Hey again! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I also realized that there is such a thing as "card-verse" in Hetalia. Though this story has to do with playing cards in a way, it definitely has nothing to do with card-verse. So sorry if you were looking forward to that, though if you read the first chapter you would definitely know that this didn't have to do with Card-verse.

Other than that, the story will continue. Sorry that the story line progresses so quickly in the first couple of chapters. I wrote it in a format that would be sort of like the HetaOni game. The story line progresses fairly quickly throughout the whole thing, but it's a horror story and everyone's running for their lives anyway.

Also, so far, there are no pairings intended. But there may be some later.

Chapter Two: A Nation's Duty

It was pretty much a safe room. The door was heavily reinforced, enough so that they had to force their way in and the door locked itself once it closed behind them. Inside, there was a shelf full of jerky and jugs of water. Someone had been in here, and they had been prepared. Italy quickly pulled some of the jerky down and ate quickly, glad for any sort of food. America however was slightly more hesitant. Why would there be food stored like this in a place like this? Who had left it all prepared. But the gnawing hunger in his stomach made him at last pull some down and eat some.

There were claw marks everywhere. Whoever had been in here before had been attacked. This room was safe for a while, but not forever. America doubted anywhere would be safe forever. He and Italy were nations. They knew of war, and they knew of senseless murder. Usually, nations couldn't die. But something about this house shook them to their core. It gave them a fear, a purpose, and a knowledge they'd never had before: that they could die. America could see it as he looked at the claw marks and the long blood stained walls.

He knew the place wouldn't be safe for very long, and Italy knew it too. They had experienced too much fighting for that idea to stick in their heads. They simply checked what was here, then gathered as much food and water as they could carry. This room had probably been used before by the black ghost and his group, the king. It made America wonder. They were probably really good friends, and in this house that friendship had been deeply tested. They could have fallen apart. But he knew as he glanced at the other timid nation that they couldn't. The world needed them. Not just as hope for their own people, but for a balance in the world powers. They couldn't just lay down and die. And yet that seemed like that was all they could do now.

"Well," America sighed. "It should be safe enough for one night. Tomorrow, I'll teach you the best way to shoot that gun. Let's try and get some sleep, okay?"

America carefully made his way over to an unoccupied corner of the room. The lights were already off. They hadn't dared to turn them on and alert anything to their presence. He couldn't believe how tired him felt. Like he had just walked for days. Something was very off about this place. And his wound was hurting badly, though he had been doing his best to hide it from the Italian. He sat down with his back against the wall, watching the door for a moment and pondering things inside of his mind. Italy watched him for a moment, looking at him uncertainly. Then he sat down next to him. He suddenly looked very timid and defeated.

"I'm scared to fall asleep," Italy confessed. "I'm scared something will happen. I don't want to end up all alone."

"It'll be okay," America said, trying to soothe him as much as possible. "I'm still here."

Italy nodded, then paused again. He was scared. He didn't want to be alone. And this was the first time he had actually been in any real danger. He couldn't call to Germany for help now. He wanted something familiar. He was too shook up by everything that had happened here lately. Slowly Italy slipped under America's arm and laid his head on his chest, trembling and hugging him. America glanced down at the small country. He was surprised. But he knew that Italy was simply that terrified. He laid his hand on the timid nation's shoulder, trying to provide him with as much comfort as he could. America knew that without having to be strong for the small nation that he would have panicked long ago. And Italy was glad for the company.

"It's okay, Feliciano," America said quietly.

Hearing his name, Italy relaxed suddenly, glad that he would not be forgotten at least. Within moments he was asleep. America smiled a little at him. He seemed so fragile. But the two of them had grown up in very different worlds. That was just how things had ended up. America sighed, feeling drained. He wondered how the other nations were doing, and what was going on. But he realized that he had to sleep. His wound ached and he needed the rest, no matter how much his fear tried to keep him awake. He closed his eyes and laid his head back against the wall.

England was nervously pacing the room, and he was silent. Not even France, who was purposely trying to get him to respond could get his attention. It worried everyone. He wasn't acting normally. Usually, he would be arguing with France and causing chaos. But now, he didn't make a sound, and his eyes remained on the floor.

