Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 2

None of the nations noticed the figure walking towards the host. They were too busy enjoying the party, laughing and teasing each other and wondering when they would get cake. If they even bothered to look in the figure's direction, they would have seen the pitch-black eyes and knew that there was nothing human about that figure. They would have reeled back, and they would have run away, only to learn that none of the exits would allow them freedom.

America turned just then, and he smiled. He didn't understand the danger.

"Mattie!" America exclaimed. "Dude, you made it!"

"Well, I did say that I wouldn't forget," 'Canada' said.

America frowned, finally starting to see that there was something wrong.

"Dude, are you okay?" America asked. "Is this about your birthday. Um, you know, I totally…"

"Oh, so you remember?" 'Canada' sneered. "What took you so long?"

America shifted nervously. His eyes narrowed.

"Matt, what's wrong?" he asked.

'Canada' smirked.

"Matt isn't here right now," 'Canada' whispered.

And Canada's hand closed around America's throat. America felt his body burning. He screamed in pain. The other nations grew silent as screams echoed throughout the room. Canada lifted America, allowing everyone else to see how he was burning.

"What are you doing?" Netherlands asked. "Matthew, let go!"

Netherlands was sent flying into Denmark and Sweden, who were just behind him. The other nations were whispering, not understanding what was happening. Norway looked over towards Canada and paled.

"A demon…" Norway whispered. "We need to get out of here. Now!"

Canada threw America away, before turning to the others. Screams echoed as more nations noticed the evil in Canada's eyes. Canada raised his hands, before sending all the nations flying to the nearest walls as the lights went out.

"Now then, who's next?" Canada asked, his voice distorted and twisted.

…

Portugal made his way to the bar, ignoring the screams. He had to push his way through several nations as they went to investigate the screams.

He saw England still at the bar, Ireland nearby. Both nations were standing, staring at the door. Portugal rushed over towards them.

"Miguel, what's going…?" England started, before he reeled back. "What happened to your face?"

Instinctively, Portugal's hand came up to touch his wet cheek, but there was something far more important they needed to focus on, so he ignored it.

"Something's wrong with Canada!" Portugal cried. "His eyes are black and his voice… It sounds like he's…"

"Possessed," Ireland growled. "That would explain the demon's mark on you."

"What…?"

Portugal reached out to his cheek again, but he was distracted by more screams.

"Stay here," England growled. "If he is possessed, then the two of us are among the only nations equipped to stop him. And with that mark… A demon only marks someone if they have plans for that person. And those plans are never good."

Portugal's eyes widened.

"What… What's going to happen to Canada?" Portugal asked.

"We'll try to save him," England said. "But for now, we need to stop him. A demon has the power to kill a nation. And there's no telling what a demon possessing a nation would be able to do."

Portugal watched helplessly as the two brothers stormed out. He buried his hands in his hair. When did this happen? Canada seemed fine – or relatively fine – when he spoke to him three days ago. How could a demon have possessed him? Did it happen after they hung up? Or was it already there, lurking inside Canada and waiting for an opportunity?

And what did it even want? Why would it come all this way to America's party?

He swallowed a sob as he thought about what Canada must have been going through. Was he aware of the demon controlling his body? Was he forced to watch? Or was he completely unaware of what was happening outside him?

He tried to find a reflective surface. He wanted to see what the mark was that England referred to. He managed to find a silver plate that he could use.

The mark looked like a crescent moon lying on its back, with two lines forming an 'x' above and through the crescent. He didn't know what this meant, but he knew that England probably had a point. If the demon marked him, there must have been a reason, and it wouldn't be a good idea for Portugal to go near at this point. No matter how much he wanted to help Canada.

His hand went inside his pocket again, and he wondered what would have happened if he'd decided to go to Canada's house and deliver the gift personally, instead of waiting to see Canada at America's birthday party. He wondered if he could have helped avoid any of this.

Portugal also wondered if anything would have changed if he had managed to find Canada after the meetings in order to get that cup of coffee. He didn't forget that request when he ran into Canada at England's house. And they'd had two world meetings since then. But every time, during breaks or afterwards, someone would ask Portugal something or speak to him about something, and when he would finally manage to escape, Canada would be gone already, and he had no idea where to go to find the younger nation. He wondered, if he'd managed even once, would anything have changed.

You're the only one that remembered about his birthday. For that, you shall be granted mercy.

Portugal wanted to believe that those words were proof that a part of Canada was still there. But he could do nothing other than wait for England to try and free Canada.

He hated feeling helpless.

…

England and Ireland followed the sounds of screaming. A part of England was happy about the turn of events. It interrupted Ireland when his brother decided to tease him for his sorry state during America's party.

