I am so sorry this is a day late. Things were a bit hectic the last few days, and even this morning I had to wait due to a headache. This one I know was due to sore neck and shoulder muscles. And my laptop and wi-fi seem to not be on speaking terms. Connection is horrible.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 142

"So, why are we out here?" Cyprus asked, looking around at the surrounding trees.

"It's been a while since we really hung out, just the two of us," Turkey said. "And besides, it's nice to go on a stroll with a friend."

Cyprus quirked his eyebrow. Something about this felt strange, but then again, it was Turkey. He sometimes did strange things when the fancy struck him. And going out for a stroll was pretty mild compared to some of the other things he did.

Still, there was the worry that frequently accompanied him lately. He feared for the day when they discovered that he had been passing along information to Greece. Granted, most of the things were the information they had about Alvora's activities, and there would be no reason for any of them to suspect that there was a spy leaking important information about any of the nations present.

And then there was one other matter…

"What about the ghosts?" he asked.

"The wards are up," Turkey replied. "As long as we stay inside the lines, it shouldn't be a problem."

Cyprus frowned. There was something about this that made his skin prickle, but he couldn't imagine what it could be. Perhaps it was because he was worried about meeting some of his own former regions. He suspected that they would be angry about him helping Requiem in any way.

It wasn't until they neared the stream that he realised that there was something seriously wrong. There were other nations around, and Cyprus realised that they were the nations acting as leaders: Spain, France, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. And Turkey made the group complete. For some reason, Laos and Norway were also there, but he wasn't too worried about them.

Cyprus's steps faltered, and his instincts told him that he was in trouble. Turkey grabbed Cyprus's arm, and in that instant, Cyprus knew.

They knew.

"Come on," Turkey said.

"This was a trap," Cyprus muttered.

"Would you rather that we confront you in front of the other nations?"

Cyprus grimaced. He supposed that this was a better option. And he already suspected that he wouldn't be able to lie his way out. He just hoped that they would be merciful towards him.

Turkey partially dragged him closer towards the rest of the group. When Turkey released him, he slipped behind Cyprus and the others closed ranks. He gulped, lowering his gaze.

"I suppose you understand why we brought you here?" China asked.

Cyprus nodded.

"How did you find out?" he asked.

"We were given reason to think that there was a spy in the camp," Spain said. "And so we started to check everyone's phones."

"You had a few calls and messages from and to Greece," Turkey said.

Cyprus's hand immediately went to his pocket where he kept his phone. The device was nowhere to be found. He swallowed before raising his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Greece threatened my brother. But I promise, I didn't give them anything that could endanger us."

"Do they know where we are?" Russia asked.

Cyprus flinched, before he nodded.

"I didn't give them exact details," he said. "But they tracked us down with satellites. They knew where we were the whole time, but I don't think they want to attack us directly. Alvora is their main concern."

"And if they manage to win against Alvora, then what?" China asked. "Do you think they're going to leave us alone? Because I know for a fact that they don't care about sparing us."

Cyprus averted his gaze. Of course, the attack on China was still fresh in everyone's minds.

"I get that you wanted to protect your little brother," Turkey said, "but you could have told one of us, and we could have made plans together."

"What kind of information did you give?" Russia asked.

"Anything we know about Alvora's plans," Cyprus said. "Like that invasion they planned on Egypt."

"That explains why he wasn't in his country," Spain said, eyes narrowing. "Are you aware of the fact that the reason why they went after Egypt was because of the non-Alvora African nations wanting to get rid of Requiem's presence in Africa, especially Egypt because of the things they did? They found out that they influenced Uganda to cannibalise Tunisia while Uganda was lobotomised. And Tunisia's capture was the reason why the Africans are bunking together like we are."

"I… I didn't know all of that."

"Do they know about the regions I saved?"

Cyprus shook his head, and Spain visibly relaxed.

"Anything else you would like to admit before we discuss your punishment?" Russia asked.

"P-punishment?" Cyprus repeated.

"It's unfortunate, but you did betray us," France said.

"But, Spain shares information with Alvora all the time!"

"I don't," Spain said. "They already knew our location, and most of my conversations involve asking about Andorra, discussing my health, and checking on my brother. Portugal sometimes shares information with me, but that's it."

"There's also the fact that Alvora hasn't killed anyone yet, and the only people they've actually attacked are members of Requiem," Saudi Arabia pointed out. "While they're not completely trustworthy, they are far less of a danger than Requiem is."

Cyprus winced. He had a point.

"Now then, a punishment that fits the crime…" Russia said. "I think exile would be a good punishment."

Cyprus's eyes widened.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea," Turkey said. "Northern Cyprus could still be attacked. Greece has always been a brat. I wouldn't put it past him to attack someone else because they lost a spy." Turkey cleared his throat, and for a moment Cyprus was worried. Something sounded off. "Anyway, why don't we give him a particularly unpleasant chore that he would have to do until the end of the war or something?"

