Thanks to Hrvatskavatreni for reviewing.

This chapter was particularly hard to write. I've been sick the whole week, and naturally now is the worst time to get sick. I've reached the point where I'm hungry but I can't eat because I'm nauseous all the time, and I'm dizzy because I can't eat when I have to, and the dizziness makes the nausea worse. And the dizziness makes it impossible to concentrate. So, I apologise for the quality of the chapter, especially near the end.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 145

"Have you seen the news?!"

The nations in the camp turned to regard Hong Kong, who stared at his phone screen with wide eyes.

"What is it?" China asked.

"The Amazon Rainforest…" Hong Kong said. "It's on fire! And what's worse, there are reports of planes flying overhead, and anyone flying over to report on the fire or try to stop it is shot down. Which means…"

"The fire is no accident!" China spat, clenching his fists. "Requiem is attacking the rainforest."

"That's low," Turkey said. "I mean, think of the effects the environmental damage would cause. And for what?"

"It's because they want to hurt Brazil," Spain said, clenching his fist. "The Amazon Rainforest makes up a large area of Brazil's land. Brazil is not only a member of Alvora, but is one of Portugal's old colonies. They're using his pain as a way to get to Portugal, the leader of their enemies."

"But what about Peru and Venezuela?" Paraguay asked. "I mean, the Amazon Rainforest is also in their lands. If the fires get out of control, aren't they in danger too?"

"They probably have plans in place in case something like that should happen," Russia said. "So then, I was thinking of sending a little gift towards Mexico. Do you think it might be time to do that?"

Everyone knew what kind of 'gift' Russia was referring to. But the person that Russia was staring at was Guatemala. As Mexico's neighbour, she was in danger if things didn't work out. She pursed her lips, before she nodded.

"Go ahead," she said.

"I'll make sure to aim as far away from your border as possible," Russia said.

"Also, remember Texas," Hong Kong said. "You don't want to accidentally hurt her either."

"Of course. After hearing what she went through because of Requiem, I am not going to allow her to get hurt because of me. I will aim for Central Mexico."

"Alright," Spain said. "As much as I care for my former colonies, I don't think Mexico deserves much mercy. What about the others?"

"Well, Mexico is easier because her country is larger than most."

"…Does anyone have some bombs that I could use?" Saudi Arabia said. "I want to see if we can attack Vatican."

All eyes turned to him. Some of the nations looked a bit nervous.

"Um, Saudi?" Spain said. "You know how attacking your holy city affected all the Muslims? Well, some of us here are Catholic, so…"

"As nice as the idea of returning the favour is," Turkey said, "we have too many allies that would be hurt as a result."

"This is more than evening the score," Saudi Arabia said. "Vatican is also a member. And think about it: Where would the best place be for them to hide? The one place where enemies wouldn't attack due to religious reasons."

"While it's possible," China said, "we've got too many people that would be hurt in the process."

"If you want to attack Vatican, go ahead," Paraguay said. "It's fine with me."

"You can't be serious!" Dominican Republic exclaimed.

"Compared to the things they did to me – making me watch my friends die, forcing me to eat them, starving me to the point where I don't mind that they're forcing me to commit cannibalism – I think I can handle a bit of pain."

The others all stared at Paraguay. They were unfamiliar with the cold, hard look he had in his eyes. France closed his eyes and nodded.

"After everything they put me through too," he said, "I can handle this pain."

Spain looked hesitant for a moment longer, before he nodded his head. One by one, the other nations that would be affected by an assault on Vatican nodded their heads. Saudi Arabia looked at each of them in turn, nodding his head in understanding. They hoped that Saudi Arabia was right about Vatican being important to Requiem. They didn't want to have to endure the pain for nothing.

…

North Korea tried to push South Korea off of him, but every movement sent pain along his arm. He wondered if South Korea had managed to hit the cartilage. On the one hand, it would explain his pain, and on the other, it made him worried that South had enough knowledge to be able to hit something so critical so easily.

"Hey, if you scream, do you think that Wales would come running?" South Korea asked. "The two of you are together, right? It's a shame I didn't get a chance to get to know my brother-in-law."

"And you won't," North Korea hissed. "You won't get to do anything to him."

"You're right, unfortunately," South Korea sighed. "Oh well. The fact that you can still talk means that you're not in enough pain yet. We need to fix that."

North Korea bit his lip and grunted when South Korea started twisting the knife in his shoulder. North Korea started to taste blood, but he was determined not to scream. He was determined not to give South Korea what he wanted.

"This is going to be fun," South cackled. "It's been too long since I did anything like this to you. And the last time, you didn't fight to hold back your reactions. You were like a ragdoll, not nearly as fun as you could be. Come on, let's see how much you can take!"

"You are… seriously… fucked in the head," North Korea gasped.

"And I don't think I've ever heard you swear like that."