Romano too was silent. He sat in his chair, eyes on his hands which sat in front of him on the table. The usually outspoken and vulgar youth didn't make a sound. Not even Spain, who could get an angry response out of him at least, could get any sort of response.

The two worried all of the gathered nations. No one else knew it, but England and Romano had both seen the black ghost as he had taken the two nations off to wherever they were now. He had terrified them. But they were so worked up mostly because they hadn't been able to help America or Italy. Now the two countries were missing, and England and Romano had both been injured by the angry spirit. They felt guilty and worried. And the other nations had picked up on it.

The other countries were also silent, confused. Usually, this never happened. There was also hundreds of arguments going on at one time. But now they simply sat there and looked around at one another. They hadn't heard what had happened, but they could tell that the two scared countries knew. They didn't want to push them, but the World Summit needed all of the nations. And whether they admitted it or not, they were all fond of the two missing nations. They had to talk about it and find out if anything could be done at all.

"England, Romano. You have to tell us what's going on," Germany said. It wasn't an order. It wasn't his usual way to gain order among the arguing nations. He wasn't yelling. He wasn't acting like the militaristic nation that he was. It was gentle, it was quiet. And it resonated more powerfully around the room because of it.

England stopped and looked at him. Even Romano looked up at him. They were both suddenly surprised out of their thoughts by his voice. The other nations seemed relieved that they had finally got their attention, but still unnerved by the fear in their eyes.

"We know Italy and America are missing," Russia said, gently trying to goad them into giving them some information. His voice was now almost a gentle purr. "So we need you to tell us what you know, ja?"

England glanced at Romano, have gave a shaking sigh and began to tell everyone of his strange encounter. England then told a shockingly similar account of the same ghost. The other nations listened with rapt attention. England could believe in ghosts. That didn't surprise them, but to hear Romano, who was as about as scientific and strictly not believing in the supernatural as anyone could get, refer to this thing as a ghost as well unnerved them. The other nations were surprised at the completely accurate and same description that both nations gave of the "black ghost" when their incidents happened at different times but close together and at completely different points of the globe. But they were more surprised to hear that both nations were completely sure that he was the reason that the two missing nations weren't here. The nations nervously looked around at each other, trying to make sense of the information they had been told, and what it could possibly mean for any of them. England suddenly shuddered, thinking of the ghost.

"I don't know what he is or what he's done," he said. "But I don't think it was evil. It seemed more scared than anything, and angry. And I think that's what we picked up on. His fear. It's a fear deeper than any of us have ever felt. Something drove it out here. And something made it specifically target America and Italy. I don't know what it wants. But I think we might find out sooner than we think."

With those ominous words, everything fell silent suddenly. The other nations began slowly to murmur nervously amongst each other. But all that ended abruptly as, only a few minutes later, Lithuania screamed. A dark shadow seemed to enter the room, and fear was the only thing they all felt. A deep overwhelming fear, despair, and hopelessness. The nations turned and saw the black ghost, and all hell broke loose.

They all panicked. And within that chaos, they could hear as Belarus screamed, and then China. Everyone was growing even more anxious now. What was going on? That was three that had screamed like that. Their panic suddenly passed as the black ghost disappeared. They all turned around to take stock of the situation. But the now even more distressed nations found that all three nations were missing.

They had seen the black ghost. They had seen the unexplainable. And now they knew that they had to discover what was really going on before something else happened.

America awoke almost instantly. Something wasn't right. He could tell. He glanced at Italy. He was still curled up asleep in the opposite corner of the room, the gun laying beside him, from where America had woken him some time ago to teach him to use the gun. He was fairly good at it. Germany had taught him well. He could aim, and his grip was firm but relaxed. Though, he did tend to get a little worked up when the gun was in his hands, and his hands tended to tremble. America wasn't even sure he would shoot the gun. But he felt better for having taught him. After that the two exhausted nations had soon fell back to sleep.

However, something wasn't right. He knew it as soon as Italy too startled awake. The Italian quickly grabbed his gun, holding it ready. He silently looked over at America, questioning him. But he wasn't like he had been. Before, he would have panicked or began asking questions, but now he was calm. He was like a well disciplined solider. Because for the first time he knew he couldn't run. In a single night here, he had changed. It made America pause a moment. How had he changed here?