But the larger part of him was horrified when he saw France hovering in the air, struggling against what could only be described as large insects stinging him. The other nations were staring horrified as well. And in the middle was none other than Canada.

England flinched when Canada turned towards him. He could see what Portugal meant by the black eyes. Canada's glasses were also missing, so there was nothing to obscure their gaze.

"And finally, the third one has arrived," Canada said. "You should have gotten rid of me when you had the chance. But I must say, I'm rather enjoying this body. I've never had a nation before."

England felt himself pale when he realised exactly who this was. And he remembered a black box that had been in his basement. A box that he had every intention of destroying. And he realised that he didn't recall going through with it.

"Elydoar," England whispered.

"Shit," Ireland spat. "You know this thing?"

"It's an empath demon. They remain inside a body for a period of time, whispering in their host's ear to make them feel sorrow and despair and feeding on their negative emotions before taking control. And once it takes control, the body slowly starts to burn out, but they'll do everything in their power to cause as much damage as possible in the meantime."

"Well, while that's usually how I work," Elydoar said, "whispering in this one's ear wasn't necessary. By the way, thank you for forgetting that he was visiting you. Your poor hospitality is the reason why I managed to secure this body."

England flinched. Vaguely, he remembered Portugal scolding him for forgetting Canada during the visit. That Portugal had tried to convince Canada to stay, but the younger nation was obviously upset. England remembered saying that he would make it up to Canada. Did he?

"And as for the rest of you…" Elydoar continued, looking around at all of the nations. "It's difficult to disgust a demon, but congratulations! You did it! I didn't have to destroy this nation's spirit. You did it all on your own." He turned back to England, smirk wide. "I've been looking through his memories too. During and after his brother's revolution, you took out all your frustrations on this poor boy, simply because they look similar. Don't worry, you're not alone! During the three months I've been inside him, five nations took out their anger over the brother on this poor body. And when you're not abusing him, you act as though he doesn't even exist." He sneered. "No demon could possibly make him feel worse than you did."

England glanced around. Some of the surrounding nations looked as guilty as he felt, while others were still afraid or indignant.

"What do you want?" England demanded. "I doubt you care so much over your host's grief. When his body burns out, you're just going to jump into another one."

Elydoar didn't answer straight away. France was still struggling in the air, but with a flick of the demon's wrist, France was sent flying to the nearest wall. England winced when he heard the crack. It took a while before France slid down, and when he did, a large smear of red followed him.

"You might not care for him," Elydoar said, taking the time to look at all the nations. "But he cares for you. His family. His 'friends'. And to be honest, the thought of what I can do to you… How much damage I can cause… It fills me with pure excitement. And this body… It won't burn out."

England's eyes widened. He understood what the demon meant. Empath demons, after gaining control of their hosts, tended to go after the people the hosts cared about. There was still a possibility that the hosts could be reached, but with each death, it became harder and harder.

England's gaze fell on the smoking body of America. And France would most likely be dead as well, based on the bloody smear. And of the nations that acted as Canada's family, England knew that he was most likely next. The only other nations that would constitute as family would be the other fellow colonies of both England and France. And the friends would be next.

"Hell no," Ireland growled, pushing England behind him. "Artie, get out of here. That thing is going to…"

Ireland was knocked aside, along with every nation other than England. The Brit swallowed thickly, before he focused on Elydoar. The demon closed his fist, and England gasped. It felt as though a vice was wrapped around his throat. His eyes bulged when he felt himself being lifted into the air. The demon giggled at his predicament.

"Goodbye," Elydoar said.

The demon shrieked when a green flame hit him. England fell to the ground, coughing as he took in as much air as he could. He turned around to see Ireland, staring defiantly at the demon.

"I'm Mattie's uncle," Ireland said. "So you might as well skip ahead to me." Ireland turned his head to England. "I'll hold him off as long as I can. Get to safety and take Miguel with you. Find out what that mark means, and find a way to save my nephew."

England's eyes widened. Elydoar tried to knock Ireland away again, but now Romania, Egypt and Norway cast their own spells to distract the demon. But they were trying not to harm Canada, and so the spells weren't too powerful. England didn't like the idea that they were fighting the demon while he would run, so he decided on another course of action.

He started muttering a banishment spell, and he could see Ireland turning to him impatiently. When Ireland saw what England was doing, he continued to distract Elydoar.

The demon roared, before turning his attention to Ireland. He was angry now. He sent a lightning bolt flying towards Ireland. England heard his brother's pained cry before Elydoar turned back to him. And then the demon realised what he was doing.

"No!" Elydoar screamed, before England cast the spell.

There was a bright light, and when it faded, the demon was gone. England slumped, feeling exhausted, before he went towards Ireland. He flinched when he realised that Ireland was dead, and grief bubbled in his heart for his brother.

"Is it over?" Italy asked, cowering behind Romano.

