Thanks to madders10, Mx Akiyata, Ariaprincess and Lovesbugsalot for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 95: Punishment for cheating.
Often in games, someone would try to cheat.
And the cheater must be punished for his transgressions.
…
Felic stared at the Slovene with a bored expression. Goran was heating his knife again, keeping an eye on him and the bird.
He had a feeling that the phoenix knew more than he did at the moment, and understood that the bird didn't seem upset about the fact that Felic was meant to die. The Pol wanted to pluck the bird's downy feathers out, but then he saw that the intelligent eyes were scheming. So he let it go.
"You seem oddly calm," Goran commented, looking over at him.
"I kind of came to the conclusion of removing the pieces a while ago," Felic admitted. "So this doesn't surprise me, and honestly, being useless like this is a fate even worse than death. So you might be doing me a favour."
"I don't think I've ever met a suicidal Nation, other than Prussia on occasion. Alright then."
Goran stepped forward, and Felic smirked, hoping that the bird would finish its scheme soon.
"Another cheater," a voice commented, and Felic's smirk fell.
It was the Poland Deathplayer, and he looked at Goran with a bit of disdain.
"Oh come on," Felic said. "What is it with my counterparts and needing to dress like a girl?"
The Deathplayer ignored him, eyes trained on Goran. Feniksa shrieked in displeasure, before moving closer to Felic.
"What do you want?" Goran asked, eyes trained on the Deathplayer.
"You're cheating in our game," the Deathplayer said, moving closer. "And cheaters need to be punished."
Goran assumed a defensive stance, and the Deathplayer laughed.
"I'm not going to attack you," the Deathplayer said. "There are better ways to punish you. Interesting how the two cheaters are Nations that are each close to a specific group."
Goran's eyes widened, and the Deathplayer disappeared.
"No," he whispered. "The others…"
He looked over towards Felic, who shrugged.
"Get it over with," Felic said. "And then make sure your buddies are alright."
…
Oliver grunted when he was thrown to the ground. He looked up to the Deathplayer in fear, but he simply walked away.
"Welcome to the club," a familiar voice drawled.
Oliver looked over to see Tolys leaning against the wall, completely indifferent. James was next to him, looking to another point in the cave with wide eyes.
Oliver followed the New Zealander's gaze and his eyes widened as well. Most of the Deathplayers, and all of the Reds. The Reds were asleep for the moment, but who knew how long that would last?
"They're not going to hurt us," Tolys said. "Yet. They'll taunt, but not hurt. I'm not quite sure why we're here, actually. But it's nice to have company, other than them."
"They brought me here for safekeeping," James said. "Ireland started killing those of us that are involved, and the Deathplayers got really mad at him."
"Oh, so that's what happened. Other than the fact that I might have been a potential victim, he did me a favour by making the Deathplayers worried."
"They also said something along the lines of Ireland being punished," James continued, looking over towards Oliver. "Implied that while you're safe, for the moment, your other brothers aren't."
Before Oliver could comment, three more Deathplayers appeared, along with three Nations. Oliver paled when he realised who they were.
"No!" he shouted. "Duncan! Connor! Finn!"
"Ollie!" the Scotsman said, trying to struggle out of the Deathplayers grasp in order to go to his youngest brother.
The Deathplayers threw them against an opposite wall, and chains appeared from out of nowhere to bind them. The South Africa Deathplayer walked closer to them, crouching down in front of Finn.
Oliver could see that a spell was being cast, but he had no idea as to the nature of the spell. Only that it couldn't be good.
"They'll wait for the Reds to wake up," Tolys said, staring at the struggling and protesting Nations. "I'm sure of it."
Oliver could feel tears brimming in his eyes, and he stared at his brothers in fear. Whatever would happen to them, it wasn't going to be good.
…
The Yugoslav Nations were lounging around in Serbia's living room, seeing as they had nothing better to do. They missed Slovenia, but knew that he was doing 'important' work. At least for the time being.
Bosnia, or Almin, had messy blond hair with grey eyes. He wore a too-large blue shirt with torn black jeans and dusty black sneakers.
