Thanks to Mx Akiyata, madders10 and Angeldonut for reviewing.

Okay, so asides from the six mentioned, this chapter features insights into Alida and Anika's characters, and hopefully after this they would seem a little less mary sue… Also, you get Ricardo's thoughts on Alida as well as both of their counterparts and why the two of them (and Mahesh) were so eager to help the other side.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 74: Walls Crumble

It is always astounding to see how weak the strong truly are.

…

Ricardo went to Alida's office, slumping down in front of her. She arched an eyebrow, but didn't comment on it.

He looked back to Romania, seeing the other rifling through books and cursing at the lack of information. He didn't want to say anything in front of the Romanian, but he might not have a choice.

Alida saw this, which is why she turned her attention to Romania.

"Romania, why don't you go grab something to eat?" she asked. "And no using someone else's blood."

Romania glared at her, but didn't protest, glad that she could get out of the office and away from the books.

When she was gone, Alida turned to him expectantly.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, her voice gentle.

"It won't work," Ricardo said. "I can't get any visions."

He saw concern flash in her eyes, but that was all there was. Her face remained stoic.

"I see. Have you contacted Roberto?"

"Not yet. I figured you needed to know."

She nodded her head, sighing. For the first time in a long time, Ricardo could see the weariness in her body.

Alida was born without a native population, relying on Portugal and his people to breathe life into her. Southern Africa tried to help, but she didn't live too long. Everything was up to the European. Except Portugal didn't seem to realise that, or simply didn't care, as he abused her. The bruises always stood out against the pale skin.

There was this one time that Portugal had thrown a kitchen knife at her, hitting her hard enough that it completely pierced her arm and even came between ribs. Ricardo was the one that tended to her. He was the one that wiped the tears away as pale skin became even paler. After that, Alida had trained herself to always catch a knife, conquering the fear she had developed for the weapon.

Then when Netherlands took her, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that she was away from Portugal and his abusive ways. Until he discovered that Netherlands had neglected her. It was through Mozambique that he found out about it, and he could see for himself when the Nations had this large meeting in the Nineteenth Century where they had to bring their Colonies along.

Under Portugal, Alida had been cheerful and even bubbly. She had always enjoyed the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he could never break her. But under Netherlands she had grown cold and stoic. It was rare to see her display emotions.

But she had been doing a lot of it recently, especially when it concerned Anika. Ricardo understood why, since he felt similar about Roberto. Their counterparts were the light that they had lost. And with Alida showing more and more emotions, Ricardo knew, without a doubt, that his friend was afraid.

…

Lukas looked over towards Emil, her thought from earlier plaguing her mind. She wanted to bring herself some peace of mind.

"Emil," Lukas said, "I want you to say it."

Emil blushed, looking towards her.

"No," he said. "I'm not calling you my brother."

"Why not?"

"Because you're not a 'brother' at the moment, are you? It will be too awkward."

Lukas blinked at the explanation.

"Alright, then call me 'Big Sister'," Lukas said.

Emil's blush darkened.

"No," he said. "I am not calling you that. It's awkward enough."

"Come on, just say it. 'Big Sister'…"

"No!" Emil said, hurrying ahead.

He didn't catch the slightly hurt look in Lukas's eyes.

…

Alistair looked over towards his sister. They had gone outside so that Arthur could get some fresh air, but in the light of day, the Scotsman could see that something else was bothering her.

Arthur had never liked getting close to people, always trying to put distance between them. She never wanted to allow anyone to see her weakness.

It had gotten a little better since becoming a woman, but Alistair could still see the walls around her.

A glance towards his brothers confirmed that they could also see it.

Something was bothering Arthur, but she didn't want to let any of them in. Alistair just hoped that the Deathplayers didn't take advantage of whatever was bothering his sister.

…

Luis, Sofia and Rosa were walking with Ferdinand, trying to locate Roberto. They needed to have a word with the Brazilian, or more specifically his counterpart.

The two women yelped when they were suddenly tackled by another female form, and it took them a while to realise that it was Antonio.

"Por favor," Antonio whined. "Tell me I wasn't a bad padre. Please mijas, tell me you don't hate me."

"What has gotten into you?" Rosa snapped, pushing the Spaniard off. "Seriously, we have more important business to take care of than whatever it is you're going on about."

Antonio looked towards Luis, but the Venezuelan took a nervous step back, not wanting to be tackled by the Spaniard. Ferdinand, however, looked thoughtful.

"Come on," Rosa snapped, grabbing hold of the two Venezuelans. "Espagna, we'll talk about this later."

