Thanks to Temporary6, madders10 and Miss Akiyata for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 63: Synchronicity

White and Black are more alike than they think.

And they will realise it soon enough.

…

Dimitri attempted to struggle, but it was useless.

The other Russia and Ukraine had pushed a rag into his mouth, to be used as a gag, and they had brought a piece of rope with them to tie around his wrists.

And the large Russian carried the Bulgarian over his shoulder, making his attempts to struggle useless.

They were joined by the other Belarus, who informed them that both Nations were speaking on their phones. That caused Dimitri to feel a pang of fear, and he whined when the trio took him to Nicolai's basement.

Dimitri's eyes widened when the others opened a secret passage. Ukraine looked back towards him and smirked.

"Marius built this in secret," she informed him. "And Nicolai never figured it out."

"Come," Russia said. "We still need Romania to cast that spell."

Dimitri's eyes widened. What spell?

…

"Da, I understand," Ivan said, before he hung up the phone.

Anika had called him, informing him that Dimitri was in potential danger, and that he would need to be protected. She would have called the Bulgarian herself, but knew that it would have been a little distressing for him if he found out that he was in danger, and what would happen to him.

Ivan had been enraged when Anika told him about what had happened to New Zealand, and that it had also happened to Raj.

And naturally, who could offer better protection than Ivan?

He looked over towards Nicolai, and from the sound of things, he was getting the same message from Anika's counterpart.

Nicolai sighed, hanging up the phone. He then turned to face Ivan.

"Do you know where Dimitri is?" he asked.

"I believe he said he was going to your kitchen," Ivan said.

"We need to warn him. Or at least give him the gist of things."

…

"What do you want with me?" Emil asked, jumping out of the bed and trying to maintain his distance from the other Nations.

"Revenge," Denmark said simply. "We can't get to Gabriel, so we'll just have to settle for you. Besides, we haven't had the chance to meet you yet."

Emil trembled. This was similar to Sigurd, who tortured him because she wanted to get back at Gabriel.

Behind the two Nordics, Emil noticed Poland being held back by her counterpart. The dark-haired Pol had her hand on the blonde's mouth, and Emil could see blood on her shoulder.

The Icelandic also noticed that he was trapped. The only exit, other than the window, was blocked. Emil glanced over to the window, and Finland saw it, and just when Emil attempted to run to the window, Finland took out a gun and shot him.

…

The three kept their eyes on the figure in the door. Allen had his bat leisurely on his shoulders, a lazy smirk on his face as he examined the three Nations.

"I had a feeling you'd be here, Pork Chop," Allen said.

Rosa snorted as she tried to stifle her laughter, and Alfred glared at Allen for the nickname.

"Mexico, right?" Allen said.

"That's right, gringo," Rosa said. "And you're not welcome here."

…

Dimitri struggled as the large Russian carried him through the tunnel. He did not want to go to the other Romania, especially if there was magic involved.

He wondered how long it would take for Nicolai and Ivan to realise that he was missing. If Ukraine's words were true, then Nicolai was ignorant to the existence of the tunnel, and wouldn't follow him through.

There was also the possibility that they wouldn't realise he was missing until it was too late.

…

Emil screamed as the bullet was lodged in his hip, and he sank to the ground.

"Fanden," Denmark muttered, looking outside the door. "The others will be coming soon."

"Then we need to hurry," Finland said, his voice cold.

Denmark shrugged, moving over to the injured Icelandic.

Emil yelped when Denmark lifted him, throwing him over his shoulder. He looked over towards Finland and saw him going towards the mirror in the room.

The Fin placed his hand on the mirror, and looked over to the two Polands. The dark-haired Pol dragged her counterpart to the Fin's location, adjusting her grip on Feliks as she extended her hand to the mirror. Meanwhile, Denmark had made his way towards the mirror as well, carrying Emil on his shoulder.

He looked up when someone gasped, and he had just managed to look up, seeing the shocked blue eyes of Anna before his vision started to swim.

…

Gabriel was passing one of his hallway mirrors when something caught the corner of his eye. He paused, looking back to the mirror, and he saw something that he had grown somewhat familiar with, but only when he was in the other world.

He had no reflection, which meant that Emil was in their world. Which meant…

"Lukas!" he shouted. "We've got a problem!"

…

Anna watched in horror as Emil was dragged through the mirror. When she got over her shock, she rushed over to the mirror, but it was too late.

She pounded against the glass, and she ignored when she heard other Nations behind her.

She yelped when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see Brazil standing there with a concerned expression.

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

"They took him," Anna whispered. "They took Iceland to the other side."

She launched her arms around him, and cried out of fear.

She was helpless to save him, and now he was in danger once again.

…

Marius looked up when Viktor entered the room. She smirked when she saw their prisoner.

Dimitri was removed from Viktor's shoulder and pushed to his knees. He looked up and stiffened when he saw the Romanian.

Marius crept closer, grabbing his jaw and removing the gag.

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked.

Oliver giggled, as she scooped some of the potion they had brewed into a cup and handed the cup to Marius.

"You'll see soon enough," Marius said, forcing the potion down his throat.

