Thanks to Mx Akiyata and madders10 for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 96: Twin Bond
The bond between twins is strong.
And even more for Nations sharing land.
…
The Reds woke up, and the Deathplayers paid extra attention to Raj, Feliks and Dimitri, though they seemed to be alright. Well, alright in terms of the Reds.
"It's nice that you can join us again," the England Deathplayer said, looking over towards their prisoners. "We have a surprise for you."
The Reds followed the Deathplayer's gaze and smirked when they saw the British siblings and the Yugoslav Nations.
"Have fun," the Romania Deathplayer said.
…
Bruce followed Rosa to James's room, and with every step they took, the Australian's worry grew. He didn't understand it, but after a while he grew worried that something had happened to the New Zealander.
And when the room was in sight, Rosa frowned and hurried closer to speak to Mei, who was standing in the door.
"What happened?" Rosa demanded.
"The other New Zealand is gone," Mei said.
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Bruce demanded, startling the Taiwanese.
"He's not here," she said. "I… someone took him."
Bruce ground his teeth in frustration.
"Has anyone managed to find Ireland yet?" he asked, his voice cold.
"Um, I'm not sure," Mei said, looking up at the Australian nervously.
Said Australian rounded on Rosa.
"Show me where the others are," Bruce demanded. "If he's on a killing spree, then their rooms are a good bet."
The Mexican nodded, and the two rushed towards their next destination, leaving Mei to slump in relief as Lien left the room.
"What happened?" Lien asked.
"He's worried about his friend," Mei said. "And he's a lot scarier than our Australia."
…
Emil and Leon had woken up, and they watched as Goran and Michael were discussing ways to track down their brothers/friends.
"Didn't you say you had a tracking device implanted?" Michael asked.
"Yeah, after what happened to Dalibor," Goran said. "But they've been failing to transmit lately. I was meaning to get to fixing them. Dammit, why didn't I get to it sooner?"
"Murphy's law," Emil said with a bored expression.
The Nations from the other world looked over towards the Icelander with confused expressions, and he sighed in frustration.
"Don't tell me you don't know Murphy's Law?" Emil asked incredulously.
"Care to enlighten us?" Sigurd asked a little too sweetly.
"Whatever can go wrong, will," Leon said. "It's especially true when you don't need it. Like when there's a world meeting and you're supposed to give a presentation and you realise that you left it at home right before the presentation should start."
Emil snickered.
"I've never seen you so red before," Emil said, prompting Leon to glare at him.
Before anyone could say anything else, Bruce and Rosa burst into the room, and the moment Bruce spotted Michael he stormed towards the Irishman, grabbing the front of his shirt and bringing him closer so that they were staring each other in the eyes.
"Where's Jimmy?" Bruce demanded.
Michael looked confused for a moment, before his eyes lit up in recognition, and Bruce shook him for an answer.
"I was going to kill him," Michael said. "But then a Deathplayer interfered. It said something about taking New Zealand away for safekeeping, before saying that it's going to punish me by taking my brothers. And guess what happened."
Bruce growled before pushing the Irishman away. Michael landed on the ground, hissing a little in pain.
Bruce then left the room, Rosa following behind hesitantly.
"I guess it's safe to say he's mad," Marius commented.
"No kidding," Michael said, lifting himself. "But where is he…?"
He cut himself off, his eyes wide. Suddenly he grunted, grabbing onto his side.
"Those bastards," he said, before grunting again.
"What's going on?" Goran asked.
"The Deathplayers created a twin bond between me and Finn, so that I can feel what he feels and see what he sees. It's easy, since we're already twins. Aah! They allowed the Reds to start playing with them. And… Your friends are also there."
Goran hissed in frustration, and he reached out to touch Michael, before hastily retreating his hand.
"I saw it," Goran said. "If I touch you, I can see what you see. And… No."
…
Luis sighed in relief, watching as Ferdinand busied himself with canvas and brush. And considering how much seemed to have happened, it was a good thing that they got him to his anchor in time.
He had received the instructions from Ricardo in how to manage Ferdinand, and one of them was that if Ferdinand lost too much of himself, he could become more dangerous than anyone in the North.