But they had other things to worry about now. America was fatigued more than he let on. His wound hurt badly. He was sure it was bleeding again. He already felt a little dizzy as well. But he couldn't worry about it now. He supposed he was still a little reckless. But he always had been. He and Italy grabbed the small backpacks they had located and filled with food and water and slowly made their way into the hallway. America checked twice to make sure he had the key in his bag before he left, on the off chance that they might end up coming back. The door closed and latched behind them with finality.

They could hear the howls of the strange dog beasts again. They were getting closer. But they seemed to have found something not as close to the two of them. It intrigued the two nations. What could it be? In this house they had come to expect the unexpected. So what was it that had made them both so nervous now?

America decided that they couldn't just stand here and wonder. He motioned for Italy to follow, and the Italian did silently. They made their way down the hall, back to where they had come. It was a longer walk than Alfred first remembered it being. But as they neared the place, they both raised their guns by unspoken consent. They paused.

America motioned for Italy to wait as he looked into the room, hardly believing what he was seeing. Then he sat the bag down and left the Italian waiting out of sight. Slowly, he entered the room. There were three people lying on the floor. Lithuania, Belarus, and China were all here and unconscious. America carefully made his way over to them. They were all laying there, close together and at odd angles, as if they had been tossed there. The black ghost was gone. The dog beasts were getting closer. The demon was mercifully not present. And America was faced with a strange situation.

He crept over to them, looking them over. He might have chosen to leave them there, alone and defenseless. He had never gotten along with Belarus. Lithuania had once been his friend, but he hadn't spoken to him in years and only spoke about how much he seemingly hated the country behind his back. China pretty much had just ignored America or called him fat and lazy. He had to admit that it had been true. He couldn't deny anything that they said, or that he had annoyed all of them. They had angered him. But in this house nothing made sense. He didn't have it in his heart to leave them.

He checked to make sure they weren't badly hurt. Thankfully none of them were. So it seemed like he was the only one the demon had attacked as of yet. The thought seemed to aggravate his wound suddenly, and he winced and touched it as it gave a pang. He knew Italy hadn't missed it. He glanced down at his hand as it pulled away bloody. He was lucky he wasn't dead or that he didn't have more serious problems. That demon had reached completely through his chest. He turned his attention back down to the other nations. He gently patted Lithuania's face, and he stirred. America hoped it would be enough to wake him.

He heard a menacing snarl. He looked up. The dog beasts had found them again. But it seemed they weren't completely stupid. They didn't attack right away. They could sense the gun in his hand. He pointed his gun at the nearest one slowly, carefully preparing to fire. He moved slowly, trying his best not to provoke it to attack before he was ready for it. More of them appeared behind it. He was backed into a corner with three stirring countries. Italy wasn't in sight, but he hoped that the Italian was ready to fire. Then, to make matters worse, all three nations all suddenly woke up.

Lithuania almost screamed, to be stopped when China put his hand over his mouth. Belarus gasped, reaching for her knife that wasn't there. It was a choked, terrified sound. America wondered for a moment if he had been that scared at first. The three nations glanced at him, but they seemed unable to look away from the creatures for long.

"Oh my God what are they?" Belarus asked. America was a little surprised to hear the terrified whimper in her voice.

There was no time to answer though. The beasts launched forward. America quickly shot one. Then two. He shot two more. But his gun ran out of ammunition and he snarled to himself. There wasn't much time left. The other nations finally seemed to look at him and realize he was there. Lithuania suddenly gasped, and much to America's astonishment, the timid nation suddenly put himself in front of America when he saw that he was hurt. As if he wanted to protect him. Lithuania had always been a timid nation. But not matter how much America had annoyed him in the past, he was still his friend and he was terrified to lose him. He could feel him tremble as he insistently pushed America father behind him.

China and Belarus saw that he was hurt too and they realized that they had to do something. They both gathered themselves. They were both warlike nations too. After the initial shock, their years of training had suddenly kicked in. However, they had hardly moved at all when another gun went off and killed the remaining beasts. The other three nations paused, confused. America winced a little against the swell of pain as Lithuania bumped his wound on accident.

"You actually shot the gun," America said. "Nice shot."

