Thanks to Miss Akiyata, mayday237892, Dragonfire78 and BloodLily16 for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 16: Round Two

Round one has been played.

The victory had been Black's.

Now, on to round two.

…

Okay, Gilen might have missed something.

After being forcibly removed from Gilbert's dream, he had felt exhausted, and his head was killing him. So, the solution had been to get some sleep.

When he woke up, he immediately went for the mirror, and was a little confused.

Ireland had been attacked, it would seem, and the others were reacting to it. They seemed to be on their guard, for apparently none of them could see what it was.

As far as he knew, they wouldn't be attacking the UK brothers, so why…?

He had a feeling that they wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon, so he went to the kitchen and got a potato and a bottle of beer. He was really starting to get hungry.

…

Northern Ireland sighed.

They had taken his twin to a room, where he could rest after the attack. His wounds had been treated, and he was fast asleep.

Northern Ireland had also been recommended rest, but he had declined. He would still stay in the room.

He was a little shaken up by the whole ordeal, seeing what had happened, but not being able to see what had caused that to happen. And the strong force that held him back.

Then there was the cold breath. He could see ghosts, and they were usually the ones with cold breath. But the breath of this creature was colder. And ghosts weren't that strong.

He suddenly felt that he needed some Irish coffee, with more Irish than coffee.

…

While Romania had resumed his search for the book that would hopefully supply them with the remedy of their problem regarding sleep, the rest had started to search for books that might give them a clue to the attack on Ireland.

"It just doesn't make sense," Scotland sighed. "How could none of us see it?"

"I'm not sure," England said.

"There's something else that's strange," Lithuania said. "Why attack Ireland, but not Northern Ireland as well? What's the point?"

"Do you think it might be something to do with our counterparts?" England asked.

"No," Norway said. "If Oliver had done it to hurt you, he wouldn't have hurt just one brother while letting the other watch. And besides, Portugal was attacked the same way too, wasn't he?"

"Si," Spain said. "But he's my brother. I don't see any other explanation."

"You're right," England said. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go make a few calls. See if anyone else with the magic touch had encountered something like this."

"Good luck," Wales said.

…

"Come on, Kiwi!" Australia said, laughing.

"Don't call me 'Kiwi'!" New Zealand huffed.

The two of them were playing a friendly game of cricket. While they might have been strong rugby players, they weren't that good with cricket compared to a few others (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa).

They were especially upset about the fact that South Africa did so much better than them.

They paused, however, when Jett's phone started to ring. He sighed when he saw that it was England on the line.

"What do you want, England?" Australia asked.

"Ireland was just attacked by something that none of us could see," England said. "Portugal and Romania were also attacked by it. No one with the magic touch could see what it was."

His face fell. He knew that this was serious.

"Hold on, Iggy," Jett said. "I'll put you on speaker. Fletcher's here too."

New Zealand cocked his head in confusion.

"Fine," England said. "Anyway, have either of you two been attacked?"

"No," New Zealand said.

"Me neither," Australia said. "Are you saying that no one with the magic touch could see it?"

"No one at all," England said. "Do either of you know anything about seeing things that the usual magic touch can't see?"

The two exchanged a glance.

"How about Anika?" New Zealand asked. "She can usually see things that others couldn't see. I remember that time when the three of us were in one of the pyramids with Egypt. She kept her eyes focussed on things that the rest of us couldn't see. Try asking her."

"Alright, thanks," England said.

"But I warn you mate," Australia said, "she had business to take care of, last I heard."

"I called her earlier," New Zealand said. "She's with the rest of BRICS."

"That's even worse than calling her during business," England said. "I'll ask India about the state of her sobriety. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too harsh. Anyway, thanks for your help."

"No problem," Australia said as he hung up.

New Zealand looked around.

"Um, Aussie, you do know that it's night already, right?"

"How'd it get so late?"

