Thanks to FerayEs for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 111
Egypt's eyes widened when he heard what Libya said.
"What do you mean, you saw them?" he demanded.
Libya shook his head.
"I… I was passing by Belize's room and… they were looking at me through the gloom," Libya attempted to explain. "They also said they had some business to discuss with me or something."
Egypt narrowed his eyes.
"Whatever you do, do not go and 'discuss' this 'business'," Egypt said. "Like I said, Philippines was mangled by what was apparently one of the dead regions. And it's not just Philippines. East Timor was also attacked and forced to drown in blood, and Jamaica said he thinks he saw a bunch of the dead regions, among them ones that he had a hand in killing. So whatever is going on, until we can learn the truth, we do not take chances." Egypt turned his attention to Bastet. "Do you know anything about what's going on?"
Bastet frowned and shook her head.
"No," she said. "I've never heard of dead nations returning. I can ask Osiris and some of the others if they know anything about this. However, from the glimpse I had of them… there is something wrong about them. Even for spirits, they're unnatural and an abomination."
"Okay, that doesn't sound good," Ethiopia remarked.
"I need you to show me exactly where you saw them," Egypt ordered Libya. "And I suggest that you shouldn't go anywhere alone."
"Agreed," Eritrea said, moving to stand beside Libya. "If there's something after you, then I will do my best to protect you."
"But, what can you do if it's something like a spirit or a demon?" Palestine asked meekly.
Eritrea shot her a glare.
"She does have a point," South Korea said. "What can we do about spirits or demons or whatever?"
"I will see if it's possible to convince the other gods to come to your aid when things go in that direction," Bastet said. "But first, I would like to have a room for my new pet."
Egypt turned his attention back to Mauritania in the goddess's arms. He didn't know what exactly would have intrigued the goddess. She wasn't someone that would fight to the end. She wasn't someone who had a strong opinion. And she was a coward who would choose the safest route instead of the route she believed in. She was pitiful.
That was why he was only slightly disappointed when she wasn't among the nations that they had taken on the day of the African Union meeting. It seemed ages ago now. She could have been one of their recruits. And he would have seen what they could do when they completely broke her mind and tried to rebuild it.
Actually, now that he thought about it, perhaps he could understand why Bastet would gain an interest in this nation. Someone weak that would easily bend under pressure and have her mind completely broken. He wondered if Bastet would allow him to track their progress.
Egypt turned to Greenland, who nodded her head in understanding. She approached the goddess and bowed.
"Follow me, Lady Bastet," Greenland said.
Egypt tried not to laugh. Bastet looked as though she drank all the cream when Greenland showed her the respect that she hadn't properly had for a long time. At least Greenland managed to avoid angering the goddess.
"In the meantime, I need you to show me where you saw your brothers," Egypt instructed.
Libya pursed his lips and nodded. Eritrea snaked his hand in Libya's, and Egypt didn't fail to notice how Libya squeezed his hand. He was genuinely spooked. And Libya didn't spook easily. Was there something else that he wasn't saying?
…
"So, you're saying that Saudi knows?" Kazakhstan asked. "And that he's okay with it?"
Iran shrugged.
"I think what happened with Egypt scared him," he admitted. "Our enemies have no problem with attacking places we hold sacred. And I think working together with everyone with different religions and sects is kind of affecting him."
"Does he know about the two of us?" Kyrgyzstan asked.
"No. He only asked about me. But there's a chance that he might suspect the two of you, given the amount of time we've been spending together."
"Do you really think that he's going to keep his promise about the reformations?"
"I… I don't know. To be fair, wars tend to be the best time to bring about change. But… Well, we all know that he can be pretty stubborn. And we all know that he has a hard time letting go of his pride." Iran winced. "…If that happens, then I think we have a few people that we can go to for help. I think Morocco or Malaysia might be willing to help."
The two women looked hesitant, but they could clearly see Iran's point. A few members of Alvora were in a similar position, and they were also using their influence to help the North Africans. Iran had checked the news. The new governments were taking care of the various social problems, the human rights issues, and basically everything that made the continent of Africa a difficult place to live in. And, although a few humans were resistant to the change, things were generally going better. And it wasn't just the case for North Africa. The entire continent was improving, and the rate was pretty impressive.
A part of him was tempted to ask Alvora to see if they could help with his own issues.
"Anyway, what do you think about the ghosts or whatever?" Kyrgyzstan asked.
"It still seems a bit bizarre," Kazakhstan said. "I mean… Okay, we know ghosts exist, but… The regions that were killed by Requiem having a grudge… It's understandable, but why are they going to harm the people that had nothing to do with their deaths?"
Iran was about to answer, before he stopped cold. He could see something behind Kazakhstan, and it did not look good. The boy was pretty pale, and he was almost tempted to consider him a European if not for the features that he could see in Kazakhstan.
"What's wrong?" Kazakhstan asked, before she turned to see what Iran was staring at.
