Thanks to Bosna1999 and FerayEs for reviewing.

I am so sorry this is a few days late. We have deadlines coming up and I had a few other distractions and in general I'm in a near-constant state of exhaustion, so I couldn't finish this chapter on time, the same with Hetalia Crack Ship Space. I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again this weekend.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 125

Spain awoke to the sound of sobbing. It took him a moment to process the noise, and a moment more to realise that it was France. He rolled onto his other side to see France curled up in a ball and trembling.

"Francis?" Spain called out. "Are you awake?"

There was no response, so Spain wondered if France was truly still asleep. He wrapped his arm around France and was met with a sharp intake of breath.

"Please, no more," France muttered. "Antonio… Please…"

"Shh," Spain shushed. "I'm here. You're safe. And I promise, I will not let them hurt you again. So please, no more tears. It's all over."

Spain had some insight to the physical torture that France had gone through. He just didn't know what mental torture they'd inflicted on him. And the psychological wounds… It would take a long while to heal.

Spain pressed a kiss to the back of France's neck, hoping to comfort him. France whimpered, and Spain only hugged him tighter. Eventually, though, France's trembling stopped, he wasn't sobbing anymore, and his breathing became even. Spain closed his eyes and smiled, hoping that this was the last for the night.

…

Libya opened his eyes. For a moment he was confused. He couldn't remember much, but he knew that he wasn't supposed to be where he was. It took him a moment to realise that he was in his room in Egypt's base.

He sat up. It was still dark, but he could hear breathing from somewhere else in the room. He searched around for the switch to the nearby lamp, and the moment the light went on, Libya felt his blood drop several degrees.

Eritrea was lying on the floor, which was already the first sign that something was wrong. He was very pale, and there was a dark ring surrounding his throat. Libya crawled closer, wincing as his body informed him that he was very injured.

"Nahom," Libya called out. "Please…"

He remembered what happened with his brothers. He remembered their descriptions of the things that they would do to Eritrea. Among them was forcing Eritrea to relive the worst deaths he had ever had the misfortune of experiencing.

Judging by the bruise and the scratch marks… Libya knew of this one time, when the Ottoman Empire was trying to get Eritrea to surrender. He'd wrapped a noose around his neck and continued asking him if he would surrender, and every time he refused, the noose would be tightened and he would be pulled higher, until there was no way to touch the ground again. Turkey continued until Eritrea died from asphyxiation, and after he woke up, they went through it again. To this day, asphyxiation was a death that Eritrea didn't like, and he also didn't like torturing someone like that.

But why did they leave him alive? He was still breathing. Why wouldn't they have let him die and then revive?

Libya felt the emptiness in his chest, where his connection to Tripoli used to be. And he realised that the same must have been true for Eritrea. And because they didn't want to kill Eritrea yet…

"I know you're probably listening to me," Libya said. "I don't care what you do to me. I know that I probably deserve it. But please, don't hurt him."

It was silent for a long time. Libya climbed off the bed, wincing as his sore muscles protested the action. He tried to pull Eritrea onto the bed, and he was already halfway there before two soft voices chuckled.

"You stole our lives from us."

"And so we will make you suffer."

"And you forget about the six that your little lover hurt."

"They need to have their chance to punish him too."

"With the current state he's in…"

"How much punishment can he go through before he dies?"

Libya gritted his teeth as he lay Eritrea down on the bed. He would need to find a way to protect the two of them. Because his brothers and the others like him would not rest until they'd made them all suffer. Libya and Eritrea were just some of the first unfortunate victims of their plans.

If they even had plans at all. Somehow, Libya felt that they were a bit too chaotic to have plans.

…

Hutt River stared at the message, trying hard not to tremble. He already had an order from someone in Requiem, ordering him to scout out a location in Canada. He specifically had to see if he could find the nation in the picture they sent him.

He could already hear movement in other places in the base, and if he wanted to investigate another place, then he would need to make an excuse or something. Unless they believed that he was oversleeping.

He checked the time on the phone. It was still rather early. He could perhaps start looking around for at least an hour before he would need to go back. He quickly typed it to the nation that sent the order to him, knowing that he shouldn't wait too long to respond, unless he wanted one of the Oceanic nations to receive an attack. And after spending nearly two weeks with them, Hutt River had come to like them. He didn't want them to suffer for his mistakes.

He quickly got dressed and went to the location they sent him. He winced a bit, not expecting that it would have been daytime there. He should probably have checked the time difference.

He had to duck out of sight. There were people outside, and most of them appeared to be children. Micronations, maybe? No, they didn't give him the same sensation. But they weren't humans. A few nations were with them, but he didn't recognise any of them. And the one he was supposed to look for wasn't among them.

