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Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 94: Losing a Friend
Ricardo had stayed behind to listen to what Miora and Gupta had to say. And once he learned about what was happening, he abandoned his current mission in order to check on Mahesh. He felt the strain, but he ignored it. He had to know.
But when he found the Indian's room, he could feel his control slipping. It wouldn't be long before he was pulled back to his own body, but even a brief glimpse was enough.
He had seen enough.
He gasped when he was jolted back into his own body, and he trembled from a combination of strain and what he had seen. Alida must have realised that something was seriously wrong, for she was beside him in an instant, a hand on his shoulder.
"Did something happen?" she asked. "Did they block you?"
"I didn't get a chance to try to go inside their minds," Ricardo whispered. "The other Egypt and Madagascar… found a way to stop the Deathplayers."
"Isn't it a good thing?" Bruce asked.
Ricardo swallowed and slowly shook his head.
"Not for us," he said. "It involves killing one counterpart of the Nations involved. And Ireland heard of this and is taking matters into his own hands. Mahesh…"
Alida's grip on his shoulder tightened, and he knew that she understood what happened. Mahesh was the first of the older Nations to be nice to him, back when he was still a colony and a child. He had helped him with his independence.
And now…
"Are our counterparts safe?" Bruce asked, looking worried.
"We can't risk it," Alida said. "We need them here. We don't know what the death of one counterpart could do to the other. And I have no intention of letting Anika die."
"Agreed," Bruce said. "I'm not leaving Jett in possible danger."
…
"Are you serious?!" Ludwig roared.
Gupta and Miora tried to avoid the German's eyes, shifting nervously. But everyone was staring in horror at the two African Nations, with the exception of Matthew, Roberto, Jett and Anika, who were staring in fear. Matt was glaring in anger.
"Why would you do something like that?!" Jana demanded, standing next to Ludwig. "We said we wouldn't try that method ever again!"
"Well, we were desperate to stop this," Miora said, her eyes shifting towards the potential Reds. "We don't want everyone to keep getting hurt."
"And now we have an Irishman intent on killing everyone," Alistair said, eyes going towards Seamus. "Trust me, when the Irish get an idea in their heads, they don't stop, no matter how insane it is."
Seamus and Patrick pouted, but they didn't exactly argue.
"Look at the pot calling the kettle black," Will muttered, earning a glare from the Scotsman.
"The point is, we need to get the potential Reds to safety," Ludwig said, looking over to the group. "Even if it could stop this, it's not worth anyone's life."
"We need to get to those others," Theresa said. "They're defenceless."
"Right," Miguel said. "And I think it's a good idea if some of us act as their bodyguards."
Roberto didn't argue when Miguel wrapped his arms around him protectively. Alistair decided to stick close to Matthew, Will to Jett and the Ireland twins decided to stay close to Anika.
"And the rest of us will need to track down the other Ireland and make sure he doesn't continue on this path," Ludwig said. "It's not worth it."
Most of the Nations agreed, and the only ones that looked doubtful were the Nations from the other side.
…
Omar looked at the scene in horror. Mahesh was on the bed, his eyes wide open and vacant, blood pouring from his throat.
The Egyptian could recognise the work of Bloody Fire, the scars on her own throat tingling. And seeing it only made her feel angry.
She jumped when her phone vibrated, and when she removed it there was a text from Alida.
'Is it true? Is Mahesh dead?'
She sighed, before sending her affirmative. Almost instantly she received a message back.
'Make sure he's avenged.'
Omar smiled. Mahesh was one of the Nations that Alida considered a friend, and who was under her wing. It was true for her as well.
Her eyes then widened at the thought of another Nation under Alida's protection that could be in danger. So she immediately left to seek him out as well, and she felt her anger build once she found him, eyes just as vacant as Mahesh's.
Oh, she would avenge them, that was a guarantee.
…
He was drifting. He didn't know where he was, or how he arrived there. He knew he should care, but he couldn't. He was distant, alone.
Until he wasn't alone. When he saw a face that looked like his own, realisation and memories came flooding back. He gasped, reaching out to the other, grasping his own outstretched hand.
"Mahesh," he whispered.
"It's been a while Raj," the other said.
…
Tolys watched the Deathplayers closely. They had put all of the Reds to sleep, and they were obviously nervous about something.
