Thanks to IceFrost12, madders10, Mx Akiyata and Angeldonut for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 78: Beastly Game

And now they will learn what part the Players have in the game.

And they would be unable to predict what would happen next.

…

"I don't like this at all," Matt said.

He was with Omar at the shooting range with Matthew, Anika, Tino and Vash. The two of the other world observed as the sharpshooters continued to do what they did best.

"You don't have to be here, you know," Matthew said.

"There's no way I'm leaving you alone."

"But I'm not alone."

"Are either of you going to shoot or what?" Vash snapped.

"Hey, I don't do guns," Matt said. "I'd rather beat people up with my hockey stick, thank you very much."

Omar was biting her lip, looking at the guns the others held. Anika saw this and smiled.

"Would you like to try?" she asked kindly.

The Egyptian's mouth twitched, and she hesitantly took the weapon offered by the South African. She quickly assumed the correct stance, and shot three times, each bullet hitting the bull's eye.

"I thought people from your world didn't like guns?" Tino asked.

Omar gestured to her throat before making a negative motion with her hand.

After what happened, I'm not letting anyone close.

They nodded in understanding, and Matt stepped back a little, while Omar joined the other four in their fun.

…

Akmal was nervous. He was with Philippines and Singapore, and the trio wondered if they should still be together like that. After all, the eighth beast had been freed, in spite of the Nations' best efforts.

The Malaysian felt that there was something extremely wrong. It was the feeling one would get before something bad happened.

And he had the feeling that something really bad was about to happen.

…

Whenever Sigurd closed his eyes, he saw a cave. And in that cave, he saw the other Nations that had been claimed as Reds.

He didn't like seeing that.

So Sigurd tried to keep his eyes open, which was easier said than done. They just wanted to drop, and he could feel his mind tugging him closer to the sweet oblivion that was unconsciousness.

There were other Nations there, but their words were dull. He couldn't focus on their voices at all, and it felt as though he was hearing them from underwater.

He vaguely noticed when someone placed their hands under his armpits, and he made a weak sound when they picked him up. His vision was blurry, so he couldn't see who it was.

His gaze flickered between the blurry colours and the cave, and he was fighting a battle to stay awake. A battle that he was losing.

He felt a hand on his forehead, and he had just enough time to wonder about the gentleness of the others when he finally lost the battle and slipped into unconsciousness.

…

"Dammit, dammit, dammit…"

Mathias had been muttering those words for a while, and he kept punching the wall with every word. Emil just stood there, watching the Dane, as they waited for Berwald to wake up.

Neither of them knew how it could have happened. The Deathplayers didn't have a lot of time to work on Lukas. And it was obvious that Lukas was now a Red, judging by the screams they had heard from Sigurd before they had died down.

They also couldn't believe that the Deathplayers could overpower Berwald so easily. He was their giant. He shouldn't have been overpowered like that.

"It's my fault," Gabriel said, and the other two turned to watch him. "Emil, if I didn't pull you out of the room, this wouldn't have…"

"No," Mathias said. "I should have been there too. I should have…"

"What do we do now?" Emil asked.

"We'll try to come up with a plan," Mathias said. "Everyone's bound to make a plan."

"Since we don't have to worry about releasing anymore beasts," Gabriel said, "our priority should be the next possible Reds."

"You're right. I'll go check on Gilbert. They're probably going to come after him soon enough, right?"

"Go on," Emil whispered. "We'll stay with Ber until he wakes up."

…

"You got that?" Ricardo asked.

Marius nodded, writing the last few details of the legend down. So far, they had managed to get two.

Diego was watching them to make sure that Marius didn't try anything, but the Peruvian couldn't complain. Listening to legends that were long forgotten was actually interesting.

Ricardo was about to go into another trance when Alida stepped in, looking straight at Marius.

"I didn't do anything," the Romanian said.

"I know," she said. "This isn't about what you did." She sighed. "Norway has been taken by the Deathplayers."

Marius's eyes widened, her jaw dropping open. In an instant she was on her feet and out the door, a look of determination on her face.