Herzegovina, or Asja, had frizzy blond hair tied in high pigtails. Like Almin, she had grey eyes. She wore a dull yellow shirt with a pair of jean shorts and dusty white sneakers. She had a star pendent around her neck.
Croatia, otherwise known as Dalibor, had strawberry blond hair and violet eyes, under which dark circles could be seen. He wore a grey hoodie with black jeans and black boots.
Serbia, or Ilija, had shoulder length dark brown hair that was tied in a ponytail. He had amber eyes. He had a red shirt with a design of a white bird in flight, and he wore jeans and white boots.
Montenegro, or Stefan, had curly light brown hair and cyan eyes. He wore a pale blue version of the Montenegrin military uniform with black boots.
Macedonia, or Venijamen, had chin-length dirty blond hair and hazel eyes. He had a black shirt with a red print that looked like the sun, black jeans, and black sneakers.
"Has anyone heard from Goran?" Ilija asked.
"Nope," Asja said. "You know what he gets like if he's in his tinkering frame of mind. Last time I saw him was with that meeting where the South threatened us to keep out of the other Nations' minds."
"I don't see why we even went," Almin said. "We weren't even involved."
"There was a war," Venijamen pointed out. "Everyone's paranoid whenever a war's involved. You know that as well as I."
Stefan rubbed his shoulder absently, before nodding his head in agreement.
"So, this is the majority of Yugoslavia," a cold voice commented, sending the Nations to their feet. "I'm disappointed."
They saw five figures standing nearby. They looked like Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova, only they appeared… twisted and dark. And for their world's standards, that was saying something.
"What are you?" Asja demanded, backing closer to Almin.
"Didn't you pay attention at your last meeting?" the Moldova lookalike taunted. "We're Deathplayers."
"And dear Goran's been interfering with our game," the Bulgaria lookalike said. "We're going to punish him. And who better than you five?"
"What do you mean?" Stefan asked, backing up.
They were startled when Ilija's phone rang, but before he could answer it the Bulgaria Deathplayer had him pinned to the ground, a hand around his throat.
"I don't think so," the Deathplayer said. "Let him worry. We'll enlighten him in time."
…
Feniksa stared at Felic's body. Goran had managed to kill him before another Deathplayer could interfere.
The bird knew its purpose, and it would fulfil it as soon as it was safe to do so.
…
Michael arrived at Oliver's room, looking panicked. He hoped that the Deathplayer wouldn't have gone through with the threat. He didn't want to lose his little brother to them.
But as soon as he arrived, he knew that there was no hope. Emil and Leon were unconscious against opposite walls, and Sigurd and Marius were next to the bed, trying to get up.
"Michael!" Sigurd cried out as soon as he saw him.
"Where's Ollie?" Michael asked, going towards the Norwegian in order to help him up.
"The Deathplayers took him," Sigurd said. "It said something about you cheating and needing punishment."
"Did it say anything else?" Michael asked.
"They're coming back for us later," Marius said. "But I think you need to check on your other brothers as well."
Michael nodded, before he moved to put the Romanian on the bed. His worry only grew.
…
Goran was pacing nervously as he tried to get a hold of one of the others. None of them would answer, and he seriously hoped that the Deathplayers hadn't gotten a hold of them.
"Hey!"
Goran was startled at the voice, and he turned to see Yong Soo approaching him, looking worried.
"What is it?" Goran snapped, and the South Korean was taken aback.
"What's wrong with you?" Yong Soo asked.
"It's none of your business. Now, what do you want?"
"Have you seen your Ireland? He's started killing Nations, and we need to stop him."
Goran shrugged, and he supposed that he didn't need to enlighten the Asian of the fact that he was helping Michael in his little quest.
Yong Soo sighed, but then took a moment to look at him properly.
"Is that… blood?" Yong Soo asked.
"Yes, yes, now get lost," Goran said, already walking away. "There's a possibility that my friends are in trouble and I need to make sure they're alright."
"Wait!" Yong Soo called out. "Did you…"
"Poland understood. He agreed."
And Yong Soo stopped following. Although Goran was interested in seeing how he would have reacted to Bulgaria's death, he had more pressing things to worry about.
…
Ricardo approached Alida. He finally had a chance to calm down, and was ready to do what needed to be done.