She dragged off the two Venezuelans, Sofia trailing behind.

None of them looked back to see Antonio's hurt expression or the tears that were threatening to fall.

…

Roberto and Anika were listening to Mahesh as he told them about Ricardo's War of Independence. It was the first time that he had fought alongside Alida and Ricardo, and at that time the trio had no idea that they would become one of the most powerful alliances their world had ever known.

Roberto was enjoying the story immensely, but Anika appeared distant. Neither male really reacted when Anika went to open the curtains or window, nor did they see the concern in her eyes. They didn't notice as her breathing had become deeper, as though she had to try extra hard to get air in her lungs.

But they did notice when she gave a sudden gasp.

The two turned to her, and Roberto's eyes widened when he realised how pale she was. Her eyes were half-lidded, and her breathing was frantic.

"What's going on?" he asked, immediately going to his friend's side, instinctively wrapping her in a hug.

She searched through her pockets until she found her cell phone, handing the device over to Roberto.

"Namibia," she said, before she closed her eyes, breathing becoming deeper and more frantic.

Roberto searched for said Nation's number while Mahesh pulled her to lie down next to him, rubbing her back soothingly. The Brazilian placed the phone against his ear as he waited for the other to answer.

When he heard the ringing stop, he didn't even wait for the other to say anything.

"She's having an episode or something," he said as he watched his friend's tanned skin becoming paler.

They watched her as she seemed to struggle to breathe, and when she occasionally gave a gasp they flinched at the sound.

A few moments passed before they heard running footsteps, right before Jana and Theresa entered the room.

The Namibian didn't hesitate, immediately going to her sister and moving so that Anika was on her lap.

"Shh," Jana soothed. "Just relax. Die kind is nie dood nie. Die kind lig sy vuiste teen sy moeder…"

Roberto watched as Jana spoke in Afrikaans, and though he couldn't understand the words, he could understand the way it was said. It was a poem.

He turned to Theresa, who was watching the scene with concern.

"What is going on?" Roberto demanded.

She turned to regard him for a moment before sighing.

"Have you ever noticed how Anika isn't really affected by what happens in her country?" she asked. "How, other than her parliament building being bombed, she doesn't get it as bad as the rest of us?"

He frowned, thinking back. He remembered how, during the Great Depression, she only had the slight sniffles instead of a cold like the rest of them, even though her country had been hit just as hard. He also remembered watching the news at her one time and seeing a huge fire along one of her roads, though she had seemed fine.

He hesitantly nodded, and Theresa sighed.

"You probably didn't see it, but the Boer War took a lot out of her," she explained. "Her farmhouses being burned down. Back then, the farm was extremely important to the Afrikaners. Not to mention all the people that suffered in the concentration camps. Even though those camps weren't built to kill, many had perished. Children alone were about thirty thousand. Not to mention the Hensoppers and Verraaiers. She used to be four different colonies, two being independent while two were under British control. If it wasn't for the British control and the fact that the four were separate, it would have been classed as a civil war."

Roberto flinched. He, like other Nations, knew what a civil war could do to a Nation.

"What's a civil war?" Mahesh asked.

…Okay, so some Nations didn't know.

"We'll explain later," Theresa sighed. "Anyway, after that war, Anika couldn't handle the thought of being hurt like that again. So, she snuck into England's spell books and looked for something useful. Now, she isn't hit as hard as before, but there are still consequences. The tension in her country builds up, and when she can't handle it anymore, she gets an attack like this. At least it's only lack of breath this time. If the attacks coincide with something big happening in her country, then it's seizures. I was there when Sharpeville happened."

"But, why is this the first time I'm seeing this?" Roberto asked. "And why didn't she say anything?"

"We're Nations," Theresa said. "Your friend today could be your enemy tomorrow. She didn't want anyone to know. But those that do keep her secret safe, unless something else happens. She managed to find a way to control it by having her personality branch off, somewhere between mood swings and multiple personality disorder. If one can't handle the pressure, another can. It's one of the reasons why she occasionally switches to English or Tswana during meetings. Another way she controls it is through exercise, which is why she loves sport."

"Alida hates it," Mahesh commented. "She only does enough to develop necessary muscle memory."

"Like catching knives?" Roberto asked.

"Pretty much."

"You remember how South Africa used to have control over Namibia?" Theresa asked Roberto.

"Sim. She got in a lot of trouble because she wouldn't relinquish her grip."

