Thanks to Skye Pheonix Dove, madders10, Mx Akiyata, yeet333 and Angeldonut for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 80: Old and Modern

The past and the present merge into one.

All in the hopes of saving their future.

…

Lili was with Raivis and the Micro Nations. It was nice spending time with Nations that were closer to her physical age, and the fact that Vash didn't really have a problem with the younger group.

She was a little nervous about seeing Elise in the mirror, and Raivis shared her concerns, but the Micro Nations weren't really bothered, though Peter did mention that his counterpart was a brat.

It was nice spending time with people who weren't too bothered with what was going on, but they still remembered that something was seriously wrong.

…

The Beasts had arrived in a new country, but this time, they would take another approach. One that was more fun, according to them.

…

Arthur and Vlad had gone with Farai and Sammy to another room, and the two Africans seemed as though they were debating what to say.

"Alright," Arthur said, "what happened last time?"

Farai and Sammy exchanged a glance before Sammy sighed.

"First, you need to remember that we were kids at that point in time," Sammy said. "And what they did to us…"

"Please," Vlad said, looking at the Botswanan with gentle eyes.

"Alright. You see, they at first went and made sure that the older African Nations had replacements. They were responsible for us being born, and I suppose you know what it means."

"If a Nation has a replacement," Arthur said, "then it's only a matter of time before that Nation's time is up."

"Exactly," Farai said. "They made sure that there were younger replacements. Replacements that were still dependent on the presence of older Nations. And then they killed the older Nations."

"So they left defenceless children behind," Arthur said.

"Yep. Some, like Anika and Miora, were around for a while before their parents died, while the others…"

"Annie, Jana and Theresa are technically our sisters as well," Sammy said. "But because they're coastal, they had more influence from the Europeans."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Vlad asked.

"The coastal Nations were the ones with the most hope for the future. They had a better chance of having someone to take care of them. And the Deathplayers knew that."

"The Deathplayers made sure that they took the opportunity to assume a different form," Farai continued. "They couldn't take the forms for long, and they couldn't take on the form of Nations. But they made sure that the forms they assumed carried the features of you Europeans."

"Pale skin, blond hair, blue or green eyes… They attacked us while looking like Europeans."

"That's why we're a little hesitant around you guys, and why our people tended to attack Europeans that came to our lands."

"They made us suspicious and distrustful towards you, and that distrust was passed on to you. You saw us as no more than savages. Naturally, you didn't want to take us in to protect and raise us, did you?"

Arthur looked slightly guilty, but Vlad just looked horrified.

"They made it so that you wouldn't be able to get help," Vlad said.

"Exactly," Sammy said. "And to make it stick, they made sure that we would be traumatised."

"Each of us received wounds that would have scarred," Farai explained. "Each of them during an attack. A child, being attacked by at least five adults, every time with swords, spears and other weapons, sharp and blunt alike. These wounds kept bleeding, no matter how many times we tried to stop it."

"And we couldn't bleed out," Sammy said. "They made sure that we always had it."

"But when Europeans arrived at the coastal Nations, their wounds would momentarily disappear, keeping them from asking for help."

"They made sure that we felt alone and helpless. And then they…"

Sammy trembled, eyes wide, and Farai stroked his back.

"What's wrong?" Vlad asked.

"They used our own people to attack us," Farai whispered. "They made sure that we couldn't fight back. And they… They…"

"You know that the stories of zombies came from our continent, right?" Sammy asked.

"You mean…?" Arthur asked, eyes wide.

"They brought the corpses of our people to life and attacked us."

"How did you survive that?" Vlad asked.

"Anika got some shaman training from our mom, Southern Africa," Sammy explained. "And Miora also had some training. Anika then managed to conjure a few of the tokolosh to help us. She also made a few of the other creatures form our lands for us, in order to fight."

"We also had to do something to make us survive mentally," Farai said. "We surrendered our humanity in order to get the minds of animals."

