Thanks to SpacePotato117, FerayEs and Bre41 for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 108
East Timor stared at the girl standing before them. Something about her just felt… wrong. As though there was no joy in her entire being. In fact, he could sense nothing except pure, barely contained anger.
Philippines stared at the girl for a long time before she smirked.
"Well, this is a surprise," she said. "Did you come all the way back from the dead to say 'hi' to me?"
Timor shuddered. The way Philippines said it… He knew that she didn't mean a temporary death. And that was when he realised why she felt like that. All nations had encountered spirits at one point or another, even the spirits of the dead. And this girl…
Well, he'd never encountered one that was this angry before.
The girl didn't respond, except by narrowing her eyes. Philippines tried to stand up, clearly not accepting the threat. But then she cried out in pain, and it took Timor a moment to realise that Indonesia's knife fell out. No, it didn't fall out. It looked as though it was yanked out.
She must have kept it there to slow the bleeding. Was she planning an escape? Did she have a way to escape?
Philippines pressed her hand against her chest as she glared at the girl. Timor could see the blood pooling around the hand, and wondered how long Philippines would remain conscious.
"So, I'm going to assume you want revenge, right?" she snapped. "I don't know how you crawled out of your little hole, but I'm going to destroy you again." She smirked. "You know, I can still remember how you taste. The richness of your flesh combined with the sweetness of your blood. If you are actually physically here, then I'll do it again. And if you're just a ghost, then you're nothing more than smoke, and you shouldn't be wasting my time."
Timor winced. He knew that it was generally a bad idea to insult spirits, especially those that seemed to radiate anger and hatred. And judging by Indonesia and Malaysia's uncomfortable faces, they were also wondering what on earth was causing Philippines to say something so phenomenally stupid and suicidal.
The girl's expression didn't change, but Timor could sense that the air was starting to feel thick. His breath hitched when he realised that he was having difficulty breathing. Philippines appeared unbothered, even though the loss of blood had started to drain her of colour. She removed a silver device from her pocket and pressed a button.
And that was when she started to look scared.
Timor didn't have to wonder about it. That was the device that Requiem used in order to teleport. And she couldn't use it at the moment.
"What?" she breathed.
"You will not escape," the girl said. "Not until we're done with you, for now."
Timor picked up on that word. 'We'. There were more. More spirits like the girl. Philippines also seemed to understand the implication of the pronoun, for she started to look worried.
And then something happened that East Timor couldn't quite understand at first: the hand she kept pressed to the wound twisted back with the arm in an unnatural angle, and based on the sound, he knew that Philippines dislocated a shoulder. She gritted her teeth and glared at Zamboanga, but evidently the girl wasn't finished with her yet. The arm twisted further and further back, and the opposite arm accompanied that arm behind her back. The two arms were being twisted together like a pretzel, and arms weren't supposed to be able to twist across each other so many times. Philippines's face twisted in pain as cracks echoed in the air, until finally she screamed in agony.
But that was just the beginning. Her legs jerked underneath her, and she was forced to the ground as her legs were bent in front of her and…
Knees were not supposed to bend like that!
"You twisted our bodies for your amusement," the girl continued, and this time it sounded as though multiple people were speaking in unison. "And now it's our turn!"
Timor wanted to look away, but it was as though there was something physically stopping him. Yes, they might have been enemies, but he wasn't interested in seeing Philippines twisted in ways that no body was meant to be twisted in. The accompanying cracks didn't make his stomach feel any better. And it wasn't just a matter of bile fascination. He found that he could literally not move anything except his lungs.
Just as that realisation crossed his mind, he sensed something behind him, and he was almost sure that he could feel cold fingers trailing up his spine. He thought for a moment that he could sense someone breathing in his ear, but that was just the wind.
Right?
"You didn't save us," another voice whispered in his ear. "We were hoping that you would find us, irmão, but you didn't. You didn't even think to look for us. You let them kill us. You are also to blame."
His breath hitched. He recognised the childish voice. One of the last things he remembered of that voice was 'I don't want to be alone', after he explained to his municipalities that they couldn't be around each other the whole time because they had jobs to do. And the next time he tried to contact her, she was gone.
Her words always haunted him for that reason.
But she was wrong in one regard. He had looked for her, as well as the others. He spent an entire year trying to find them. But then he wondered if it was whatever phenomenon that caused the regions to disappear, and he stopped the search. He wasn't sure if regions were supposed to exist.
But now he knew better, and when he realised that Requiem was most probably responsible for the disappearance of his municipalities, he had stressed over the possibility of searching for them. Or wondering whether or not they were still alive.
He didn't have to wonder about one of them, at least. If she was like the other girl that Philippines had confirmed as dead, then he was dealing with the angry spirit of one of his own municipalities.