Something had happened to throw the Deathplayers off. And whoever was responsible, Tolys wanted to thank them.
He had to hide his smirk when one of the Deathplayers glared towards him. Seeing them like this was extremely satisfying for the Lithuanian.
…
James looked up with startled eyes when he saw Michael entering his room. He had never had a good history with any of the UK siblings, and the fact that the Irishman had blood on his clothes didn't help the New Zealander's nerves.
"What are you doing here?" James demanded. "Whose blood is that?"
"India's," Michael said. "And you're joining him."
"Why?" James asked, trying to back off on the bed as far as possible.
"It's the only way to stop the Deathplayers."
"Like I believe you're doing this for that reason."
"You're right. But this is the best way to put a stop to the Deathplayers' game. You're just going to have to take one for the team. Now the knife is getting colder. I can't waste any more time."
James closed his eyes as the Irishman approached, knowing that this would most likely be painful.
…
Goran had gone to the room where he knew Andrei to be, but the Moldovan wasn't there. He huffed, before setting out to find the young Nation.
The Bloody Fire was getting colder, and he probably shouldn't have played around with Nicolai. So he would make sure that he would deal swiftly with the Moldovan.
At least, before his weapon cooled down.
…
Before Michael could reach him James heard him yelp, and he opened his eyes to see a Deathplayer standing between the two, with the Irishman apparently having been thrown against the wall.
"So, you're the one that started interfering with our game," the England Deathplayer said. "I don't know how you found out how to do that, but you're not going to interfere any longer."
The Deathplayer glanced back at James, and the New Zealander shrank back, wondering who was the lesser of two evils.
"Perhaps we should get you to another location," the England Deathplayer said, smirking. "I'm sure Tolys would be glad for the company."
"I don't see what the problem is," Michael said, standing up. "You're going to kill him anyway. Or are your plans a little out of sync?"
The England Deathplayer stared back at Michael and narrowed his eyes.
"Messing with the game plan isn't going to stop us," the Deathplayer said as he walked closer to Michael. "You've already managed to throw off two of our Reds."
Michael smirked.
"You're getting worried," Michael said knowingly.
The Deathplayer growled, stalking closer to Michael.
"It's unfortunate that we can't kill any Nations yet," the Deathplayer said. "Because I would love to kill you right about now."
Michael chuckled.
"You play a game, and then you're frustrated when a worthy opponent comes along," Michael said. "Someone's a sore loser."
"I assure you, it's nothing of the sort," the Deathplayer said. "You're not a 'worthy opponent', as you put it. You're a cheater. And cheaters need to be punished."
"Then do your worst," Michael said. "As you said, you can't kill a Nation yet."
The Deathplayer smirked.
"It's true," the Deathplayer said. "However, we can take the Nations away to a location where no one could find them. Keep them 'safe' until the Reds are ready to kill them. However, I think the Reds wouldn't mind playing with them until such a time. Did you know that they have a literal lust for blood? Now, Oliver would be safe from the Reds, at least until it's time to kill him, but what about your other brothers?"
Michael lost his smirk, and he paled. The Deathplayer's smirk widened, and just like that he was gone.
"No," Michael whispered. "I can't… not…"
He looked towards James and his eyes narrowed.
"Consider yourself lucky," Michael spat. "I'm going to make sure Oliver's alright, and then I'll come back to kill you."
And the Irishman ran out of the room, and the New Zealander sighed in relief.
"Why are you so relieved?" a voice asked that sounded familiar.
James swallowed nervously as he looked back to see yet another Deathplayer.
…
Ferdinand paced the room. He knew that he couldn't leave Andrei, not now. Not with the Deathplayers making a countermove.
He could see everything that was happening, and he knew that he shouldn't leave the Moldovan alone and vulnerable. It was either the Deathplayers that would get him or the Slovene and Irishman.
He saw another deviation, and he hugged himself, rocking back and forth, hoping that this nightmare would end soon, or at least for someone reliable to come along in order for him to return to his paints and canvases.
…
"You do realise that Mikey wouldn't hurt me, right?" Oliver asked.
Leon and Emil exchanged a glance, before looking back at the trio. They had explained what Michael was doing, and had sort of set themselves up as the trio's body guards against the Irishman.
