Thanks to claire, ABCSonicKirbyWarriors, Lovesbugsalot, madders10 and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 103: Puppet on Strings

The illusion is broken.

Once the strings are seen, the marionette loses its magic.

And once the puppeteer is seen, then all the wonder is gone.

…

"Calm down," Lobsang said, seeing Jett panicking.

The Australian was pacing frantically, his hands buried in his hair. Everyone was watching him.

"How can I calm down?" Jett asked. "My younger brother and sister are puppets of the Deathplayers, most likely to be used against me to turn me into a Red."

"But they haven't done anything yet," Anika pointed out.

"She's right," Matthew said. "And they shouldn't do anything. At least not yet. They'd be trying to figure out what happened with Roberto."

"But as long as you act like you don't know they're puppets, they're not going to act," Felic said. "They're going to act as though everything's normal."

"And I wait for them to do something that'll push me over the edge?" Jett asked. "What did they do to the others to push them over the edge, huh?"

The others were silent.

"They got them alone," Anika said. "Or as alone as possible. And they messed with their heads."

"So you shouldn't be alone with your Micro Nations," Oliver said. "We should probably tell Brucie too."

"You don't get to call him by his human name," James said, glaring at Oliver darkly. "Not after everything you've done to the two of us."

"Aw, but Jamie…"

"Don't. You. Dare."

Lobsang cleared his throat, preventing whatever would have happened. Jett sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"So what do we do now?" Jett asked.

"Take care of the eggs you got," Ricardo said. "We're not sure whether or not this messed with the Deathplayers' game or not."

"We think so," Tolys said. "They're frantic. And confused."

"And until they can figure out how to fix their game, they're going to be out of the picture for a while," Ferdinand said.

"Good," Ricardo said. "So let's gather as many eggs as possible."

"From a tactical point," Felic said, "I propose we wait until we have all the eggs, and that every egg has hatched."

"That's what I would have gone with," Tolys said.

"It's less suspicious than everyone disappearing one by one," Felic continued.

"And it also gives us time to figure out who's going to take care of each of us," Ricardo said.

"Netherlands," Anika said, looking at Jett, who looked taken aback.

"Do you honestly think he's the best choice?" Jett asked. "I mean, most of his colonies didn't go so well…"

"Hey, I prefer him over England," Anika pointed out.

"I wouldn't mind Scotland taking care of me," Matthew said.

"And I guess I'm okay with one of the others," Jett said.

"Well, you seem sorted out," Ricardo said. "The rest of us…"

Oliver was looking at the former British colonies from the other world with an odd expression on his face. James saw this and narrowed his eyes.

"What's up with you?" he asked, drawing everyone's attention to the Englishman.

"My brothers are captured by the Deathplayers," Oliver said. "I don't care how, but someone needs to get them out."

"I suppose we can see what we can do," Ricardo said. "It's in some cave, right?"

"Taip," Tolys said. "And while you're at it, can you get us out too?"

"We still need to find out in which world you are."

"That should be easy," Matthew said. "We don't have reflections if both counterparts are in the same world."

"Why would that be easy?" Oliver asked.

"Because your brothers' counterparts are in our world right now," Ricardo said.

…

Sheila was standing outside the mirror room, blank eyes narrowed at the occupants of said room. She tried to enter, but it felt as though she had been electrocuted. She stepped back, hissing.

She turned to see Jack, who was looking at her with equally blank eyes.

"We would need to wait," he said. "We'll get him alone soon enough."

She nodded her head.

"Now we'll need to hide," she said. "Andrew will come looking soon enough."

…

Alistair smirked as he entered the room again. He flinched a little at the sonic torture, but managed to shake his head clear. He had something to do.

"So, are you going to agree now?" he asked.

"JA!" Gilen shouted. "Just stop this!"

Alistair undid the spell, and the other three sighed in relief, though they glared at the Scotsman.

"So," Alistair began, "if you're reborn, do you have any preferences as to who your caretakers should be?"