His gaze drifted to the house nearby. Someone else was coming out. It was a teenage boy around the same physical age as Hutt River. He went to talk to one of the nations, and after a moment he went back inside. Hutt River winced, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get closer at this point in time.

He sent that information to the Requiem nation, and the other typed back that he would need to send a picture of the nations that he could see. He swallowed thickly, before he did as he was told. He had to wait half a minute for another response to come through.

That is sufficient. You can go back now.

Hutt River sighed in relief. He was finished. Still, he was worried about what they were going to do with all of this information. He didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him.

…

"Montenegro and Macedonia are definitely there," Slovenia said. "So I think it's safe to assume that Herzegovina is there too."

"It would have been nice if we could find out exactly how many nations there are," Ireland said. "But with the counties there, we're already dealing with a lot of people that could cause problems."

"So, stealth is the main thing we need to worry about," Belarus said. "So, maybe only one of us should go in and the rest can be backup."

"I think you and I should go in. The two of us can fight with magic, and even though yours isn't too strong offensively, you can still offer support."

"We're going to have to wait until it's night there," Slovenia said. "There's about six hours difference, which means we're going to have to go very early in the morning if we want to strike at night."

"Do we know if Canada is there?" Hungary asked.

"It wouldn't matter anyway," Ireland replied. "If we can get in and get Herzegovina without raising the alarm, they would probably not even realise that she's gone until this time tomorrow."

"So, now all we have to do is wait?" Bulgaria asked.

"Basically, yeah."

…

China stepped out of his tent. It was still dark, but dawn was fast approaching from the east. He was quiet for a moment, but once he determined that everyone was still asleep, he started to head into the surrounding forest. There was a stream nearby, and he wanted to go there while he still had peace and quiet. He was happy that his siblings still cared for him, but he needed a bit of space too.

Next time something happened to one of them, he made a mental note to not act like too much of a mother hen. He had a feeling that part of their motivation was to prove to him how annoying it could be.

Once he arrived at the stream, he kicked off his shoes and stepped into the water. It was pretty shallow and only reached up a few centimetres above his ankles, but for his purposes, it was sufficient.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, grounding himself. He adjusted his stance, focusing on his dantian. Once he was ready, he started to go through the twenty-four forms.

He used tai chi primarily as a form of meditation, but he also used it whenever he was injured as a form of therapy. The exercise was gentle, and it tended to draw his attention away from his injuries. They also helped him to strengthen any injured muscles again. And during times of war, the relaxing exercise helped him to calm his mind. And a calm mind was a great weapon at this point in time.

He kept his eyes closed until he finished all twenty-four forms. When he opened his eyes, he yelped in surprise. He thought he was alone. So seeing that he wasn't was a huge shock.

"H-how long have you been sitting there?!" he demanded.

Tibet sighed, before standing.

"I'm always awake at dawn," Tibet said. "And when I noticed you going off on your own, I had to make sure that you didn't do anything stupid. And if you pass out again, I wasn't about to leave you alone. Now, would you mind explaining to me why you went out on your own so early in the morning, and why are you in the water?"

"You practise meditation too," China said. "You tell me."

Tibet pursed his lips, before closing his eyes.

"I see your point in that regard," Tibet said. "But why did you have to go so far?"

"…I just needed some time alone," China sighed.

"…You understand why we're so strict with you, right? You're one of the strongest nations in the world. You're a prime target, and they've already attacked you unprovoked once. They even exploited the connection between the two of us in order to hurt you. And if you're out on your own, they could hurt you again. They could capture you, they could torture you, and they could kill you. You're still recovering from a major attack, so you're especially vulnerable. And if they want to take advantage of the situation, then nothing is stopping them."

China winced at the reminder of the torture Tibet had to suffer through because of him. He supposed he could see why Tibet in particular didn't want him to be reckless. It would be akin to a slap in the face. Tibet had gone through that pain so that China could suffer the same pain, and if China placed himself in a situation where the same kind of pain could be inflicted on him without the need of a middleman…

It would certainly make Tibet feel as though he'd gone through the torture for nothing, and it would make it seem as though China didn't appreciate how Tibet would have felt.

"I'm sorry," China apologised. "I just… I know you all want me to recover and rest, but I need some physical activity too. And with all that's been happening, and considering how many of us there are, some peace of mind."

Tibet nodded.

"At least you were moving slowly," he said. "That's the only reason why I allowed you to continue with your routine. My biggest concern is the isolation. This is primarily a form of meditation for you, correct?" China nodded. "Then allow me to accompany you when you wish to do this. I can also speak to the other Buddhists about it."

China nodded his head. He was okay with them joining him for meditation. And he knew that at least some of them, like Taiwan, liked to be in motion when meditating, so they might join him for that too. It could work.