"You mentioned something like that," Arthur said. "And… how did you trap them?"

The two Africans shared a look.

"We all had to chip in, and Anika and Miora were the ones that led it," Farai whispered. "Remember, voodoo also came from our continent."

"What does that have to…?" Arthur began.

"We called in as many ancestral spirits as we could," Sammy said. "I believe you Europeans called it necromancy. We had to use the history of our lands that date back even before humans walked the earth. We had to channel everything all the way back to Pangea. That was how we figured out that the Deathplayers were also Nations, but we needed to figure out which Nations they were, where they were, and how long they were around. We needed to learn who their replacements and descendants were."

"That was how we trapped them," Farai said. "But… I wouldn't recommend doing that again."

"Why not?" Vlad asked.

"Even when we managed to stop the Deathplayers, we had to deal with the effects of calling the dead for help," Sammy said. "Unless you had the magic touch…"

"We were sick for years after that," Farai said. "That was one of the reasons why we didn't meet with you Europeans for years after that, and…"

"And you thought we were uncivilised and uncultured savages that didn't even have a Nation to represent them."

"They ruined our futures from that point on. And some of us are still trying to recover from it."

"And that's not even counting the nightmares from back then," Sammy said.

"I see," Arthur said. "Was that the only way?"

"Given our limited knowledge and resources, yes."

"Thank you. And we're sorry you had to relive all that."

"It's alright," Farai said. "As long as you can prevent history from repeating itself."

"But there's something that I don't quite understand," Vlad said. "Why did they do that?"

"Simple. They wanted to take our places as Nations."

…

Gilbert was laughing at something that Alfred had said when she suddenly felt something cold grip her heart. She didn't understand what it was, though that something seemed to be telling her to check on Jana.

She turned her head to where the Namibian was, but she wasn't there anymore. She could feel that cold feeling getting worse, and she excused herself to go look for the other.

She allowed the feeling to lead her, until she stopped in front of a bathroom door. Hesitantly, she reached out to knock on the door.

"Jana, bist du in ordung?"

"Ja," Jana's voice said, though Gilbert could tell that it seemed nervous and afraid. "I'm fine."

"Jana, bitte. I'm supposed to be your awesome big sister. Tell me what's wrong."

Jana was quiet for a moment, before the door unlocked and she opened it.

Gilbert's eyes widened when she saw the amount of blood dripping down the Namibian's arm. If she was a human, she would have passed out by now.

"What happened?" Gilbert asked, immediately rushing to her aid. She tenderly grabbed the injured arm. "Who did this?"

"Deathplayers," she whispered. "They gave this to me, the last time they were playing with Nations. The wound disappeared, but now it's back."

"Why did they do this?" Gilbert whispered.

"Because they could. They wanted to remind us that we were weak and helpless. That we're still weak and helpless."

Gilbert swallowed nervously, the Namibian's words haunting her more that she thought they would.

…

When Ferdinand changed the painting he was working on yet again, Luis sighed, wondering which unfortunate Nation would be affected this time.

He paled when he saw what the Beasts were doing.

This time, they weren't using a natural disaster, but were physically attacking the humans of the city.

"It looks like a desert," Ferdinand commented. "Who do you know that's part of a desert?"

Luis immediately ran out of the room, trying to remember every Nation that was part of a desert.

…

Meanwhile, Libya was groaning in pain, clutching his stomach as he felt the people of Kufra being killed by the Beasts.

…

"Creating something like that would require a lot of fine work," Michael mused.

"And we would also need to ensure that we don't damage their minds," Tino added. "If that happens, then we're only making things worse."

"It's an excellent challenge," the other Slovenia said.

Goran had pale skin, which made the scar across his face from the left eye to the jaw stand out. He had messy black hair and golden eyes. He wore a black suit underneath a black lab coat.

"We would just need a test subject," Yared said.