Ermera.
He wanted to protest that she was wrong. He had looked for her and the others, and he had been worried about them. But he still couldn't move. He still couldn't do anything except watch as Philippines's body was twisted in horrible ways, but somehow, he couldn't hear her screams anymore. Almost as though Ermera was the only thing that he could hear. Just like how his lungs were all that he could move.
And then his mouth clamped shut.
The taste of blood filled his mouth and he could feel it being otherwise filled with a liquid. He started to panic when he couldn't open his mouth to spit it out, as more and more of the blood filled his mouth, but there was no injury that could have produced it. Afraid of drowning, Timor had no choice but to swallow, immediately feeling sick to his stomach. Though he was pleased to note that he could at least move something else now.
But the blood kept coming, faster and faster. He had to keep swallowing, but he found it harder and harder to keep up.
"You will not receive the same punishment that our murderers will receive," Ermera said. "Instead, you will drown in the blood of those you failed to save."
He was reminded of the prophecy that they received on the day of Finland's funeral. 'Innocent blood spilt will drown all they blame.' He didn't think it would be literal! And what was happening to the others? He couldn't even turn to look.
All he could do was swallow the blood filling his mouth and wondering when it would fill too fast for him to swallow.
…
Andorra closed the door softly before he went to sit down next to France's bed. He could sense that the body was mostly healed, and it was only a matter of time before life would return to him, and France would most likely hug him in joy upon seeing him and realising that he was free from Requiem.
According to Portugal, Spain was ecstatic when he heard the news, though he was a bit disappointed that France couldn't join them immediately because he still needed to be given time to heal.
He was glad that he could see France again. He considered both Spain and France to be his adoptive brothers, and knowing that one of them had been in danger really stressed him out. He also wanted to be near people he trusted, especially after the revelation of what Requiem did to him. At least having Portugal around was a huge help. He didn't think he would be able to handle being around all these other nations otherwise, even if they were trying to help him.
That was one of the problems associated with being a small nation. Always having the fear that a larger nation would want to conquer you and make you part of their territory. Which was why having the protection of larger nations always felt good, especially when the larger nation considered you a part of their family. Like France and Spain.
Speaking of which, he wondered if there was a way for him to check on Liechtenstein. He knew from information that Spain had given Portugal that she and Monaco had joined the others, which meant that she knew about Switzerland lying to her by now. He also wondered if she was aware of his death. He didn't know if Portugal mentioned that detail to Spain, and he didn't know if the others could learn about what happened to Switzerland considering his land wasn't under direct attack, and the news was full of Alvora's actions in the different countries. Would Switzerland's death even register to them?
He winced when he felt a growing headache, and after a few minutes he started to hear the first whispers. He got into the habit of wearing headphones around his neck for when something like this happened, and he immediately pressed 'play' on his phone in order to start the music.
The wine tasting he did with Slovakia was alright, but the best method he found so far remained music. He was just glad that Romania was willing to help him to get what he needed.
He closed his eyes as he allowed the music to wash over him, drowning the voices implanted by Requiem.
…
Malaysia watched as Philippines was tortured by the girl. Even though she made her desire to kill him pretty clear, he didn't exactly enjoy seeing her like this. He could only imagine the amount of pain she was in.
He would have attempted to appeal to the angry spirit that was torturing Philippines, but he couldn't move, not even his mouth to speak. He couldn't look away. And he wondered what the intent of all of this was.
When Philippines stopped screaming and her body no longer twisted into horrible positions, Malaysia wondered if it was over. He tried to look towards Zamboanga for some sort of clue about what was happening, but his eyes wouldn't follow his desire.
Philippines was panting heavily, and even from a fair distance away Malaysia could see that she was covered in sweat and deathly pale. Almost the entirety of the front of her uniform's shirt was red with blood from the wound that Indonesia had inflicted, and Malaysia was almost sure that she had lost enough blood to result in a temporary death.
But she wasn't dead.
Zamboanga stalked closer, and Malaysia could see the fear on Philippines's face. The girl just looked down at the nation that apparently killed her with a cold, blank expression.
"Your death will not be this swift," she said. "You will suffer as we did. And you will be the messenger."
Malaysia watched as Philippines disappeared, and suddenly he could move again. He opened his mouth to ask Zamboanga something, but she was already gone.
"What the hell just happened?" Indonesia asked.
"I have no idea," Malaysia said. "But I don't like it. It came out of nowhere. And what was that girl?"
"I think she used to be one of Philippines's provinces."
"You know what I mean."
"Angry ghost?"
Malaysia sighed. It would seem that was the only way to describe her.
The two of them jumped when they heard a muffled scream, and they turned to find East Timor on the ground, hands against his mouth. His nose appeared to be bleeding, and the other two quickly rushed to help their ally.