"From what Gabriel told me, you're not above hurting your family members," Emil said, looking pointedly at Sigurd and Marius.
"The British siblings are a lot closer than me and Gaby," Sigurd said matter-of-factly.
"Or me and Andrei," Marius said. "They've always been protective of Oliver. It was hard work convincing them that we wouldn't hurt him."
"And wars?" Leon asked. "Because I know that before they became the United Kingdom, they had a lot of violent wars against each other."
"Nope," Oliver said. "Never had a single battle with any of my brothers, let alone a war. Seems like we get along better than Artie and his brothers, right?"
The two younger Nations shared another glance, and they couldn't deny that what he said was true.
"And that makes this the ideal punishment," another voice that sounded like Oliver's said.
The five turned to see the England Deathplayer standing there, his eyes trained on Oliver.
"What do you mean?" Leon asked, inching closer in order to interfere with whatever might be happening.
"Dear old Michael decided to interfere with our game," the Deathplayer said. "He was cheating. And cheaters need to be punished. Severely. And Michael does value his brothers so."
Oliver paled when he realised what the implications were.
"We're not letting you get to him," Emil said, as he and Leon moved to stand between the Englishman and the Deathplayer.
"He's right," Sigurd said, throwing his arms around his friend, and Marius moved slightly in front of the two of them.
The Deathplayer smirked, before waving his hand in front of him. Emil and Leon were sent flying, crashing against opposite walls. The two Nations were knocked unconscious by the force. The three Nations on the bed moved closer to each other, eyes wide.
"We'll come back for the two of you later," the Deathplayer said, stepping closer. "But for now, I'll take Oliver with me."
"No," Sigurd said, tightening his hold.
The Deathplayer chuckled, waving his hand again. The Norwegian and Romanian were also sent flying, crying out in pain. Oliver shrank back, his wide blue eyes trained on the Deathplayer as he walked forwards.
"No," Marius said, trying in vain to lift himself up in order to get to his friend.
"Your bodies are still weak," the Deathplayer said as he reached Oliver. "You are helpless."
The Deathplayer grabbed Oliver, and the Englishman cried out in fear before the two disappeared.
…
Asides from the Nations that had said they would watch over the potential Reds, the Micro Nations also remained, along with Lovino and Feliciano, Jana and Theresa, and Rosa and Alfred. Matt was also there, needing to be protected as well, but understanding Michael's logic.
Lovino was the only one to notice how the Micro Nations' eyes had gone blank again. He was uneasy, but he didn't alert the other Nations out of fear for his youngest brother's life. They didn't do anything, just kept their gazes on the potential Reds.
"Michael is going too far," Seamus said, pacing nervously.
"You want to stop him yourself," Patrick said knowingly. "Your counterpart is the one that needs to be stopped at the moment."
"Even if he has a point," Matt said. "If this is the only way to stop the Deathplayers…"
"No," Alistair said firmly. "We're not sacrificing anyone. And don't you agree with what he's doing."
Matt sighed, fidgeting nervously. Alfred glared at him.
"No one's sacrificing themselves," Alfred said. "And we don't know what's going to happen to the counterpart of a Nation that dies."
"Al," Matthew said, "he's right. If I have to sacrifice myself in order to save everyone else, I will."
"Mattie, no! Don't be a hero, that's my job. And I'm not losing my bro!"
"I agree with the gringo, except about him being a hero," Rosa said. "Matteo, you're not sacrificing yourself. And neither are you," she said, pointing towards Matt. "None of you are."
"But if we don't have a choice…" Jett said.
"No!" Will snapped. "We'll find an alternative solution that doesn't involve anyone dying."
The four potentials shared a nervous glance, unaware of what the looks in the Micro Nations' eyes would mean.
…
Duncan, Connor and Finn were in Duncan's living room, not liking the fact that their two remaining brothers were in the other world. They had a bad feeling, thinking that it had something to do with their absent brothers.
"Hello there," a voice said, and they jumped when they recognised the voice, but it wasn't who they thought.
Instead they were faced with the Australia, Canada and South Africa Deathplayers.
"What are you doing here?" Duncan demanded, looking between them with fear.
"Michael's been a bad boy," the Canada Deathplayer said. "You're going to help us punish him."
