Thanks to FerayEs for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 110
Bhutan sighed as he put the book aside. He got the books he hoped for, except they weren't particularly generous with the genre. Most likely they were trying to give him books that didn't interfere with his visions.
Romance novels. Why did they have to be romance novels? It wouldn't be too bad if they didn't follow the exact same formula. The characters differed, sure, and the settings were different, but the formula…!
They said beggars couldn't be choosers, but Bhutan wondered how much of this was because they wanted to keep his imagination from running wild, which would interfere with the visions, and how much was them just being spiteful. Considering it was them, both options were possible.
He jumped when the door opened, and he swallowed thickly when he saw Greece. The other looked mildly annoyed, and Bhutan knew that this wasn't going to be a pleasant visit. And seeing Egypt with him just confirmed his suspicions.
"We had a bit of a situation," Greece said. "Philippines and East Timor were both attacked by someone that was supposed to be dead. The fact that we and our enemies were attacked makes us curious."
"We don't want any more surprises," Egypt said. "So, you are going to tell us everything you can."
"I-I haven't gotten a new vision lately," Bhutan stammered. "Honest!"
"That's okay. We came prepared."
Greece took out a cloth, and Bhutan immediately tensed when he saw that. He recalled the drug they used against him to force his visions. He instinctively tried to run, but he was easily grabbed by Greece, the cloth pressed against his mouth and nose. Greece squeezed his wrist, forcing him to inhale the substance as he cried out in pain. As Greece forced him down on his bed, Bhutan could feel the current reality slipping away.
"Tell us what happened with Philippines and East Timor," Greece instructed. "And see if you can find anything remotely similar to that in the future."
Bhutan whimpered as images flooded his mind. A girl completely wrapped in shadows as Philippines's body twisted, her pained scream ringing through the air. The taste of blood as the focus shifted to East Timor. Libya staring at the faces of two people in fear. Singapore surrounded by shadowy figures. Belize being held by one of those shadowy figures.
Finland and Lithuania, their bodies covered in a red light.
Pain exploded in his skull and he screamed as the visions started coming too fast, and what little he could make out were usually scenes of violence and blood. And then…
Was that… a child version of China?
The visions seemed to settle on that scene. Based on the clothing… he was seeing the past, and not the future. There was someone with China, and they bore a strong resemblance to each other. The elder one was whispering something into the young China's ear. And in the next instant, the elder was dead and the younger was screaming in anguish.
And for some strange reason, there was the sound of babies crying.
Bhutan gasped. It took him a while to realise that he was back in his room in Requiem's base, and that there was some sort of liquid on his face. He reached up and pulled it away. His nose was bleeding. That had never happened before.
"Well, that was interesting," Egypt remarked. "That must mean that there's something, doesn't it?"
Bhutan swallowed nervously as he sat up. He was trembling, and there was still the matter of the bloody nose to deal with. He knew that the two nations were expecting an explanation, and he was trying to find the words to say them.
"C-could you just… get me a tissue or something?" Bhutan asked, raising his bloody hand.
Egypt clicked his tongue, but thankfully he left. Greece crossed his arms, a firm glare on his face.
"In the meantime, you can tell me what you saw," he said.
Bhutan took a shaky breath through his mouth.
"I… I saw a lot of things that didn't make sense," he said. "Philippines and East Timor were attacked by girls wrapped in shadows. They didn't look very old, to be honest. Singapore and Belize were also surrounded by shadowy figures. And… Libya was staring at two people like that too. I… I also saw Finland and Lithuania, but they were covered in red light. And then… I couldn't make out a lot of what happened next. It was too fast. And then… I think I saw China's past. Either that, or a child that looks a lot like him. But the clothes looked as though they came from long ago. And… I heard the sound of babies crying."
Greece narrowed his eyes.
"You can't make out anything clear from that?" he asked.
Bhutan narrowed his eyes.
"If I had a proper teacher who didn't resort to drugging me, I might be better at this," he snapped.
"Still, that Libya one seems relevant," Greece mused.
Egypt returned then with a box of tissues, but Greece stopped him.
"I think we need to try another dose," he said.
Bhutan blanched. He tried to back off, but he could see Greece take a bottle out of his pocket. He opened the bottle before pinning Bhutan to the bed. Bhutan tried to keep his mouth closed, but his bloody nose made it a bit difficult at this point in time. His mouth was opened, and some of the bottle's contents were in his mouth. It must not have been more than a mouthful, if it was even that, but the effect was instantaneous.
Bhutan screamed as visions assaulted his mind. Visions of the past, present and future, but they were impossible to distinguish from each other. The pain was no longer confined to his head, but his entire body suffered from the effects.
The pain stopped, but he knew that it wasn't over. He was alone in the darkness, at least until someone walked up in front of him. If he had control over himself, he would have gasped in shock.