"She wanted to keep Jana around to help her out when this happened," she explained. "Jana's actually the only one that can help her recover from this. Unless she waits for it to pass. I was wondering when this would happen."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't get drunk, right? Which means you can't use alcohol to escape from your troubles. Which also means that Anika can't slip into another mood when she feels an attack coming. Between the xenophobia in her country, people tearing down historical statues, load shedding, a corrupt government, a high crime rate and general unrest, I'm surprised it didn't come earlier."

Roberto nodded in understanding, turning to regard the two sisters as Jana recited a different poem.

"The Dertigers and Sestigers tend to do the trick," Theresa explained. "Otherwise, try playing music that's 'Proudly South African'."

"You mentioned that there are others that know," Roberto said. "Who are they?"

"Switzerland, Taiwan, Malawi and Israel," Theresa said.

"Why does Switzerland know?"

"The two were discussing business when Soweto happened."

"You know," Mahesh said, "there's a chance that the Deathplayers could use this to their advantage."

"I realise that," Theresa said. "Which is why I'm telling you two. You may not be this world's India, but I trust you. And given how much time she spends with you, Brazil, it makes sense to let you know about this. South Africans like to act as though they're stronger than they are, or they will blame their weakness on other things. They're either strong or the victims, refusing to acknowledge their own weakness. But when help is offered, they cling to their pride, but aren't afraid to accept something given for free."

Roberto nodded, watching as Anika's breathing had calmed down. Her eyes were closed, but he knew that she was wide awake.

…

Gilbert had gone to bother Roderich the moment when she heard that the Austrian had arrived with Elizabeta. She was careful when touching him, though, seeing the wounds the other carried. But she still annoyed him.

Elizabeta, on the other hand, had to hold herself back from whacking Gilbert for two reasons. The first was that she had never hit another woman with her frying pan (none of the other female Nations having ever deserved it). The second was because she could see some sort of sadness in the Prussian's eyes.

Something had happened, but if Gilbert didn't want to talk about it, then she wouldn't push it. And if annoying Roderich was what Gilbert considered therapeutic…

…Then she would allow it.

Luckily, Roderich was a little distracted by the fact that Gilbert was now a woman, and he commented on how she seemed to resemble Belarus.

…

Matthew was lounging around with Matt, Alfred and Jett. The two Canadians were on one side of the room while the Australian and American were on the other side. Matt found that the other two together was a little bit overwhelming for him, as their personalities appeared very similar to one another's.

Matthew was happy to know that he no longer had the disturbing ability to become invisible. He was grateful to Will and Lobsang for taking care of that problem.

"How is it that two Nations can be so alike?" Matt grumbled, glaring towards the other two occupants in the room and breaking into Matthew's thoughts.

"I don't know," Matthew said. "Probably because both of them have yet to grow up mentally. They're still kind of the same age inside."

"Not quite," Matt said. "Jett hasn't been the same since what happened with Fletcher."

Matthew's expression fell, and he had to nod in agreement.

After what happened to Fletcher, Jett had decided that he would spend time with the Nations he was closest to. The previous day it had been Anika, while that day it was Matthew's turn.

And seeing how Alfred and Jett played together like children made him smile.

…

Francis had sought out Matthew, and when she found him she remained at the door, smiling fondly when she noticed how happy the Canadian was.

"No thanks to you."

It felt like a thought, but there was something different.

"You had given him to Arthur and he was left forgotten and alone. Why else would he have become so desperate? Even you, his papa, forgot about him."

Francis turned away from the scene, trying to figure out who she could hang around in order to not be alone, the threat of the Deathplayers too powerful to ignore.

…

Nicolai watched as Vlad played with the two Moldovans, but he couldn't help but notice seeing the distant look in her eyes.

He was confused for a moment, brushing it aside. At least, until Alexandru said that he needed to go to the bathroom and Andrei would escort him there.

When the two older Nations were alone, Nicolai turned to Vlad.

"Alright, what's up?" he asked.

She blinked in surprise, before she planted a fake smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "I'm perfectly fine."

"No, you're not. So explain."

She sighed, looking dejected.

"Am I a good brother?" she asked.

The Bulgarian blinked a few times.

"Um, maybe you shouldn't phrase it like that while you're a woman," he said.

She flushed slightly, but still looked up pleadingly. Nicolai sighed.

"Alexandru adores you," he said. "And so does Andrei. You're a lot better than Marius, I'll give you that."

"But why doesn't Alexandru want to live with me?" she whispered.

He couldn't answer her, not sure what the situation was, and he didn't have time to think of anything before the two Moldovans returned, and the game resumed.

…

Marius was still in the kitchen, taking longer than necessary to eat something. Alejandro was nearby, scrubbing the floors.

