Thanks to mayday237892, Don't Insult Oliver's Cupcakes, Black Blood of the Red Rose, Dragonfire78, EverythingMath, MRoshka, BloodLily16 and Miss Akiyata for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 36: Can't I Even Dream?

White must not forget about Black.

For Black has never forgotten White.

…

Elise was watching as Dominik was getting a few things ready. Italy had called them, and they were eager to join in on the game. Especially considering her dear brother had become a traitor.

"What is going on?" a young voice asked.

Elise turned to see Ulrich Edelstein, the Micro Nation of Kugelmugel. The one person she was not allowed to touch.

Ulrich had short, messy blond hair and deep blue eyes. He wore an oversized blue shirt with a pair of black shorts and a pair of black and white sneakers. There was a black baseball cap on his head, turned backwards.

"Austria and I are going to Italy," Elise said, her smile sickeningly sweet. "He has a few people he wants to hurt. There are a few traitors."

He nodded his head in understanding. She didn't need to go into any details.

"I'm finished," Dominik said, walking closer.

Dominik had dyed black hair, the tips purple. He had deep blue eyes, hidden behind a pair of red sunglasses. He wore a ripped black shirt, a pair of tight black jeans and black combat boots. His right ear had a tooth earring.

"Gut," Elise said. "Then it's time to go."

"Stay out of trouble," Dominik said, looking pointedly at Ulrich.

"I understand," the blonde muttered.

The two Nations smirked and departed. This would be fun for them.

…

Felic chuckled darkly as he watched the figure in the mirror.

"Sweet dreams, Feliks," he said.

…

Mahesh sighed for the umpteenth time that night. He had been trying to explain his magic touch to his counterpart, who only recently seemed to have realised it. Which was strange, in his opinion.

"So, what was I doing when I tried to calm Roberto?" Raj asked.

"I don't know," Mahesh said. "Perhaps it was something to soothe, or strengthen his own magic."

India's magic was primarily one to support another's magic. He could tone it down when the others were going overboard, and enhance it when it was required. He could also affect a person's luck, and that is where karma tended to come in. Both Indias would preach about it, so it's only natural that they would be able to use it to their advantage.

But Raj was still inexperienced with his magic touch, and there was no telling what he could do if he actually tried to use it.

"But I can't do that to him," Raj said. "I can't make his magic stronger. It's already hurting him. I hope I was soothing him."

"How are they doing?" Mahesh asked.

Anika and Roberto were the counterparts of his best friends, so it was only natural that he be concerned about them.

"They're still unconscious," Raj sighed. "And I'm worried about Robbie. There's no telling what the Deathplayer did to him. There's no telling what he was forced to see. And I'm not sure about Annie."

Mahesh noted that Raj used nicknames for his friends. He could only assume that he was really worried about them.

"And what's this I hear about an 'Imperial Alliance'?" Raj asked.

"Just that," Mahesh said, shrugging. "Before the Cold War started, we were already creating empires, but we were using a gentler approach than the North ever used. Alida and Ricardo were already on friendly terms, and after several of the others in my empire defended those in theirs, the three of us decided that it would be best to work together. Why do you think the North hasn't outright tried to attack us yet? They're facing three empires working together as one, and then there's the Union of Oceanic Nations. And they basically have three Nations – well, actually one – calling all the shots, without any form of order. Without inspiring loyalty in any way other than fear. Hence why they have traitors, but we don't."

"How can you be sure?" Raj asked.

"We aren't, to be honest. But we give them no reason to want to betray us. And if we act suspicious of our comrades, we're only dooming ourselves."

"I see. So, while I have your attention, could you tell me a little more about your history?"

…

Tolys huffed in indignation.

He had done as Italy asked, searching Toris's memories for anything related to South Africa. The only piece of information he could dig up was that she was friends with Russia. Nothing that could prove useful.

And unfortunately, he couldn't return to Toris's dreams to torture the other Lithuanian.

What a waste of time.