…

Oliver was looking through his own library, to see if he had anything. He was a little worried about the fact that something like that was happening that they weren't responsible for.

And if something like that happened in their world… the number of wars it would cause would be unbelievable.

And he didn't like the fact that there was something about all of this that he didn't know.

…

"Are you serious?" Alida asked. "So, let me get this straight: America had tried to paint Mt Fuji red?"

"Yep," Matthew said. "He failed miserably."

Matt was a little at ease now. First, South Africa didn't try to hurt Matthew. Second, South Africa seemed to be amused with what was happening. Third, he was hearing stories that, had any of the other Nations known of this, would act as excellent blackmail material.

"Then there was another time where England was so drunk he accidently gave himself fairy wings," Matthew said. "Australia gave him a pink tutu to wear, and everyone in the British Empire watched as he did Swan Lake, courtesy of Ireland. Anika took photos of that while the rest of us laughed."

"Makes sense that she would do something like that," Matt said.

"Any other drunk stories about your world?" Alida asked.

"Well," he said. "When drunk, Anika is super friendly and hard to get angry. But when she is… Let's just say, we were glad England wasn't there, otherwise she would have gotten in major trouble. That… was the first time I was really scared of her."

She looked curious as she prompted him to continue.

…

Finally, Seborga was gone.

Switzerland went to put his gun away, since it wasn't really necessary anymore.

He jumped when someone interrupted him.

"Hello, Mr Switzerland."

He turned around to see Kugelmugel.

"How'd you get in here?" Switzerland asked, considering going for his gun again.

"Liechtenstein let me in," the other said. "I was hoping to get art supplies…"

"Not from me."

"I know that. Let me finish. I want to buy my own, but they can be expensive. I just want to know your opinion on where to buy them for cheaper."

"Why don't you ask Austria?"

"Do you think I want to depend on him?"

"True." Switzerland gave this some thought. "You've heard of the Nations' supermarket, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, not far from that is a hobby shop. They supply anything for any Nation's needs. They might not let you in since you're not a Nation, so just call me, and I'll vouch for you. If you buy in bulk, they'll give you a discount, and if you bring back something you made using what you bought from them, they'll give you a bigger discount next time. Since your hobby is art, if you bring them something that they can sell, then the next time you go there you can buy anything and it's free of charge."

"Really?" Kugelmugel asked. "How'd you know all that?"

"I did some enquiries. I usually buy bullets, and occasionally guns from them. Since it's Nation neutral, any Nation can buy there, and they accept any currency."

"OK. Danke, Herr Schweiz. Auf Wiedersehen."

"Ja, auf Wiedersehen. Good luck."

…

"Found it!" Romania announced.

"Great," Poland said. "Come on. I like totally don't want to get hurt when I sleep."

"You got off easy," Lithuania muttered.

England sighed as he approached. If this worked, then their next order of business would be to figure out what was attacking everyone.

…

Marius chuckled.

It's like they thought that he didn't consider the fact that they might be able to counter. He applied measures and countermeasures to make it harder for them to simply undo it.

Oh, how sweet it would be when they went to sleep and they saw them in their dreams again. It would be really great.

…

India jumped when his phone rang. The others had decided on karaoke, and he didn't mind.

So while Russia was singing 'Troika', he had to take a call.

"Hello?" India said.

"India, is South Africa there with you?" England asked.

"Yeah," he said. "As well as China, Brazil and Russia. Any reason you called me?"

"New Zealand told me you two were together. And she is probably drunk. I don't want to test her temper when she's drunk."

None of the former Empire Nations told England that South Africa is a cheerful drunk.

"What do you want?" India asked.

"I need to hear whether or not she can see things that others can't."

"Yes, she can. Why?"

"Because three Nations have been attacked by something that cannot be seen. Nations with the magic touch."

India sighed. He knew that something like that shouldn't be possible under those circumstances.

