Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 6

"Well, I can see a bit of tearing there," Switzerland said as he flashed a light in Malaysia's mouth. "How much vomiting has he done?"

"We lost count," Philippines said. "So… what could have caused this?"

Singapore's eyes were fixed on Malaysia. It was one of the scariest things he'd ever walked in on when he saw his brother starting to vomit blood. And Malaysia had only grown paler and very meek. But his temperature had dropped a little, which was good.

"It could be the bile pushing its way out," France said. "And maybe some stomach acid. Only the stomach is able to handle it, after all."

"What if this keeps happening?" Singapore asked.

"Well, one thing's for sure," Turkey said. "This is no ordinary bug. I've never seen anything like this."

"Not even the Black Plague would make a nation this sick, this fast," France said. "Believe me, I know. It was not a very pleasant time for me."

"But it's proving to be very fatal to his people," Philippines said. "You should see the reports. It's only the first day, and the death toll is already deep in the double digits."

"No natural disease can work this fast, and affect this many people," Switzerland commented.

"Please, don't tell me you're suggesting that this is somehow artificial," France sighed.

"You know, if they can't figure out the origin, then there's a chance that people are going to come to that conclusion," Turkey pointed out.

Malaysia whimpered, and all eyes turned to him.

"Water," he croaked. "I'm thirsty."

"How much water does he drink?" Switzerland asked as Thailand went to fetch him a glass.

"A lot," Singapore said. "The fever is dehydrating him."

"How much?"

"I don't know. About a dozen glasses, I think. I wasn't keeping count."

"There's a chance he might be drinking too much water. Believe it or not, water poisoning is a thing. And he's losing electrolytes, so you may want to give him an energy drink or something."

Singapore glanced over to Malaysia, who greedily drank the glass that Thailand handed to him. The glass was drained in seconds, and Malaysia held out the glass for more.

"Try giving him tea, or add some sugar to the water," Switzerland instructed. "And keep an eye on how much he's drinking. Try to limit it to two litres a day – that's the healthiest. If he's still dehydrated after that and needs more, then call us."

"And if he throws up blood again, definitely call us," Turkey said. "Keep his food as bland as possible."

"Italy brought some tomato soup for him," Indonesia said.

"Allow me to check the soup," France said.

Singapore watched as France ate some of the unheated soup, and he stood still for a moment.

"Italy made sure not to make it too rich," France said. "I also detect some ginger. By the way, I think you should get him some ginger tea. It might keep him hydrated, and it should help his stomach to settle."

"We'll do that tomorrow," Indonesia said. "Is there anything you can tell us about this bug of his? Anything you managed to figure out?"

"It's not bronchial," Switzerland said. "When I checked with the stethoscope, his breathing sounded easy. So whatever it is, it's not affecting his lungs."

"Malaysia, next time you go to the bathroom, make sure to check for blood," Turkey said. "Your intestines or urinal tract could also be affected. And call if you see any blood."

"…Do you guys get a lot of patients?" Thailand asked. "Because you seem pretty prepared for any possibility."

"Not really," France said. "But we hear a lot, and we prefer to have a good idea of most symptoms and diseases."

"We mostly only treat nations," Switzerland said. "And half the time when a nation is sick, it's because of the state of their economies, and a quarter of the time, it's because they're reacting to an epidemic in their countries. This is one of the rare times when the nation is also sick."

"So… I definitely caught the bug?" Malaysia asked. His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Oui," France said. He looked over at the rest of them. "Tomorrow, we would like to draw blood from the rest of you to test."

"You want to see if we're infected too," Indonesia sighed.

France nodded.

"We can also use your blood as a sample to see how long it takes after infection for symptoms to start appearing," Switzerland said. "Speaking of, are any of you feeling sick now?"

Each of them shook his head. Switzerland frowned, but didn't comment. There was still the possibility that at least one of them was infected too. Singapore's stomach dropped as he realised that he had the highest chance to be infected. He'd spent the most time around Malaysia that day, after all.

"I'm sorry," Malaysia whimpered.

"It's not your fault," Singapore sighed. "So, at what time can we expect you?"

"What about first thing in the morning?" France suggested. "We can also run some other tests. Could you refrain from eating breakfast until after we've drawn your blood?"

Malaysia whimpered, and Singapore ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry," he said. "They're not going to draw your blood." He turned to the three and arched his eyebrow. "Are you?"

"No reason," Switzerland said. "The sample we already have is sufficient."

Malaysia relaxed, and Singapore could also relax. Thinking about what happened earlier when they had to draw Malaysia's blood… That was not a pleasant experience, and he would rather not have to go through it again.

"Then I guess, all we can do now is suggest that he gets enough sleep," Switzerland said. "And that counts for all of you."

"Call us if anything else happens," France said. "And good luck, mes amis."

