Thanks to Mx Akiyata, stormpix and madders10 for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 91: Reunion of Brothers

Doesn't it warm your heart to see a touching reunion?

…

Alexandru trembled when he saw the Deathplayer standing before him. It was the one that looked like him, and he was smirking in pure happiness. Pure, cruel happiness.

"Did you really think that we would just let you go?" the Deathplayer asked. "After going through all that trouble? You were in the right mind. And still you tried to run from us. You should have just given up. It would have been a lot less painful."

Alexandru winced. His stomach, his sides, his arms and his head hurt. The Micro Nations really kicked him hard.

"Are you ready to go now?" the Deathplayer taunted.

Tears were brimming in Alexandru's eyes and he shook his head. Instead of being angry, the Deathplayer let out a bark of amused laughter.

"You don't have a choice, this time," the Deathplayer said.

The Micro Nations that had been holding him let go, but before Alexandru could try to get away he was grabbed by someone larger. He turned back and his eyes widened.

It was another Deathplayer. The one that looked like his brother.

The Deathplayer smirked at him, and Alexandru trembled in his grasp.

"Now, let's go, shall we?" the Moldova Deathplayer taunted.

…

Andrei was wandering through the hallways. The words of the Micro Nations hit a little too close to home.

It's true. He had been hoping to experience a better childhood with the other world's Nations, or at least as much of a childhood as a Nation could claim to have. And he had hoped to have Vlad as an older brother, instead of Marius.

But now that he had had time to calm down, he started to notice that there was something wrong with what the Micro Nations said, as well as the way they said it. They were playful and mischievous, and they had had no problem playing with the two Moldovans before. They had never been cruel, and their eyes…

Emotionless, lifeless eyes.

Andrei froze, gasping as realisation hit him. The Micros weren't acting on their own accord. And didn't Ferdinand say that the Deathplayers were angry at Alexandru?

Andrei immediately turned back, knowing that he would need to get to Alexandru before it was too late.

…

Ricardo found himself standing on a beach. He didn't know where it was, or how he had gotten there. But he did notice that it seemed to be a little surreal.

He heard a splash, and turned his attention towards the origin of the sound. His eyes widened briefly when he saw Portugal, but he relaxed once he saw that it was Miguel, and not Marco.

Said Portuguese blinked in surprise, before looking around.

"I usually only come here when I'm dreaming," Miguel said. He turned to Ricardo. "And I'm usually alone."

"I think we're in your subconscious," Ricardo said, looking around as well. "I was wondering if I could. Apparently, I can."

Miguel nodded in understanding.

"Do you think that you can send me back now?" Miguel asked.

Ricardo nodded, closing his eyes.

"Wait," Miguel said.

Ricardo opened his eyes again.

"You really care about him, don't you?" Miguel asked.

"Roberto?" Ricardo asked. "Sim. He's the light that's been missing in my life for hundreds of years. I would do anything to protect him."

Miguel smiled.

"I care about him too," he said. "I suppose we would both need to make sure that Roberto stays protected."

"Of course."

"Obrigado, filho."

Ricardo paused, before he shook his head, a smile on his face.

"Adeus, for now," Ricardo said, closing his eyes and allowing the world to fade away.

…

Sofia whooped in delight. Her team had just scored another goal.

She had started running back to position when she abruptly stopped, her eyes wide. She grasped her chest, letting out a heaving breath.

Ludwig was the first to react, and was by her side instantly.

"What is it?" the German asked. "Is one of your cities under attack?"

She gasped another breath, before nodding her head, her eyes closed. By now, everyone was aware that something bad was happening, and went to the Argentine's side.

"Come on," Ludwig said. "We need to get you off the field. Someone, bring water! Just relax now."

Sofia nodded. She could already feel as her fingertips were turning numb. Comodora Rivadavia was burning, and soon there would be nothing left.

Only the smoke that smothered her.

…

Felic had been brought to the other world to help with strategies, but they seemed to have forgotten about him. Not that he minded, since that meant he was left alone.

Mostly.

