Thanks to cherryfeather101, Mx Akiyata, Icefrost12 and madders10 for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 67: The Fourth Red

A poorly defended Piece would easily get captured.

And in their frenzy, more Pieces will be left defenceless.

…

Gabriel kept opening doors, searching for his counterpart without result. He was getting frantic.

After yet another failed attempt, he slumped against the wall, trying to think.

Where would Tobias…?

His eyes flashed in realisation. There was a room he knew of that Tobias would keep Emil in.

Gabriel's own.

…

"What's happening?" Vlad asked.

Nicolai had his eyes clenched in pain, and he was trembling. Finally, he cracked an eye open, and Vlad could clearly see all the pain.

"Deathplayer," Nicolai finally managed to say.

Vlad's eyes widened, and she slumped to the floor. They were too late.

"As much as I enjoy seeing your inner turmoil," Marius said, "could you please tell us what the hell a Deathplayer is?!"

…

Roberto sighed, before he decided to find his friend.

Usually, he would have asked Ivan to help him with his request, but Ivan had left, which left the next best choice.

Yao.

He managed to find Yao in one of the living rooms, staring nervously at the other Mongolia. Roberto had heard enough from both Yao and Ivan to know that neither of them had a good history with that Nation.

Roberto placed his hand on the older Nation's shoulder, and Yao jumped in surprise. He turned to face the Brazilian, and he sighed in relief.

"Oh, it's you," he said. "What can I help you with?"

"Well," Roberto said, "I want you to teach me how to play chess."

…

The four Nations ran down the stairs, Ivan and Natalia fearing what would happen, and Viktor and Irina mostly curious about what was happening. The pale-haired siblings just hoped that they weren't too late.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found Dimitri, screaming in pain on the ground, curled up into a tight ball, and a near-identical figure standing over him.

"Welcome to the show," the figure said. "Here, you get to see a Nation turn into a Red. It's a wonderful spectacle, wouldn't you say?"

"Zatknis'!" Ivan shouted. "What did you do?"

"I'm making his pain go away," the other simply said.

"You call that making his pain go away?"

"Please. Don't act like you care. I know all about it. The only reason you're so concerned is because your lives inevitably rest in his hands. Being a Nation would mean nothing to him, and his only instinct would be to kill. But there's another reason why you wish to save him." He had been looking at Ivan when he said the last part. "You want to know if it would be possible to save little Raj, and eventually Roberto and Anika, am I correct?"

Ivan's grip on his pipe tightened.

"I want to see Raj," Ivan said, his voice cold.

"You will, eventually," the other said. "When he comes to kill you as well."

Ivan readied himself to attack, before something truly unsettling occurred.

Dimitri stopped screaming.

…

Nicolai watched through a tinted view.

He felt Dimitri's pain, both physically and emotionally. And his own pain was also brought into the equation.

One was the punching bag of Europe, while the other was one of Europe's greatest failures.

He could feel the pain combine, and when the pain from two became one, everything faded to black.

…

Yao cocked his head in confusion.

"That seems… random," he said.

"I know," Roberto said. "But… In all of my visions regarding the Deathplayers, there was a chessboard, and Nations represented pieces. And they actually refer to some Nations as chess pieces. I was just thinking…"

"You want to have enough knowledge of the game in order to counter what they'll do," Yao said, coming to a realisation.

"Sim. So, can you?"

"Ivan would be able to teach you more than I could," Yao said. "But since he's not here, I can show you enough to keep you safe, if necessary."

"I would appreciate that."

…

Gabriel opened the door to find something, or rather someone, that he didn't expect.

"Feliks?" he asked.

The Pol whipped her head up, and Gabriel noticed that she had her arms around an unconscious Emil.

"Like, you're here," she said, her voice weak.

Gabriel immediately rushed to her side, and she tried to nudge Emil awake.

"We need to get the two of you warm," Gabriel said, rubbing his hands over her arms.

He failed to notice the distracted look on her face.

…

Francis was humming happily as she prepared dinner for all of them.

It was moments like this that she lived for. She could serve food to the entire world, and they will marvel at the taste.

But there was still something that terrified her, and it was the fact that she had been labelled as one of the possible targets for the Deathplayers. And she shuddered to think that what had happened to New Zealand could happen to her.

She had clearly seen his eyes, and it terrified her.