They watched as the medical nations left, before they went about sorting out the sleeping arrangements. There were enough beds for all of them, and so they wouldn't have to worry about having to share with each other. Malaysia slipped to his own bed, but before he could try to fall asleep again, Singapore pulled him up.

"You're not going to sleep until you've brushed your teeth first," Singapore scolded.

"…Do I have to?" Malaysia whined.

"Yes. Come on. You can go back to sleep as soon as you've finished this."

The others chuckled, and Singapore turned to them, eyebrow raised.

"Sorry," Indonesia said. "It's just… Right now, you look less like his brother, and more like his parent."

"His mother, to be exact," Philippines added.

Singapore blushed at his friends' comments, and even Malaysia cracked a smile.

"Well, if any of you get sick, don't look at me to take care of you," Singapore huffed. "I've already got my hands full with one child."

Malaysia stuck his tongue out, before ducking out of the room with toothbrush and toothpaste in hand. Thailand smiled and cocked his head.

"If anything, it's nice to see you bridging the gap between you," he said. "At least something good came out of this whole mess."

Singapore huffed, before he grabbed his own toothbrush and toothpaste. As soon as Malaysia was finished, he would go to brush his own teeth, if only to get away from his friends' teasing.

…

It was the middle of the night. That was all he knew. Malaysia's eyes snapped open, his stomach doing a few flips as saliva filled his mouth. He started coughing. This was not the cough of something wanting to escape his lungs. He jumped out of bed and started running towards the bathroom, and the first gag came. His mouth filled with hot, foul-tasting liquid, and he held it there until he could spit it out into the toilet, just in time for the next retch to come. And again and again it came.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his upper back, and he was halfway in the process of turning to see who it was when his stomach lurched again, and more vomit flew out of his mouth. It started to burn, and soon enough, his stomach was empty, but his body still tried to expel that which was not there. He dry-heaved several times before he took a deep breath, willing himself to stop and cringing at the taste. He grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped the tears away from his eyes before he started to wipe his mouth. And throughout all of this, the hand continued to rub circles on his upper back.

He stood up and the other person flushed. Finally, he turned to face the other, half expecting it to be Singapore. To his surprise and disappointment, Thailand was the one that looked back at him, his hair considerably flat and without his glasses.

"Are you feeling better?" Thailand asked.

Malaysia whimpered and hugged himself as he stumbled towards the sink. He rinsed out his mouth and idly reached for his toothbrush, only he wasn't in his own bathroom, and the toothbrush had been returned to his bag.

"It keeps feeling worse," Malaysia said. "I hate this. I want to get better."

"Then go sleep," Thailand advised. "I'll send a text to France. I'll tell him that you threw up again, but it doesn't look as though there was any blood this time."

"How is there anything left to throw up? My stomach… it hurts."

"Is it because of the vomiting, or…?"

"I don't know," Malaysia whimpered. "I hate this. I hate this."

Thailand's arms flew around him, and Malaysia sobbed into Thailand's chest. Strange. He hadn't even realised that he was crying until that moment. He felt the soothing hand on his back again and wished that it had the power to take this sickness out of him.

"Let's go back to bed," Thailand said. "And I suggest you give me your toothbrush and toothpaste. It might be easier if it stays here."

Malaysia nodded, and he allowed Thailand to guide him back to bed. He curled up as soon as he touched the mattress, and Thailand tucked him in. Malaysia glanced towards Singapore's bed to see that his brother was still asleep. A part of him was relieved, while another part was disappointed.

He flinched when Thailand's hand pressed against his forehead, until he realised how cool it was and leaned into the touch. Sooner than he would have liked, Thailand moved his hand away.

"You've got another fever," Thailand whispered. "Do you want me to bring you some water?"

Malaysia nodded. Another thing that annoyed him about this sickness was that he was always thirsty, and no matter how much water he drank, he didn't seem to be able to get enough. It had been like that for a while, actually.

Thailand moved away for a bit, then returned with the water. Malaysia was sure to sip slowly, since he didn't want to get sick again, though what he really wanted was to down the entire glass. He handed it back to Thailand when he was finished and curled up under the covers again.

"Try to get some sleep," Thailand whispered, before he returned to his own bed.

Malaysia closed his eyes, feeling as though he was on fire. He hated the fever, and wished that it could just end. There were so many things that he wanted to do, but he was too tired and too hot to do any of them. In fact, he would very much like to return to the meeting. Even that was better than being sick.

He hoped that they discovered the cause for this sickness soon. Because, if there was a cause, then he could get a cure. And he wanted to get better. He really wanted to get better.

…

"No," he whimpered, struggling against the leather straps that kept him in place. "Don't do it. Please."

"We've already seen that a nation can heal quickly from smallpox," a voice said. "It's completely out of his system after only three days. Now then, let us try cholera."