"And what kind of chore would you suggest?" China asked.

"He could build some proper bathrooms or something," France suggested. "Honestly, the idea of 'roughing it' for much longer really doesn't sound pleasant to me."

"That's not too bad an idea, actually," Russia said. "Building basic facilities. I assume, as a nation, you at least have some skill with something like that."

Cyprus slowly nodded. It was something necessary, and it would keep him busy for a while. It would also be hard work, and if he were to do it all on his own…

"I understand," he said. "So then, I suppose I have to do everything, from drawing up blueprints to building to installation?"

"Exactly," Russia said.

"…Alright."

"We've also got to do something about Greece," Turkey said. "He's going to be suspicious if you don't send any more reports, and the fact that he's threatening your brother makes the matter more dangerous."

"So, are you suggesting that he continues to betray us?" Russia asked. Cyprus shuddered at the dangerous tone.

"Hey, this is the age of fake news."

It took them all a moment to understand what Turkey was saying.

"You want him to give false reports," China said. "That could work. How likely would Greece be to do a fact check?"

"Not too likely," Cyprus said. "Especially if it's something mundane, like Hong Kong and Taiwan arguing about what kind of soup to take China."

China blushed and grumbled something under his breath that Cyprus suspected was in Chinese.

"So then, lie about something mundane," Spain said. "Just don't mention anyone dating or anything. They won't hesitate to attack someone if they think it can hurt someone else."

Spain's gaze flickered towards France, and Cyprus knew that Spain was speaking from personal experience. Cyprus swallowed and nodded. No rumours of romance.

"I'm just curious to know if you told Requiem of our little ghostly friends," Norway said.

"No," Cyprus said. "Even if I did, I wouldn't know how to explain it, especially considering the ghosts have a grudge against Requiem."

Norway nodded. He exchanged a look with Laos, and Cyprus could see understanding between them.

"We ran into England," Norway said, turning back to the rest of the group. "Laos and I are going to need to redo the wards. Above everything, those ghosts hate Requiem for what they did to them. And the longer they've been dead, the more unreasonable they become."

"Is that why Kazakhstan was attacked by one of her own former regions?" Turkey asked.

"Yes. And it's only going to keep happening, unless Requiem is completely wiped out. They want all of their members dead, but they can't kill the nations themselves."

"And they want us to do it?" Russia asked. "Why don't they go to Alvora with that request?"

"Because their other alternative is to have Alvora nations dead. Those ghosts would be able to kill someone, but it doesn't sound as though much of a choice is given. I saw it in England. He's not the same person. There's something… off about him. Like he's been driven insane or something. And he's still one of the more reasonable. We don't know what they went through after they died, but I suspect that their anger and hatred became a creature on its own. The laws for the living are not the same for the dead. And it includes emotions."

"Simply put, if they died with anger or hatred in their hearts, then their very beings were polluted by those emotions," Laos clarified. "This pollution becomes worse the longer it's left to fester, and considering they seem to be working as a group, it's possible that they were all influenced by each other's hatred. If the living is influenced by the hatred of someone else it's already bad, but it's even worse for the dead."

"So in other words they're not in their right minds, and unless we can get rid of Requiem, they're going to keep bothering us too," Spain sighed.

"Which means our best option is to get rid of Requiem," France groaned. "How do we do that? We can't exactly go assassinate them, and they're not bothered by attacks on their countries."

"Well, that's not entirely true," Norway said. "Remember, Alvora attacked Requiem by attacking their countries. Portugal explained it to me. They wouldn't be hindered in the same way other nations would be, but if enough areas are attacked it will cause discomfort and eventually pain, and their stress levels would increase to dangerous levels. Attacking landmarks is even more effective, and destroying the capital makes a nation vulnerable to being killed for some time."

"Which means all we can do is attack their countries," Turkey said. "So, Russia, do you still have those nukes?"

Russia didn't immediately answer. China huffed.

"Well, I have some that I can use," he said. "I'd like to return the favour."

"…Well, I have a few too," Russia said. "Just as long as we keep them away from Belarus. She is still my sister, and I don't particularly want to do that to her. And she's a bit too close to my country for comfort."

"Alright," Saudi Arabia said. "So, we need to make sure to launch attacks against Requiem, specifically focusing on important landmarks, major cities and, of course, their capitals. And I have every desire to get revenge for Mecca."

"We should just remember to remain focused, and we should be prepared for retaliation," France said. He turned towards Spain. "Also, just in case, I think it would be a wise choice not to let Alvora know what we're planning. It would just cause more complications."

"Understood," Spain said. "Alvora's going to be busy tomorrow. It's Lithuania's funeral."

Russia's face darkened, and Cyprus wondered if Russia actually did have a soft spot for Lithuania.

"We shouldn't let the others know about Cyprus," Saudi Arabia said. "And we should think of a way to bring up how to attack Requiem."