…

The four watched as Dimitri chuckled, rising to his feet. He had gained some sort of red cloak, which only made Ivan and Natalia more nervous.

Finally, he revealed his face, and his green eyes were bright with insanity, and a grin to match.

"Meet the Bishop," the Deathplayer said offhandedly. "Isn't he lovely?"

"So this is what they meant," Ivan whispered, seeing what had happened to the Bulgarian clearly.

"What is going on?" Irina demanded.

Dimitri snapped his attention to her, and he lost the grin, but the insane light in his eyes grew brighter, as the fires of rage burned brighter as well.

And speaking of flames…

Dimitri roared, launching a fireball as he did so. The four Slavic Nations ducked and covered, barely avoiding the flame.

Dimitri then turned his attention to the fridge they kept in the dungeon, and walked towards it, pulling it open.

"I wouldn't do that," the Deathplayer said.

Dimitri reached into the fridge, and immediately retracted his hand, letting out a sound that was a combination between a snarl and a shriek.

"You're not ready yet," the Deathplayer sighed. "Come. We have other things to do as well."

Dimitri snarled, but nodded his head, walking closer to the Deathplayer. The Deathplayer then turned to the Nations, a smirk on his face.

"Do svidaniya," he said mockingly, before the two of them disappeared.

…

They had managed to track down a chess set, and were about to set it up when Yao's phone rang. He sighed, before he took the device out of his pocket.

"Yes, who is it?" he said into the phone.

"China, it's Bangladesh. Do you know where India is?"

Yao felt a pang in his chest.

"No. He's missing. What's wrong?"

"I was on my way to his home on an errand from my boss, and… You see, I was taking the scenic route…"

"What is it?" Yao snapped.

"Well, when I passed through one of his more remote villages… It was a massacre."

"What do you mean?"

"Every man, woman and child has been killed. The streets are literally soaked in blood, up to your ankles. And… I don't know if humans or animals were responsible. The damage is more than animals could do, and humans wouldn't be able to do this, but…"

Yao could feel his face pale, and Roberto looked at him curiously.

"What is it?" Yao whispered.

"I went to one of the bodies, and… I could swear I saw what looked like human teeth marks."

Yao's eyes widened, and his hand started to tremble. It couldn't be… could it?

"I'll discuss it with the other Nations," Yao said, trying to keep his voice strong. "We'll… we'll get to the bottom of it. Thanks for telling me."

He hung up the phone, and immediately slammed his head to the table.

"What's wrong?" Roberto asked.

"It was Bangladesh," Yao explained. "You were there this morning, when New Zealand was, you know…"

"Sim. He looked deranged. I've never seen anyone look like that. Not even Ivan could pull off that level of insane. But what does…"

"Do you think that he was capable of ripping someone apart, like an animal?"

"Oh yeah. No doubt about it."

Yao sighed, before he looked up to see his younger friend, feeling every bit as old as he was.

"Bangladesh called to tell me that he found a village in India, its inhabitants slaughtered," Yao said. "There was a lot of blood. It looked like an animal, but there were signs of human teeth marks."

Roberto's eyes widened.

"You don't think that… Raj would…?"

"We know nothing about them yet," Yao said. "We don't know what they're capable of."

Roberto looked at the chessboard.

"They're playing a game of chess," Roberto said. "Raj is the king's side knight. I'm the queen's side. Deathplayers take knight."

"What about New Zealand?" Yao asked.

"I think he's rook."

Yao frowned.

"Have they ever really referred to any of you as chess pieces?" Yao asked.

"I think Anika mentioned that they called her Queen."

"That must be it. The pieces must be relevant. Do you think that… you might be able to get a vision?" We know so little about them, and it would help."

Roberto looked at the board again, and nodded his head.

"It's just going to be a little tricky," he said. "Possibly painful."

"I'll keep an eye on you," Yao said, a small smile on his face.

…

Ferdinand smiled, stepping away from the painting he had just finished.

Feliks, sitting on the ground with her hands in her hair, gripping the strands. There was a shadow looming over her.

He then turned his attention to another painting. Dimitri, chained to the wall, with a near-identical figure in front of him, hands on either side of the other's head. There were tears coming from Dimitri's eyes, while the other had a gentle smile on his face.

Ferdinand hugged himself, as another Red had been claimed.