Dagana.
He repressed a shiver when he saw the cold look in her eyes.
"You didn't find us," she said. "You didn't think to look for us. You didn't care. You did nothing as they slaughtered us." And then, to his surprise, her face softened. "But you are a victim, like us. Your freedom was stolen from you, and you are forced to suffer for their benefit. Which is why I will tell you something."
Bhutan knew that her words would be important, so he paid close attention.
"The future lies in the past. Innocent deaths will be avenged. Blood will swallow all that failed the innocents. Death will come to all, but it will not come swiftly. Mercy will not be given by those that received none."
Bhutan didn't realise that he was repeating these words out loud.
…
Central African Republic was thrilled. Not because he had to bring death upon the humans in the Requiem country, but because his own humans were working together. No conflict among his people. No politics. No clashing of ideals. Everything was as he hoped it would be.
He yelped when someone grabbed him by the ear, and he turned around to see Chad looking at him with some annoyance.
"What are you so happy about?" Chad demanded.
"Asides from travelling through the Sahara Desert in air-conditioned trucks?" CAR asked. "I'm just… so happy that my people are working together. This is more than I could have ever hoped for."
Chad grunted, but CAR could see that the other accepted his explanation.
Their mission was an unusual one. They were supposed to cut a path through Libya into Egypt, which was going by smoothly. It helped that there was almost nothing on this side of the Sahara. CAR was struggling a bit with the heat, but Chad was doing better. Once they were in Egypt, they would need to go straight towards Cairo.
The idea was to attract Egypt's attention. No luck so far, but it was only a matter of time before Egypt would respond to the presence of nations in his land who came accompanied by armies. And even though they were acting as bait, it was their own choice.
It helped that they had some sort of draconian creature flying above him. He didn't understand magic, but he appreciated White's brand of magic. If only she had more experience. He could just imagine the damage that could be done.
His thoughts went back to Uganda and Tunisia. How the both of them had suffered under Requiem. And then he thought of Algeria, Nigeria and Sudan. He could only imagine the damage that had been done to them. But what confused him was DRC. For the most part, his neighbour seemed… Well, more aloof than usual. And he could become impatient if Angola was brought up in any way. There was something going on, but he had no idea what it might be.
Well, as long as it didn't interfere with their missions, then CAR found that he didn't particularly care. They needed to get rid of Requiem's presence in Africa, one way or another. They would not allow Requiem to hurt any of them again.
…
"That's what he said?" Italy asked.
Greece nodded his head, while Egypt kept glaring at the taller nation. Egypt did not keep it a secret that he did not approve of Greece's overuse of the Delphinia. As a nation knowledgeable in magic, and knowledgeable in the dangers of doing things the wrong way or forcing too much of it, he was not impressed.
"So, if we can assume correctly, the dead are coming back to haunt us," Romano sighed, before he focused his attention on Egypt. "Is there anything we can do?"
Egypt turned his attention to the Italian and shrugged.
"I can think of a few charms that would ward off restless spirits," Egypt said. "The thing that bothers me is why it's happening now, while we're in the middle of a war."
"That's what's been puzzling me too," Italy said. "I wonder if it's Alvora. Or, more accurately, White South Africa. She organised this little attack in the first place."
"We're going to have to interrogate her, aren't we?"
Egypt smiled. The idea of 'interrogating' someone was particularly appealing.
"Well, we can start by seeing what Ecuador knows," Italy said, before he turned his attention to Greece. "Any idea when we can expect your friend?"
"He'll arrive at sunset," Greece said. "He says things are a bit chaotic, and that he's trying to calm things down in my land."
"Ask him if he would go to Fletcher's place too. And tonight, we should probably ask Jamaica for…"
He was interrupted by the arrival of the very nation he was about to discuss. Jamaica looked a bit disturbed, but managed to find a place to sit down.
"What happened to you?" Romano asked.
"I think I'm starting to hallucinate," Jamaica said. "I thought I saw ghosts when I went to get Singapore."
The others exchanged looks. Jamaica seemed to catch on, for he frowned.
"Did I miss something?" he asked.
"We managed to get a prophecy out of Bhutan," Greece explained. "Specifically referencing the deaths of innocents."
"Did you recognise the ghosts?" Romano asked.
Jamaica nodded.
"Some of them I know for a fact are dead," he said. "I was there, and in some cases I even played a part. I remember seeing Aileu among them. I also remember how he tasted."
Italy and Romano both turned to Egypt.
"I think you need to go back and ask your gods about what they know about this," Romano said.
"I was thinking of going back anyway," Egypt stated. "Libya was mentioned by Bhutan as well. I want to make sure that he's alright."
"Then get to it."
