Thanks to AquaEclipse for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 80
Black and White had both gone to Johannesburg's airport, waiting for their guests to arrive. They'd also brought Equatorial Guinea with them to help with the teleportation. They needed to drop off the nations that would be arriving soon, and then they would need to travel with the rest of Alvora's nations to Canada.
Though, they were debating the need to take a flight, instead of using their magic to get there. They wanted to be there for Finland's funeral, but every minute they spent on a plane was a minute they could have used to prepare for the coming attack.
It was bad enough that they were considering tapping into the arsenal of abilities available to nations that Alvora decided were to be left for emergencies, due to how difficult, challenging and exhausting they could be. And it would be especially so for the two South Africas.
Since they each represented a certain part of their populations, their abilities were restricted. They tired out faster than the others, and they had to concentrate harder to do certain things. It didn't help that one of their capitals had been completely destroyed, and Black was still recovering after his ordeal with Egypt. White, for her part, was at least no longer exhausted, but she was restricting herself in order to avoid an emergency like before.
Fortunately, Haiti said that he would be working on a tonic to help them all regain their energy, so at least that helped.
"Here they are," White said.
White led the way to where their guests would be, and soon enough, they saw Oman's group. And they were glad that Oman had called ahead to warn them, otherwise the sight of Afghanistan and Syria would have been completely surprising.
"Had a nice flight?" White asked, looking between the six nations.
"All things considered," Syria said, looking warily between the three of them.
"Ah, I see," Black said, nodding his head. "You're still a bit suspicious."
"Considering I only found out about two giant conspiracies yesterday, which happen to star you three, can you blame me?"
"I wouldn't have asked you to join us if I didn't think they could be trusted," Afghanistan said. "Besides, don't you want a chance to do what you love again?"
Syria looked a bit hesitant, before he nodded his head.
"I wouldn't mind," he said. "But would I even have a place to work?"
"Tell me what you need, and we can make arrangements," White said. "Anything else you need?"
"Steel would be preferable, though I wouldn't mind titanium. And on that note, what type of compensation can I expect?"
"Tell us what you want, and we'll see if we can oblige," Black said.
Syria pursed his lips, looking between the two South Africans.
"I want an end to ISIS," he said.
"Done," White said, before looking towards Afghanistan. "Would you like us to get rid of the Taliban while we're at it?"
"Already part of the deal," Oman said. "But if you're willing to contribute…"
"Speaking of contribute," Black said, "are you going to help with the attack against Requiem? Egypt's our main target."
"Is there a particular reason why you singled him out?" Syria asked.
"Asides from blowing up one of our capitals, as well as the capitals of some of our friends, blinding me, kidnapping and torturing another of our friends, and messing with the mind of yet another friend…" Black said. "No, no reason in particular."
Syria winced, and Afghanistan also looked uncomfortable.
"Right…" Jordan said. "So, how are we getting to this place?"
"Caio, you're up," White said.
Equatorial Guinea grinned as the Middle Eastern nations acknowledged his presence for the first time.
"Buckle up," he said.
…
Normally, when people suddenly appeared in the room you were in, you would freak out. Azores, on the other hand, calmly sipped his tea when nine nations suddenly appeared in the living room he was in. Macau was similarly unaffected, only looking up briefly from his phone to see what was happening.
Some of the other nations, on the other hand, reacted predictably, with quite a few curses in quite a few languages being uttered. One of them came from Lebanon.
"You guys really like your teleportation, don't you?" she asked.
"It's easier to get around," Equatorial Guinea said, shrugging.
"Is everyone awake yet?" White asked, directing the question at Macau and Azores.
"Jeng's up and about," Azores said. "Gilbert demonstrated his ability to talk in his sleep by saying things that are actually very impressive in one's sleep. But he's definitely asleep. Toris looks as though he needs to smell coffee first before he'll even consider getting up."