…

The two Fins had hidden themselves behind a respective corner. The two kept shooting at each other, much to Aleksi's annoyance.

Tino was better with guns, while Aleksi was better with knives. And at the moment, the blond Fin was the one with the advantage.

If only Aleksi could get closer…

He looked over towards the other battles.

Mathias and Axel were clashing, axe against sword. Both had cuts along their faces, and there was a huge gash on Mathias's left arm. And they both had crazy looks on their faces.

Tobias and Berwald were fighting, sword against lance. Tobias had his broadsword out, with Berwald attacking with his lance. Of course, it meant that the Swede could put more distance between them, while Tobias's attacks were wider.

Aleksi glanced around the side of the wall, and saw that Tino was doing the same thing. He took one of his knives and threw, and at the same time Tino shot. The knife and the bullet met mid-air, and the two continued their stalemate.

…

The magic trio stared at Vlad in horror.

She had told them what a Deathplayer was, and that they were intent on attacking Nations. And that when they corrupted a Nation, their counterpart experienced great pain, as Nicolai had demonstrated.

And speaking of Nicolai, he had fallen unconscious a while ago, his breathing ragged. It made Vlad shudder at the thought that something had happened to her best friend.

"And one more thing," Vlad said. "Everything you did to make our lives more miserable… Yeah, it only served to help the Deathplayers. Your little 'game' has doomed us all."

Marius broke out of her horror to glare at her counterpart.

"There's no guarantee that what you said is the truth," Marius spat. "For all we know, you're trying to make us think that there's some sort of apocalypse coming that is our fault."

"Well, she is right."

The four women turned their attentions to the door, where a figure that looked like a male version of Romania was standing. His eyes were golden, and his hair was longer than Vlad's had been and a lot shaggier. He wore a black trench coat and black pants and boots, and his hair was a soft golden blond.

He smiled at them, revealing elongated canine teeth.

"You're my Deathplayer, aren't you?" Vlad said, taking a step back.

"That is correct," the Deathplayer said, his voice almost a purr. He looked towards the unconscious Bulgarian and smirked. "So much pain. It was so beautiful when his counterpart snapped."

"What did you do to them?" Vlad snapped.

The Deathplayer cocked his head to the side, before his eyes drifted to the bound trio.

"We were not the ones that tortured them," the Deathplayer said. "It was you Nations that tortured them. Raj had been tortured past the brink of insanity. He was willing to plunge a dagger into his heart to relieve himself of the pain. Fletcher snapped when he learned of the pain his counterpart had to go through in the past. Am I right, Sigurd?"

The Norwegian squirmed uncomfortably.

"Toris broke when we showed him the pain that Nations that he cared about were going through," the Deathplayer continued.

"You got Lithuania too?!" Vlad exclaimed in horror.

"That's right. And little Dimitri was willing to come with us, as long as the pain would stop. In every case, it was Nations that were at fault for their transformations. Though I will admit, we did have a small role to play in Lithuania's turning."

"Why are you doing this?" Vlad whispered.

The Deathplayer suddenly looked enraged, and Vlad took a step back.

"You Nations live for centuries," he spat. "And in all that time, all you can do is take. Remember Vlad the Impaler? How many lives did he end? How many men, women and children were killed in that vicious way that he used? How many of them were your people? And then, how many times have you hurt others of your kind in your effort to take? Or even for the sake of fun? You Nations don't deserve to live as long as you do."

Vlad squeaked when the Deathplayer was suddenly right in front of her, pinning her lower back against the table, a hand wrapped around her wrist.

"You'll be Red soon enough, little Pawn," the Deathplayer whispered.

"I won't join you," Vlad spat.

"You don't have a choice. The game is already in motion, and your piece has already been moved. If you don't believe me, ask Marius."

"What?" Marius asked.

"You have probably noticed a change in Vlad," the Deathplayer said, not removing his eyes from Vlad. "Something that is nearly impossible to notice, unless you really went looking."

Marius's eyes widened in realisation.

"Vlad's blood," she said. "The taste had changed…"

"Exactly," the Deathplayer said. "The blood is the first to change. It is what makes the rest of the transformation so much easier. And once the blood has been altered, the rest can easily be changed."

Vlad started to tremble, but froze when the Deathplayer placed his hand on her cheek.

