Thanks to madders10, stormpix and Lovesbugsalot for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 97: Creating a New Game

We've played a game without knowing the rules.

Our opponents had the upper hand.

But let's see how they like it.

We'll create our own game.

…

When Ricardo opened his eyes, it was to see two pairs of green eyes looking at him in concern.

"Are you alright?" Roberto asked.

"I'm fine," Ricardo said, standing up.

His head was swimming from all that he had been through, and everything that Mahesh had said. And he could see it working, somewhat.

"You were out a pretty long time," Miguel said. "It's almost dinnertime."

"Oh," Ricardo said, not exactly paying attention to what the other had said. "There are a few things I need to do."

The other two exchanged a glance, but Ricardo didn't bother with it. There were a few people that he needed to see, and most of them were in the other world.

He sought out the one that was in their world first, knowing that he would want an answer. When he finally found Bruce, it was to see him discussing wildlife with Jett.

"New Zealand is fine," Ricardo said, startling the two Australians. "He's unharmed, though he's forced to listen to the British Nations' screaming. If you need me, I'll be in the other world."

He didn't give them a chance to respond, but immediately went to find a mirror. And as it so happened, he passed Alida on the way.

"I need you to fill a room with as many mirrors as possible," he said.

She blinked in surprise, before her eyes narrowed.

"What are you scheming?" she asked.

He smirked, before he continued on his way.

"We're going to create a new game," Ricardo said.

…

Feniksa fluttered towards the nearest mirror, waiting for the Nation to arrive. It knew that it was time. Someone finally managed to figure it out.

…

"I see you're back to painting about Nations being attacked by the Beasts," Luis commented.

"They wanted to help the other Deathplayers, so they took a break," Ferdinand explained.

"You know, I thought they'd attack Ireland, since it was the one from your world that caused them problems."

"No, they wouldn't do it. They know the two Irelands aren't that close. So there's no point in punishing one for what the other did. Now, if it was one of us that caused trouble, then they would have gone for one of us."

"Are we really that close?"

"Wouldn't you say so? Because you're the only person I trust near me when I'm losing myself."

Luis was surprised, but shrugged. He did like Ferdinand's company, and he felt extremely protective over the other. So he supposed that he was close enough to his counterpart for something like that, should the Deathplayers find any reason to punish one of them.

Ferdinand suddenly paused, and Luis immediately grew concerned.

"Is something wrong?" Luis asked.

"Nothing wrong," Ferdinand said. "But I… I can't tell anymore, since the Deathplayers might hear. Excuse me. I need to find someone."

Luis watched in confusion as his counterpart left the room, and he wondered what Ferdinand had sensed.

…

Lobsang was on his way to see Ricardo. He didn't know how he knew it, but he could sense that something was happening that had to do with the Deathplayers but that wasn't caused by him.

And apparently he wasn't the only one, as Ferdinand seemed to also have sensed it and was on his own way to the same location. Lobsang considered walking alongside the Venezuelan, but decided against it. Everyone knew that it was dangerous to keep Ferdinand still when he didn't have something to distract him. Same thing applied to getting him to slow down when he obviously had no intention of doing so.

Lobsang didn't know the particular details about what had happened to Ferdinand, but he knew that a lot of Nations were involved and they were a lot older than the Venezuelan had been. And it was useless to ask any of the Europeans. They had a talent for avoiding that particular subject, not out of shame, but because the details could prove a dangerous catalyst. In the political climate surrounding their own world, it could possibly send the Southern Nations in an absolute frenzy in order to avenge the Venezuelan, or at least that was Lobsang's perspective of the situation. Still, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the other. Both of them were able to trace the Deathplayers' actions, but Ferdinand's means of getting the ability was far from desirable.

Eventually they both reached the room where they were supposed to be. It was a bedroom, and judging by the lack of personal effects and the general neatness of the room, it was unused. And now Lobsang had to question how, with the amount of Nations in the building, it was possible for a bedroom to be unused. Exactly how many rooms were there?