…
When Bruce entered the room, they were all at first confused as to why he didn't have James with him before they noticed his enraged expression. After that, they all grew worried.
"Did Ireland…?" Alida started.
"No," Bruce said, walking towards Ricardo. "The Deathplayers took him. And I want you to find him for me."
Ricardo looked up at the larger Nation before nodding.
"Alright," he said. "But let us go back to our own world first. Somehow, I feel more… vulnerable here."
"Look, we're not going to hurt you," Alfred said, looking resigned at the fact that he wasn't going.
"It doesn't matter," Ricardo said. "The air in your world is just different from ours. And it's the difference that's making me uneasy."
"I agree," Alida said. "You don't have the same malevolent air that we do, and it's only making us more paranoid."
"You get used to it," Matt said, shrugging. "But anyway, are we leaving?"
"I suppose," Alida said, eying Bruce. "We don't really have anything else to do here. Right?"
"We can go," Bruce said, looking at Ricardo one more time before leaving the room.
"Do you even know where the nearest mirror is?" Matt called to the Australian.
Bruce returned, glaring at the Canadian, and Jett chuckled, before he followed his counterpart. One by one they left the room, going towards the nearest mirror.
…
Oliver watched in horror as the Reds were toying with his brothers. He heard their screams clearly, and he could do nothing more than watch.
After a particularly loud scream from Connor, Oliver clamped his hands over his ears and started rocking back and forth, his eyes shut tight.
"Please stop," he whimpered.
He jumped when Tolys nudged him, and he turned to regard the Lithuanian, who was looking straight in front of him. Oliver followed his gaze to see Arthur standing right in front of him, smirking down at him with an insane gleam in his eye.
"It's not so nice, is it, Ollie?" Arthur asked. "To be helpless as someone hurts your brothers as a form of punishment."
Oliver was reminded of when they went to punish Will after they had been turned into women, and he suddenly felt horrible about it.
"And how many times did I ask you to stop?" Arthur continued. "And you seemed to enjoy it. That reminds me."
Arthur crouched down in front of him, and Oliver's eyes widened when a bloody finger was forced into his mouth.
"You enjoy the taste of what's inside the body, if I'm correct," Arthur said.
Oliver pulled away, wondering which one of his brothers' blood it was.
"Stop this," Oliver asked. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. Just… please, let them go! They didn't do anything to you!"
"I believe Connor paid me a visit while you were busy with Will," Arthur said simply. "And your brothers played around with mine. So I see no problem with this."
"I'm sorry," Oliver said, tears streaming down his face.
"Not yet," Arthur said. "But I suppose you should be glad that we can't kill them yet. But once we can, whose heart should we eat first?"
Oliver blanched, remembering that they would eventually merge into one. And he didn't want to consume any of his brothers.
"He might not be my favourite Nation," James said, "but I think you're being harsh."
Arthur turned his attention to James.
"And who are you going to kill first, I wonder," Arthur said.
They were startled when a hand found its way to Arthur's shoulder, and Arthur turned to see Fletcher.
"He's mine," the New Zealander said. "You'll leave him alone."
Arthur snarled, and Fletcher glared back.
"Know your place, Pawn," Fletcher said.
"Very well," Arthur said, throwing Oliver one last look. "Let's see if I can make Duncan scream louder."
Arthur went back towards the screaming Nations and Fletcher watched him go, before turning to leave as well.
"You missed a good rugby match," James said, and Fletcher froze. "It was North against South. The Northern Nations were reluctant to play. I wonder if they would have completely refused if you were playing. I heard you're the best. Anika and Jett didn't like it when it was brought up, but they kind of agreed. I wish I knew how to play. It looked like fun. And someone mentioned that it wasn't the same without the haka, whatever that is."
Fletcher turned back to look at James, his expression unreadable, but there seemed to be a glimmer of sanity underneath.
"When the time comes to kill you," Fletcher said, "I'll make it painless. You don't deserve to suffer more than you need to."
And Fletcher walked away to join the other Reds, and the prone Nations noticed that a few of the Deathplayers were keeping an eye on them.
"What was the point in all that?" Tolys asked.