He couldn't believe he was having a glaring contest with a bird. And not just any bird. Feliks's phoenix, which had been named Feniksa. He would need to have a word with his counterpart for lack of creativity. The phoenix that had saved Feliks the first time Felic had attacked the other in his dream.

The phoenix that made it clear that it didn't like him.

"We're going to have a lot of difficulties, aren't we, birdie?" Felic asked.

The bird squawked, ruffling its feathers and making itself look bigger. Felic supposed that he should be happy that the bird was still young. There was even some down still on its body.

"I can't believe I'm talking to a bird," Felic huffed. "This is the lowest I've ever been."

The bird screeched, and Felic had to cover his ears.

"Look, I don't like you, and you don't like me. We've established that. So why don't you go bother someone else? I'm sure anyone else would like to babysit you."

The bird made a low sound, and Felic narrowed his eyes.

"Are you trying to tell me that you're the one babysitting me? South Africa, you're a cruel bitch."

…

Alida sneezed, and she wondered if there was a spot that someone had neglected to dust. But she had more important things to worry about.

Ricardo had gone into a trance, and it was obviously about something related, but separate. For one thing, Peru was no longer documenting what Ricardo had learned.

She knew better than to try to get him out, so she waited.

…

Alexandru whimpered when he was suddenly in a dark place. The Romania Deathplayer released him and he fell to the ground. He knew what was about to happen.

He was about to become a Red.

He heard that it would be painful. New Zealand had screamed, and so did their counterparts. He didn't want it to hurt.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. However, they snapped open when he was gently picked up. He looked towards the one carrying him with wide eyes.

There was a spark of insanity, but those red eyes still held warmth, at least for him. And those arms were safe and warm.

"Frate mai mare," Alexandru whispered.

Vlad smiled and hugged him. Alexandru closed his eyes as he felt the darkness wash over him. His brother was protecting him from the pain.

Vlad wasn't completely gone. And only Alexandru could see it.

But it didn't matter anymore, did it?

…

Andrei stared at the scene in front of him, his eyes wide with fear.

The Micro Nations were lying around the room, unconscious, and Alexandru was gone.

But he knew. He knew that somehow, the Micro Nations were under the Deathplayers' control.

He gasped when he suddenly felt a sharp pain piercing through his skull, and he placed his hand on his head. The pain steadily grew worse, and suddenly he had no control anymore.

He screamed.

And as he screamed, the sound of his own voice faded away, to be replaced by an image, of Vlad holding Alexandru. At least his counterpart wasn't in any unnecessary pain.

That was the last thought that Andrei had before losing consciousness.

…

Luis stared at the new canvas that Ferdinand had been working on. Unfortunately, he recognised the city under attack.

"Don't cry for me, Argentina," he muttered.

"Hm?" Ferdinand asked, looking back.

"Oh, sorry," Luis said, waving his hands. "I just…"

They paused when they heard screaming, and it didn't take them long to realise who the voice belonged to. Luis's eyes were incredibly wide.

"Oh, mierda!" he shouted, before running out of the room.

…

Lovino had just placed the pizza in the oven when he heard the screaming. His eyes widened, and he quickly turned off the oven before running back to see what was happening.

And later, through all of the commotion, no one would be able to accuse him of setting the house on fire, though there were already other accusations on their way.

…

The trio had decided to take a nap (seriously, there was nothing else they could do) when they were jolted by a scream. The voice was familiar to them, though none of them, not even Marius, had heard him scream.

Marius's eyes widened when he managed to piece it all together, and he hugged himself.

"No," Marius whispered. "Not another Red. And not Moldova."

Even though he acted as though he hated him, and even though Andrei did hate him, he was still his little brother. He had acted cold and, to some extent, cruel towards the other in order to get the other hardened at a young age, and to not have him harden through torture, like Marius was.

And even though he wasn't his brother, Alexandru had come to him in his quest for comfort. It was probably the first time that Marius acted like a real big brother. Was it not enough?

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Sigurd looking at him, eyes sympathetic.

"I understand," the Norwegian said. "I know you care about him, deep inside. It's the same with Gabriel, after Russia threatened to hurt him to make me help him."

