn Turkey and Australia," Vietnam said. "If they know about our movements, then they'd know what they're doing as well."

"I just got a message from Australia," Hong Kong said. "His plane arrived safely, and he's going home to the others now. He said that when he called to tell them, everything still seemed fine."

"And Turkey informed me that they had already told everyone about what's going on," Russia said. "They seemed safe as well."

"Alright, so let's go on to the main topic," Vietnam said. "Your pacing, for starters."

Russia nodded.

"France and Thailand were taken by Requiem," he said.

"W-what?!" Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos demanded.

Their reactions were understandable. They all had historic connections to France, and Thailand was their friend. To learn that those two were captured…

"France's capture is especially concerning," Russia said.

"Why?!" Taiwan, who was also close to Thailand, demanded. "Because he's an important nation?!"

"Because that's where we are. We're officially in enemy territory."

Everyone was silent as the implications sunk in. Estonia cleared his throat.

"We… have to evacuate, don't we?" he asked.

Russia turned to Estonia. He knew that what he was going to say would especially be hard on him, betrayal or not. And Russia wasn't so cruel that he wanted to say it bluntly, but he didn't know how to break the news. And he needed to break the news.

"There's more," Taiwan said. "Isn't there?"

Russia nodded, closing his eyes.

"Estonia, sit down," he said.

"What?" Estonia asked. "Why?"

"Because I know how close you two were."

"W-what do you…?"

"It's Finland. He's dead. Killed by Denmark and New Zealand. And he's not coming back."

Russia opened his eyes. Estonia looked pained, and his knees buckled, as Russia predicted. He leaned against the nearest person, which was Cambodia, who immediately tried to get him to take a seat.

"W-what?" Estonia whispered. "How…? How could it have…? T-Tino…"

Russia sighed.

"I'm sorry, comrade," he said. "I didn't know how else to tell you."

Estonia mutely nodded. Latvia wrapped a comforting arm around Estonia, who quickly pushed the glasses up, most likely to wipe away the tears.

"But, to answer your question," Russia said, "I think that it's best to leave. I do not feel comfortable with staying in a country that I know is being controlled by the enemy."

"I agree," Mongolia said. "I think our first priority should be to find another place to go, and warn the others not to come here."

"Now the problem is simply where to go," Russia said. "The closest safe nation is Spain, but he's also in the middle of both groups. I don't want to take any chances."

"Well…" Mongolia said, "there is always Asia. It doesn't look like they're very active there. Yet. Or we could always ask Australia if we can go there."

"He also has the other islands to take care of," Vietnam pointed out.

"She's right," Hong Kong said. "Australia has to take care of the other island nations first."

"What about Belgium or Luxembourg?" Cambodia asked. "They're also France's neighbours. And what about Monaco?"

"Monaco wouldn't be very safe, as she's very small," Russia said. "We should probably tell her to go somewhere else, of course. And as for Belgium and Luxembourg… France told me before they left that he managed to get in contact with Netherlands, who revealed that his siblings were with him, but he couldn't tell France where they are, or what they were doing. I think…"

"They might be under Alvoran control," Mongolia finished. "Wait, let me check something."

They waited silently as Mongolia was busy on his phone. Eventually he nodded his head, pocketing his phone.

"Not only is Netherlands still providing aid to Cape Town," Mongolia said, "but he and his siblings are among the only Europeans who have access to the Africans."

"Which means that those countries are also too risky to go to," Russia said. "Spain's place is still the closest, safest place, but it's still too dangerous."

"Well, we need to get out of France first," Vietnam said. "You're right, we can't stay here. The others are in Spain, and we should probably meet up with them before we decide anything else."

Russia nodded his head.

"Turkey and Saudi Arabia should also be informed about everything," Russia said.

"We could also consider their countries as possible bases," Vietnam pointed out.

"I'm just a bit worried about Egypt and Israel being close to there," Russia said. "But da, they can be possible choices for a base."

"Well, if we're leaving for Spain," Cambodia said, "then I think we should do it soon. The longer we wait, the greater the chance that something might happen."

"Agreed."

"…I just don't have the heart, you know?" Príncipe said.

He and Equatorial Guinea were standing in the doorway of Prussia and Lithuania's room, watching as the two lovers slept side by side. It was obviously a long and stressful few days, and the two were exhausted, but happy that they could be next to each other again. They hadn't reacted to Mozambique's horrified scream, and that was also why they were there. Obviously, these two didn't know about what had happened to Finland.

And neither nation had the heart to inform them of what happened. At least, they didn't have the heart to wake them up to deliver the news.

They were especially worried about Prussia, and what he might have been forced to endure. They knew he needed his rest. They were just afraid of his reaction when he found out. Again, they had no idea what Requiem had done to him. For all they knew, it could have been something that completely altered how his brain worked, and he might do something that could end up hurting himself. Or those around him.

All things considered, it might be best to wait until he had rested. If there was something done to him, then having him being well-rested would at least make the more irrational part of his mind quiet down.

DR sighed in relief. In the end, the best method he could have used to convince the others to leave for safety was to tell them the truth. He'd told them that Spain called to tell him of the danger, and after a bit of effort, they'd found that Jamaica wasn't in the country anymore.

A nation could sense another nation in their land, particularly if that other nation had been there for a while, or if the nation was aware of the other nation's presence. It could also work in reverse. A nation could sense the presence of the nation whose country they were in, but only if they were within the borders of their country. Which they found Jamaica wasn't.