"For now," England sighed. "That was just a banishment spell. It won't last permanently. In the meantime, we need to prepare to exorcise him."

"Oh, we can do that!"

"It's not a Catholic demon. None of your exorcisms would work on it. It would only fail, and you would get yourselves, and everyone else involved, killed."

Italy flinched, and Romano glared, probably not liking the implications of what England said. Spain placed a calming hand on Romano's shoulder, before he turned to England with a frown.

"Ireland said something about Miguel," Spain said. "What is wrong with my brother?"

"He has a demon's mark," England explained. "Elydoar must have marked him, but for what purpose, I can't be sure."

"And where is he now?"

"At the bar."

England watched Spain disappear. Germany walked closer, clearing his throat.

"What do we do now?" Germany asked. "If this… demon comes back…?"

"First, we'll need to get the dead out of here," England said, though it pained him to say it. "If we're going to attempt an exorcism, then we don't want any corpses nearby. If something goes astray, or the demon grows desperate, then it will use them to its advantage."

"And if this demon is exorcised," Russia said, "what happens then? Does it go to another body, or can it be killed? Because I believe you don't want to harm Canada. Not after the demon revealed how horrible you made him feel. Or do you believe that the demon was lying?"

England flinched. Just about everything Russia said hit him in a painful place. But he knew that the demon wasn't lying. He knew that he wasn't fair towards Canada, and even though Canada always smiled and forgave him, England knew that Canada was hurt by him ignoring or forgetting him, and he always promised himself that he wouldn't do that again, but it still kept happening. And if the demon was to be believed, it was because of his negligence that Canada was now the host of a demon. He could now see Elydoar's box clearly, sitting on his shelf. But he couldn't remember doing anything else about it.

"It would be ideal if we could get him inside a demon circle," England said. "A piece of jewellery or a container of some kind would be perfect for sealing the demon. If we have something preprepared, and if we keep it close just outside the circle, then the demon wouldn't go into anyone else. But we don't want to hurt Canada. He's an innocent victim too."

"To hell he is!" China exclaimed. "Look at what happened! America, France, you… You're telling me that it's all just random? And besides, Canada is acting like a spoiled brat who's not getting enough attention."

"Don't you dare say that!"

England jumped, and he wasn't the only one. They all spun around to see Spain and Portugal. Portugal stormed up to China and grabbed his shirt.

"Don't you ever accuse Canada of being an attention whore," Portugal snapped. "And he's not a spoiled brat. You may not understand it, but can you imagine feeling as though you're nothing? As though you're only the backup for someone else? And for everyone to act as though you're less than a shadow? I've watched him for years. He tries to pretend that it doesn't bother him, but can you even begin to imagine what it's like when the people who are supposed to care about you forget who you are?"

England flinched again. China grabbed Portugal's wrist, his face red.

"Hold on," Romania said, approaching Portugal. "Portugal, do you mind if I take a look at that mark?"

Portugal turned to Romania, releasing China's shirt. China stepped back, glaring at Portugal. Spain looked between his brother and China, ready to help.

"I've seen this mark before," Romania said. "Basically… This is the one type of demon mark that you'd want."

"What do you mean?" England asked, examining the mark again.

"This is a contractual mark that means that a demon can't kill you. The only way to get rid of it is by vanquishing the demon that created it. But why the demon that killed three nations in less than five minutes would give him this mark…"

"Miguel, what can you tell us about your encounter with the demon?" England demanded. "Tell us everything."

Portugal looked around at all the nations, aware of their eyes on him. He fixed his attention on England and took a deep breath.

"I was just about to leave," Portugal explained. "And… h-he was at the front door. He looked up and said that, because I remembered, he would grant me mercy. Then I felt this sting, and there was blood, and I tried to stop the demon. He said that he wouldn't kill me, but he would still hurt me if I interfered. And then I went to get you."

England was silent as he processed Portugal's words. Norway cleared his throat, causing everyone to turn to him.

"I think the demon might not have been lying about being disgusted about the way Canada was treated," Norway said. "But I think it's safe to say that Portugal's the only person here who's safe. Which means he would be instrumental in exorcising the demon."

"But it would still be dangerous!" Spain snapped. "In case you're not aware, there are things worse than death."

Norway ignored Spain and fixed his eyes on Portugal.

"You want to save Canada, don't you?" Norway asked.

Portugal averted his gaze, his face red. And England understood. He knew why Portugal was so fixated with Canada, and why Canada being forgotten bothered him so much. Portugal was in love with Canada, and England couldn't find a reason to protest.

He had no right.

I chose Ireland because I wanted a heavy drinker mocking England. England's brothers were the only ones that came to mind, and based on the history, Ireland seems to be the most likely to attend America's birthday party.