His knowledge of the language was shaky, but he could understand enough. In the fog of his mind, he couldn't even remember which language it was. He screamed when two hands grabbed his arm while a third hand pushed in a needle, pressing it into his skin. He sobbed as he felt the contents empty into him, and the area steadily went cold. They did not care how it felt. They only wanted to see what it did to him. These nameless strangers with masked faces that somehow saw him as less than human.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to return to his country. He wanted to curl up with his brother and cry.

…

Singapore's eyes snapped open when he heard Malaysia screaming. He stumbled towards Malaysia's bed, ignoring the others. Singapore started to speak in Malay, hoping to calm Malaysia as he woke him.

"It's okay," he said. "It's just a nightmare. You're safe."

Instead of shaking Malaysia's shoulders, he opted for stroking his face. This was a gentler method, and seeing as Malaysia was neither physically nor mentally fine, it was a safer option. It took a while, but eventually Malaysia's eyes snapped open. He stared at Singapore for a long time, while Singapore continued to reassure him in Malay, and eventually Malaysia lunged at Singapore, wrapping him in a tight hug as he sobbed.

"Um, Mal?" Singapore gasped. "Too tight. Can't breathe."

"Don't leave me," Malaysia sobbed. "Don't let him get me again. I don't want… Don't let him get me."

"Who? Who do you think is out to get you?"

"He… I can't remember. He took me to his people. They did… things to me. They used needles. They made me sick to see what would happen. Don't let me go back."

Singapore's stomach dropped. Malaysia had a fever, and it could just be the delusions brought on by a fevered dream, but what he described… it sounded a lot like human experimentation. And, if Malaysia had actually been subjected to it in the past… that would explain his fear of needles.

"Everything will be fine," Singapore whispered, still speaking Malay. "No one is going to get you. I won't let them."

Malaysia's grip tightened, and his crying seemed to calm a little. Singapore held him until he stopped, and then he gently laid him down again. He looked up when someone came up next to him, and Indonesia held out a glass of water.

"He's probably dehydrated," Indonesia said.

Singapore nodded, taking the glass and handing it over to Malaysia, who sat up and downed the glass, despite Singapore's efforts to get him to sip slowly. Singapore winced as he placed the glass on the table. He suspected that Malaysia would soon get up to vomit again.

"Go to sleep," Singapore whispered. "Everything will be alright. We're here to take care of you."

"Promise you won't leave me again?" Malaysia begged, his voice so small and childlike.

"None of us are going anywhere."

Malaysia curled up into a ball, and Singapore ruffled his hair before he returned to his bed. The others also made their way to their own beds. If it wasn't Malaysia being sick, it was Malaysia having nightmares.

However, Malaysia's words disturbed Singapore. He kept talking about not letting 'him' get him again, and he remembered Malaysia's earlier delusion where he called them 'monsters'. And his description sounded like human experimentation, similar to what happened during World War Two. A period of time that Malaysia could barely remember.

He felt warm bile claw at his stomach, and he wasn't sure if it was a sign that he had gotten infected with Malaysia's sickness, or if it was just a response to the thought. Malaysia couldn't remember his time during World War Two, and he had nightmares that made it sound as though he had been subject to experimentation. Could the two be connected? And he said they deliberately made him sick… Could it be that his mind had blocked out all memories of what happened before, and now the memories were triggered by him being sick?

"Hey, what was Mal talking about?" Thailand asked. "My Malay isn't that good. He sounded freaked, though."

"…I need to have a word with Japan," Singapore said. "I want to ask him about what happened to Mal during World War Two."

"What?" Indonesia asked. "Why? I mean, that's ancient history."

"I agree," Philippines said. "What brought this on, anyway?"

"…What Mal was saying," Singapore mumbled. "What he described… It sounded like human experimentation. And he doesn't remember much of what happened to him during World War Two. And we know that Japan's people…"

"You think that Japan did something like that to Mal?" Thailand asked. "I mean… I know that the Axis did some pretty horrible things, but the nations had very little knowledge of what went on."

"But I just want to check," Singapore said. "I think Mal's dreams are flashbacks. And if he's like this… It might mess up his recovery. If it happens too often, then he might decide to not go to sleep at all, and that's going to make him worse."

"You have a point," Indonesia said. "But what kind of benefit could we possibly get from talking to Japan about something that happened back then?"

"…I don't know. I guess… I also want closure. And I want to know what exactly is wrong, so that I can help Mal in any way I can."

"I understand," Thailand said. "But remember, we can't really leave this room until they give us the say-so."

"…Right. Damn."

"Um, I've got some more bad news," Philippines said. "I just checked on Malaysia's news… It's not good. Over one hundred people are already dead."

"What? But… How could it move so fast?"

"Don't know. And what's worse, people have started dropping dead in the streets. Not everyone seems to show symptoms. Still… This is unnatural."

Singapore shuddered. He couldn't help but agree with Philippines. And he started to wonder if this sickness was perhaps created in a lab. A lab that did what Malaysia described.