Lobsang saw a bird –a phoenix – in front of the mirror, and knew it could sense it should be there as well. But what could a bird do? What was the significance?

The three of them waited for a few moments, until finally he appeared. Ricardo looked surprised to see them, but shook his head.

"Are there any Deathplayers that can listen to our conversation here?" Ricardo asked.

"You're safe," Lobsang said. "Now, why are we here? And how did we know to come here?"

"Mahesh and the others said they would beckon the two of you closer."

"But India is…"

"Sim, I know. They're currently on another plane of existence. A plane that I could reach, after they guided me. And we've devised a plan, but it involves creating a new plane of existence. Somewhere the Deathplayers couldn't reach. We thought your inner eye could prove useful," he turned to Ferdinand, "as well as your own ability to be on several planes of existence simultaneously."

"What do you need?" Lobsang asked.

"Meditate. Find a place you think is safe. I'll find you." He then picked up the bird. "You, meanwhile, are coming with me. I'll explain once we're safe to converse freely."

Ferdinand and Lobsang nodded, and they watched as Ricardo walked through the mirror, carrying the phoenix and returning to their own world.

"I don't know what he's planning," Lobsang said, "but it could prove to be either really good or really bad."

…

Lovino watched as the remaining Micro Nations played a game. Risk, in fact. He had tried to warn them that it wasn't a good idea to play it with so many Nations around, and of course it had the effect of making them want to play it even more.

He would need to have a little chat with the British brothers about the presence of the game in the building.

A few Nations had passed through, but they only seemed annoyed at the game, and didn't comment on it. Luckily Russia or Belarus weren't nearby when Peter claimed Russia. That would not have been pretty.

Lovino ignored the other Nations when they told him that there was no reason to keep an eye on the kids anymore, since Alexandru was no longer with the group, but Lovino disagreed, saying that he was keeping an eye on his younger brother. And he was.

Their eyes weren't blank anymore, but they had been earlier. They were blank when Sheila and Jack had asked to accompany Jett to the other world. And the Italian knew that there would be something happening between them and the Australian.

And Lovino couldn't warn anyone because the Deathplayers would hurt his younger brother, and he couldn't allow that to happen.

And also, it was interesting to see Francesco's reactions with the game. He even said something about taking a copy for Luciano.

…

A few of the Deathplayers were to the side, watching the Reds and keeping an eye on the Nations, but standing at a distance where they couldn't be heard by either group.

"Ricardo was here," the Brazil Deathplayer said.

"Do you think he knows where this place is?" the Lithuania Deathplayer asked.

"No. But where did he go? I know I had started to bind him to this place, before he disappeared. He shouldn't have disappeared."

"Perhaps there are other players in the game?" the France Deathplayer asked.

"Players that we don't know about? Something fishy is going on."

"I think it's perhaps time for us to add Roberto to our collection," the Romania Deathplayer said.

"Perhaps you're right."

…

Roberto was a little surprised when Ricardo grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him along the moment he had returned, Miguel following behind to keep an eye on his former colony. But Roberto was even more off-guard when he saw the bird perched on his counterpart's shoulder.

"You were fast," Roberto observed as he was dragged along.

"Everyone that I wanted to see sensed that I was coming and were waiting for me," Ricardo explained. "Saved me the trouble of looking for them."

"What are you planning?" Miguel asked.

"Tell me, do you still have your magic touch?" Ricardo asked, ignoring Miguel's question.

"What do you mean 'still'?"

"I'll explain later. Well, do you?"

"Sim, of course. What is this about?"

"What does your magic touch involve?"

"I can see spirits, and I can do a few minor spells, but…"

"Good," Ricardo said. "The spirit part will be enough."

"What's going on?" Roberto asked.