"Wow," Diego commented. "I guess Northerners really are capable of caring for each other."

…

The eight beasts were standing outside of the city, watching the humans as they went about their business.

"I think it's time we show those Nations what we're capable of doing," the draconian said.

The squid-like creature nodded, before lifting its arm that was made up of a dozen or so writhing tentacles.

"'When the beasts are unleashed, humanity will be lost'," the lupine said.

…

"How could this have happened?" Arthur asked.

She, Vlad, Francis, Antonio and Gilbert were close to the Nordics' room. All five of them were unnerved by what had happened.

"We should have been working together to stop this," Vlad said. "We're allowing our counterparts to do all the work, instead of helping them find a way to stop this from happening."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was another figure in the room, and Vlad jumped as the other's arms caught her shoulders.

"Where is he?" the other asked. "Where's Sigurd?"

It took them a moment to process that it was Marius, and all of them were a little unnerved when they saw that she looked extremely worried.

"Um," Vlad said, unsure how to handle her counterpart in this state.

Francis sighed.

"Come with me," the Frenchwoman said. "I know where he is."

Marius grabbed onto Francis's shoulder, and practically forced the other to lead her to her friend's location. The others that stayed behind watched in complete surprise.

"I think it's safe to say that they are close," Arthur said.

…

Akmal shook his head. He was extremely dizzy, and he couldn't help but feel that something was very wrong.

"Are you okay?" Yanna asked.

"I'm fine," he said, giving a small smile.

"You don't look fine," Singapore said.

Amaya was a woman with milky skin, whose long black hair was tied in a bun with an orchid as decoration. She had amber eyes, and she wore a purple and blue kebaya.

"I'm just a little dizzy," Akmal reassured.

"Well, if you're sure," Yanna said, looking sceptical.

Akmal nodded, before he sighed. He was a proud man, and didn't want the two women to fuss over him.

…

As soon as Francis opened the door, Marius was by Sigurd's side. She had never seen the Norwegian look so bad before. Usually, she and Oliver were by Sigurd's side whenever there was a war, and they never allowed anyone to do something like that to them. There were some exceptions, but that was beyond the point.

She placed a few fingers on the other's forehead, noting that the Norwegian's temperature was higher than it ought to be.

"If it makes you feel better," Francis said, "he fought to stay conscious. I don't know if he was aware or not, but he mumbled a few things. Unfortunately, it was all in Norwegian. I did manage to catch the word for 'red' though."

Marius nodded in acknowledgement, and she sat down on the bed next to her friend, running her fingers through his hair.

"I know it may seem harsh," Francis said, "but… from all the past experiences with you, you don't seem to be… compassionate at all. Your own brother hates you, after all. So seeing this…"

"That's because neither my brother nor I trust each other," Marius said. "Sigurd and Oliver are different matters, as well as Reka. Reka was kind to me when no one else was. Though she may not use it often, she has a cruel mind set as well, but overall she's too cheerful. She falls under the same category as our Romano and Belarus. Oliver and Sigurd have been my allies since I met them. They're probably the only ones I would consider friends. They keep me from going into a depression, or trying to slaughter everyone else which might lead to my own potential demise, and I make sure that no one harms them. I guess I failed this time, huh?"

"It was not your Norway that was attacked," Francis said. "Not directly, at least. It would most likely happen again when Vlad is attacked."

Marius didn't react to the other's words, but she did turn thoughtful.

She wondered if it was possible to get revenge on the Deathplayers for hurting Sigurd, and she wondered if it was possible to use Vlad for that purpose.

…

"You are most certainly not alright," Yanna said.

Akmal had broken out in a cold sweat, and the other two could see that he was growing paler.

"I wonder," Amaya said. "Could it be something that's happening in his country?"

"Go check," the Filipino said, as she laid the Malaysian down on the couch.

Amaya was on her smartphone, checking if there was any serious news regarding Malaysia. She let out a gasp, which caused Yanna to turn towards her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's a flood," Amaya said. "In Kuala Terengganu. There are corpses everywhere."