"Let's focus on creating the device first," Kiku interjected. "Afterwards, we can focus on testing it."

"Let's just hope that we'd be able to finish it in time," Eduard said.

…

Arthur and Vlad made their way back to the library, thinking about what the two African Nations had told them. They could see that the two were nervous, and that what had happened still haunted them.

They could only imagine the aftermath of the Deathplayers' current game.

Every African Nation they passed on the way to the library, they looked for any signs of the trauma. In general, they looked to be cheerful, in spite of the situation, and the two Europeans wondered if they had assumed the masks to help them after what the Deathplayers had done to them.

"Artie!"

Arthur stopped, waiting for the Prussian that called her. She immediately grew worried when she saw the panicked look on Gilbert's face.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked.

"I need a first aid kit," Gilbert said, coming to a stop in front of them. "And maybe a spell or two."

"What happened?" Vlad asked.

"It's Jana. Please, she needs help."

The two magical Nations exchanged a glance before Arthur went to get the nearest first aid kit, and Gilbert led them to the Namibian's location.

And when they saw her, they both paled.

"What happened?" Arthur demanded, immediately going to the younger Nation's side.

"Deathplayers," she whispered. "This is an old wound. Why did they…?"

"They did this to you when you were a kid?" Vlad asked.

The gash in her arm was deep, and it wouldn't stop bleeding. By that time, the Namibian's clothes were soaked, and there was blood on the floor as well.

"J-ja," Jana said. "Every African south of the Sahara had one. But they disappeared. Why are they back?"

"Have you done anything to anger the Deathplayers?" Arthur asked, trying to clean the wound.

"Not that I can think of. This really hurts."

"I can imagine. It's almost to the bone."

When she saw that cleaning the wound didn't help, Arthur cursed and took out a needle and thread.

"This is going to hurt," Arthur said. "The only way I can see this blood stopping is if we completely stitch up this wound. But with all this blood…"

"Do it," Jana said.

Arthur nodded, and with the needle in the thread, pierced the skin next to the cut, earning a cry of pain from the Namibian.

"Ouch," Gilbert said.

"Da, I agree," Vlad said, as they watched Arthur sewing up the wound.

…

Luis returned to Ferdinand's location, where he saw his counterpart working on another painting.

"Turns out, it's Libya," Luis said.

"Oh, okay," Ferdinand said, not looking away from the painting.

Luis sighed, a little disturbed by how fast those beasts were moving.

…

Natalya glared at the mirror, and Natasha fidgeted nervously under the scrutiny of her counterpart. Though Natalya wasn't angry at her.

She was angry because neither of them could predict the Beasts' next move.

"I really hate them," Natalya muttered. "They are making me feel like those Baltics. Useless!"

Natasha cocked her head in curiosity.

"Your Baltics are useless?" she asked.

…

Elise lay on her couch, looking up at the ceiling. She took out her cell phone, and without even looking at it, dialled a familiar number. She placed it against her ear and waited for the other person to answer.

"Hallo?"

"I'm bored," she said.

She heard Dominic sigh on the other side.

"There's nothing I can do about it at this point of time," the Austrian said. "We're not allowed to play with anyone, at the present time."

"I hate this," she whined. "Why can't we play with Nations from our own world? Those things are only targeting the Nations from the other side, aren't they? And of course my stupid 'brother' had to go with them."

"We can't play with anyone at the moment. It's apparently too risky. They didn't say anything about humans, though."

"But they're so boring. Those toys break too easily."

"I'm afraid that if we want to play, we're going to have to do it with fragile toys."

…

When Luciano passed her younger brother's room, she had to backtrack a few steps. Francesco was in front of the mirror, and he was looking with what could only be described as… longing.

"What is it?" Luciano asked, stepping into the Micro Nation's room.

Francesco jumped a little, and Luciano sighed. It was annoying to see Francesco still timid around women.