Italy quickly ran into the room, much to the other nations' surprise. America was pleased to see that they were no longer shaking. China, Belarus, and Lithuania were very surprised to see the Italian so calm. They suddenly didn't know what to do. Here they were, in a strange house filled with who knew what, and these two were strangely calm. Depressingly so.

"You've both changed," China said quietly. "You've changed so much..." America was slightly surprised that China could tell that in the first few minutes of his waking up here. Lithuania turned to America, gently touching his chest and pulling back as he recoiled.

"You're hurt," Lithuania gasped. "What happened? How deep is this wound? Is this why your aim was off? It's bleeding!"

"Its bleeding again?" Italy asked. "America, you can't push yourself."

"I didn't really do anything," America reminded him.

"That demon must really hate you," Italy said with a shudder. "I mean, he reached completely THROUGH your chest." There was suddenly a horrified silence for a moment. Lithuania looked at America, wide eyed. He couldn't even imagine bearing such a painful wound, let alone doing so silently.

"A demon?" Belarus asked quietly.

"Yeah," America said. "There's some sort of demon in this house. The black ghost is scary, but this thing is terrifying. I don't know where it is now though."

"America," China suddenly said. "You need to rest. Take it easy okay? If I have to, I'll carry you, even if I'm shorter than you."

"Fine," America sighed. Normally, pride would have made him refuse. But now, he'd rather not take the chance and make everyone worry. The other countries pause, but only a moment.

"We need to move," Italy "Before they had find us again."

The nations all stood. They'd rather not be alone in this strange place. China turned his back to America, coaxing him to get on. America let the shorter country pull him up onto his back without complaint. China was fairly strong and America was fatigued. China noticed it instantly and frowned. He was not a person to leave someone behind either. The other nations glanced at America, and America was a little embarrassed that they were so worried about him. But he said nothing.

"Alright, come one, let's go," Italy said, being braver than he had ever been.

Italy led them down the hallway, pausing at every door. He checked everywhere to make sure that there was no danger. When he was sure there wasn't, he motioned for the others to follow him again. He felt strangely powerful now. He wasn't timid anymore. Because he couldn't be. They needed his help. Suddenly, everything that Germany had ever taught him came flooding back. The others could tell. They could see a little more confidence in his step. After all, he didn't have to doubt about anything that Germany had taught him.

Italy led them for a long time, until at last he slid into an unoccupied room so that they could rest a while. He checked again to make sure no one else was there. Then he motioned the others inside. They all slipped in, and Italy silently closed the door behind them. China gently let America slide to the floor. The the three newer nations sat down, as if life's newest events had left them drained beyond measure. America couldn't really blame them.

"What's going on?" Belarus asked, her chin trembling slightly as well as her hands. She didn't feel safe without her knife. This house didn't make any sense. What could she possibly do?

"We don't know," Italy replied patiently.

"What is this place?" Lithuania asked, visibly quaking and rubbing his arms as if he was cold.

"We don't know,"

"Why are we here?" China asked, laying a hand on Lithuania's shoulder and trying to calm him, though his eyes said that he was anything but calm.

"We don't know," Italy replied, still patient.

"There's a lot we don't know," America sighed.

The countries all looked around at each other. What a strange group to be stuck in a house and running for their lives with. They were all terrified to some degree. No one could hide it. Three were wondering what else this crazy house had in store. Two were wondering if there was an escape. They sat that way, in the silence, until one by one they all slowly decided that they couldn't die this way: feeling scared and alone. Then however, Lithuania yelped. America didn't even glance his way. He knew who it was before he spoke.

"Who are you?" Lithuania gasped.

"With a tip of my hat and a thousand hellos. I'm the stranger that waits at the fork in the road," the green ghost replied. America jumped a little when he was the ghost right beside him. As before.

"It's okay," Italy told them. "This is the Joker. He wants to help us. But he can only speak in riddles." The new countries eyed him nervously as well as suspiciously. The Joker turned to face America.

"Riddle me that and riddle me this," he said. "Answer correctly, I'll give you a gift. With only two hands it has 60 spots to mark. It passes 24 when the morning starts. It bears us through all our sorrows and burns, and when we're gone it continues to turn. Sometimes we want it to stay, to last; but then we find out it moves much too fast. But here in this house, have you realized it now? It's come to a halt and no one knows how. Now for the question, the second I've asked: what doesn't move here and what doesn't pass?" There was a slight pause.