She smiled softly when she saw him approach, and he could tell that she was also affected by Mahesh's death, but she didn't show it as clearly as he did.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Sim," Ricardo said. "Let's bring our counterparts to safety."
She nodded, and she turned to the hallway.
"Australia, we're leaving," she called.
A moment later they heard running, and Bruce arrived with a determined expression.
"Right then," he said. "Let's go."
…
The Nations watched as the Deathplayers were pacing, the Poland Deathplayer looking awkward.
"Why didn't you take Felic when you had the chance?" the Romania Deathplayer demanded.
"I was supposed to threaten Goran and make him leave," the Poland Deathplayer said. "Like what happened to Michael. I didn't expect him to go through with it, or for Felic to sacrifice himself. And besides, wasn't someone supposed to follow me in to get Felic?"
"Who?!" the England Deathplayer demanded.
"That might have been me," the Prussia Deathplayer said, looking awkward as well.
"This is the best entertainment I've had in days," Tolys muttered, grinning as the Deathplayers started to argue with each other.
"I take it they're not always like this," Oliver said.
"Nope. Not at all. They're usually on the same page, though they don't socialise with each other much."
"You do realise that they discussed your friend being dead, right?" James asked with an arched eyebrow.
"If I know Felic, he had a plan in mind. And he strikes me as the type of person that would come back from the dead in order to spite you."
Oliver shrugged, having apparently thought along the same lines.
…
"Like, I can't believe that I'm stuck here with you, wherever this is."
"Believe me, I don't like this either," Felic sighed, watching with a bored expression as Feliks was pacing. "Spending time with you in a dark void. I can imagine a thousand things better than this. Like gauging my eyes out."
Feliks glared at him before slumping to the ground, arms and legs folded and pouting.
"Why do we have to be here?" Feliks asked.
"From what I've been told, the two of us share a soul," Felic said. "You're the 'light' half, and I'm the 'dark' half. And since I'm dead now, we've been reunited."
"Like, why'd you do it, anyway? Because I know that there's, like, no way that you would try to be noble."
Felic glared at his counterpart, but considering everything Felic had put him through, he supposed it was understandable that the other would say something like that.
"I was dying of boredom anyway," Felic said. "So I might as well stop the Deathplayers. Right now, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and the Deathplayers are my enemy. Yours too, by the way."
"Like, so you did this to totally spite the Deathplayers?" Feliks asked, blinking in astonishment before grinning widely. "Like, why didn't you say so in the first place?"
Felic smirked lightly. It was probably the first time he and Feliks were on the same page.
Feliks looked up and sighed.
"Like, they're going to pull me back soon, and then I'll be one of them again," Feliks said. "I don't want to."
"Don't worry," Felic said. "I think that overgrown pigeon of yours has a plan."
"Feniksa? Like, what do you mean?"
"It's just a feeling I get. And you know, I suddenly feel something strange."
Feliks looked thoughtful for a moment, before his eyes widened.
"Like, I think our soul has more than two pieces," Feliks said. "Like, Feniksa had to come from somewhere."
"You're right," Felic said. "That phoenix is your spirit animal, and by extension, mine. Do you think…?"
"The phoenix will never die," Feliks whispered. "Like, we should totally try to get the message to the others."
"How?" Felic asked. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're in a dark void."
"Like, we'll find a way," Feliks said. "If there's one thing about me that you should know, I'm stubborn and won't stop unless I get what I want."
"An admirable quality, but that changes nothing."
"Like, we can't just be here in nothingness. There has to be something else here!"
"Like what?"
"I don't know. But we'll find out."
"Why does it sound as though you want to go looking for something in this void?"
Feliks grinned, and Felic groaned, knowing that it was what his counterpart wanted.
"Nie," Felic said. "You can go on your own."
"Like, no way! They're going to call me back any moment, and if they do that before I can find something, then you need to take over."
"Since when are you smart?"
"Hey!"
Felic sighed, before he nodded his head.
"Fine," he said. "I'll help you look for something in this pit of nothingness, but if there really is nothing and I spend an eternity searching, I'm going to acquaint you with hell."
"Fine. Like, deal!"
Felic shook his head as the two of them went off in search of something in the darkness.