"Portugal," Alejandro said.

"Lutz," Gilen said.

Francois sighed, deep in thought. He turned his gaze to Alistair after a few moments.

"South Italy," Francois said.

Alistair raised an eyebrow, but he shrugged, turning to leave the room.

"Ricardo will come to tell you more about it later," Alistair said, leaving the three in silence.

…

Elizabeta jumped when Ivan entered the room, looking towards Andrei.

"What are you doing here, Russia?" the Hungarian asked.

"You need rest," Ivan said. "I'll look after little Andrei."

"Um, I'm not sure…"

"I will not harm him," Ivan said. "I like him. Even if he doesn't like me that much. But it's more Viktor that he doesn't like, and not really me, da?"

"I'm not so sure…"

"It's boring here with little Roberto and Anika in the other world. And little Matvey too. I want to protect someone."

Elizabeta blinked in surprise, not having expected this from Russia, of all Nations.

Perhaps she didn't know him that well after all.

"Alright," she said. "But if there's one scratch on him, you'll meet my frying pan."

Ivan smiled.

"And what makes Hungary think that she can reach my head?" he asked.

"Who said I'll be aiming for your head?"

…

Ricardo's group went to join the others in the living room. Anika, Jett and Matthew were each carrying an egg.

Alida, Bruce and Matt all stood once they saw their counterparts approaching.

"Is it our turn now?" Alida asked.

"If you'd like," Ricardo said.

"I think you should go and see Franny's counterpart and the others first," Alistair said. "They've agreed to do it. And they want your Portugal, Germany and South Italy looking after them."

Ricardo sighed, but nodded his head. Matthew frowned in confusion.

"That reminds me," he said. "What are we going to do about Gilbert? I mean, he's not a Nation anymore."

"What?" Alida asked.

"Prussia's been dissolved in their world," Matt said.

"That could prove tricky," Ricardo said. "We could try taking his egg to the counterpart of our Prussia's capital."

"What's that again?" Jett asked.

"Königsberg," Bruce said.

"It's been renamed," Miguel said. "It's Kaliningrad now."

His arm was almost completely healed, but it still needed time.

"And what about me?" Anika asked. "Are we taking it to Cape Town, Bloemfontein or Pretoria?"

"I think we should go with the one that's closest to your heart," Alida said.

There was silence for a moment.

"Kaapstad," Anika and Alida said simultaneously.

"Well they've sorted it out," Alistair said, rolling his eyes. "You three. Why don't you make a list of Nations to look after everyone?"

"Alright," Matthew said, and Jett gave a thumbs-up.

Alistair grinned, before he followed Ricardo to the three bedridden Nations.

"Is there a reason why you asked them to do that?" Ricardo asked.

"Aye," Alistair said. "To keep them from getting bored. If they're bored, then something might happen. They could end up thinking about the others that have been turned into Reds. And they might worry, and…"

"And that might cause them to get closer to being claimed as Reds," Ricardo finished. "I see. You're smarter than you look."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

…

Sheila was hiding in the library when the Australia Deathplayer appeared. She came out from her hiding place, looking up at the Deathplayer.

"I need you and your brother to get your counterparts alone together," the Deathplayer said. "We'll add more puppets to our show."

"Of course," she said. "And what about Jett?"

"Keep an eye on them for now. Find out what they're doing. And if you can, put a stop to it."

"Of course."

…

The Deathplayers had sent the Reds to sleep again, while they tried to figure out what exactly had happened to Roberto. It was something that they had never seen before. Something new and unpredictable. Something that wasn't included in their game.

It didn't slip their notice that three of their prisoners kept nodding off, apparently, and they wondered if they knew anything about it. Their other prisoners were behaving themselves, at least until it was playtime for the Reds.

They were debating whether they should hurry along with the Reds or wait and see what could happen. They wanted to know if their game was in danger, and they wanted to know how.

…

Alida, Bruce and Matt were watching as their counterparts assigned Nations to take care of everyone. They didn't even need to double check. It just worked so… easily.