"Time," America replied. The three new nations looked at him with astonishment. But Italy knew it made sense. It was still dark outside. They had never once seen light. The Joker smiled and pulled out another key.

"An interesting question and an answer to match," he said. "But now you must go and move very fast." America took the key. "Go down the hall to the very last door. Something you need is there and well stored. The demon that's here knows what I'm doing now. And he's coming soon to track you down."

With those ominous words the Joker suddenly disappeared, leaving them there alone again. The five countries suddenly looked around at each other. But they knew they couldn't waste time. In a few moments the countries had all stood, and China had pulled America back onto his back before he could protest.

They quickly ran down the hall and followed the Joker's directions. They no longer worried about going quietly. What would be the point with all of these ghosts and demons around? They wouldn't care. China could move extremely quickly, even with America on his back. In a few minutes they had disappeared down the hallway and found the room. Italy quickly took the key and unlocked the door. They all hurried inside. Here, they all paused as the heavy door locked itself behind them.

This was a large room, full of shelves. Many of the shelves were filled with guns and ammunition for them. Some of the others were filled with medical supplies. The shelves were dusty, though things on them were still good. Here and there large guns were missing. America knew that was a mistake. Large guns were hard to carry, heavy, awkward, and hard to reload quickly. The rounds for a pistol were much easier to carry in great numbers, though it might not take out something big without a few expert shots. America looked at the shelves with cleaning supplies. Things were missing from there as well. There were also two large bags on the floor. Convenient. Too convenient. He didn't like it. And he could tell that China and Belarus didn't as well as China let him stand again.

"This has happened before," America said. "And not just once. Many times."

"What?" China asked. Even he hadn't expected to hear that. Everyone turned to look at him too. He pointed out the shelves and bags.

"Look," he said. "Things have been taken from this shelf, and yet its still stocked well. There are plenty of choices. Everything on the medical shelf is still good though it's dusty in here. Then there are two bags on the floor? It's too convenient. And Italy, the room were found earlier. Everything in there was good. And how did the Joker know where to send us? He'd been all these places before." the truth of what he was saying suddenly dawned on the other nations. It was a frightening thought.

"You think someone planned all this?" Belarus gasped.

"Not just that," America replied, glancing around. "This is someone's idea of a game. We're probably being monitored."

"Who would do something like this?" Lithuania gasped with a shudder. "It's barbaric."

"Why would someone want to do this?" China asked, bristling a little nervously.

"I don't know," Italy replied grimly. "But I think we're going to find out."

"And I think there's a specific reason we're all here," America added. "I don't know if the black ghost even knows it himself, but he brought us here for a reason. Maybe it's because we're countries, though I don't think the ghosts know that yet. Maybe we have a better chance of actually figuring out what's going on here."

"And that's why the Joker's helping us!" Italy gasped. "He might not even know, but that's why!"

"A lot of people have died here," America said. "People from all over the world. There are probably angry ghosts all around us. Scared ghosts, confused ghosts. There are more here than the ones we'll ever see. As nations, we have a duty to figure out what's going on." four determined pairs of eyes met his.

"Even if there's no escape," China said.

"Even if our only reward is death," Lithuania said.

"So everyone can rest and find peace," Belarus said.

"We'll solve the mystery of this house and put a stop to it," Italy said.

"We'll see this curse through to the very end," America said with a nod.

"No matter what," they all said in unison.

Looking around at their faces, America realized that probably for the first time in the history of the world, all of the gathered nations had completely agreed on something. It didn't matter that there was only five of them. That was still five more than usual. And there was nothing but determination and resignation on their faces. They had nothing to gain and nothing to lose. They would live or they would die. They were nations. That was the way the world had always worked. They were in it today to win it, or die trying.

But then again, there was nothing else. No hope for escape. No hope for rescue. If they were going to get out, it would have to be by themselves. They settled down quietly to get what sleep they could. They knew they wouldn't get much later on.

What do you think so far? I know it's going kinda quickly, but this is a fun story to write. I may or may not make a book 2 after this one is completed, but since I haven't finished this one, I'm going to continue until it's done.