"An experiment," James said. "At least I know that he can be reached."
Oliver sniffled, before launching himself at James, startling both the New Zealander and the Lithuanian between the two.
"What are you…?" James asked.
"I'm sorry," Oliver sniffled. "I'm sorry for being so mean to you. Can you forgive me?"
James was completely surprised, and he tried to pull away from the Englishman, who only tightened his grip.
"What the hell has gotten into you?" James demanded.
"Language," Oliver scolded. "If only I'd been nicer and didn't hurt as many people, I wouldn't…"
"Do you understand why we Southern Nations don't like your policy of hurting others for fun?"
"Yes. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"I'm not apologising," Tolys said. "None of the games I've played with Felic involved the two of you, and I'm not apologising to people that aren't here."
"Really though, can you let go of me?" James demanded.
…
The Nations took a moment to examine Alida's home, noting how cold it seemed. Ricardo immediately went towards an isolated room, pulling Roberto along with him, Miguel trailing behind.
"Are you sure we're in South Africa?" Jett asked. "It just seems… cold. Is it winter over here?"
"This is normal for my country," Alida said. "You should feel winter. It's spring now."
"The opposite of what it is in my own country," Anika said. "Hey, do you have the Namaqua flowers?"
"I don't think so."
"Oh, too bad. It's always nice to see. It's the one way to know that it's really spring in my country."
"No kidding," Jett said. "About half the world likes to go to see the flowers."
"Are they really that special?" Alida asked.
"Considering the flowers bloom in the middle of a desert, and they only bloom for about three weeks," Anika said, "yes, they're really that special. You should have seen Ivan's face when he saw it for the first time. He especially liked the African daisies, since they look like miniature sunflowers, according to him."
"Then I'll have to see it for myself someday."
"Are there any Nations that we should look out for?" Alistair asked, looking around nervously.
"You might want to stay away from the Oceanic Nations," Alida said. "And perhaps everyone in Central Africa. I'll just warn Portugal about staying away from the South Americans. They don't like him very much."
"Got it," Will said.
…
Francois and Alejandro glared at Gilen, who was reading a book in German. A while ago Rebecca had given him the book, before leaving them to entertain themselves.
"Why would they only bring a German book?" Francois demanded eventually.
"Because I'm too lazy to really torture anyone, and they're being nice to me because of that," Gilen said matter-of-factly. "And because I'm the least likely to bite someone's head off between the three of us."
"Tch," Alejandro scoffed. "What makes you think that?"
"Haven't you been listening to the South's arguments? They like to bring up the past, and all the times we hurt them."
"You actually listen to them?" Francois asked.
"Just in case the North lost the war. It helps to know the philosophies of the different sides."
"Look at you, being all noble," Alejandro scoffed.
They quieted when the door opened, and Manuella entered, carrying a French and a Spanish book.
"Do you have this place bugged?" Alejandro asked, looking around.
Manuella rolled her eyes.
"Keep in mind that Zimbabwe sometimes lives here as well," Manuella said, before leaving the room.
"Damn," Alejandro said. "I forgot that the Nation that's the fondest of surveillance is part of the South."
"You know," Francois said, "I keep getting the feeling that we're constantly being forgotten."
…
When they had finally managed to find Michael and Goran, they tied them up, just in case. Michael kept whimpering, and Marius had to explain that he was feeling what Finn was feeling.
Ludwig sighed, before glancing towards Emil and Leon.
"It would have helped if you'd have called us earlier," Ludwig said.
"We were a little distracted by the fact that we had a Deathplayer here, and that he took one of them," Emil said, pointing towards Sigurd and Marius.
"So they're punishing you now," Ludwig said. "I may not agree with their method, but you do need punishment. A few laps around the grounds would do it."
"We're scientists," Goran said. "You can't…"
"I can, and I will. Now, I'm going to check on the others. You two stay put."
"Not that we have a choice," Goran muttered.
…
Roberto watched as Ricardo went to the other plane, Miguel standing nearby, keeping an eye on both Brazilians. Roberto realised that Ricardo wanted him nearby, should anything go wrong, and he would make sure that he didn't disappoint his counterpart.