"Must be nice," Alida commented.

"Yeah," Matt said. "Sometimes I really envy them."

"I understand what you mean," Bruce said. "I wonder what it would be like to not have to worry about someone trying to kill you."

"It would be too strange," Alida said.

"If you want a general idea," Matt said, "try staying in the other world for a few days."

…

Ivan had noticed that an egg had appeared next to Andrei, but he didn't touch it. He didn't know what it was, but something told him not to hurt it.

He looked up when someone entered the room, and he frowned when he saw Ferdinand, looking as though he had been running all over the place. The Venezuelan leaned against the doorframe, panting in exertion.

"Privet," Ivan greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Is there an… egg?" Ferdinand panted.

Ivan looked towards the bed, and Ferdinand sighed in relief. He went towards the egg and picked it up, cradling it to his chest.

"Thanks," Ferdinand said, before he left the room.

Ivan pondered what had just happened. He knew that the Venezuelan was insane, so the action didn't surprise him too much. But the fact that the other knew that the egg was already there…

Well, that was just a little suspicious.

He turned to Andrei's unconscious body and smiled.

"Looks like your Venezuela is up to something," he said. "But if he causes problems for us, then he will need to be punished, da?"

…

"You think they're still busy?" Mathias asked.

Gabriel opened the door.

"We're not finished!" Sigurd's voice shouted.

Gabriel closed the door again, nodding.

The Nordics were forced to leave the room in order for Marius and Sigurd to discuss all they have been told by Lobsang and Ferdinand. And it turned out to be a long discussion.

"I don't see what's taking them so long," Emil huffed. "It's a simple 'yes' or 'no'."

"Not so simple," Gabriel sighed. "It's a choice between life and death. After all, there's no guarantee that they'd be the same, or have their memories. Tibet said so."

"And think of it from their perspective," Tino said. "Would you do something like that?"

Emil huffed, looking to the side. They all knew that it wasn't an easy decision. They were Nations, after all. Death didn't cross their minds often, if ever.

They would need to wait for them to come to a conclusion. But the fate of two worlds hung in the balance. And Lobsang had said that it couldn't be done unless it was a willing sacrifice.

…

"This is ridiculous," Marius said. "Why can't we decide?"

"It's because that would mean dying," Sigurd said. "And we don't know if we'll be us when we come back."

"True," Marius sighed. "And then we have to trust another Nation to take care of us."

"And that would mean placing non-existent trust in someone else."

The two sighed.

"It's strange, being on the other side, isn't it?" Marius asked.

"We're reminded about how we were to our little brothers," Sigurd said. "And we don't want the same thing to happen to us."

"And things are worse. Nations are normally physically toddlers when their lives begin. We have to become babies. We'd be even more helpless, unable to do anything for ourselves… Completely reliant on someone else."

"Maybe we shouldn't focus on the bad parts," Sigurd said. "Why don't we think about the good parts?"

"Such as?"

"Ruining the Deathplayers' game."

Marius grinned at that thought.

"That is a good thing," Marius said. "And maybe we can make sure that we won't be part of their games ever again."

"But we need to think of something that would stop them as well," Sigurd said. "Preferably permanently."

"Do you think that having their game disrupted would weaken them?" Marius asked.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"There are too many things we don't know. What if we go through with what they suggested and they still proceed with their game?"

Sigurd didn't have an answer to that. He was silent for a long moment, before a thought struck him.

"They said they've already tried it with the Brazil of this world," Sigurd said. "And they said that they can communicate with Ollie. Maybe Ollie can tell us."

Marius sighed.

"We need to call Tibet," Marius said. "And we need to tell him that we would only make a decision after speaking to Oliver. Alright?"

Sigurd nodded, and they called the Nordics back into the room.

…

As soon as Miguel's arm was sufficiently healed Will handed the Portuguese the Brazilian infant. Miguel smiled down at his former colony, who cooed back at him.