As part of Alejandro's, Francois's and Gilen's punishments, they had to clean Alida's house. Of course, Botswana was keeping an eye on Alejandro, while Zimbabwe was watching Gilen and Rebecca was watching Francois.

Of course, no one had mentioned that the house had already been cleaned by Manuella and the Micro Nations.

"Is it just me," Marius said, "or do you also feel that something bad is going to happen pretty soon?"

Alejandro looked up to regard the Romanian.

"Si," she said. "I feel it too."

…

The group looked up when Rosa, Sofia and the Venezuelans entered the room.

"Roberto, we need to have a word with your counterpart," Rosa said.

"What's it about?" he asked, looking at the four wearily.

"Ferdinand can't see what the Deathplayers are up to," Luis said.

"I see nothing," Ferdinand said in a small voice, rocking back and forth.

Mahesh's eyes widened, and in spite of everything he forced himself to stand on shaky legs, Roberto moving to support him.

"When did you notice this?" Mahesh asked.

"After the meeting," Ferdinand whimpered. "They won't let me in. I can't see anything."

"Isn't it a good thing?" Roberto asked.

"No," Mahesh said. "For someone like Ferdinand, his madness is both a blessing and a curse. This kind of madness is a blessing because it opens his senses to other realms. A curse because most of the time, they feel like their usefulness is non-existent. When they do realise their usefulness, they become extremely eager and are more than willing to help. Without his visions…"

"He's no longer useful," Rosa finished, eyes widening.

Ferdinand didn't seem to be able to hear them, rocking back and forth.

"And for someone like him to have his usefulness snatched away," Mahesh continued, "it could prove fatal."

I mentioned before that Alida was a No-man's-land, so she didn't have her own native population, which explains why she's extremely pale. Matt was also a No-man's-land, but while he was only abused by a caretaker, he wasn't neglected by another. He still had the will to fight. 2PPortugal and 2PNetherlands weren't the best parental figures, leaving her cold and slightly broken. She doesn't display a lot of emotions because the stoicism she has is similar to someone who no longer has any tears to cry.

And Anika's condition is similar to something I myself suffer from. The part of my brain that is supposed to process and deal with stress doesn't work properly, so anything that can add to stress whether you're aware of it or not keeps building, and anything can trigger an attack. It doesn't even have to be stressful; a sudden drop of cold water in the back of the neck, being surrounded by many people talking… Mine is just not as severe as Anika's. It usually manifests as difficulty breathing accompanied by numbness (which was why Anika's eyes were closed, her face growing too numb and she had difficulty keeping her eyes open), but occasionally my shoulders would start spasming (in Anika's case it's full-blown seizures if it's really bad). Anika is still affected by things that happen suddenly, like the bomb that went off several chapters back, but things that were seen coming doesn't affect her as bad.

Yeah, in my opinion, the stronger a character seems, the bigger their weaknesses are. And South Africans really do tend to deny their own weakness.

Okay, Theresa was referring to the Sharpeville Massacre and the Soweto Uprising, probably the two most violent protests during Apartheid. Both of them have earned a public holiday (Human Rights' Day and Youth Day), with my birthday after the Soweto Uprising anniversary.

The poem Jana is reciting is Die Kind (The Child) by Ingrid Jonker. She was a part of the Sestigers, which was a group of Afrikaans writers that were protesting against the Apartheid government. They were also responsible for bringing about a revolution in the Afrikaans literature. As my literature lecturer put it, if you found a book written by one of the Sestigers on your bed, you pick it up by the corners and throw it out the window. No one wanted to be caught with one of their books. Many of their works were political, with Die Kind being one of the most famous. It had to do with a protest where people were protesting the need for a pass to move around in their own country. One of the policemen present accidentally shot a child who died in his mother's arms. This poem was read by Nelson Mandela at his address during the first democratic election in 1994. An English version is available on Youtube (read by Mandela). Her works were translated into many languages, including English, Hindi, Polish, German, French, Dutch and Zulu, among others. Also, interesting fact, her father was chairman of the parliamentary select committee responsible for censorship laws on art, publications and entertainment. See, if you ever want to hear stories about gutsy writers, check out the Sestigers.

And Antonio, Vlad and Lukas were looking for reassurances, but Nicolai was unable to give it to Vlad and no one realised what Lukas and Antonio needed. As you could probably guess, the Deathplayers are preying on their guilt and insecurities, making it seem as though it was their own thoughts, which in my opinion is very cruel.

Also, the part of Gilbert resembling Belarus is the opinion of a friend of mine. She commented on how the two looked so much alike, especially if you look at fanart.