…

They had looked everywhere for Dimitri, but the dark-haired Bulgarian couldn't be found.

Nicolai was growing worried. There was no way that someone could have gotten to him, right?

He jumped when his phone rang, and quickly fished it out of his pocket. He paled when he saw who was calling him.

"Zdraveĭte?" he shakily said into the phone.

"Alo, Nicolai," Marius's voice said from the other side. "How's that counterpart of yours?"

"I… How did… What do you…?"

"He's here, with us."

"What do you mean by 'us'?"

"Oh, just me, Norway, England, Russia and Ukraine."

Nicolai could feel his heart drop.

"What are you doing to him?" he whispered.

"Nothing. Yet. I wanted to hear your reaction first."

"What do you…?" he started, before he let out a shocked cry.

His scalp was in pain, as though someone yanked on his hair.

"What did you do?" he cried out in alarm.

"Oh good, it works. It was a complex spell, and I would have been very disappointed if it failed."

"What did you do?!"

"A synchronicity spell. Everything that we do to Dimitri, you'll be able to feel."

Nicolai could feel himself pale. He slumped against the wall, his legs having grown shaky.

"No," he whispered.

"Have fun guessing what we're doing to him. La revedere."

The dial tone sounded, and Nicolai's phone slipped out of his hand.

His counterpart was in the hands of the three most dangerous Nations he knew, and he could feel what they did to him.

And he knew full well what they were capable of.

…

Natalia stared hard at the crystal ball. She didn't like using means such as this, but perhaps she could find some clarity.

She saw how Bulgaria was tortured by people that resembled her older siblings. She saw Iceland in a frozen wasteland, his lips blue and skin paler than his hair. She saw Poland clutching her hair. She saw the eight creatures with their sixteen underlings, who in turn had sixteen near-identical puppets. And she saw Nations' bodies from both sides, almost completely drowned by blood.

It was more horrible than she could imagine.

She also saw something that alarmed her, and deciding to be compassionate for once, she left to find Latvia.

…

Feliks and Emil backed up against the far wall. They stared at the three Nations standing before them, glaring with evil smirks.

Well, except for Finland, who just glared.

"Now what should we do with you?" Felic asked in a sing-song voice.

"We can take them to my country," Denmark said. "Very few Nations know the layout, and even fewer would dare go there. Odds are, none of the Nations from the other world would be able to manage."

Emil frowned, and Denmark turned to him.

"I've met Mathias," he said. "If our lands are as different as our personalities, then you're in trouble."

Emil's eyes widened, the thought obviously not having occurred to him. He gripped Feliks's hand, who squeezed back.

They were in this together, or at least for as long as their captors allowed it.

…

Alfred and Rosa watched wide-eyed as Matt and Allen fought. Rosa was cradling her arm, which was bloody, and Alfred had blood coming out of his mouth, his leg bent at an awkward angle.

Blood was trickling down the Canadian's face, and he preferred to use his left hand when swinging his hockey stick.

Allen had several bruises on his face, and blood was also trickling down his face. His mouth was bloody as well, and he was missing several teeth.

Matt was trying to avoid contact with his opponents' weapon, while Allen didn't care. And whenever the bat would get close, Matt would block with his hockey stick, and Allen would try to kick, but Matt would then attempt to trip him.

It was a violent stalemate.

"I don't even think you and Russia fight this bad," Rosa said.

"You should see him and Mattie when they're playing hockey," Alfred said.

…

Dimitri winced as his hair was pulled back. The gag had once again been placed in his mouth for Marius's phone call with Nicolai.

Marius hung up the phone, stalking closer to the Bulgarian. She crouched down in front of him, and Russia adjusted him to look at her.

"The potion lasts for six hours," Marius informed him. "I've made extra, since I want to drag this out for as long as possible. How much damage can you do in six hours?"

The last part was directed at Russia.

"A lot," the Russian said.

"Good. I'll leave it to you in a moment. But first…"

Marius withdrew a dagger, and Dimitri's eyes widened in shock. Russia adjusted his head, exposing the side of his neck to the Romanian.

Dimitri winced when the blade pierced his skin, and Marius leaned over to drink the blood.

And he could understand why Vlad was a little freaked after it happened.

…

Vlad sighed, hanging up the phone.

Having to tell Lukas that Emil had been kidnapped was probably the hardest thing she ever had to do. She would need to keep an eye on her own brother.

She was just about to go and find Alexandru when her phone rang again.

She frowned, seeing that it was Russia that was calling her.

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately upon answering.

"They have Dimitri," Ivan said.

Vlad's breath hitched.

"Your counterpart called Nicolai as a taunt," Ivan continued. "And they cast some sort of spell."

"What spell?"

"I think it has to do with synchronicity or something."

Vlad's eyes widened. She knew what kind of spell it was. It was in one of Arthur's books about the really dark magic.

Torturing someone in another's place.

It was beyond cruel. Torturing an innocent because the one you really wanted to torture was out of reach, and the true target for the torture would experience everything and be unaware of when or where the next stab of pain would hit. They wouldn't even know what it would be.

And if one was killed, so was the other.

"You need to save him!" Vlad said. "That spell… It's more cruel and vicious than you can imagine."