…
Liberia yawned as he opened his eyes. He checked the time, making sure that the time zone was also correct. He groaned when he saw that he still had a few hours left.
Liberia would be attacking much, much later. Around twilight, in fact. He would be part of the second wave to attack Ethiopia through South Sudan. Hopefully by then the first wave would have cleared the way well enough that they wouldn't have a problem.
Until that time, he would sleep. It was a bit harder to sleep during the day, but it would all be worth it later. After everything that Requiem did, they would purge them from Africa. They would all be safe when this was over.
…
Things were hectic in Tripoli. Black tried to ignore the violence and bloodshed, committed by and against soldiers and civilians alike. He was a bit disturbed by the actions of Libya's humans, and he tried to ignore what their soldiers were doing. He needed to focus on more important things, such as finding Mali and Mauritania.
Though he did stop to tear a soldier off a girl, threatening to turn the man into a eunuch if he ever tried something like that again. And even though he wasn't one of Black's own soldiers, there were ways to find out. The other soldiers surrounding them could sense the authority he possessed and backed off.
Black spared the girl one glance, who was gazing up at him in fear. Unlike some of the other Libyans, she seemed to have a fair amount of self-control.
"You there!" he barked at one of the soldiers. "Get her to safety. She's not like the others, and if she's been harmed in any way, you will wish that I would kill you. Understand?"
The soldier nodded, before helping the girl up. She looked at Black, and her features softened.
"The nations you're searching for were over there," she said, pointing to her right. "But there was someone with them. A woman with a cat's head."
Black had a lot of questions, but he needed to focus on other priorities. He thanked the girl and ran into the direction she pointed, and came to an abrupt stop when he found one of the people he was looking for.
Mali was slumped against the building, a bloody gash from shoulder to opposite hip. His skin was pale, and the blood no longer flowed. Black approached him and reached out to him, only to find that he was an empty shell. Mali had been killed. Permanently.
This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to help them recover from decades – centuries – of poor treatment, both at the hands of other nations and their own humans. They were supposed to give them hope for the future. They were supposed to protect them.
And they had failed.
Black made a note to take Mali's body back. He deserved it, after all. But for now, he had another question that he needed to focus on: where was Mauritania?
Black swallowed nervously. There was one way he could attempt to find her, but he was a bit nervous in doing so. Still, desperate times…
He tried to think about what Khoisan told him as he made himself comfortable. The first step was to relax. It was a bit difficult to do in a warzone. Black closed his eyes and tried to keep his breathing even. He needed to relax. Relax…
Next, he had to focus on the person he was trying to connect with. Mauritania. He had to think of her as a nation, and as a person. Mauritania the nation was a desert country, which still had a problem with slavery. Efforts had been made to completely eradicate it, but even with Alvora's help, it was taking a while. They had to help the economy first, in order to provide those people with a chance to provide for themselves once they were freed. She had the 'Eye of Africa'. The capital of Mauritania was called Nouakchott.
Mauritania the person was Morocco's cousin. Despite having French influence, she was useless in the kitchen. She usually kept men at arms' length, though she was surprisingly friendly towards her fellow women. And she simply adored going to the beach.
With that picture in his mind, Black started to feel himself drift away. And then, suddenly, he found himself staring at a cat with the body of a human woman. The clothing and sword she carried informed him that it was one of Egypt's gods. And then she said something.
"I think she'll make a nice pet."
Those words sickened him, but he tried to focus on where she was. And he was filled with horror again.
Egypt.
…
Libya blinked in surprise when Bastet returned with an unconscious Mauritania.
"I didn't exactly expect you to bring back a prisoner," he said.
"I thought she would make a good pet," Bastet said, shrugging. "Perhaps she could be a temple maiden at the temple you will build for me."
Libya stared down at Mauritania and shrugged.
"If you want us to make her obedient, we'll do that," he offered.
"No, that will not be necessary," Bastet said. "I think I will have fun training her myself. I just need you to give me a room in which I can keep her."
Libya shrugged, before he turned to Greenland. The rest of the nations were staring in surprise, though he couldn't help but notice the uneasy looks that both Nigeria and Sudan gave. Made him a bit worried about Algeria and Myanmar, to be honest.
"Anywhere we can put her?" he asked.
Greenland opened her mouth to respond, but before she could a flash of light alerted them of the arrival of someone else. Egypt glanced towards Mauritania before focusing his attention on Libya.
"Did anything strange happen while I was gone?" Egypt asked.
"Define 'strange'," Libya remarked.
"Philippines was attacked and… mangled by someone who's supposed to be dead. We managed to get some information out of Bhutan, and he specifically mentioned you. Well?"
Someone who was supposed to be dead… Libya recalled what happened earlier. His brothers…
"Fezzan and Cirenaica," he muttered. "I… I saw them."