They didn't think about what would happen once the Brazilian's boss found out about this. Or any of the other bosses. They were just focused on getting each of the Nations to others that would take care of them.

They would need to pay attention to their human needs for now. And for a while, they would be babies that needed to be taken care of by people they considered family.

…

Francois, Gilen and Alejandro looked around. They were rather impressed with the world that Ricardo had architected, and they were also relieved to be able to stand again.

"So how is this going to work?" Alejandro asked.

"All you need to do is stand in front of the mirrors," Ricardo sighed. "The process is complete when the reflections change."

"And what of our counterparts?" Francois asked.

"We still need to test that part," Ricardo said. "But I'll inform you once we're ready."

"Fine," Gilen said. "Let's just get this over with."

"Wait," Francois said. "What if we test it out right now?"

"It'll definitely spare us a trip," Alejandro said.

"Fine," Ricardo said. "If you insist."

…

Alistair was keeping an eye on Ricardo and the others. Ricardo was sitting in a chair that they had dragged closer, gripping Alejandro's hand, and so it went on, each of them holding someone's hand.

Alistair had to make sure that nothing happened to them while they were under. He and Ricardo had created a magical barrier, which would hopefully keep the Deathplayers out and prevent them from learning about their plans. Alistair had to make sure that the barrier remained strong.

He jumped when something pressed against the edge of the barrier. He whirled around to see the England Deathplayer outside the door, leaning against the barrier.

"Well now," the Deathplayer said. "It would seem someone is happy to have their magic returned to full power."

"Get out of that form," Alistair said.

"I think not. As long as our game is ongoing, this is my form now."

"And what'll you do when your game is over?"

The Deathplayer narrowed his eyes.

"What makes you think our game would be over?" he asked. "It'll last until all of the Nations are dead."

"And what then?" Alistair asked. "What'll happen if all the Nations are dead? What are you going to do then?"

"Nations come and go all the time. New ones shall rise from the ashes of the old ones. We will always have playthings."

"Then why are you doing this, if there are only going to be new Nations?"

"Because the current Nations had been around for far too long. It's unfair. I had been a Nation for three days before I ceased to exist. You… how long have you been around?"

Alistair flinched. The Deathplayer had a point. It wasn't fair.

Many Nations had blinked out of existence soon after they had come to be. Alistair had always felt sorry for those poor souls.

But after everything the Deathplayers had done, he was sure that he could never feel pity for these… monsters.

The Deathplayer seemed to be sensing what he was thinking, for he smirked nastily.

"I don't expect you to feel sorry for us," he said. "And we don't want it either. We want nothing like that from you."

"Then what do you want?" Alistair asked.

"Haven't you been listening? We want the end of Nations. And then the Micro Nations will be the first to become the new Nations, and they will become our new playthings. And there might be other Micro Nations, just like how there would be other Nations, and the process will keep repeating and repeating. You've been around for too long. New ones will take your place, and we will destroy those Nations, just like we will destroy you."

"And what about our people?"

The Deathplayer chuckled.

"We don't care about them," the Deathplayer said. "The humans are insignificant."

"Maybe that's why you didn't live long," Alistair said.

The Deathplayer narrowed his eyes.

"Whatever it is that you're doing," the Deathplayer said, "you will not win."

"And what makes you think that?" Alistair asked.

"We've played many games, with different results. Once we learn what you're doing, your last shred of hope will fade. Tell me, what would happen if we were to take those eggs?"

Alistair's eyes narrowed, and the Deathplayer chuckled.

"That's all I needed to know," the Deathplayer said, before he disappeared.

Alistair widened his eyes. The Deathplayer had only come to find out whether or not the eggs were important. And unintentionally, Alistair had confirmed it.

He had been played.

Okay, so a possible solution regarding Prussia. I actually had to double check his capital. And South Africa, of course, has three capital cities. Cape Town is the oldest, and generally the place that everyone wants to be, being near the ocean and all, which is why Anika and Alida say it's the one closest to their hearts.

Well, that's it for now. Happy New Year, everyone.