"We're going to create a new world on the psychic plane," Ricardo explained. "One where the Deathplayers can't reach us. And there, we'll create a game of our own. We need to make sure the Deathplayers don't catch wind of it. And they do have the tendency to spy."

"Aren't you afraid they might have heard that then?" Miguel asked.

Roberto didn't need Ricardo to tell him that he was counting on it. The Deathplayers weren't all-knowing. If something happened, then they watched how events would unfold. They were playing a game of chess, after all. Half of the game involved meticulous planning, creating a strategy to defeat your opponent that he wouldn't see coming. The other half was figuring out your opponent's strategy. Moves and countermoves. And if one opponent could figure out the other's strategy, they would change their own. But sometimes it involved allowing things to run their course until you could figure it out.

Roberto was really glad that he had asked Yao for those tips.

Ricardo stopped as soon as he saw Alida, and Roberto sighed in relief.

"You were fast," Alida said. "Your mirror room is still being prepped."

"Obrigado," Ricardo said. "I just wanted to know that."

"Then why are you dragging me around?" Roberto asked.

"While I was on the other side, I ran into a few Deathplayers," Ricardo said, turning to face Roberto. "They were threatening you. So I'm keeping you close until we manage to do what we need to do."

"And that would be?"

"I'll explain when it's safe, alright?"

"You're really paranoid about this," Miguel observed.

"Think about it. They managed to catch wind of everything. They could even invade our visions. We managed to enter a level where they couldn't reach. But there's nothing there, and it's very tricky to enter. We're going to have to create our own version of a place like that."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Alida said.

…

Jack and Sheila were watching the Brazilian's group from a distance, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"We need to find out what Ricardo's up to," Jack said.

"I agree," Sheila said. "We'd also need to work on Aussie."

"I'm thinking finding out what the Brazilians are scheming is more important. But we'll need to keep our cover."

"Agreed. Let's find Lucy and Andrew."

…

Yao stared at Lobsang for a moment. The Tibetan appeared to be meditating, and if it wasn't for the fact that this one had hair, he would have thought that it was his own Tibetan.

"Dinner's ready," Yao said.

"Not eating," Lobsang said. "Need to concentrate."

Yao pouted, but it was nothing new to him.

"You and Choden are extremely similar," Yao said.

"We can analyse my similarities with my counterpart later. But for now, I need to meditate, and I would prefer if everyone left me alone. I'll get something to eat later."

"Definitely like Choden," Yao muttered, but left the other alone.

…

"Here we are," Matthew said, as he, Matt and Alistair arrived with a bowl of poutine and empty plates.

"I still don't get why everyone has to make their own food," Jett said as he took an empty plate and started dishing himself some of the food.

"No one in this world trusts another Nation in the kitchen," Bruce said, staring at Matt suspiciously. "I'm surprised you don't have a problem."

"Got used to them cooking," Matt shrugged. "And it's better than my own. The only real rule that exists in their world regarding the kitchen is not to allow the British siblings to cook."

Said British siblings grumbled in annoyance.

"That bad?" Bruce asked.

"You need to have a stomach of steel and zero taste buds to eat their food," Jett said. "Hey, Annie. I was thinking that the two of us should have a barbie tomorrow. You in?"

Anika smirked.

"It's been a while since I've had a braai," Anika said. "I just hope Alida has decent meat available."

"That reminds me," Will said. "You said you have trouble trusting another Nation in the kitchen, but you'll take food from another Nation's kitchen?"

"That's because no one dares to poison ingredients," Bruce said. "There's a chance you might slip up and eat something you yourself poisoned. So ingredients are safe. And I'm curious about eating your food now. I've never seen anything like that before."

Matthew smiled.

"I hope you enjoy it," he said.

…

Khemet smiled softly as she sat between her two sons-turned-daughters. She had the memories of both Eshe and Enehy, and she felt the same amount of love for both of them.