"Let me see that," Yanna snapped, taking the phone from the other. She looked at it before letting out a few choice words. "Between everything that's happening, we have to put up with this too?"

"Think we should let the others know?"

Yanna continued reading, a frown on her face.

"Yes," she said. "Something isn't right here."

…

Arthur groaned, pointing in the general direction of Sigurd's room.

As expected, Oliver had caught wind of what had happened and came to their world, naturally demanding to know where she could find her Norwegian friend. For once, Oliver didn't look hyper or insane, and just looked really scary.

So scary, in fact, that none of them wanted to challenge her.

Gilbert had been taken by Mathias, and the two had gone to find Alfred for a little 'awesome fun'. Normally, Arthur would be worried, but considering all that had happened, she didn't think that the trio would cause too much damage.

"Amigas, we need to find a way to protect ourselves," Antonio sighed.

"Well, that's obvious," Arthur said. "Now, do you have any idea how?"

"I'm not sure, but we need to stick together now."

…

Ferdinand sighed, staring at the blank piece of canvas. That was the only thing that he could do.

Luis was watching him, and it was obvious that the sane Venezuelan was worried for his counterpart.

Ferdinand immediately straightened up, his eyes going wide. He smiled slightly, and picked up the paintbrush. Luis saw this and walked closer, though he remained silent as he watched his counterpart get to work.

"The Deathplayers won't let me see what they're planning with the next Reds," Ferdinand said. "But the Beasts are a little nicer in that regard."

As the painting became clearer, Luis's eyes widened.

"I'm not so sure about that," he said.

…

The beasts watched with satisfaction as their flood destroyed buildings and drowned the people. However, they weren't completely satisfied.

Especially when it would appear that some of the humans would survive.

Which was why they moved in and slaughtered everyone that made their way out of the waters.

By the time they were finished, no one would be left in the entire city.

…

"It's almost lunch time," Tino said, which was the signal for the group to return to the mansion.

Matt kept back, watching the weapons warily. Omar was smiling, Anika's arm slung around her shoulders. Matthew and Tino were conversing with each other, and Vash kept quiet.

When the doors of the mansion came into view, they were surprised to see Eduard standing there, looking solemn.

"Eduard?" Tino said, hurrying over to his old friend. "Why are you here? And why are you alone?"

The Estonian closed his eyes, and Tino's eyes widened.

"Did something happen?" Tino asked.

Eduard nodded, before opening his eyes.

"The last beast was inside Sweden," he said. "The Deathplayers attacked him."

Tino's eyes widened, and he made to run inside, though Eduard grabbed his arm.

"There's more," Eduard said. "They also took Norway. And judging by the fit that his counterpart had… Norway's been turned into a Red."

Tino's jaw dropped, and Eduard had to adjust his grip so that the other didn't fall to his knees.

"No," he whispered. "Where are the others?"

"Iceland is with Sweden," Eduard said. "And Denmark is with Prussia. After what happened… we can't allow any of the potential Reds to be alone."

He looked pointedly over to Matthew and Anika, and the two of them were standing there with their own mouths open and eyes wide.

And subtly, Omar tightened her hold on Anika.

…

Everyone was solemn during lunch. They had failed in keeping the last beast from going free, and now another Nation had been claimed as a Red.

Amaya and Yanna had also informed them about the flood in Malaysia, and Luis had said that, through Ferdinand, he had found that the flood was caused by the beasts.

"So that's what they're up to," Ludwig sighed. "They're attacking the rest of us by targeting our cities."

"Do you think we can get Ferdinand to show us what the next attack will be?" Rosa asked, staring at Luis.

"No," he said. "At the moment, since they're targeting Malaysia, he can only paint any attack that might happen to Malaysia. He said that's a might, and since he's already finished three paintings, but you've only mentioned the flood in one city, I'm guessing he's right."

"I can look into it," Natalya offered. "I need to know anyway if any of my cities will be attacked."