…

Francois was in Francis's memories, searching for something specific. The result was that he was an observer, watching from the outside.

"Oh Pays Bas!" Francis called.

Someone tall looked behind him to see the Frenchman approaching. Francois arched a brow, noticing how different this Netherlands looked from his own.

"What do you want?" Netherlands asked.

"I need somewhere for the Huguenots to go. Could you take them off my hands?"

"…Fine. I think the Cape Colony could do with some help. She's still a young Colony, after all."

"Oui. And I'll get a niece."

"Don't push it."

Francois found this very interesting. So, South Africa had some relation to France. This could prove useful.

…

Feliks glared at the figure standing in front of him. After what happened last time, his fear for the other had increased.

Felic smirked, taking slow and deliberate steps to his blond counterpart. Feliks, in turn, took a few steps back.

"Like, what do you want?" Feliks asked.

"Well, first off, I'd like to ask you about your history with South Africa," Felic said.

"Like, what history?"

Felic narrowed his eyes.

"There has to be something that connects you to her," Felic said.

In truth, Feliks didn't really socialise with her before this mess started. The fact that she was Ivan's friend was enough of a reason to avoid her.

But there was one thing that he could think of.

"The only time I really had anything to do with her was during her War for Freedom," Feliks said. "I helped her out a little, and that was only because of Russia's influence."

"Who was the war against?" Felic asked.

"England."

"Dzięki. Now, on to more important matters."

Felic's already evil smirk widened, and Feliks knew that this would end badly for him. So he did what anyone in his position would do.

He turned and ran.

…

The next useful piece of information Francois found was that Francis had brief control over South Africa. And it was only because he had control over the Netherlands.

Well, it was something.

…

Felic chuckled as soon as Feliks started to run.

When would he realise that he couldn't run from him? Not in his dreams.

Felic had planned the setting to the finest detail. He had no need to run after Feliks. He didn't need to alert any of the others yet. Especially considering the others were only gathering information. They wouldn't be torturing their counterparts that night.

But it was still his game, and he would not let anyone tell him how he should play the game.

…

Anika groaned, opening her eyes. Her head hurt, and her body felt heavy. But she was in a comfortable bed, so she didn't complain too much.

She turned to the side and saw a pair of eyes watching her. She gave a slight groan when she realised who it was.

"I guess there's no use asking you what happened," she said.

She saw his face fall, and felt bad.

"No offence or anything. I'm just not used to non-verbal conversations that don't involve beads. Where are the others?"

Omar went to the window and drew the curtains aside, revealing that it was night. He then looked pointedly at the bed.

"I get it," she said. "They're asleep. I guess I have to go back as well."

Omar went towards a table in the corner, where she saw a pitcher of water. He poured the water in a glass and brought it to her. When she reached him, she saw that he had an Aspirin in his other hand.

She smiled, taking the offered items.

Speechless or not, he was very sweet.

…

Oliver sighed. This was getting boring. Who would have thought that Arthur had such a long history with South Africa?

Well, at least he knew now that England was related to South Africa. And he wondered if things would have been different if he had colonised his own South Africa.

It could have prevented a powerful Nation from rising.

…

Francois was somewhat amused with this part of the history.

South Africa was at war with England. It was the second time she had fought for her independence. The previous one was won by her. This one was slightly larger.

Francis helped her, but only to mess with England. In fact, everyone that came to help her out did it to mess with England, and England had employed underhanded techniques to win, impressing Francois somewhat.

…

Feliks was running through the halls. They seemed to be without an end, winding around.

It worried him that there were no paths branching off. There was only one way the path could go, and he was scared of what he might find at the end of the path.

He was both pleased and suspicious when he didn't hear the other Pol's footsteps running behind him. This only strengthened the possibility that he was running towards a trap.

Taking advantage of the lack of pursuit he slowed to a stop, catching his breath. He was growing tired, and there was a stitch of pain in his side. He didn't know how long he was running. Only that he had been running for a while.