"It looks like I'm the luckiest, then," Oliver said. "I never had to pretend to hate any of my brothers. But at least we've still got each other."

"But for how long?" Marius asked. "I don't think the Deathplayers would be happy with just taking our counterparts. Lithuania's missing, and they haven't made a move to kill any of us yet. So what gives? We're useless."

"Unless they have another step," Sigurd said. "Do you think we can speak to Brazil about this?"

…

Ricardo opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Alida sitting there, arms crossed and waiting patiently.

"Had fun?" she asked.

"I… I don't know," he admitted.

"What are you working on?"

"Trying to see if I'd be able to reach the Reds, though I'm only testing the waters first. Seeing if I can reach a Nation, and then see if I can reach that Nation's counterpart, and access their mind. Portugal was a success. I've already established that I can reach a Nation I'm very familiar with, and both halves of them. I'm going to see if I can reach a Nation that I only know through connections. You've actually arrived at a convenient time, amiga."

"Why?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Um… Can I please use Hout Bay as part of my experiment?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment.

"Nee," she said. "Find someone else."

"Sirocco?"

"I'm warning you…"

"I promise not to hurt either one of them," Ricardo said. "Please. This is all for the benefit of all of us."

She narrowed her eyes again, before she sighed, nodding her head.

"If you hurt either one of them, then alliance or not, you'll be lion food. Verstaan?"

"I understand perfectly."

While Alida might trust him with many things, her Micro Nations were not among those things.

…

Felic jolted when he heard the screaming, and Feniksa ruffled its feathers uneasily.

"Another one bites the dust, huh?" he asked. "I think I need to start planning strategy with them. Because obviously, they don't know how to play the game."

The phoenix looked at him darkly.

"It'll help if I know all the information," Felic continued, ignoring the bird's look. "I need to know what kinds of plays they've made. I need to figure out their pattern. They're too smart to do things at random and allow it to fall to chance. There has to be something…"

He thought for a moment.

"They counted on us to torture our counterparts; break their spirits. But obviously, not everyone took part. Actually, now that I think about it, the Nations that hurt their counterparts would be the pawns in their game, while the others are more important pieces. The pawns are obvious, since we did our job in their game without being prompted. And the other pieces… Let's see. It started with Canada, so they chose him as king. South Africa – I'm guessing she's queen because she's the only bona fide female Nation in the group. Australia as a rook makes sense because the guy is practically a tank. Bulgaria as bishop makes sense; our punching bag, and he took everything in stride, apparently. And I guess I can see India and Brazil as knights – I mean, at least in our world, they're South Africa – the queen's – closest allies. The others…"

He paused for a moment, looking up towards the phoenix.

"Why exactly am I explaining this to a bird?" he asked himself at last.

Said bird squawked in response.

…

The Nations arrived to find Andrei screaming, and the Micro Nations were all unconscious. There was no trace of Alexandru, not that they expected it.

They knew what happened already.

"Um," Miora said, "who's going to explain to Russia that his 'little brother' had been captured?"

"Weren't you supposed to be watching him?" Gupta asked, glaring at Lovino.

"I just left to make them a snack, since they asked for it," Lovino said, looking panicked. "Fuck, Hungary's going to kill me."

"I can't argue with that," Luis said.

Andrei had stopped screaming and he collapsed, unconscious. Gupta walked forward and picked him up.

"I'll take him to a bed," Gupta said. "You check on the Micros."

They nodded their heads, and the Egyptian disappeared with the Moldovan. But Lovino and Miora knew that Gupta was extremely worried about the Micro Nations. They happened to know that the Egyptian was fond of the Micros, and they of her.

Lovino moved to shake Marcello awake, and the Micro Nation scrunched his eyes before opening them. They looked confused, but they were no longer blank. Lovino was taken aback, feeling suddenly very cold.

Was it possible…?

"What happened?" Marcello asked.

"Can't you tell me?" Lovino asked.

"I don't remember," Marcello whispered. "The last… you were getting lunch."

"I need to have a word with you."

Lovino jumped at the familiar voice, and his eyes widened.