"That's going to be the easy part," Turkey said. "Requiem's the biggest danger. The sooner we get rid of them, the sooner we can all go back home. I'm sure there are more than enough nations that would be interested in that."

"You could perhaps start by informing them that a hot bath would be in the near future," France said. "That reminds me, proper showers might be a good thing as well, Cyprus."

Cyprus winced, already imagining his workload increasing. And knowing that he brought it upon himself didn't help matters. And now, a little too late, he wondered if it would have been better if he'd been honest from the start. If he'd confided in Turkey in the beginning, then perhaps they would have thought of a better solution, like the one they came up with.

Well, he supposed that what they said about hindsight was true.

…

Malta stared at the scene in front of her, less than impressed. Well, she managed to find the reason for the discomfort. And she wasn't too happy about it.

Someone had removed four of the regions from their lab. Considering a few corpses were still there, she suspected that those others were still alive. Also, considering that she only had Spain's regions in her country, she knew that it was most likely Spain that removed those regions.

She glanced over towards Romano, who had insisted on coming along, and saw that he was thinking along the same lines. His jaw clenched, his hands curling into tight fists. She had the feeling that Spain being punished was in the future.

"Check if they stole any of the paperwork," Romano instructed. "If they have any idea what we were doing here, then it could prove to be a problem."

"I'll go check," Albania offered, going towards the filing cabinet tucked in the corner.

"This is going to take too long," Malta sighed. "So, what are you going to do?"

Romano was silent for a moment, thinking things through. Malta didn't bother him further, and instead went to examine the cages.

"We attack Brazil tomorrow," Romano announced. "Colombia is also nearby. It wouldn't be too hard to redirect some of the attack."

"And in the process, we attack both Spain and Portugal's former colonies," Malta said. "But what are you going to do to Spain directly?"

"Capture him. I don't think it's going to be worth it if we couldn't even see Spain's reactions. I'd love to hear him scream in pain. I want to see his face being painted in blue and black. I want to hear him begging for mercy. And then I want to see Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Chile and Philippines having their fun. I want to see the life disappear from his eyes while his heart continues to beat."

Malta stared at her brother for a while before she smirked. She could imagine that Romano would enjoy something like that. And she knew that the others wouldn't mind something like that either.

"Considering he intruded in my land, I want a piece of him," Malta said. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," Romano said, grinning. "In fact, you can have first piece. After all, he did come into your country without permission, and stole something important. You have every right to punish Spain for what he's done."

Malta giggled. They turned towards Albania, who shook his head.

"The dust looks undisturbed," Albania announced. "It doesn't look like they stole something."

"Good," Romano said. "Let's go. We have a long day tomorrow."

Malta and Albania nodded. It would be a long, productive day.

…

Bhutan gasped, his eyes flying open. His heart was a hyperactive hummingbird. He was breathing too fast for any air to actually make a difference in his lungs. His body was so drenched in sweat that he was sure being submerged in the ocean would have left him dryer.

Images and sounds flashed through his mind. People screaming. Fire. Heat. Crumbling structures. Children crying. So much blood.

He wrapped his arms around himself. He'd woken up a few times since Greece forced those drugs or whatever down his throat, but he still felt weak and in pain. He didn't know how long he would be like this.

And images kept flashing through his mind. He couldn't make sense of any of it, and he didn't know how much of what he saw was prophecy and how much was just hallucination. He supposed that he should be happy that Requiem hadn't come to ask him about any new prophecies yet.

He turned his head to the side, for the first time noticing a glass and pitcher of water. Could it be that, to some degree, the Requiem nations were trying to look out for him?

He wasn't too hopeful, but he decided not to be ungrateful. He pushed himself up and drank two glasses of water. He was parched. Once he could swallow no more, he lay down again, hoping that nothing that he'd seen would come to pass.

He was still too new when it came to his powers to know how accurate he could be.

…

Croatia hesitantly opened his eyes. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he was now revived from a temporary death. Based on how drained he felt, he supposed that he could blame blood loss for the state he had been in.

He kept his panic in check, even as his instincts yelled at him to scream and struggle. He didn't realise his instincts were drill sergeants. But nothing would help right now. He remembered being killed by Hungary. The mattress he was on was thin, essentially the type you'd expect from underbudget children's camps, and there was no blanket in sight. His wrists were cuffed to the bedframe, leaving no doubt about his status as a prisoner.

He looked over when the door opened and he felt his stomach drop. This was bad. Vatican entered the room, lacking his usual 'aura of holiness', as Croatia sometimes called it. He supposed it was all an act anyway. But even so, as a predominantly Catholic nation, Croatia knew just how dangerous Vatican could really be.

No matter how great an actor he might have been, Vatican could never hide the cruelty in his eyes, regardless of how wide his smile was. But he wasn't smiling now.

Vatican would want to know who exactly killed Slovenia, and Croatia knew what Vatican would be willing to do to get that information. And Croatia wondered what would happen if the city state learned that it was Croatia that killed Slovenia.