"It's my counterpart, Marcello," Francesco explained. "He's so… casual with the ladies. He's not afraid of them at all."

Luciano arched her eyebrow and sighed.

"Talk to him then," she suggested. "Get tips. And if he can manage to get you to get over your phobia of women, great."

Francesco blushed, but didn't argue, and he continued to watch the mirror, most likely waiting for the chance to speak to his counterpart.

And Luciano decided that if the other Seborgan could help her brother, then she would find some way to reward him. Perhaps by refraining to torture him.

And she was just reminded that she would need to ask the magic trio to find a way for them to return to their original genders.

…

It was dinner time, and once again the magic trio from the other side didn't join, though Gabriel had gone to take them their food.

Both Malaysia and Libya looked a little sick, and they were all a little worried, since the Beasts seemed to be moving really fast. They knew that it was only a matter of time before other Nations were attacked, since according to Libya, the Beasts could each kill a hundred people per minute.

Namibia, meanwhile, couldn't use one of her arms, and everyone of course was horrified when they saw the wound that, even with the stitches, wouldn't stop bleeding. Only the Sub-Saharan Africans knew what it meant, and horror would be too weak a word to describe what they were feeling.

In short, it was a tense dinner.

…

Yared, Michael and Goran didn't join the other Nations for dinner, working on plans for the device that they would help create. They also took the opportunity to compare the technology from their world with the technology from the other world.

Perhaps, by combining them, they would be able to create the perfect neuro-chip, as they decided to call it.

Of course, it also meant combining science with magic, since the Deathplayers were obviously using the latter to control the Reds, but luckily Michael knew some magic from when he was younger.

…

After dinner, Arthur's brothers managed to corner her, and they dragged her away to one of the living rooms.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, struggling in their grip.

'They only want to hurt you again.'

She ignored the voice, hoping that it wasn't true.

Her brothers forced her to sit down, and before she knew it, they placed a book in her lap.

She blinked in surprise, before she saw exactly which book they placed in her lap. Tears were brimming in her eyes, but there was a small smile on her face.

It was the album of all of her former colonies. Pictures (some of them miniature versions of paintings), drawings made by the colonies, memos regarding them, even a few locks of hair…

"We thought you could use some cheering up," Will said.

Arthur smiled brighter, and hugged Will and Patrick, who stood nearest to her.

"Thank you," she whispered, opening the book.

…

"This is bad," Farai said.

After dinner, the Africans decided to have another meeting, and the focus was mostly on Jana's wound.

"Could you please tell us what happened?" Gupta asked. "Remember, we Saharan Nations didn't go through everything you did."

"Might as well," Sammy sighed. "England and Romania know as well."

"Pourquoi?" Miora asked.

"They wanted to know how we managed to beat them last time," Farai explained.

"Very well," Anika sighed.

The Sub-Saharans took turns in explaining what happened to the Saharans, and by the time they were finished, every single one of them looked somewhere between murderous and horrified.

"And now you know what they're capable of," Theresa sighed. "But they're playing a different game this time. Last time, they didn't take over our minds, and we don't know which Deathplayer is which. They also didn't use those beasts last time."

"Consider yourselves lucky," Libya said, before he groaned.

"It's a different game," Anika said, "but their objective is still the same. And that's the death of Nations."

Backstory of the Africans regarding the Deathplayers. And I had to have an African meeting regarding Namibia's old wound opening. Of course, the rest of the Africans would be a little nervous, since it could happen to them as well at any point in time. And now the rest of the continent knows.

And I've checked. A lot of the native African cultures believe in ancestral spirits, and the shamans/witchdoctors (which we call sangomas) often call on those spirits, and the tokolosh are said to be reanimated corpses that become an imp-like creature. And quite a few legends in Africa involve reanimated corpses. And voodoo has roots in Africa.

And it would seem that most of you really want to see Italy and Poland starting World War Three. But the poll will be up for another week or so, so remember to vote.