Thanks to EverythingMath, jkin6486,Dragonfire78, Miss Akiyata, madders10 and an anon for reviewing.

Okay, the first part of this chapter was written while watching a thriller. The rest was while listening to Nox Arcana. So in short, my mind was hardwired for creepy and twisted.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 52: Chess

They were all seated in Lobsang's living room, sipping some green tea. Lobsang, Yul and Chio would keep glancing towards Yong Soo, as though they were surprised that another world could exist.

"Tell me what you know about Deathplayers," Mahesh instructed.

"Getting to the point, are we?" Lobsang asked. "The fact that you want to know more of them is troubling in itself. It is part of their game."

"What do you mean?"

"The more you know, the less they hold back. They had gotten to the point where they have transformed into other Nations. They're playing a game of chess."

"What does chess have to do with anything?" Yong Soo asked.

"If I'm seeing things correctly, there are two worlds. One is significantly darker than the other. Black and White. They have been aware of it for a long time. It makes sense, though."

"What does?"

"I have tracked them for centuries. But around two hundred years ago, I lost track of them. They must have been planning it since then."

"And what is the game about?" Mahesh asked.

Lobsang stared at him for a moment, before turning to Yong Soo.

"I would like to know more about you first," Lobsang said. "Something tells me that I need to understand your world before I know what is going on." He then turned to Mahesh. "But if you really require answers, I suggest you search for a broken Nation. Their eyes are wide open."

"Brazil is speaking to one of them now," Mahesh said. "Although, the original reason is not what is needed."

"What is the original reason?" Yul asked.

"The reason why we came to see you," Mahesh said. "We need your help to stop the cruelty of the North."

"We are not joining your war," Lobsang said. "We are staying out of it."

"Obviously, you have lived privileged lives," Mahesh said, his voice dropping several degrees. "You have not experienced pain for the sake of inflicting pain. You weren't forced to have every last spark of innocence and hope extinguished, just for the sake of being moulded according to what someone else wanted."

"You escaped China," Lobsang interrupted. "Several times."

"Yet after each time, I was forced to endure punishment for escaping, and then what China would call 'training'. I tried to go to you for help, but you wouldn't protect me. You would teach me a few of your philosophies, but you wouldn't take me in."

Lobsang sighed.

"Your mind had already been partially poisoned by China," the Tibetan said. "I had to teach you first. But by the time China left you alone, it was already too late."

Yul and Chio shifted uncomfortably. They had been under Lobsang's protection from the start, and didn't know what it was like to suffer at the hands of another Nation.

Mahesh glared at Lobsang, who only sighed.

"I will consider it," Lobsang said. "However, I would like you to bring the three of us our own counterparts."

Yong Soo groaned, banging his head on the table, startling everyone except Jeng Soo, who had witnessed the South Korean's behaviour before.

"The only one who's going to be easy is Macau," Yong Soo explained. "The other two…" At this, he groaned again.

"You should tell the others then," Mahesh said. "And then you should stay here so that Tibet can get whatever he needs to get."

Since his face was still pressed against the table, no one saw Yong Soo's pout.

…

Ricardo looked around.

He noticed that he was on a black horse, and that he was also dressed in black.

The ground resembled a chessboard, and he could see cracks on several of the white squares. Some squares appeared to be almost completely shattered. There were also cracks in the black squares, but they were older and seemed to be smoothed out.

If he looked closer, he could see faces in the squares.

The pieces were scattered, as though a few turns have already taken place. He recognised several of the other 'pieces'. He noticed that the ones meant to represent the black pawns were Northern Nations, enemies to the Southern Nations and the Nations of the other world. That was not the case with the other pieces.

He saw that each of the black pawns had a dagger, dripping with blood. He also noticed that the white pawns had at least one crimson stain on their clothes, where they were most likely stabbed or slashed.

The other black pieces also had weapons, but none of them were stained with blood. And yet, some of their white counterparts had bloodstains on their bodies.

The two bishops, Dimitri and Alexandru. The king, Matthew. And one of the knights…

Ricardo's eyes widened. The knight that was hurt was Raj. This did not bode well.

He looked towards the other white knight, Roberto. There wasn't a crimson stain yet. Nor was there on the queen, Anika, or the two rooks, Jett and… he didn't know the other New Zealand's name. He had to make an effort to do so.

For some reason, black was left alone. He looked around again, and when his eyes landed on Matthew again, he had to stop.

Standing directly behind Matthew was a figure that looked like him. This figure had his arms draped around Matthew's shoulders, a bloody dagger dangling lazily in one hand.

He looked further. The same could be said about Anika, Raj and Roberto. Figures that looked similar, yet different.

The one standing near Roberto cocked his head, and walked closer. Unlike Ricardo and Roberto, this Brazil didn't have a horse.

When the figure came to stand almost directly in front of him, Ricardo saw, for the first time, the horns, wings and tail the other possessed.