"Um, I need to go make sure the pizza's not burning," Lovino muttered, making a hasty retreat.

He ignored the looks the other Nations gave him. He knew he wasn't their favourite at the moment. He always messed things up, anyway, so what was the point in caring about it?

He yelped when he was suddenly pinned against a wall, a hand placed on his mouth. His eyes widened when he saw the familiar face, though the colouring was completely off. It wasn't Antonio, nor was it Alejandro.

It was the Deathplayer.

"So, you managed to figure out our play, it would seem," the Deathplayer said. "We figured you might. But you're not going to tip any of the others off. And do you know why?"

Lovino glared, trying to convey hatred through his eyes, but knew that he was most likely looking scared. The Deathplayer chuckled at the attempt.

"While we're not able to kill a Nation yet," the Deathplayer said, stressing the 'yet', "we can kill a Micro Nation."

Lovino's eyes widened, and the Deathplayer chuckled again.

"Do you see where this is going?" the Deathplayer taunted. "We can kill little Marcello, and I'll make sure that you watch it happening. Maybe we'll pick up the bar and pull the strings, and we'll have Marcello jump off the roof. Or maybe stab himself with a knife. Or perhaps we can let our other marionettes perform for you, and you will watch as your little brother is murdered by his friends. And this time, we'll let them keep their memories, as well as their awareness. They'll know what they're doing. Or perhaps we should attach strings to you, and you can kill your brother."

Lovino was trembling, his eyes closed and tears streaming from them. The Deathplayer smirked.

"Do we understand each other?" the Deathplayer asked, removing his hand from Lovino's mouth.

Lovino didn't trust his voice, but he nodded his head.

"Excellent," the Deathplayer said, moving away.

"Wait," Lovino said, and the Deathplayer raised an eyebrow. "You're going to eventually kill him anyway, aren't you?"

"If we don't have to, we won't," the Deathplayer said. "The Micro Nations are very similar to us. It would be a shame to have to kill them. So as long as you behave and keep your mouth shut, that won't be a problem. Oh, and one more thing." The Deathplayer leaned close again. "The land you call your own… used to be mine."

…

Flavio was out buying some new fabric for Luciano's new wardrobe. He was enjoying his time with a sister for as long as he could.

He was unaware of the threat made to his counterpart.

…

Tolys watched the scene with a dark expression on his face. He could count. He knew what was going on.

There were only four more Reds left, and after that, he would find out why the Deathplayers wanted him there, with them.

He shuddered to think of the possibilities. He had listened to the Deathplayers discuss their little 'puppet show', and even he thought that what they did was cruel.

And it took a lot to allow him to admit that.

But with four more to go, he knew the Deathplayers would really pull out all of the stops. They wanted this part of their game to be over as soon as possible.

Okay, so I recently found out that Hout Bay is considered a Micro Nation – I've been there once or twice (granted, years ago), and had absolutely no idea. Then I stumbled upon information regarding Sirocco, which has territory in both New Zealand and South Africa. And when I read that part, I just pictured Fletcher and Anika having a kid together… weird. I also read that Micro Nations consider certain African Nations, namely South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria, to be superpowers considering the influence and achievements of those Nations, and the only reason Ethiopia isn't considered is because it's landlocked.

And I realised that I completely forgot about Felic and Feniksa… oops. But you can see Felic trying to think about the Deathplayers' strategies. And I really enjoyed writing the two's scenes.

And a little insight into Marius and Sigurd's relationships with their brothers. So, they don't hate them, they just want to protect them, in their own twisted way.

Oh yeah, forgot to add last chapter about the reference to the female Nations in the hockey because of everything that was going on last week. Around here, hockey is considered to be a predominantly female sport, along with netball. In primary school, during the first half of the year the girls would play netball while boys played rugby, and the second half girls would play hockey while boys would play cricket. And I've seen girls playing hockey. Sweet, gentle and timid girls who turn vicious with the stick… So, I checked online to see who would be top-ranked in female field hockey. The female Nations were South Africa, Argentina and Belgium, as well as Italy, Germany and Japan, which is why I mentioned those Nations being particularly brutal with the hockey.