North Korea had to bite back his scream again when South Korea stabbed the other shoulder. Now, both shoulders had knives in them, and South Korea didn't hesitate before he twisted both of them. North Korea tensed as a high-pitched whine left his throat.

"That must have hurt at least a bit more," South Korea said. "I wonder where else I can hurt you."

North Korea tried to throw his brother off again, but the knee pressing against his spine and the stabbing pain in both of his arms made him stop. He needed to get South Korea off of him somehow. And he needed to get those knives out of those sensitive spots.

He hissed in pain when South Korea squeezed the back of his neck. His eyes widened when he felt as though something shifted. South Korea snickered.

"Hey, do you think I can snap your neck like this?" South Korea asked.

"How did you end up like this?" North Korea snarled. "What made you like this?"

"Do you expect me to tell you that there was some sort of trauma? That I'm mad at someone? Well, too bad. Because that's not the case. The truth is, this is fun! And you're especially fun to torture. I almost don't want to kill you because this is too much fun."

North Korea choked back a cry of pain when South pulled out the two knives. He froze when South placed one of the knives against his curl.

"I think I know how to get you to scream," South said.

He was right. North Korea screamed as the pain seared through his body.

…

Spells flew in all directions as Romania and Egypt went at each other, each intending to do serious harm to the other while trying to block the other's spells. There were a few cases where the spells managed to strike their opponent, but nothing too serious.

Egypt had cast a silencing spell, since he knew that there were humans there as well. All of those humans were enemy soldiers, and while humans were far easier to deal with than a nation, they would still be annoying, especially in a large number.

Romania glanced towards the direction of the front door, as though he was wondering what was taking the humans so long. Egypt smirked, before he sent another fireball towards Romania, who barely dodged. The scent of singed hair reached Egypt's nose.

"Why did it take you so long to come and check?" Romania demanded.

"You insult my intelligence by assuming that I would have fallen for such an obvious trap," Egypt said.

"But you couldn't stand it anymore, could you?" Romania smirked. "It became too maddening. And you might have become unbearable to your allies. Well?"

Egypt narrowed his eyes as he summoned arrows of light. He didn't want Romania to come to the conclusion that Egypt had harmed Peru. He could only imagine what his enemy would have to say about something like that.

"Someone's testy," Romania mocked after he blocked Egypt's attack. "So then, I'm guessing that something actually happened."

"You know, I'm surprised that you managed to get here so quickly," Egypt said. "And that you all seemed to be together. But I can't help but notice that some of you are still absent."

"Well, we had something better to do, and you decided to interrupt us," Romania spat.

"Oh, so that's why you're so upset. Well then, we should try to interrupt you more often."

Romania didn't answer immediately. Instead, his eyes narrowed by the slightest margin.

"Denmark and Switzerland were killed the other day," Romania said. "What happened to their bodies? Because Netherlands has been stationed to take care of Denmark's old land, and he told us that no one came to tend to your fallen comrades."

Egypt faltered. He realised that he didn't know what happened to Switzerland and Denmark, and he realised that he showed that to Romania. Egypt's face twisted into a snarl, and he summoned a swarm of fiery locusts to attack Romania.

The locusts were harder to dodge or block, but Romania still tried. But despite his efforts, he was still burned a few times, and Egypt kept summoning more and more locusts. He was intent on causing as much damage as possible. He didn't like what Romania was making him feel.

"You didn't do anything, did you?" Romania asked. "Do you treat everyone as expendable? Do they think Peru is expendable too?"

"Shut up!" Egypt shouted, summoning a wall of flames and sending it towards Romania.

The European yelped, and Egypt didn't know if he managed to strike Romania, or if Romania blocked it. No matter. He already readied his next spell, before he turned his attention to some of the other nations.

It would seem that their ammunition had run out, on both sides. Everything was insane as the nations tried to fight against each other using whatever they could as weapons. And a few nations were lying on the ground, unmoving. Egypt didn't know which side they were on.

He homed in on Portugal, who was fighting against Nepal alongside Indonesia. He knew that if he wanted any sort of advantage, then targeting Portugal would be the best way to go. And he knew that Italy and Romano would be pleased if anything happened to Portugal.

He was also growing increasingly aware of the disadvantage that they had regarding numbers. They needed to change that. Egypt sent a telepathic message to Ireland, hoping that he would be able to respond. He couldn't waste more time now, since the flames disappeared from around Romania.

Romania was a bit singed, but to Egypt's annoyance, he was still able to fight. And he looked as though he was ready for more.

"You suspect that you mean nothing to them too, don't you?" Romania muttered.

Egypt didn't answer. Instead, he sent the next spell. He wanted to silence Romania as soon as possible.

…

Vatican cleaned his hands as he stared at Croatia. The Eastern European was surprisingly strong-willed, but Vatican was skilled when it came to breaking people's spirits. But he couldn't do much when the target of his attention was temporarily dead.

He felt the loss of Slovenia, but focusing on learning the identity of the one that stole him away helped Vatican to process that loss. But he knew that he needed to work through it in another way as well.