The figure smirked, and that was when Ricardo's horse reared back, and out of surprise Ricardo fell off.

He was fortunate that he was in his own mind, for he didn't think he could live with the humiliation of it actually happening, and anyone seeing it.

The demonic version crouched down, a smirk on its face.

White shall become Red, and Black shall fall as well.

…

Ricardo gasped, clutching his head. Being forced out of a vision caused pain to wrack his skull.

He was left even more confused than before. What did red have to do with anything?

He was tempted to ask Ferdinand, but with his headache, that might not be the best thing. He would just make it worse.

What he did manage to figure out was that, while the Black Pawns tortured their White counterparts, the others didn't, and so the demons, the Deathplayers, did it.

But why? Why torture the White Pieces?

When his headache was better, he would go back and try again.

…

Luis watched as Ferdinand finished the painting that he had been working on when they had arrived. He didn't feel the need to interrupt. He didn't want to be even more confused.

To be honest, his counterpart scared him, but in a way that was different from the others. He wasn't sure what it was, but he felt like he should stay away from the other.

He looked around the room, at all the canvases, until one caught his eye. It was a woman, one that looked as though she could be Brazil's ancestor. Her face was split in two, as though there were two counterparts that came together, and she wore a red dress.

"Ferdinand," Luis said, and Ferdinand turned to him, not even stopping his hands as he painted the serpentine creature. "Who is this?"

Ferdinand looked at the canvas that Luis was referring to and dropped the paintbrush. He started trembling, and hugged himself again, once again creating the illusion of someone in an asylum, wearing a straightjacket.

"What's wrong?" Luis asked.

"Player," Ferdinand said. "Amazon River. Generations of us ago. Died a long time ago. And in death, Black and White merge."

"So this is a Deathplayer," Luis said. "What she looked like before she was one."

"Minor Player," Ferdinand continued. "One bent by own evil. Sixteen total. Eight major players, twisted by true evil. Hidden in White Squares."

"Why white?"

"Because Black is bent, broken, twisted, snapped. Black is tainted. White is pure. It is better to corrupt something pure than it is to stain that which is already tainted. It is easier to see Red on White than it is to see it on Black."

"What does 'red' even mean?"

Ferdinand grinned, and Luis swallowed nervously, feeling the fear again.

"Madness."

…

"Would have been nice to know that sooner," Yao said into his phone.

He had gotten a call from Yong Soo, saying that the other Tibet wanted to see Choden, Kan and Chuluun before he decided to help them. It would take a while before they could do that. Kan was there, but someone would need to go convince Chuluun, and someone would actually need to travel to Tibet to speak to Choden, since the Tibetan didn't have a phone.

"I'll see what I can do," Yao said nevertheless. "This is going to be tricky."

"No need to tell me," Yong Soo said. "I'll talk to you later Aniki."

"Yeah, later," Yao said, hanging up the phone.

He was worried about his bother being in the other world, along with Lien and Kiku, who decided to stay as well.

He would go too, but as it turned out, he was needed in this world.

A groan caught his attention, and he turned to see Kasem slowly open his eyes.

"You're finally awake," Yao said, smiling softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like every bone in my body was broken," Kasem said, and Yao's heart sank when he realised that it wasn't in his usual, friendly tone. "Where are they?"

"Who?" Yao asked.

"The Deathplayers that did this to me."

"They're gone."

"This wasn't random," Kasem said. "They're planning something."

Yao frowned, before he was reminded of something.

"Stay here," he said. "I need to go get someone that might be able to help."

…

Ricardo was back. The scene looked the same, except there were no demonic figures around.

But this time, he could see that every white piece had a red stain, some more than others.

At the side of the 'board', he could see eight figures. Five of those figures were in shadow, while the other three looked like some sort of strange hybrids between animal and man.

The eight figures then went to spread around the white pieces. They ignored the pawns in favour of the stronger pieces. And when they would touch those pieces, the white armour would fall away, only to be replaced by red.

And with the red armour, a look appeared in their eyes. A look that Ricardo knew well enough.

Insanity.

That was when the black pawns started fighting the other black pieces, and those that weren't fighting those wearing their colours attacked their counterparts. And the red pieces didn't care who they fought, as long as blood was shed.

And that was also when the white pawns were engulfed in the shadows, and they, too, became red.

…

Raj looked up when he heard the door open.

It was the other Netherlands, carrying a glass of water.

The Dutchman didn't say a word, merely handed the glass to Raj, who drank the water greedily. The taller man then took the glass back, and locked the door behind him.

And when the aftertaste hit him, Raj realised that there was something in the water.

…

Toris had decided to keep Feliks busy, so he searched through the house until he could find a chessboard.

Even if Feliks wasn't good at it, and occasionally cheats, it was still somewhat fun.

…

Ricardo returned to find Ferdinand painting yet again, and Luis was sitting to the side, looking a little nervous.