He heard a chuckle and his blood ran cold.

"Tired already?" the voice asked.

"Nie," he whispered. "Leave me alone."

He still didn't hear any footsteps, but he daren't take any chances. So he quickly started running again.

…

The last significant piece of history was some kind of sporting event. Nothing important.

Francois chuckled.

Now that that was finished, he could focus on what he really wanted to do.

…

Luciano was growing impatient. He needed to know that the others had gotten significant information.

So it was with relief that he saw Tolys enter the room.

The Lithuanian watched with a raised eyebrow as his eyes fell on Lutz, Kyo, Abel and Marco, playing poker, of all things, and turned to face the Italian, who had been reading up to now.

"Lituania," Luciano seemed to purr. "Tell me you found something."

"Ne," Tolys said, and Luciano's expression grew dark. "My counterpart has no significant ties with South Africa. He avoids her because she's friends with Russia."

"Well, that's useless," Luciano said. "Let's hope that the others have more success."

…

Allen had gotten a new bat, and was hammering nails into his new weapon.

He had gotten a call from Luciano, and the other had told him that Canada was a traitor. So now, he was making a new nailed bat in order to make sure that it would bring the highest amount of pain.

He paused when he sensed someone in his home. Grabbing his old bat, he made his way downstairs, intending to give the intruder a piece of his mind.

He paused when he recognised the figure. It was a tanned woman with short, curly black hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a black crop top, loose-fitting black pants and black boots. She wore a belt, with many weapons strapped to her waist. There were knives of varying sizes, and various guns. There was this one weapon, a revolver, that she used in a twisted game of Russian Roulette, where she would point the gun at her victim. She would pull the trigger, and whether or not the bullet would be fired determined whether or not the torture of her victim would continue. The first time, her victims would always fear the bullet, but after a while, they would hope for the bullet.

"Well, well," Allen said, lowering the bat. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Mexico?"

She looked up at him with a bored look, and Allen smirked. At least he knew that she wasn't there to torture him.

"Did you hear about Canada?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm making a new bat, just for him."

"I see. I figured we could go to Italy's place together. Makes it easier, you know."

"Sure. Let me just finish this first."

"No pressure. But the longer you take, the greater the chances that someone else gets Mattie."

Allen growled.

"He's mine."

…

Marius woke, feeling much lighter.

His headache was gone, and he was almost ready to return to whatever Italy wanted him to do.

But first, he had to satisfy his craving.

…

Vlad had no idea what was happening, but he felt cold dread.

He had been dreaming about him, Arthur and Lukas relaxing in a meadow, their magical friends with them. Vlad had his own fairies, the sânziană and zână, with him, as well as a spiriduş and vântoase. They were simply enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the day.

It suddenly grew dark and cold, and Vlad found himself alone. Not even his magical friends were with him.

And in the next moment, he couldn't move. He was tied to a stake. Luckily, there wasn't an impaled figure above him.

"Seriously," Vlad muttered. "Just once, can't I have a regular dream?"

"Not until you're back in my world," a voice, identical to his own, said.

Vlad groaned, knowing exactly who it was.

"I thought you were sleeping, Marius," Vlad said.

The other Romanian stepped into view, the pale face surrounded by the black hair making the red eyes stand out more.

"I was," Marius said. "And now I'm thirsty."

Vlad realised what he meant and started to struggle, not wanting to go through that again.

"Is it just my imagination," Marius said, "or do you really have a problem with the prospect of me drinking your blood?"

"Between you, that stupid stereotype, the strigoi and the moroi? YES! I have a problem!"

Marius cocked his head to the side.

"What is a 'strigoi' and 'moroi'?" he asked.

Vlad had no idea how to answer him. He should know the answer to that question. He should have them as well.

"Oh well," Marius said, smirking wide. "I didn't bring a knife with me, so I'm going to use something else. Something that will make this even more delicious."