He stepped out of the stream and froze. Was that sound a figment of his imagination? He frowned, scanning the area.

"Is something wrong?" Tibet asked.

"I thought I heard something," China said. "I don't know how to describe it, except that it's a sound that doesn't belong here."

Tibet was now searching for something amiss as well. Eventually China could see something which made him retreat a few steps. A few pale faces were staring at them through the trees. Familiar faces. Faces that he thought he would never see again. Faces that he could see were clearly angry with him.

He remembered what happened to Kazakhstan when she ran into one of her former regions. He would rather not see if they hated him enough to do something like that to him. He also didn't want them to target Tibet.

"We should go now," China said.

Tibet nodded, and just like China, his gaze was fixed on his former siblings. At that moment, China realised that he wasn't entirely sure who they were glaring at. He knew that logically they were supposed to be angry at him, but then why did it feel as though their anger was directed at Tibet?

A theory occurred to China, and he hoped that he was wrong. It was possible that they were resentful of Tibet having escaped from Requiem while they themselves weren't so lucky. He wished that Xia and Zhili had told him a bit more about them. And he especially wished that they had told him the best way to avoid getting attacked.

One of them leaned forward, pressing against the tree. There was a faint light, and the hand was retracted. China recalled that they had gotten Haiti to at least try to create a barrier. But he didn't think that it was a wise choice to stay around and see if it truly worked.

He quickly tried to usher Tibet away, but the sound of a voice froze him.

"You won't protect him, Yao. Just like you didn't protect us."

China spun around, but they were all gone. But his theory about them glaring at Tibet was also correct. They would hurt Tibet as well.

"I don't want you going off on your own either," China told Tibet. "There's something worse than Requiem."

"Not for you," Tibet said. "They won't hurt you."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's just a feeling I have."

China felt as though there was something else that Tibet wasn't telling him, but he let it go, for now. They needed to go to the main camp, where it was safer.

…

Philippines watched with a blank expression as Singapore writhed in her sleep. With Jamaica's help, Singapore had been locked in an inescapable nightmare, at least until Philippines decided that Singapore could be released. Hopefully she would learn from this punishment not to spurn or take advantage of Philippines's love. And if she could embrace it, then perhaps there would be no need to take her to the Washroom.

But she had been so sure that she had done everything right. Singapore should have been on her way to worshipping Philippines by now, thanks to Stockholm syndrome. So, either Philippines did something wrong, or Singapore had a stronger mind than Philippines expected.

But no matter. One way or another, she was going to tear down Singapore's mind and rebuild her to be everything that Philippines wanted her to be. She would be perfect. And no one would ever take Singapore away from her.

She wondered if Alvora had played a role in Singapore not submitting to her love. Perhaps Botswana. He could invade people's dreams too. He could have fed Singapore all sorts of lies that would have caused her to reject Philippines's love.

Well then, she would have to repay Botswana for that.

She winced when her body protested a movement. It had been a long and painful process to stop resembling earphones that weren't properly placed into a bag, and her body was still in a great amount of pain. She should ask Jamaica if he would go to Botswana and see if he could get him to tell them if they messed with Singapore's mind somehow. And perhaps Jamaica could punish Botswana on Philippines's behalf.

…

Singapore stared in horror. She wanted to look away, but she was frozen. Her city… Her beautiful city… It was on fire. Everywhere she looked, flames were reaching towards the sky while the screams of all the people provided the soundtrack.

"If you don't want to experience this in reality, then you will be a good girl from now on," Philippines's voice slithered over her skin.

Singapore had to remind herself that this was a nightmare, but she could feel the heat from the flames, and it was difficult to believe that this was just in her mind.

Turn around.

Singapore did that, if only to get away from the sight in front of her. Instead of seeing the surrounding areas, she found herself in a black void, alone, save for a girl standing across from her. There was a slight resemblance to Philippines, but it wasn't enough to send Singapore into a panic or make her angry.

Hello there, Aminah. My name is Zamboanga. And I think the two of us might help each other.

This chapter was a pain because of the time zones. Australia is about sixteen hours ahead of Quebec, where the Yugoslavian nations are. Which means seven in the morning in Australia (around the time I imagined it to be) would be three o'clock the previous afternoon.

When I hurt my ankle, the only exercise I could do for a long while was tai chi, and I mostly used it as a form of therapy.

You get a lot of types of meditation, including meditation in motion (and not just tai chi). One type is walking meditation, which I used one time with amazing results. And mindfulness is especially important over here because there are a few uneven roads and I have weak ankles. Also, there's not much of a sidewalk, and definitely not a paved one, so I have to keep an eye out for rocks. And holes in the ground. And experience is a harsh teacher.