"Ferdinand," Ricardo said, and Ferdinand turned to him. "I think we need to take these paintings. Obviously, you can make sense of things that I couldn't. As ironic as it is."

"Sim," Ferdinand said. "We'll go to the other world. The White World. Black has war. Don't want to take part in the war. Not if it's the game."

Ricardo sighed, but nodded his head.

Alida would be upset that he didn't get Ferdinand to take part in the war as well, because he could be quite ruthless, due to having no restraint when it comes to lashing out. But when she heard that Ferdinand had important information regarding the Deathplayers, then she would allow Ferdinand to do whatever he needed to do to get more information about this.

…

Alida sighed, putting the phone away.

Ricardo and Mahesh were meant to recruit Venezuela and Tibet for their cause. Instead, they came forth with information regarding the Deathplayers.

The thing about Ferdinand was that he was always eager to fight. Always eager to lash out. So if the game of the Deathplayers was more important to him than lashing out, then there's something really bad going on.

Ricardo also mentioned that the Nations from the other world, for whatever reason, were the prime targets for the Deathplayers, and they needed to be protected.

He also mentioned that something had happened to Raj.

She entered her bedroom, but immediately froze.

Lying on her bed was the Deathplayer that had assumed her form.

"What are you doing here?" Alida demanded.

"Oh, the Black Queen has arrived," the Deathplayer said, sitting up. "You know about our rules, correct?"

"The more we know about you, the less you hold back," Alida said. "But it's still better than allowing you to play your game in the shadows."

"Perhaps. But we can't allow you to know too much now, right? We like surprises too, and we don't want to ruin the surprises. Which is why the last four will be taken with one move."

"What are you…?" Alida started, but before she could finish, the Deathplayer had already disappeared.

Alida was starting to get a really bad feeling.

…

After Wy had returned, Roberto had proceeded to tell the Micro Nations about what they were meant to do. He had just finished when a stabbing pain erupted in his chest. He grunted as he clutched his chest.

"Brazil!" Sealand called out, and all the Micro Nations rushed to his side.

"Get Portugal," Roberto gasped out. "My National Congress Building was just hit with a bomb."

…

Anika was speaking to Sammy, Farai, Jana and Theresa when she froze, her eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" Sammy asked.

"Go get Engeland," Anika said, and the others saw that she was taking deeper and faster breaths than normal.

"What's wrong?" Farai repeated.

"Bom. Uniegebou."

That got their attentions, and Sammy and Farai immediately departed to get Arthur, while Jana and Theresa aided their sister.

…

Fletcher and Jett were having one of their usual minor arguments (tension breaker, you know) when they both froze, before clutching their chests in pain.

"My Parliament House," Jett said.

"Mine too," Fletcher gasped out.

The two collapsed in the hallway, and it took a while before they were found by Michelle, who was actually on her way to gather the other Africans for an emergency African Meeting, as Gupta had called it.

…

Kyo entered Raj's room, and she was pleased to see that he was already suffering from the hallucinogens they had mixed in his water. She smirked, stepping closer to the Indian who was curled up against the wall, shivering with his arms wrapped around his legs, chin placed on his knees and eyes wide.

She crouched down in front of him. He didn't see her, too busy staring at something that only he could see.

While he was suffering from this, it would be easy to bend him to their will.

"The others abandoned you," Kyo said. "They're not going to save you. You're just another asset to them. None of your 'friends' care about you."

He didn't react, but she knew that subconsciously, he was absorbing every word. Once the hallucinogens wore off, Raj would be fine, but he would find himself a victim of doubt.

"They left you here, in the mercy of Nations that harm you only for your counterpart," Kyo continued. "If it wasn't for Mahesh, you wouldn't be suffering so much. You'd be safe, not a care in the world. You'd carry on, as though nothing happened. But Mahesh ruined it for you. Now, you are hated by half of the world, simply because you look like him. They left you to your fate."

She stood up, walking away.

Physical torture could only get you so far. If you really wanted to destroy your enemies, breaking down their minds was also a good way to go about it.

…

Raj looked around in horror.

He was standing on what appeared to be a chessboard, but it was completely destroyed.

There were corpses lying around everywhere, and he could recognise some of them as Nations from both worlds.

In the centre of the board were forty figures. Eight of them could hardly be called human, the animal features too obvious. The others were pairs of lookalikes, but they weren't exactly who he was familiar with.

One of these pairs stepped closer. He could recognise the Deathplayer that had paid him a visit, dressed in golden clothes. But it was the other figure that scared him.

It looked like him, with a few startling features. There was an insane grin on his face, his eyes wide and wild. And the clothes he wore were red.

Red with the blood that was still dripping from him, but that did not originate from him.

The figure in red opened his mouth, and Raj could see blood inside as well. A single word was whispered.

Soon.

…

Stage one and two of the game is complete.

Now, on to stage three.