"Virgílio, what's wrong?" Malaysia asked.
East Timor didn't answer, and it was only then that Malaysia realised that he was trying to pry his mouth open.
Timor glanced at them in fear, before he brought his finger down to the dirt in front of him. Malaysia watched as he wrote two words.
Blood drown.
Malaysia didn't understand what he was saying at first, but then he thought about what happened to Philippines, and he realised that she wasn't the only one affected. Timor was being forced to drown in blood.
Malaysia cursed, before looking down at his arms. They were sufficiently bloody. He grabbed a hold of both Indonesia and Timor.
"Ainâmor!" he shouted.
…
Romania yawned as he made his way to his bedroom. He had just returned after all the errands, and while he felt guilty about leaving Angola in the state she was in, he needed to be available in case Portugal wanted something else from him. But until then, he could use a nap. There was a lot of magic involved, and curing Botswana of his mutism was definitely not an easy task.
Just as he entered the room, he knew that his hopes of getting some rest flew out the window. Falling on the bed were Malaysia, Indonesia and East Timor, and he knew by the amount of blood on Timor especially that this wasn't going to be a nice visit.
"What happened?" he demanded as he approached the trio.
"Long story," Malaysia said. "But Virgílio can't open his mouth and he's drowning in blood!"
Romania's eyes widened, and he immediately turned his attention to Timor. Blood was pouring down his nose and his mouth was clamped shut. He quickly reached out a hand, using a spell to try to determine what was going on. It took a few seconds, and when the truth became clear to him, he could feel the blood in his own face drain.
Romania placed his hands on Timor's jaw, muttering all the spells that he knew that might help.
"Is there something we can do to help?" Indonesia asked.
"In my office, there's an amulet that's supposed to undo all spells," Romania said. "It looks like an eye. Go get it!"
Indonesia was out of the door in a flash. Romania continued to focus on Timor, trying to chase the angry thoughts out of his mind. Revenge on Requiem could come later. For now, he needed to help his friend.
Indonesia rushed in a few moments later, and Romania was happy for that, since Timor's face was starting to become blue. And he noticed that Timor kept swallowing.
Romania grabbed the amulet and pressed it against Timor's jaw, and for a few seconds he was worried that it didn't work. But then Timor's mouth flew open, and blood came pouring out of it.
Romania would have to change the sheets.
They watched as blood kept coming out, and it seemed to come without origin. At one point, though, Timor's body lurched, and the scent of bile mixed with blood. Too much blood.
"What happened?" he demanded, rounding on Indonesia and Malaysia. "Who did this?"
The two exchanged looks, and Romania could see the confusion and conflict and fear on their faces.
"Ermera," Timor croaked, before more blood gushed from his mouth.
Romania rounded on Timor, his mind trying to process what it was Timor was saying. Ermera was one of his municipalities who disappeared, and…
"There was another one?" Indonesia asked.
"What do you mean?" Romania asked. "What happened?"
…
Italy and the others were in the war room, trying to find a plan for how to retaliate against Alvora. Belarus and Hungary had joined them, and they were examining various maps, as well as the notes they had on Alvora's members.
They all jumped when there was a crash in the centre of the room. It took Italy a moment to process that it was Philippines, and…
"What happened?!" New Zealand demanded as he rushed to her side.
He could understand New Zealand's concern. After all, Philippines was meant to be helping defend his capital. But she wouldn't be defending anything for the time being.
Not with the state her body was in.
"Did Alvora do this?" Greece asked, looking her up and down.
"Not… them," Philippines croaked. "Zamboanga."
"What?" Romano asked. "I thought she was dead."
"I remember that," Mexico said. "But how…?"
Egypt placed his hand on Philippines's head, earning a whimper. He retracted his hand soon enough, a horrified look on his face.
"Everything is broken," he said. "She shouldn't even be speaking to us right now."
"Can you heal her?" Italy asked.
"I'll try. But I've never seen something quite like this. Tala, do you mind if I put you out first? It might be easier to heal you if you're temporarily dead."
Philippines groaned as she turned to focus on Egypt. She blinked slowly, before slowly nodding her head. Egypt smiled apologetically, before raising a gun. Italy watched as he loaded it with ordinary bullets before he shot Philippines in the head.
It might not have been pleasant, but it was the kindest thing he could do for her at the moment.
The shot was point blank and should have been fatal, but they all reacted with horror when they saw that Philippines was still alive and awake.
And now they're burning down farms… And then, a few months from now, everyone's going to protest the fact that the food prices are so high. Because, you know, supply and demand. Hundreds of thousands of hectares had been burnt, and hundreds of animals had to be put down because of the injuries they sustained during the fires. And it's all in one province. If you want to see what's happening, google 'Free State South Africa farm fires'.