"We don't even know where…"

"Find him! If they're willing to use that spell once, what's preventing them from using it again? What's preventing them from using it against anyone for that matter?"

"I see your point. Don't worry. We'll find Dimitri, and hurt everyone that hurt him, da?"

"Da," Vlad said shakily, hanging up the phone.

She could only hope that they would be able to save her best friend before it was too late.

…

They had gone to Viktor's house. It was a matter of time before Ivan and Nicolai thought to look at Marius's castle, and they didn't want their fun to be spoiled.

Dimitri had been taken to Viktor's dungeon, his shirt removed to make it easier for them to torture him.

At the moment, he was chained to the wall, with Irina standing in front of him with a serrated knife.

"Your skin is like a blank canvas," she observed, stroking the cold knife against his skin. "Unmarred. But not for long."

Dimitri flinched when she placed the knife against his collarbone, and he screamed when she started cutting down, towards his heart.

…

Nicolai's breath hitched when he felt the burning steel of a knife cutting along his skin. But when he checked, there was no wound.

The same happened when he felt a dagger at his neck, and he recognised the feeling of a mouth on the wound as Marius drank his blood. He had experienced it enough times before.

He trembled. He didn't like the fact that what he was feeling was actually happening to Dimitri. He knew that his counterpart wasn't as used to pain as he was. And if something like that was how they chose to start…

"Ivan," he called out weakly. "I think we should try Romania's castle first. We need to get Dimitri back."

The Russian came into view, his smile gone and pipe in hand.

"Da, I agree," Ivan said. "Vlad said that as well. Come on."

And Nicolai didn't question when he heard Ivan start to chant something.

…

Lukas was pulling her hair in nervousness. Vlad had confirmed what Gabriel suspected.

Emil had been taken to the other world.

The bad part was, they didn't know who took him. It was obvious that he was in the enemies' grasp, but which of the enemies is the thing they need to worry about.

"Tobias," Gabriel whispered, and Lukas whipped her head towards her brother's counterpart.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"Our Denmark," Gabriel clarified. "Last night, while you were sleeping, he sent me a message, saying that he would be coming for me."

"And he's using Emil to do it," she whispered, understanding the Icelandic's train of thought. "Where would he take him?"

"If he's still at Italy's place, he would go there," Gabriel said. "But otherwise, he would take him to his own home."

"Then we'll need to go there," Tino said. "We can…"

"It's too dangerous," Gabriel said. "Denmark's land, his people…"

"We can take it," Berwald said.

"Nooo," Gabriel moaned. "After first arriving in your world, me and a few of the others went on the internet to compare your world with ours. Our Denmark… it's a lot like your Russia during winter!"

That caused the other Nations to grow quiet.

"Are you sure?" Tino asked.

"Yes. And that's only the land. The people… The Viking Age never ended here. They just became more modern. And they're all in Denmark."

Lukas and Berwald shared a glance.

"It seems we'll need Mathias for this," Lukas said.

Berwald nodded his head.

"And we'll need weapons," Tino said, and the others turned to him. "Look, I may not be a former Viking like you two, and I may not be so fond of fighting, but Emil is family. And no one messes with family."

The other three nodded their heads in agreement.

…

"What?!" Denmark demanded into the phone.

Tino called to let him know about Emil being kidnapped. And who the most likely culprit was.

"I'm assuming you want to save him too?" Tino asked.

"Of course!" Mathias said. "Let me just get my axe first."

"Of course. We're going to get a few weapons as well. Meet you in Copenhagen?"

"Ours or theirs?"

"Let's make it ours. There's a chance that the other Norway is with them, so it's easy to go to their location through the mirror."

"Okej. Now, I'm going to find someone that can take me home so that I can get my axe."

…

Alfred watched as Allen and Matt fought, and he felt a surge of rage.

He was supposed to be the hero. He was supposed to fight the villain.

…But he couldn't.

He could handle the blood coming from his mouth. He had just bitten his tongue when Allen punched him. It was his leg that bothered him.

There was a chance that his leg was broken, and Rosa's arm was possibly broken as well.

Besides, it was a personal battle between Allen and Matt, and Alfred had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, Alfred could respect a good grudge match.

On the other hand, Matt was losing.

…

Luciano had given the other Nations permission to leave if they wanted. The original reason they were there in the first place was because the magic trio had to cast the spell so that the others could take part in the game.

Besides, she wouldn't mind having her own mansion back again. These squatters were getting really annoying.

…

The Deathplayers watched the two former Nations, curled up and sleeping side by side. There was nothing for them to do at the moment.

But soon, they would have a third member, and it would be amusing to see the ripples.

Basically, Dimitri is currently a glorified voodoo doll. How bad do you think it can get? And Nicolai can feel everything, but he's more used to pain, so what he finds bad, Dimitri will find it worse.

Also, something that I personally enjoyed doing yesterday. My Creative Writing lecturer from last year asked if I'd be willing to speak to the first years. The topic: fanfiction. And I could see that quite a few of them were interested. So, yay! I spread the word! I introduced them to this site, and hopefully there will be a few new readers to all the different fandoms. And maybe even writers.