The gasp of recognition and surprise was unmistakable.
"Kostanay?!" Kazakhstan yelped as she pushed herself to her feet.
Iran and Kyrgyzstan also stood. He could see the alarm on the second woman's face. He remembered what China said and paled.
There was another gasp from Kazakhstan, though this time it sounded as though she couldn't breathe. Iran saw her frantically clawing at her throat while the boy just stood there. And watched.
"You didn't think that we were worth looking for," the boy said. "You abandoned us. You allowed them to kill us."
Kazakhstan frantically shook her head. Iran felt his heart sink when he realised that she was starting to turn blue. He gritted his teeth before he tried to storm at the boy.
"Leave her alone!" Iran demanded.
The boy didn't react, and when Iran tried to reach out to grab him… It was like grabbing smoke. Iran yelped as he took a startled step back. The boy wasn't looking at him. It was as though he was looking through him.
"Your arrogance has cost us our lives," the boy continued. "You will not get any mercy."
Iran blinked as the boy simply disappeared, but he tried not to let it disturb him. Kazakhstan needed his help. He quickly spun around and went to her. Kyrgyzstan was also desperately trying to help Kazakhstan, but it didn't look as though she knew what to do.
"We need to get her to the others," Iran said. "Now."
Kyrgyzstan nodded as Iran grabbed Kazakhstan and picked her up in a bridal carry. He was sure that she might have been a bit indignant at the treatment, but he currently had more important things to worry about. He didn't care that Kazakhstan's hat fell off as he started running. All he cared about was getting her to the main group, and hope that one of them knew what to do.
…
Egypt followed Libya all the way to Belize's room. Through the glass, Egypt could see nothing but darkness. He narrowed his eyes as he walked closer. He didn't think that there would be a problem due to his magic, but he kept a talisman in his hand just in case. Just as he reached out for the doorhandle, though, a hand grabbed his wrist.
Egypt yanked his hand away as he stumbled back. He watched as someone moved through the door. It was a teenager, but Egypt had seen enough footage from all of the others over the years to know who this was.
"Cayo," he spat.
The Central American smirked lazily.
"Do you think I'm going to allow you to go anywhere near my brother?" he asked.
"How are you here?" Egypt demanded.
"Four to start the war," Cayo said. "Four awakenings. And now, four more, two on each side." He grinned. "The Easterners got that right."
Egypt didn't know what he was talking about, but made a mental note to ask South Korea and Nepal later. For now, he needed to know what exactly the spirit wanted. The sooner he could figure out a way to appease the spirit, the sooner they could be rid of them.
"What are you doing here?" Egypt asked.
Cayo didn't answer, instead he just stared at them with a blank face. Though Egypt could sense his anger and hatred. And it only seemed to increase.
"Tell me, did you think we'd happily leave after you put us out of the misery that you inflicted upon us?" Cayo whispered. "Do you even remember how many there are of us?"
Egypt watched with wide eyes as the shadows seeped out from the cracks in the door to Belize's room. The shadows filled the hallway, and people – children and teenagers – stepped out of the shadows. Some of them were familiar, others were not. And all of them were glaring at the three nations.
"I think this was a bad idea," Eritrea muttered.
"Why now?" Egypt demanded. "You had decades – centuries even – to come back for your revenge. So why now?"
Cayo smirked.
"Because the balance of power has shifted," he said. "Understand, we've wanted to return the favour ages ago, and it only grows with each death you bring about. And then you brought us nations. Powerful nations." As though to prove his point, five people appeared. England, Germany, Japan and America, who died the first day of the war, and Austria, who was also killed in this war. "Cracks formed in the barrier. But even so, it wasn't enough. We still needed one more thing. Have you ever wondered what is hiding within the shadows?"
It took Egypt a moment to realise what Cayo was talking about.
"You're using Belize to manifest in this world, aren't you?" he whispered.
"In a way, yes," Cayo admitted. "How fortunate for us that you saw use for his talent."
Egypt gritted his teeth. He should have suspected sooner.
"You've been pretty active today," Egypt said. "Care to explain that?"
"It's simple," Cayo said. "We lacked substance. What good is our revenge if we had no way to interact with the world. But that all changed this morning in Denmark."
Egypt's eyes narrowed. What did the events in Denmark have to do with anything? Unless…
"Denmark's death was some sort of catalyst," Egypt said.
"Well, he is the fourth among you that died," Cayo said. "He actually had the audacity to commit suicide after the enemy killed his love. That after the two conspired to break up another pair of lovers." Cayo's face twisted in distaste. "Hypocrites."
That was interesting information, but Egypt didn't find it relevant.
"What did you want with Libya earlier?" Egypt asked.
Cayo didn't answer. To Egypt's surprise, he suddenly became younger again, looking exactly the same as he did when he died. And his eyes weren't focused on Egypt.
"Hamza!"