"All that is needed is a little push," the Deathplayer said. "Raj gained venom after he became a Red, but that venom won't work unless you're disheartened. When your spirit wishes to surrender, your body will follow."

"Why are you telling me this?" Vlad whispered.

The Deathplayer smirked.

"Four down, twelve to go," he said, moving away. "We figured that it's only fair that we give you a bit of an edge. It makes the game more interesting. Perhaps, you can actually try to win."

"Is this all this is to you?" Vlad demanded. "A game?"

"Of course. Why do you think we are called Deathplayers? Everything, including the apocalypse, is a game to us. And this game has never been about Black and White. It has always been Deathplayers and Nations."

…

Anika had gone to Arthur's library, in search of something to do. For some reason, she couldn't get drunk, which was really strange.

As she perused the books, her eyes fell on one in particular, and she laughed out loud.

"I don't know whether to feel angry or flattered," she mused, picking up the book.

"Annie!" a voice called.

She turned to look behind her to see Jett running to her.

"Hey, look what I found," she said, holding up the book.

"'My beautiful death'," he read, before a smile crossed his face. He shook his head, and the smile disappeared. "I was actually looking for you. I need you to tell me how to defend myself against a Deathplayer."

She arched an eyebrow, before she nodded her head.

"Alright," she said. "But you need to follow my instructions, are we clear?"

…

Gabriel had searched for something to get Feliks and his counterpart warm, and finally managed to locate a few fur coats.

As he wrapped the two cold Nations in the warmth, he couldn't help but notice the blood soaking through Emil's shirt. He lifted it up, only to see runes carved in the other's skin.

Gabriel.

He felt a little enraged, but also guilty. The implied message was that it was his fault that this had happened to his counterpart.

…

"What was that?" Irina asked, her face betraying her shock.

Neither Natalia nor Ivan answered, instead going to the fridge. Something in there had hurt the Red, and they wanted to know what it was. It could be a weakness that they could use to their advantage.

Opening the fridge, they saw several bottles of liquids in varying colours, and none of the shades of those colours looked safe. The only other thing they saw was what appeared to be a bloody piece of meat.

"What is this?" Ivan asked, holding the bloody thing up for the dark-haired siblings to see.

"It's a piece of Dimitri's lung," Irina said.

Ivan and Natalia shared a look, before turning their attentions back to the bloody piece of organ.

Did touching it really hurt the Bulgarian Red?

Roberto knows how to play chess, but only the basics. I was looking at the top-ranked chess countries (at least for the male division), and Brazil was ranked 32nd, though I'm not sure how up-to-date that list is. Ivan would have been the best choice to teach him, since Russia was ranked 1st, but Ivan isn't there, so he went to China, who is ranked 2nd.

Dimitri is somewhat a combination of a lamia and a zmeys, and according to what I could find, both are dragons. Lamia are evil, but female, which is why I also added the zmeys, even if they are friendly towards people.

I also needed the Nations to know about the fate of one of India's villages, but since it's a remote place, it wouldn't easily be noticed. It was first mentioned after Raj had been turned. I figured that a Nation that was simply passing through would see it, so I had Bangladesh get involved, and he called China. And that way, the OC list doesn't get an extra entry since the scene happens over the phone.

The book that Anika and Jett are looking at is actually a book we're doing in my Afrikaans class. Well, the Afrikaans version, of course. It's about a South African who immigrates to Australia, hoping for a new life, only to contract Aids. There's also something else interesting about that book. The lead character is a man, and so is his love interest. So our lecturer assigned a yaoi for us to read. But it's not so obvious in the Afrikaans version, as the love interest is first introduced as androgynous, and then the pronoun 'she' is used, but from mannerisms, and a few words that the main character uses when addressing him, we realise that he's male (using 'bastard' instead of 'bitch', for example). The English version clearly states that the love interest is male. I guess a reason for that is because the original version and the translation were done ten years apart, and a lot can change in that time. Anika has mixed feelings because she sees the translated version, and as we all know, things can get lost in translation. I just thought adding it in a scene between South Africa and Australia would be funny.

And you know that little list of stories that I need to work on at the bottom of my profile? Well, I've added a few more items to the list, and I would like to hear your opinion on which story/stories I should work on. And, from what you can tell from the summary, suggestions would also be nice. Leave it in a review, or PM me.