"Shame," White said. "I think he might also be channelling Feliks's pain. So, I guess they can sleep a little longer. I'll check on them now-now."
Syria frowned.
"What does that even mean?" he asked.
"There's a chart, explaining the South African concept of time," Azores said. "Wait."
He searched on his phone, before finding the appropriate chart, before handing the phone to Syria. He stared at the screen for a moment, before he shook his head.
"This makes absolutely no sense," he said.
"You get used to it," Black said.
"Speaking of something not making any sense," Macau said. "Apparently, most of Egypt's population suddenly dropped dead."
"What?" White questioned, before accepting Macau's phone. "Why?"
"This sounds suspicious," Equatorial Guinea said. "Why would Egypt's entire population just… drop dead?"
"Does it have anything to do with Egypt's sudden destruction of mosques?" Syria asked.
"Of course!" Black said. "That might be it. Egypt seemed to resent the Muslims for destroying his mother's old religion. And the fact that he used the Egyptian gods…"
"More than just Muslims, actually," White said. "Christians and Jews as well. The only ones that seem to have survived the unexpected wave were the neo-pagans and the children. There's… Hold on."
The others waited patiently as White examined something else on the phone. She frowned, before sighing in disgust.
"He actually killed them all," she said. "And the Kemetics have a website which says that the gods of old are reclaiming what's theirs."
"Question," Afghanistan said. "Wouldn't a smaller population make it easier for your attack?"
"It actually makes things a lot trickier," Black said. "How many nations do you know that commit genocide on their own people? Not only that, but he literally killed millions in… how long?"
"Almost instantly," White sighed. "It could have taken minutes, at most."
"Right. That means that there's little that we can throw at him which is going to bother him. And it means we're going to have to work a lot harder. Because even though his population has dwindled, there's still the matter of him making it more difficult to attack his humans. It's less dense now."
"Bastard. It's like he's trying to show off that there's little we can do to him. Well, looks like we're just going to have to get a little more creative…"
…
Liechtenstein glanced over to Monaco, wringing her hands nervously. When France called her the previous day to tell her to go to Monaco and not to trust Switzerland, naturally, she was nervous. She wanted to trust her brother, but…
Switzerland had been acting really… odd lately. He wasn't at home, for one thing, and asides from her house and business trips, he was always at home. And when she called him to ask where he was, he was vague, whereas he would usually be direct. Not to mention, after what happened to Austria, she was a bit on edge, and didn't mind going in the opposite direction.
And when she found out that Monaco had received a similar call from France, telling her to wait with Liechtenstein for news from France, it only made her even more nervous. First there was what happened to Germany, then Austria descending into total anarchy, and now this.
She wanted answers, but at the same time, she was too scared to seek them. So she didn't see a problem with going to someone who was potentially offering the answers that she desired.
Her nerves, and Monaco's, went haywire when it was Spain that called them to tell them that they needed to go to his house. And when asked what happened to France, Spain wouldn't give an answer. Monaco was especially alarmed, since she knew that Spain was in love with France, so his silence wasn't something that she wanted to hear.
Monaco was driving, but she could tell that there was something seriously wrong. They had to drive through France to get to Spain, and the French roads were empty. Liechtenstein tried to remember when the last time she saw a car was, and found that she couldn't recall seeing one since leaving Monaco.
"What do you think is going on?" Liechtenstein asked.
"I don't know," Monaco admitted. "But I have a feeling that something is seriously wrong. I think… something might have happened to France."
Liechtenstein felt a chill run down her back.
"You don't think he's… dead, do you?" Liechtenstein asked.
Monaco looked uncomfortable.
"I don't think so," she whispered. "What happened to Germany… It's not happening here now. It's just… too quiet."
Liechtenstein didn't know which one of them Monaco was trying to reassure.