"I'll tell Russia, Brazil and South Africa to be on their guards," India said. "If one of them can figure out what it is, I'll let you know."

"Thank you. By the way, what kind of mood is South Africa in?"

"She's drunk. So are the others."

"Alright. You know to stay away from her when she's in Zulu mode?"

"Of course. That was one of the worst beatings you'd ever received. One of the worst beatings anyone's received."

"Yes… well… Goodbye."

India chuckled as he hung up. England still wasn't very popular among his former colonies, and they always took an opportunity to make him feel just a little bit bad.

After all the things that he did to them, making him feel just a little bad made the rest of them feel a lot better.

…

America jumped when his front door was slammed open. But he wouldn't admit it. Heroes didn't jump when they were startled, since heroes couldn't be startled.

"Ola, Alfred!" a voice called.

Oh, no…

"Mexico," Alfred groaned, as said Nation came into view.

Mexico had tanned skin and long, curly brown hair. Her green eyes were just a little darker than Spain's. She wore a tan shirt with khaki shorts and brown hiking boots. She wore a gold pendant of a bull around her neck.

And she looked at him with a look that said she was there to mess with him.

"How do you keep getting in?" he asked.

"You keep hiding your keys where I can find them," she said. "Really, in the flowerpot? You do know that it's one of the typical places, right?"

America grumbled.

She smirked, before she presented a peace-offering: a taco.

"New recipe," she said. "Main reason why I came. Try it."

Alfred looked at it apprehensively before taking it and taking a bite.

"Huh," he said. "Not bad."

"Great," she said. "Tres, dos, uno…"

America screamed.

"Water!"

Mexico laughed. Delayed effect. She neglected to mention the crushed jalapenos in both the filling, and the pastry.

She loved delayed effects.

…

"Let's hope it worked," England said. "I don't want to inhale a lot of smoke again."

"Well," France said, "it could be worse. He could have brought up the Anglo-Zulu War."

England glared at him.

"India already brought it up when I spoke with him," England said. "Once in one day is enough."

"Yeah," Scotland said. "Man, you should have seen what he looked like after that battle."

"I won the war!" England snapped. "Just not the first battle."

"And the first battle is always the most painful," Wales said.

"And the fact that it was an eclipse on that day didn't help matters," England grumbled.

Poland yawned.

"Like, can we get to bed now?" Poland asked. "I'm tired. We can bother England tomorrow."

England glared, while the rest just chuckled.

"Kesesese, for once I agree with him."

…

Alejandro arched an eyebrow. Gilbert had an… interesting laugh, to say the least. Annoying too. He hoped that Gilen did something about that.

Oh well, time to see whether or not Marius was right about the others not being able to simply undo their spell. He had a lot of fun watching Antonio squirm the previous night, and he wanted to see it again.

Well, time to get to work.

…

Oliver frowned.

He had heard what the other side had said. And now he was slightly curious.

Oh well, he would learn more about it soon. Since Arthur was going to sleep, he can start having fun.

…

Alida waved to Matthew when he departed through the mirror. She liked him. And that was saying something.

"Should I be worried?" Matt asked.

She raised her eyebrow, before she prepared a spell that would get her home.

"I have no intention of hurting him," she said. "In fact, I'm wondering if you would change places."

He scowled, crossing his arms. She shrugged.

"How long do you think he'd be able to survive?" Matt asked.

She shrugged again.

"You're probably right," she said. "But I still want to meet my counterpart. The stories he told about her… She sounds promising."

"You want her on your side, don't you?"

"Of course. Anyway, what are you going to do now?"

"Make sure that no one finds out about this little visit."

"Fair enough. Oh, I guess I have to make it up to you."

He arched a brow suspiciously. There was something wrong with what she just said.

"How?"

"By warning you. My sources tell me that Poland has started another game. This time, he has the magic trio involved, as well as a few others. We don't know who they want to play with, or whether or not they've started their game, but… Anyway, just a warning."