She felt bad about what had happened to Omar. It broke a mother's heart to discover that something horrible had happened to her child. And something like that was certainly horrible.

Omar seemed a little upset because Alida had arrived and taken Anika back with her, and now Omar had neither South Africa to watch over. Gupta had suggested that they go and join the others as soon as they had finished eating. Khemet, of course, had asked to go as well.

Enehy still had to thank Alida for everything she had done to help Omar after he was attacked all those centuries ago.

…

Miguel and Roberto watched as Ricardo appeared to be meditating. They tried to focus on Ricardo, since the rest of the room was more than a little creepy for them.

An entire room full mirrors, and none of them had a reflection. They figured that it was because both counterparts were in the same world, but it was still a little unnerving. The only living thing that had a reflection was the phoenix that was perched atop Ricardo's head, its own eyes closed.

They didn't know what Ricardo intended to do, but they hoped that he knew what he was doing.

Ricardo opened his eyes, and he looked over towards his two observers.

"We need to form a circle," Ricardo said, holding out his hands.

The other two exchanged a look before sitting down, taking Ricardo's outstretched hands and then taking each other's hands as well. Ricardo closed his eyes, and they followed his example.

Immediately they could both feel as they were being tugged towards another place. It was a void, but gradually things started to appear. Sixteen mirrors forming a circle, and in the centre of it all was what appeared to be a circular stone altar. Surrounding the altar was green grass, and the sky couldn't be found.

"What is this place?" Miguel asked.

"It's our own psychic realm," Ricardo explained. "Tibet and Ferdinand are working on it as well. They're making sure that the Deathplayers can't find their way inside. As soon as they're done, they'll come too, and so will a few other guests."

"What is the point in all of this?" Roberto asked.

Ricardo sighed.

"We already know that the Deathplayers are working to get your side first," Ricardo said. "And then they'll focus on my side. Poland somehow managed to make a third side with his phoenix, and… Um, where is the phoenix?"

"Here," a voice said.

They turned to see someone that looked like a combination of the two Polands. He had Feliks's blond hair and Felic's blue eyes. He wore a simple white poet's shirt with black pants, and no shoes.

"You're the phoenix?" Roberto asked.

"In this world, yes," Feniksa said. "Finally, I can talk to someone. Do you have any idea what it's like to have so much to say, but no one to say it to?"

"You're definitely like Poland," Roberto remarked. "So, who are we waiting for?"

"Tibet and Ferdinand," Ricardo said, "as well as Poland, Bulgaria and Mahesh. We just need to make sure our theory will work before we invite more Nations to be involved."

"And what are we being involved in?" Miguel asked.

"A new game."

…

It had taken a while, but eventually everyone that was supposed to be there was there. Felic was keeping an eye on Feniksa, finding it hard to believe that he was the 'overgrown pigeon'. Lobsang was also looking towards the phoenix with some degree of curiosity.

"Alright then," Ricardo said. "Are we sure that the Deathplayers can't access this place?"

"Yep," Ferdinand said, smiling brightly. "They can't reach this place at all. They're annoyed with that."

"But are they curious?"

"Yep."

"That should buy us some more time," Lobsang said. "Now, can you tell us what this is all about?"

As far as I can tell, Australians seem about as fond of barbeques as South Africans. Heritage Day in South Africa is nicknamed 'braai day', and have you ever smelt the smoke of an entire neighbourhood having a barbecue at the same time? I'll admit, that's one of the most heavenly scents in the world. So at some point either Jett or Anika would have suggested it.

Also, great news! I've finished ten chapters of Ve, We Totally Fooled You, which is kind of my quota before I start posting something, and I'll start posting on Monday. There will be a few OCs, but they each play a significant role, and some of the characters are OOC, but that's the point. I also won't be describing the OCs, leaving their appearance to the imagination, and I won't really refer to them by their human names except in some cases where they refer to each other in dialogue, so it's going to be easier to keep track of them than in this story.