That was enough for them to realise that something suspicious was going on. There was no logical reason why Jamaica would leave his country without telling them. And when DR mentioned that Spain said that Jamaica was part of the group responsible for the deaths of Germany and the others, they immediately decided that they needed to go somewhere safe.

Spain.

Since he was the one that warned them of the danger, they figured that he wouldn't mind if they went to seek refuge with him. Though a few of them weren't too happy to be going to Spain, they all figured that it was still a better idea than remaining in the territory of a nation that might be a danger to all of them.

And then there was still the matter of Haiti…

"Get some sleep," Vishnu instructed. "That curse is more complicated than anticipated."

India felt a wave of despair as he realised that the gods were having trouble with a curse. Just how much power did Egypt have?

"I'm sorry," India said. "This would have never happened if I hadn't been captured."

"It's not your fault," Israel said. "I should have been there with you. You told me that you would be going up against an enemy, and I wasn't there. I should have insisted that I go with you."

India shook his head, but before he could tell Israel anything to soothe his mind, Nidra approached, looking annoyed.

"That friend of yours has been put in a motionless sleep," she announced. "I can't believe that a pair of ears could cause so much trouble."

India couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. The idea of divine intervention being necessary for the sole purpose of allowing someone's ears time to heal without potentially damaging them further was absurd, and also a relief. The fact that this was a priority told him that he was safe.

Nidra looked offended at his reaction for a moment, before her face softened.

"It's time for you to sleep as well," she said. "Raj, you especially need time to rest and recuperate. If you want, I can make things easier."

India felt a pang of regret as he turned to look at Israel. The curse meant that they couldn't even hold each other as they slept, and India so desperately wanted to feel Israel's warmth. After everything he'd been through, he just wanted a chance to bask in the glory that was his lover's touch.

Based on the longing look he sent towards him, Israel was thinking the same thing.

"It might be a good idea," Israel said. "I don't want you to suffer through any nightmares. And after what I'd seen, there's bound to be a few of them."

India's heart soared when he heard Israel's words. It felt so nice to be cared for. To have your needs be someone's priority. That was something that few nations really felt. Loyalties changed, and things turned sour. That was why he loved being a member of Alvora. They allowed him to experience what he normally never would have.

"Alright," India said. "Would you at least sleep near me?"

"Of course," Israel said. "Let me just check to see if there are any messages from the others. I'm sure Miguel especially would want to hear from us personally."

India nodded his head, lying down. It wasn't the first time he had to sleep on a hard surface, but compared to the chair he had been bound to, this was heaven. He closed his eyes, but opened them again when he heard Israel's sigh of frustration.

"What's wrong?" India asked.

"Battery's dead," Israel explained. "Hopefully no one tried to contact us. Can you imagine how worried they'd be, especially after everything Requiem's done?"

India shrugged.

"I don't think they'd be too worried," he said. "After all, the others would have given a progress report by now."

Israel was motionless for a moment, before he nodded.

"You're probably right," Israel said. "We should probably go find civilisation tomorrow, at least to get this thing charged. And we'll probably need to get something to eat."

India nodded his head. To be honest, he hadn't really been thinking about food. He was in too much pain and too exhausted. Perhaps it would be better the following day.

He closed his eyes, making sure that Israel's face was the last thing he saw before drifting off to sleep.

Portugal had made himself a cup of tea, and was sipping from the cup when his phone rang. After all of the bad news he'd been receiving, that sound was quickly becoming the thing he hated most.

And when he saw who was calling him, he really started to think that it was a bad day.

"What do you want?" he snarled.

"Oh, I see you've found out about Finland," Romano said. "Then perhaps you'd be willing to listen to me."

Portugal scowled.

"And what is it you want?" he demanded.

"I'm proposing a truce," Romano said. "Give your group time to grieve and all of that. A week where neither of us attacks each other. What do you say?"

Portugal narrowed his eyes.

"You're just afraid that we'll retaliate for what you've done," he said. "Give me one good reason why I should accept your truce."

"How's the group that escaped the Washroom?" Romano asked. "Even if they managed to escape Lullaby, they would still feel side-effects."

Portugal's breath hitched. Of course, several of his comrades were still recovering after Requiem's brown note. And while a few of them were itching for a fight, they still needed time for them to be ready.

This would also give the Africans ample time to prepare for their attacks. But he still needed to make arrangements.

"And what guarantees do I have?" he asked.

"No one from Requiem will attack a member from Alvora, and vice versa," Romano said. "A penalty if the truce is broken. For example, how fond are you of Padrão dos Descobrimentos?"

Portugal felt his blood run cold. They might have learned how to prevent the damage done to their countries to affect them, but there were still effects if a national monument was damaged.

"Alright," Portugal sighed. "I agree to the truce. But if you break it, then expect a nasty surprise to hit the Colosseum."

Considering the role the Roman Empire played in the creation of Requiem, there was a chance that damaging their grandfather's pride and joy would severely bother them.

"Fine," Romano said, not hiding his disdain. "Deal."

One of my colleagues has a bit of an addiction to energy drinks. She drinks it like most people would drink water, and she even drinks it instead of water. Or at least she used to. She recently got shingles, and she has to cut caffeine out of her diet. She is extremely frustrated with the arrangement, and has started experimenting with tea.

The grootslang (literally 'big snake') is a cryptid that apparently exists in South Africa. It was featured on The Secret Saturdays, but is traditionally thought of to be part elephant, part snake. And is considered extremely dangerous.