…
Ferdinand was on the floor, hugging himself and rocking back and forth when Elizabeta arrived. He had never been so happy to see anyone else in his life.
"Is that…?" Elizabeta asked, looking at the boy on the bed.
"Couldn't leave him… too dangerous," Ferdinand explained.
Elizabeta knelt down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched away, his breathing accelerating and his eyes wide.
"What happened?" Elizabeta asked.
"Too long away from paint," Ferdinand explained. "I see the past. I hear their voices. They're…"
He whimpered, rocking harder. Elizabeta looked helpless.
"Is there someone I should get?" she asked.
"Luis," he said. "I want my twin."
She nodded, looking towards Andrei one more time before she took out her phone, dialling a number, looking between the unconscious Moldovan and the rocking Venezuelan.
"Venezuela, I need you to help me," Elizabeta said. "Your counterpart wants you."
She explained which room they were in before hanging up, and she looked helplessly at the Venezuelan. After a few moments Luis arrived, his eyes immediately falling on Ferdinand.
"What happened?" Luis asked, kneeling down in front of his counterpart.
Ferdinand launched himself at Luis, wrapping his arms around him in a hug.
"I can hear them," Ferdinand said. "They're laughing. A kid is screaming. I'm the kid. Make it stop. Make it stop…"
Luis rubbed his hand on his back, apparently realising what was happening.
"Come on," Luis said. "Let's see if we can get you some paint."
Ferdinand nodded as he allowed his counterpart to lead him away. Luis was the only one that Ferdinand felt safe enough with at the moment.
…
The Nations all looked up at the sudden arrival of Bruce, Alida and Ricardo. Matt nodded his head, as though in understanding.
"What are you doing here?" Jett asked.
"We decided that it would be safer for you to come to our world, since someone seems to have gone on a killing spree," Alida explained.
"How do we know they'll be safe with you?" Alistair asked, moving closer to Matthew.
"Because there is no way that we would harm our counterparts without knowing how it would affect us," Bruce said. "Not that we would harm them."
"We know that you won't harm them," Will said. "But what about others?"
"No one from our side is stupid enough to challenge our wrath, should our counterparts be put in danger," Ricardo said, smirking. "No Southern Nation would harm them, believe me."
The Micro Nations looked nervous, and only Lovino noticed.
"If you want," Alida said, "you five can come with us, and act as their guard dogs there."
"And what about the rest of us?!" Alfred demanded, moving closer to Matthew.
"You're too loud," Alida deadpanned. "There is no way I'm taking you with us. I've already got Lesotho to deal with."
"Wait!" Sheila said, running forward and wrapping her arms around Jett. "Can I come?"
"Yeah," Jack said, walking closer. "Jett is our brother. We don't want to lose him, like we lost Kiwi."
Bruce regarded them for a moment, before sighing.
"Alright," he said. "The two of you can come. That reminds me, I'm going to go look for James. Can any of you show me to his room?"
"I'll go," Rosa volunteered. "Anything to get away from this gringo."
"You do know that your counterparts…"
"I know! Don't tell me! The subject is taboo! Never to be spoken of again!"
"Agreed," Alfred muttered.
…
Goran had gone to the magic trio's room to find his fears confirmed. Oliver had been taken, and Michael couldn't reach his other brothers. Just like how he couldn't reach the friends that he considered family.
"They're gone," Michael whispered. "The Deathplayers took them. And I have no idea what's going to happen to them."
"I suspect the same has happened to the others in Yugoslavia," Goran said, leaning against the wall. "They're going to punish us. But they wouldn't just be happy with taking our loved ones, not knowing what's happening."
"I think they'd let you know what is happening," Marius said. "It's the only thing that I can think of that would be cruel enough."
"The only good thing that came out of this is that we managed to throw the Deathplayers off," Goran said. "I don't know for how long, but I think we managed to buy ourselves some time."
Those who had read Mirror History would know that in the 2P world, Yugoslavia still exists, and they're very close. And Bosnia and Herzegovina have two personifications mostly because of the and part, and somehow I can only see Herzegovina as female, while I can see Bosnia as male. And in the 2P world they're two different Nations.