He nodded. Now, he had something else to worry about. He just hoped Poland didn't find out about Matthew. That would not be good.

…

Arthur couldn't believe it. He recognised everything perfectly. And he didn't want to be there of all places.

He looked in horror at all the bodies. Over a thousand of his soldiers. How could this happen?

He looked up and, sure enough, the sun was darkened. He was at that battle.

"Well," a familiar voice said, and Arthur turned around, feeling suddenly cold, "this is interesting. What, poor leadership?"

Arthur took a step back. He knew that his counterpart was insane, and this time, he would not allow the other to get too close. He saw the others' injuries. He would not linger in order to receive them himself.

He started to run, but there was no escaping Oliver's gleeful giggles.

"Oh, bugger," Arthur muttered.

…

Francis needed to escape. He had to.

He was in Versailles. During the Revolution. Dressed as a noble.

Things would not be good for him.

He turned a corner in the long hallway he was running down, and he was forced to a stop.

Standing before him, looking every bit a revolutionary, was Francois.

Francis almost chuckled at the irony, but the implication wasn't lost on him. He was a noble, and the other was a rebel. He knew where this would go. And he knew that the other would do it.

He turned, wanting to run back the way he came, only to find a wall where a hall should have been. He was cornered.

He turned back to his counterpart, who had lit another cigarette.

"So, Francis," Francois said, "are you ready for round two?"

…

Patrick awoke with a start. Something was very, very wrong.

He couldn't put his finger on it. He didn't hear anything, and he couldn't see anything. But after what happened earlier to Seamus, that wasn't saying much.

He tried to use what was left of his magic touch to find what caused the disturbance, but he still didn't sense anything wrong. At least, nothing in particular. He could still feel that something was not right.

He looked over towards Seamus and sighed. He didn't want to leave his twin alone, but he had to investigate.

He stepped out of the room. Everyone else was already asleep, so everything was quiet. Well, except for Scotland's snores, and that was some form of comfort. The point was, he was walking alone, in the dark, in Romania's castle.

He had to admit, when it came to creepiness, Romania won hands down.

He crept through the halls. He opened a door, and he saw that Scotland and Wales were sleeping. He felt sorry for Wales.

Nothing wrong, though.

He closed the room and went to the next. Poland and Lithuania were sharing a room again, and both seemed to be slightly agitated. Northern Ireland frowned. If the others had the same restless sleep that those two were having, then they could only assume that they failed in undoing what has been done.

He checked the next room. France and Spain were sharing a room. Since Romania had one more room than Norway had, they didn't have to stuff three people in the same bed. They were also sleeping restlessly.

The next room was Romania and Norway, who were also sleeping horribly. Lastly, it was Prussia and England. Since Norway and Romania had already said that they would share a room, England was left with the bad touch trio. He absolutely refused to share a room with France, and Spain didn't want to share a room with him. So it was Prussia that was left.

He wanted to enter the room and try to wake England, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. A hand on his mouth muffled his cry of alarm. Cold breath on his neck was the warning he received of the identity of what was there.

We've already gone after your brother. Now, it's your turn.

Again, the battle of Isandlwana. What made that battle even more ominous was a solar eclipse. And this time, Oliver caught the conversation regarding that, so he went after that. And as for the French Revolution, Francis strikes me as a noble, and Francois would definitely not be a noble.

And because Matthew is Matt's opposite Alida likes him, since he isn't like the other Nations in her world. Especially considering he's the alternate version of a Northern Nation. She sees an opportunity and she takes it. And there was a review that said that she might help them out. There was also a review that said that it was great that Gilbert was smart enough to not let his situation be revealed to Gilen, so Gilen was asleep in the meantime.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa are usually at the top three positions when it comes to the cricket, in various different areas regarding that. (Sorry, not really a sports fan, so the fact that I managed to get this information is incredible.) Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have a sports rivalry, the most prominent being rugby.