"Good idea," Ivan said. "And then you can tell the rest of us, da?"

Natalya nodded her head, and the conversation drifted to the fact that Marius and Oliver were now in their world as well.

…

Marius and Oliver lay on the bed next to Sigurd, curled up next to their friend. They had been together for a long time. They were the only ones the others fully trusted.

It hurt them to see one of their trio in this state.

The two had denied the offer of food, waiting for Sigurd to wake up. Seeing their friend unconscious was nerve-wracking for the two of them, and when they noticed that his temperature seemed to be rising, they only grew more worried.

They were caught between hatred and fear of the Deathplayers. They had simply used Sigurd's counterpart, and this is what happened to the Norwegian.

Marius had told Oliver of her plan, and the Englishwoman nodded her head, for once solemn. In her blue eyes was pure fury, and she would do anything to avenge her friend, no matter the risk.

…

Since Marius was in the other world, apparently to be by her friend's side, Diego took over in the duty of recording any legends that Ricardo had channelled.

He didn't mind. He had always adored stories of the great and mystical, and was disappointed that there weren't more of them.

He knew every legend of the South American continent, and a few of the Caribbean, and even Mexico's. It was something he had inherited from his mother Inca. She had always adored those stories, and her culture was the one with the most. He, like her, found the stories fascinating.

Ricardo sighed, and Diego wrote the last few words down.

"I think I need a break," the Brazilian said. "It really takes a lot out of a person, you know?"

Diego pouted, and Ricardo chuckled.

"It'll only be for a little while," Ricardo said. "So no need to look at me like that."

…

"I'm assuming you're bored?" Francois stated, before taking a swig of wine.

"You have no idea," Felic muttered, running his hands through his hair.

Francois, Gilen and Alejandro had finished their cleaning, and decided to keep the Pol company.

"Any news on what's happening on the other side?" Felic asked.

"Norway is now a Red," Gilen said, sighing. "And the last of those Beasts was released."

"What's the whole purpose of the beasts anyway?"

"Apparently, they are attacking the cities of the other side," Alejandro said. "It seems to affect them more than it does us."

"Hopefully they don't target us," Gilen said. "My population isn't the best, and I don't want to think about what would happen if I completely lose them."

Felic nodded, and the other two women shared the sentiment.

…

Akmal groaned, curling up on the couch. He shivered, and there was a layer of cold sweat on his skin.

His people… So many dead in such a short time.

He tried to push back the nausea, but it was impossible, and he couldn't stop the tears that were falling.

Everyone that called Kuala Terengganu their home had perished, whether it was by the waters of the flood or by the claws and fangs of the beasts.

He could hear his people's screams, and he sobbed, feeling more useless than he had ever felt before.

…

Amin was dizzy. Extremely so. And the worst part was, he had no idea why he was dizzy.

When he looked in the mirror, he saw his counterpart in apparent pain. He wanted to know what ailed the other one.

But that would have to wait. First, he needed to empty the contents of his stomach.

So, this is what the beasts will be doing. They'll be attacking cities of the other Nations to weaken them. They'll be doing it in the 1P world, and the 2P counterpart will also feel it, just to a different extent, and they have no idea what's going on. The country and city is decided at random, and it's possible for the same country to be attacked more than once. Each chapter from now on will have a Nation being attacked in this way, but there won't be as much attention placed on it like with this chapter, especially when it's Nations that aren't involved (the Caribbean Nations of both worlds decided to be neutral, for example, and Luxembourg and Monaco aren't at the mansion). This is just to say what they're doing and how it affects the Nation.

And I realised that I tend to forget the 2PBTT, so here they are. I especially tend to neglect Gilen. Well, with their counterparts getting closer to Red as well, they might be getting more attention.

Also, the 2Ps aren't affected by their physical country as much, but when they need to draw energy they draw it from the people, and they tend to panic when the population is a lot smaller than they remember. And if the population is completely gone, they could die.

And go check out my poll for the new story. I'll keep it up for the rest of the month.