…
The moment that France gained awareness, he knew that he was in deep trouble. He knew that he had been killed, and all things considered, the only ones that would want to kill him, even temporarily…
The last words that he heard before he died echoed in his mind, confirming to him that he was far from safe. And so, he tried desperately to prevent them from realising that he was awake again, if they were nearby. He tried to keep his breathing as shallow and as quiet as possible. He felt that he was doing alright, until he heard a door open.
He felt proud of himself for his breath not hitching, especially when he heard footsteps approaching. He didn't delude himself into thinking that he would be able to fight off his captors. He could clearly feel the ropes around his ankles and wrists, and knew that his only hope was to delay the inevitable pain that would come.
The footsteps stopped next to him, and he tried to be as still and quiet as possible. He waited for the other person to decide that he was still out of it. To turn around and leave. The longer the silence stretched, the more France's fear grew.
There was a sudden pain in France's head, and he cried out, despite his best efforts to keep the cry in. He heard a familiar chuckle, and he warily opened his eyes to see Italy leering down at him.
"Do you really think I'm so stupid?" Italy asked.
"H-how did you know?" France asked.
"I simply looked at the time. I knew that you'd be awake by now. I even gave you a few minutes of peace and quiet, just in case."
"Antonio… What did you do to him?!"
Italy smirked.
"It's sweet that you're so worried about your boyfriend," Italy said. "But I'd be worried about you."
"…If you were going to kill me, you would have done it by now," France said. "You're going to torture me. That's nothing new."
Italy's smirk widened.
"We still have a few surprises," he said. "I assure you, this is nothing like the experiences you've had before. But it's a good thing you're awake, because you're leaving soon."
"What?" France asked. "Why?"
"Because there are other nations that really want to play with you, and they'll feel comfortable doing it somewhere else. So, you've got a few more minutes, so I suggest you use this time to calm your nerves. After that… Let's just say, you'd be lucky if you saw me again."
France shuddered as Italy turned around and left. He understood that what Italy was showing him was mercy. Which made him wonder what he was in for.
…
China was surprised when he felt someone leaning on his shoulder, and he looked back to see Taiwan practically lying on his shoulder. He was on the sofa, watching the news, but turned the TV off in order to give her his full attention.
"Mei, what's wrong?" he asked.
She shook her head, leaning closer to him. China was still confused, but allowed her to do what she wanted. He wondered if she was perhaps tired. After all, their group did arrive very late (or was it very early?), and he didn't think that she got all of the sleep that she required.
"Isn't it uncomfortable?" China asked. "Wouldn't you rather sit next to me?"
Taiwan was quiet for a moment, before she released China, walking around the sofa to sit next to him. He was a bit surprise that she snuggled closer, but he wasn't about to complain.
Still, he wanted to know what was on her mind.
"Mei, please tell me what's wrong," he pleaded.
For a while, she remained silent, and her silence was broken by a shaky breath.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"What brought this on?" China asked.
"They… they used me to spy on you. To attack you. What else did they make me do? And what are they going to make me do? And… what will happen when they think they don't need me anymore?"
China sighed, before wrapping his arms around her in a hug.
"I will always be there to help you," China said. "Even if they manage to kill me permanently… I think I know a few ways to defy that. What's past is past. You can't change it. Don't feel guilty about the things you might have done. The fact that you don't know what it is frees you of guilt. It wasn't your fault. And what you might do in the future… I won't allow you to hurt yourself. I'll make sure to keep them as far away as possible."
She sniffed, and that was when China realised that she was crying.
"Yao, why would you never acknowledge me as a full nation?" she asked.
He sighed, hugging her tighter.
"Because I didn't think you were ready," he said. "Nations go through a lot of turmoil, and have a lot of responsibilities. I've seen countless nations come and go. Some died before they had a chance to live. I wanted to make sure that you would be truly ready to stand on your own. And can you blame me for wanting to keep my cute baby sister safe?"