The South Africa Deathplayer lunged towards Finn, wrapping a hand around his throat.
"You especially will be an ideal punishment," she hissed. "The bonds between twins…"
…
Dimitri didn't know where he was, just that he was in a black void. Nicolai was with him, and they were both sitting next to each other, Nicolai's arm wrapped around his shoulders. Dimitri leaned into the embrace, knowing that he hadn't felt warmth in a long time.
"Our souls have reunited," Nicolai said. "But they're not one. I'm useless to the Deathplayers now."
"I know," Dimitri said. "They will try to fill the blank space with one of the Beasts. And when that happens… I will be completely under their control again."
"They forced your body to sleep, knowing that they can't control your mind and spirit. But that's going to change soon."
"I know," Dimitri sighed. "I wish there was a way to completely stop them. And I wish there was a way to reach the other Nations. I miss the other Balkan Nations. I miss Vlad being Vlad. I even miss Russia."
"I can imagine. You were closer to them, and you didn't need to fear them as much as I did. You managed to make friends with them. I didn't."
"What about Andrei? And didn't you make any friends with any of my world's Nations?"
"I don't know. I've never had friends before, and I don't think I'll ever know what it's like."
"I'm sure someone must have thought of you as a friend."
…
Valeria had remained in her own world, instead of going back to the other world. Alida had ordered her to watch over Ricardo for the moment, and she was intent on doing so.
She gave him a mug of hot chocolate, which he took but didn't drink. There were dried tearstains on his cheeks, and he looked in front of him with a blank look.
"I know you were close," the Columbian sighed. "I guess I now know exactly how close the two of you were."
"He was the first Nation that wasn't a colony of Portugal to reach out to me," Ricardo whispered. "He was so nice to me, and when I was crying, he told me to dry my eyes and to stay strong. He even supported me when I fought against Portugal for my independence. And I know that he's dead. I saw him. I couldn't feel him. I…"
Ricardo broke down, tears falling freely. Valeria didn't know what to do, since she had never seen him like this before.
"You use your powers to try to reach out to the other Nations, right?" Valeria asked. "Do you think you could do it with his soul?"
He looked up at her with watery eyes, but she could see that he was thinking about her words. Finally, he nodded his head.
"I think I can do it," he said. "I just need to focus."
…
Alida sighed, watching events unfold on the other side. Omar had let her know that Nicolai was dead as well, and that one struck her.
She had promised him that she wouldn't allow anyone to hurt him. She had seen an example of someone that had been tortured for the fun of it. And she wanted to help.
She looked over towards Rebecca and sighed. The Namibian was quite fond of the Bulgarian, and might also have had a small crush on him. And now she wouldn't even be able to tell him.
She allowed Manuella to calm their sister, and she waited for Ricardo to recover before Bruce joined the two of them in getting their counterparts to her home.
I realised that I had completely forgotten about Valeria, and so I decided to show her comforting Ricardo. And I also played with Nicolai being used as the punching bag of Europe, leading to him being friendless in the North, and he was wary of the South, and he had no idea how the other world felt about him. He's never had friends before, other than Dimitri, so he was wondering about it, and Goran taunted him with it. And in the last scene it's revealed that Rebecca might have had a crush on him, and she was fond of him. So he had at least one person that would care for him, but he didn't know, and Alida had promised him that he wouldn't be hurt by the other Europeans again, but now he's dead, killed by one of the Europeans.
And the Deathplayers will punish Goran for interfering as well.
Also, you can guess why Portugal would protect Brazil. I've hinted on a father-son relationship for a while. And I also made something clever along the lines of Canada, Australia and South Africa, and which of their uncles they would feel closer to. Matthew would be close to Alistair, explaining Nova Scotia. And Will would be protective over Jett, and Jett would feel close to Wales, which explains New South Wales. And the Ireland twins for Anika due to South Africa and Ireland having been considered 'restless dominions'. Ireland is also listed as an ally to South Africa in the Second Boer War, and they've been thinking of establishing bilateral relationships since the 1930's and 40's, but because of cost concerns they weren't implemented until much later. Even our idiot of a president said that there's a special relationship between Ireland and South Africa. I also chose the Deathplayers to get the 2PBritish siblings based on the same thing as above.