Egypt whipped around to see two pairs of arms grab Libya, pulling him through the shadows. Libya was struggling against the grip, and Eritrea was desperately trying to pull him back, but the arms in the shadows were too strong and Libya continued to sink inside. Egypt cursed and tried to cast a spell to chase away evil spirits, only to stop short.
It wasn't working.
He tried to grab Libya's other hand, not that it helped. Libya kept sinking deeper and deeper.
Both Egypt and Eritrea cried out in pain when their empty hands slammed against the wall. It took a few seconds to realise the problem: Libya was gone. And the shadows were retreating.
"No!" Eritrea exclaimed, slamming against the wall. "Hamza!"
Egypt growled and rounded on Cayo. He was the only one left now, and he had an impudent smile on his face.
"Where is he?" Egypt snarled.
"He's where none of you will find him," Cayo said. "No matter which god you ask. But don't worry. He'll be returned to you once his brothers are finished with him."
Egypt's blood ran cold. If Libya had been taken by the brothers that he killed…
"No!" Eritrea wailed. "Give him back to me!"
"Your time will come," Cayo said. "None of you will be spared."
Cayo started fading away, but there was one more thing that Egypt wanted answered.
"You're clearly angry at us," he said. "But why attack Alvora? I figured you'd consider them your allies."
The air grew colder, and Egypt almost choked on it.
"You figure wrong," Cayo said coldly. "They knew that something was wrong with us. And they did nothing! They abandoned us. Allowed the cruelty to continue. They had the power to stop you, but they didn't. And as for those other nations… They abandoned us too. All shall drown in the blood of the innocents!"
And just like that, Cayo was gone.
Egypt let out a few choice words before he tried to open Belize's door again. He yelped and jumped back. Apparently that was not allowed.
"What are we going to do now?" Eritrea demanded. "Hamza…"
"I will ask Anubis to find him," Egypt said. "And then I will ask if he's willing to punish a few spirits."
Still, it was alarming how powerful they were. And how many of them. And Egypt realised that it wasn't even every region that they killed.
This was going to be painful.
…
Libya stared at the scene in front of him. He would recognise it anywhere.
What had they done to his beautiful city?
Tripoli was in ruins, and he could only stare at the scene. Even in the dead of night, he could see everything clearly. The only thing missing from a scene of such devastation were the corpses.
"We hope you don't mind," a voice said behind him. "We decided to return the favour."
Libya froze when he heard the voice. It had bothered him since that morning, and now he was on his own in the middle of the night with the owner. And by the sounds of things, the other one was there too. He slowly turned around and gulped.
"Fezzan," he whispered. "Cirenaica…"
"It was our hearts where you decided to kill us," Fezzan said. "So now we'll do the same to you."
…
Kazakhstan was writhing on the mattress. It was clear to everyone that she wanted to breathe, and the fact that she was a dangerous shade of blue only assured them of that fact. China watched helplessly and shook his head.
"I don't know what's wrong with her," he said. "As far as I can tell, there's not something lodged in her throat, and there's nothing wrapped around it."
"You said that it happened when that boy approached you?" Russia asked.
Kyrgyzstan nodded.
"She called him Kostanay," she said. "It's the name of one of her regions."
"Not to mention, he said that she abandoned them," Iran said. "I think I believe you now."
China sighed, shaking his head.
"This is the work of an angry spirit," he said. "We'll need divine intervention or…"
"Call Romania," Spain interrupted. "He might be a member of Alvora, but he is among the strongest magic users."
"And what are we going to say to him? That the regions Requiem killed are coming back?"
"We can just say that there's a restless spirit around these parts, and maybe mention that there are several. Hey, doesn't Russia's sister have some sort of contact with spirits?"
"Da…" Russia said warily.
"We can always mention that possibility. That she's angry at her siblings and that she must have sent some spirit after them."
"…That can actually work," China mused. "I just don't feel very comfortable of having one of the groups know where we are."
"Oh, Alvora already knows."
"Huh?!"
Everyone rounded on Spain, who shrugged.
"My brother, who was a complete mother hen towards his colonies and even some of my own, is the leader of that group," Spain explained. "Not to mention the fact that he knows that a lot of Requiem's members want me to suffer an excruciating death. It's not surprising that he would know where we are. He even said so when he told me they rescued France."
"Are you serious?" Monaco demanded. "They rescued France?"
"Si. Along with the non-involved Nordics. They're waiting for France to wake up before they bring him."
"…Then I suggest you call him," Russia said. "And tell him that if he tries anything…"
"They're too focused on Requiem. Didn't you check the news? Lithuania is going through the same thing Finland went through a week ago. And Germany and England too."
Russia blinked while Estonia gasped.
"Are you saying that… Lithuania's dead?" he demanded.
"Looks like it, amigo," Spain sighed.
Latvia fell to his knees, and Ukraine bent down to wrap her arms around him.
Everyone else made a mental note to demand Romania to tell them what was going on. They couldn't always rely on the human news for information, after all.