Vlad struggled more, but it was pointless. Marius walked closer, and he grabbed the collar of Vlad's shirt, pushing it aside, revealing the skin of Vlad's neck and shoulder.

"Nu!" Vlad shouted, but it broke off in a scream as Marius bit the skin at the juncture between his neck and shoulder.

He was thankful that Marius didn't have his fangs, but that still didn't change the fact that this was painful. He could feel every one of the other's teeth, and they kept biting harder, and Vlad was sure that if Marius tried hard enough, a chunk of his flesh would be torn out.

"Please stop!" Vlad shouted.

The other didn't listen, only biting harder, and forcing Vlad to scream louder.

…

The screams of a certain Romanian managed to wake many of the others, and they made their way towards his room.

They saw him thrashing around on his bed, screaming his head off.

"It's just a nightmare," Elizaveta scoffed, turning to return back to bed.

"No," William said, walking closer.

He knew that Vlad's attacks tended to have a specific theme, so he pushed the covers aside. As predicted, he saw a patch of red at the other's shoulder.

He pushed the shirt aside, in spite of the other's thrashing, and the others could clearly see what the problem was.

Teeth marks. And the marks appeared to get angrier by the second.

"We need to wake him up," William muttered.

"Allow me," Elizaveta said, smirking wide as she held up her trusty frying pan.

"Wait, I don't think…"

Too late.

…

Feliks kept running. He couldn't stop. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he stopped.

In front of him, he could finally see a change in scenery. A door. The sight brought both relief and dread to the blonde.

He finally reached the door and tore it open. It was dark inside, and his eyes took a moment to adjust. But once they did, he considered turning back.

He was in a torture chamber. Many of the devices he recognised, but others he didn't. And as a European Nation, he was well acquainted with all types of torture devices.

He turned to go back, but a pair of blue eyes behind him stopped him.

…

Felic chuckled. He had planned it accordingly. He would allow Feliks to run, and when he was tired, he would lead Feliks to his trap. The other would be too tired to fight him.

"Looks like you found my little surprise," Felic said, stalking closer.

"Stay away from me!" Feliks said, stepping back.

"And how do you intend to keep me away?" Felic taunted. "There's only one exit, and you need to get through me to leave."

Feliks stepped back, and just like Felic predicted, he fell into the final trap.

…

Francois was finished with what Italy had asked them to do, so now he would wait to see if Romania was awake.

And then his real plan would be put into motion.

…

Feliks was startled when he fell, and his landing was surprisingly soft. It took a moment for him to realise where he fell.

A coffin.

He heard a chuckle, and Felic came into view. He slowly closed the lid, and Feliks felt as though a cold hand closed around his throat. The last thing he saw before darkness completely encompassed him was a pair of piercing blue eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Feliks."

Ok, history lesson. When the Cape Colony was still young, the French Huguenots asked Netherlands for refuge, and many of them were sent to the Cape Colony. Jan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the colony, was married to a Huguenot, Maria de la Quellerie, a well-loved woman among the Dutch in the Cape. The Dutch said that the French could stay, but all forms of communication had to be done in Dutch, or at least any formal correspondence should be. Since they were forced to flee from their homes and had to settle somewhere else, they accepted these terms. The Huguenots settled in what is known as Franschhoek (literally "French Corner"), and the town is often considered to be the food and wine capital of South Africa. It also celebrates Bastille Day.

During the Napoleonic Wars, France had control over Netherlands and also a small amount of control over South Africa, until England took over for a brief time.

The Freedom Wars (Vryheidsoorloë) were the Boer Wars. In the first one, it was basically England and the two Boer Republics, but in the second England brought along several colonies, including Canada and Australia. There were no governments that helped the Boer Republics, but there were volunteers from different countries, Netherlands being the most prominent with 2000 volunteers. The others were from Germany, Sweden, Norway, America, Italy, Poland, Ireland, France, Russia and an unknown number of Australian volunteers, and a few from Georgia and I think Belgium. The Boers had these countries' sympathies, but they mostly helped out to mess with the British.