She actually giggled at that. China was glad that she realised that he was saying it jokingly, and not condescendingly. But he was speaking the truth. He wanted to protect her, and he even tried to protect her from his own government at times. It was the same with all of his siblings. He wanted to protect them. Because of all the friends and family he'd lost to time. Because of what his predecessor went through that drove him beyond the point of suicide…
He jumped when someone knocked on the front door. Taiwan's grip around him tightened, and he frowned in alarm. Who was at the door?
He could see someone else going, and it took him a moment to realise that it was Laos going to the door. China hugged Taiwan one more time, before he pulled away from her, following after Laos. Just when Laos reached out to open the door…
"Are you stupid?" he hissed. "You shouldn't just open the door."
"It will be alright," Laos said, smiling reassuringly. "My instincts tell me so."
Normally, China had a lot of faith and respect for Laos's prophetic abilities, but now wasn't a time to rely on blind faith. He tensed when Laos opened the door, half expecting a gunshot or something…
"Jampa?!" Laos exclaimed.
China gasped, before he ran over to the door. Indeed, standing on the other side was a battered and tired-looking Tibet.
"What happened to you?" China asked. "How are you here?"
"Alvora," Tibet said. "They rescued me, and decided that it would be best to bring me here."
Tibet yelped as China pulled him closer, wrapping him in a hug. Based on how tense he was, this was not what he expected.
"I'm so glad you're safe," China whispered.
Tibet hesitated, before he returned the hug. By now, some of the other nations had come closer to investigate.
"This is all so suspicious, don't you think?" China heard Russia's voice. "Last I heard, Tibet was captured by Requiem."
China pulled away, frowning.
"I want to know everything," he said.
Tibet nodded, and they all went to the living room. Tibet looked nervously around, before focusing his attention on China.
"South Korea found me and tortured me in my own country," Tibet started to explain. "India, Bangladesh and Myanmar tried to rescue me, but they were captured by Requiem, who continued to torture all of us. India especially got it bad, since they got Pakistan on board as well."
"We heard about Pakistan joining Requiem," Vietnam said. "But how are you here?"
"Yesterday, Alvora launched a rescue, which included me," Tibet continued. "The place they took us to was Requiem's Washroom, so…"
"How can we trust that you're safe to be around?" Russia asked.
"Because they only tortured me. They tried to indoctrinate Bangladesh, and he ended up rupturing his eardrums in order to escape from that. Alvora… They have a funeral to arrange, so they gave me the choice of staying with them or coming to you. And… I decided to come here."
"Why?" Cambodia asked.
"Because I wanted to be with my family. I want to save Myanmar and Bhutan too, but… I know it's not possible. Not for me. It also looks like Requiem and Alvora have a personal grudge against each other, so I wanted to get out of the way, even if they do have a truce right now."
"A truce?" Spain asked. "That sounds a bit suspicious."
Tibet shrugged.
"And let me guess," Russia said, "Alvora asked you to sign a contract to keep you quiet about their organisation."
Tibet cocked his head to the side.
"What contract?" he asked.
Ah, the South African concept of time, when 'now' doesn't mean now, and 'just now' means 'later'. You can actually find charts online to explain the concept of time. In Afrikaans, the 'just now' actually has two forms: nounet and netnou. Nounet is literally 'just now', and refers to something that happened, while netnou means later, but it could also be used in the past tense to refer to something that happened an hour ago (at least). Actually, all of them can apply to both future and past tense, but almost never present tense. 'Right now' is in Afrikaans nou dadelik, which means 'now immediately', but it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen now immediately.
Also, if a South African uses the word 'shame', it's not used as 'shame on you'. It's more like 'that's a shame', in other words it's an expression of sympathy, or mock-sympathy (however, when used mockingly, it usually gets a diminutive and plural, becoming 'shamepies' (the 'ie' is pronounced like 'ee', by the way)). Another time you'd use it is if cuteness proximity is in play. It was literally the first thing I said when presented with a photo of baby meerkats.