…
Ricardo shivered. He never thought he would feel this cold while taking a psychic trip.
He was in some sort of cavern, the sounds of screaming echoing all around him. And he immediately saw who he was looking for.
James, Tolys and Oliver, with the last clamping his ears shut as the Nation's brothers were attacked. So the Northern Nations did care about others.
You're not supposed to be here.
He twisted around, before spotting several Deathplayers. Most of them were watching the Reds, and some were watching the three captured Nations. But there were others that were a distance away that were watching him.
What do you hope to accomplish, little Knight?
Do you think that you'd be able to find them?
You can't delay the inevitable.
You need to leave.
No, perhaps while we keep you here, we'll go after little Roberto, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Hearing the last statement made him panic, and he felt two forces tugging him. The first was the Deathplayers, intending to keep him there while they went after Roberto. The other was a bit more benevolent.
Naturally, he allowed the other presence to tug him and pull him closer.
He blinked when he arrived in a dark space, trying to figure out where he was.
"Thank goodness," a familiar voice said. "For a moment, I thought they'd get you."
His eyes widened when he saw Mahesh, who smiled at him warmly.
"We'll just need to wait for the other two to arrive," Mahesh said.
Ricardo stepped closer to Mahesh, before he embraced him, pulling the other closer.
"I thought you were dead," Ricardo said.
"I am," Mahesh said, placing a hand on the back of Ricardo's head.
Ricardo pulled back to regard the other, and upon seeing the sad expression on the other's face, he buried his head in the other's neck.
"Why you?" Ricardo asked. "Why did it have to happen to you?"
"Hey, doesn't anybody care about me?" another voice suddenly said. "I'm dead too, you know."
"Yeah, but you kind of deserved it," yet another familiar voice said.
Ricardo moved away from Mahesh to see Felic and Nicolai standing there.
"How?" he asked.
"Our halves of our souls went to reunite with our counterparts'," Mahesh said. "However, it's still too early in the Deathplayers' game, so we're trapped here, and our souls are useless to them. I think we're stuck here."
"Actually," Felic said, "I think there's another way. You see, somehow, my idiot counterpart managed to create a third version of our soul, and it's currently in the form of an overgrown pigeon."
"A third counterpart?" Mahesh said, before his eyes widened. "Wait, isn't there a phoenix on the other side?"
"Like I said, an overgrown pigeon."
"A phoenix has a cycle of life and death," Mahesh continued, basically ignoring Felic. "It's like what Raj told me about one of his beliefs. It goes along with karma. Reincarnation."
This caught the others' attentions.
"What are you saying?" Nicolai asked.
"It's going to take a fair bit of magic, but if we can do this right…" Mahesh said.
"What are you going on about?" Felic demanded.
"Ricardo, do you think you can create another world?" Mahesh asked. "A place outside the physical realm?"
"I already wander it…" Ricardo started.
"Not one that already exists, but a world of your own creation. A world that only a few can reach. We'll need magic beyond the capabilities of the physical, in other words we'll need the metaphysical. Do you think you can do that?"
"I don't think I have enough magic."
"Then I'll help you. My magic touch allows me to strengthen the magic of others. Good thing it's tied to our souls, and not our bodies. If you manage, then call the three of us to that world. If my plan works, then we might be able to put a stop to the Deathplayers, once and for all."
I just need to write one more chapter of Ve, We Totally Fooled You before I start posting. I've also been working on Player 2, Continue, when I feel in the mood for playing HetaOni again. Interesting fact: It seems as though when you create a new game file after already completing a game, you get the option of disabling the random chases by Steve. I love that. There was one time I cursed my computer because Steve appeared right behind me after a cutscene. How the hell am I supposed to run from that?
And because of exams, I ended up disappointing my sister. I opted to stay for the weekend near my university because I have to study, and she wanted to have a horror movie night on Friday the 13th. Horror movie nights are what we do as a form of sisterly bonding. And since she had her own exams, we couldn't do it on Halloween, and now Friday the 13th is out too. And I feel bad about it because it's her matric exams, and she's been stressed and unapproachable, and she was the one that tried to reach out to me, and now I can't make her happy. Yet more reasons to hate exams.