Vatican made his way towards Slovenia's room. His heart fell when he saw the pale figure, knowing that he would never be able to hear Slovenia's voice again, or feel the warmth of his embrace. He hated the fact that he didn't insist on spending time with Slovenia, but his brothers decided that it would be best for him to remain in his city, since that was where they had their base. If he'd just decided to sneak off to Slovenia, or insisted that Slovenia should bring everyone along to Vatican, then Vatican wouldn't feel as though he'd lost so many chances. He wouldn't feel as though he'd wasted all their opportunities together.

Vatican took Slovenia's hand into his own and closed his eyes. He knew that they would need to make funeral arrangements soon. He didn't want to leave Slovenia like this. And then, perhaps, they would also need to make arrangements for their other fallen allies.

The moment he released Slovenia's hand, he felt as though something was wrong. A burning pain surged inside his chest, and he gritted his teeth at the pain. He could also hear the sounds of thunder outside, and it took him a moment to realise that the sounds were explosions.

His city was being bombed!

Vatican swore, before he ran out of the room. He gasped when he felt a particularly painful explosion that also seemed uncomfortably close. He leaned against the wall as he tried to recover. Vatican looked up to see Romano running towards him.

"Angelo, are you okay?" Romano asked.

"Obviously not," Vatican spat.

"…We need to get you to lie down, before you get hurt. Come on."

"W-wait. We should probably try to… protect this building."

"Feliciano is looking for Ireland to do just that. Come on, we need to get you to lie down. This is only going to get worse."

As though to prove his point, a particularly harsh explosion rang through the air, sending another ripple of pain through Vatican's body. He cried out in pain and clung to Romano's body. Romano clicked his tongue as he started to lead Vatican to one of the bedrooms.

"We're going to find out who's responsible and make them suffer," Romano said. "I promise."

Vatican had no doubt about it. He also wondered how much damage Rome must have been suffering. But more importantly, he wanted to know who was stupid enough to attack this place.

…

Mexico smiled as she looked down below, her finger poised over the button that would release yet another bomb. Her smile fell as her eyes widened. A burning pain seared in her chest.

She looked around, searching for a place to land. The pain was spreading, and she knew that there was something wrong within her country. She hissed when another burst of pain struck her chest, and she understood that her country was being attacked. And with a little focus, she knew that Mexico City was the centre of the attack.

"Bastards," she whispered.

More attacks came, and she knew that if she didn't land the plane soon, she would be in too much pain to be able to control the plane. Crashing while her capital was under attack would not be the best thing to happen to her.

"Rosa, is everything okay?" Argentina's voice came through the radio. "You're going off-course."

"Mexico City is being bombed," Mexico explained. "I need to land before I lose control and crash."

"Do you think it's Alvora?"

"That would make sense, but I need to go down now before… Ah!"

She screamed in pain when she felt another city being bombed, and she could already feel a fire sparking to life and spreading. She was close to Venezuela's border, so she aimed for her ally's land.

"Sofia, could you let Venezuela know that I'd be landing in his country?" Mexico asked.

"Alright," Argentina said. "Good luck."

Mexico took a deep breath, wincing in pain. She could see a place where she could land, and aimed for that area. She could focus on learning the identity of her attacker later.

…

Ireland fell to the ground in utter exhaustion. Protection spells were a lot easier to do when you had a fair warning to cast the spell. Rushing through something like this was not advisable.

He'd also received a telepathic message from Egypt, but he didn't know if he would have the energy to go and help. The timing was just horrible. He could perhaps bring it up to Belarus, but he didn't think that he would have the energy to go himself.

He looked up when he sensed movement behind him. Bulgaria gave a small smile before he handed a cup of coffee to Ireland.

"I figured you might want this," Bulgaria said.

Ireland smiled when he caught a whiff of whisky in the dark liquid. Bulgaria always knew what to do to cheer him up. He took a sip and sighed happily.

"Egypt sent a telepathic message," Ireland said. "Apparently they're having some trouble with Alvora."

"He wants help?" Bulgaria asked.

"Yeah."

"Alright, I'll go tell Italy. Things must be going badly if Egypt asked for help."

…

Wales had moved on from Senegal to help the other downed nations. He was disappointed to see that he couldn't do anything to help Liberia, but Cameroon was still alive and barely conscious. Wales was pleased to see that the bullets managed to miss anything vital, which would make it easier to heal.

"You should… tend to the others," Cameroon said. "It's… not that bad. I've had worse."

"You've never been shot with these bullets before," Wales said. "If you bleed out, you'll die."

Wales's head snapped up when he heard a scream. They were in a battle, so there were many screams of pain, but this was a voice that Wales knew well.

"Jeng…" he muttered.

He remembered that South Korea had gone after North Korea. He looked down at Cameroon when the other grabbed his arm.

"Go," Cameroon said.

Wales hesitated for a moment before he ran off to find North Korea.