Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 15

"It's been two weeks since the outbreak of the epidemic that decimated the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Authorities suspect that there are only a few dozen survivors, if that many. Many members of the government have perished, including…"

Singapore shut off the report before he turned back to his brother. Malaysia had been staying with him, as it was the closest they could afford to take him to his land. And in nearly two weeks, Malaysia hadn't woken up at all.

Their worst fears had been realised: Malaysia was comatose.

Singapore reached out to stroke his brother's hair, and he felt a pang when he didn't see Malaysia react. It wasn't the first time, but every time he hoped to see some movement. Malaysia was a nation, and his body should have healed itself already. The only reason why Malaysia wouldn't have healed yet was because his country was in such a chaotic state.

Singapore's government had been helping as much as possible, but there was some resistance from the population of Malaysia, who feared that this generosity was an attempt to annex the country. If Singapore suspected that it would help his brother to wake up, then he would have, but that wasn't the case. If there was too much change to the state of affairs in Malaysia, then he wouldn't wake up, and the next time he died, it would be permanent.

Japan was still not willing to share the cure with them, despite their best efforts. Japan had been completely cut off from the world. No one was allowed to trade with him, and no one was willing. Even the nations that would ignore sanctions in favour of protecting their own economies wanted nothing to do with Japan, and Japan had been blacklisted in every airport in the world. It didn't take long for the humans to realise that the United Nations had discovered that Japan was responsible for the epidemic in Malaysia.

At the moment, Japan had less to do with the rest of the world than North Korea, who was also not impressed to hear about Japan's plans to expand. Korea had also been conquered by Japan during his imperial days, and North Korea hadn't been happy with the implication that he might have also been attacked. Both South Korea and China had to stop North Korea from attempting to retaliate against Japan, simply because it would mean that they would lose any chances of getting the cure.

And it soon became evident that they couldn't afford for that to happen. Afterwards, the CDC had tested the water supplies of different countries, particularly in South-East Asia. Most of the major cities' water supplies had been infected. The humans had been warned to avoid using the water as much as possible, which had caused some hygiene concerns. To stress how important it was to avoid the water, the media kept repeating the statistics of Kuala Lumpur, especially the death toll, along with the most severe symptoms. By now, everyone understood the severity of total organ failure.

Singapore shook himself when his phone rang. He pulled it out, and he wasn't too surprised to see the name on the screen.

"No, Poland," he said into the phone. "I didn't start getting symptoms yet."

After they cornered Japan, they tested Singapore and Poland. Both of them had been infected, since Japan used infected water on them. There wasn't much that they could do. Poland, at least, was closer to the medical nations.

Poland had been calling every day to know if Singapore had experienced any symptoms. He was extremely paranoid about this, despite Switzerland and the others saying that they wouldn't experience the disease as severely as Malaysia.

"But it's, like, two weeks!" Poland exclaimed. "Switzerland said that…"

"I remember what Switzerland and the others said," Singapore interrupted. "I'll let you know, okay?"

Singapore ended the call, before he turned back to look at Malaysia. France had stayed with him during the first week to make sure that he knew what to do. But France couldn't stay, since he had to take care of affairs in his own country. Everyone had their own business to take care of.

Fortunately, Singapore wasn't completely alone.

"I brought you some lunch."

Singapore turned to smile at Vietnam. She and the others were staying with Singapore, since it turned out that his water supply hadn't been contaminated. He wondered if it was because Japan had already infected him, or because Japan hoped that Malaysia's health would have been enough to blackmail Singapore.

"Thank you, Viet," Singapore said, as he accepted the stew that she brought him.

"Still no improvement?" she asked.

"No, nothing. I hope things will be better once the crown prince becomes king."

While the king had spent some time in Kuala Lumpur before he fell ill, the prince had been fortunate enough to be in Putrajaya, along with many other government officials. It was lucky that Malaysia didn't have everything in Kuala Lumpur. But it was still the heart of the nation, and the country of Malaysia suffered. Singapore hoped that, once the state of affairs in the country stabilised, his brother would wake up.

"When was the last time you went outside?" Vietnam asked.

"I'm not allowed to go outside, remember?" Singapore sighed. "I'm under quarantine."

"But you're not contagious, and you haven't shown any symptoms yet. At least go out to the garden. You need fresh air."

Singapore looked over towards the open window. He did get fresh air, as much as Malaysia did, at least. Vietnam sighed.

"You know what I mean," she said. "You need to take care of your own health too, you know?"

"I want to be here if he wakes up," Singapore said. "If he's… aware of what's going on, then I don't want him to be alone. He'd probably be scared, and I don't want him to be scared anymore. He'd suffered enough."

Vietnam went over towards Malaysia and stroked his hair. He didn't respond.

"You heard that, didn't you?" Vietnam asked in a soothing voice. "Singapore is really worried about you. You should wake up soon to set his mind at ease."

Malaysia didn't react, as usual, but Singapore could have sworn that the next inhalation from Malaysia was a deeper breath.

"At least go out into the garden for five minutes," Vietnam said. "I'll stay with him, so that he isn't alone."

Singapore sighed and nodded.

"Thank you," he whispered. "Five minutes, then."

…

"This is beyond annoying," Switzerland said.

"I know what you mean," France replied. "But unless we can get Japan to surrender the cure, it's up to us to find a way to fix this."

The three of them had been working tirelessly for the last two weeks, even once they returned to their countries. They would often use web calls to check on their progress. They were also working with WHO and the CDC, and several nations have encouraged their governments in helping the research.

Switzerland had never realised before how many nations liked Malaysia.

They each took as many samples as possible. They had a bit of the water that Japan had brought along. It turned out that he had several bottles, though it seemed that the pathogen didn't like plastic. That was at least some good news.

They had also taken blood samples from Malaysia, Singapore and Poland, and the latter two had to call them as soon as symptoms started. It was possible that they had a weaker version of the disease, due to not having been exposed to it for two weeks, like Malaysia.

That was one helpful thing that their research had produced: They knew now that the more infected water one consumed, or exposed themselves to, the stronger the disease became, and the more severe the symptoms would be, once it started. That would explain why people with poor hygiene and unhealthy diets tended to be healthier at the beginning, but even they eventually started to succumb to the disease. The immune system was helpless against it.

The last samples they took were Japan's blood, forcibly taken (and the reminder always brought a smile to Switzerland's face). They were trying to compare Japan's blood with the other samples, and they tried to expose the pathogen to Japan's blood. Something in Japan's blood destroyed it, and they were attempting to isolate that. And then they would have to try to find a way to spread that to the infected people of Malaysia, and Malaysia himself.

Singapore sent regular updates about this brother's condition. There was no improvement.

Switzerland had hoped that the healing of a nation would have been able to do something about it by now. But Malaysia was still comatose. It frustrated him to no end. How did Japan manage to create a disease that not even a nation was able to recover from?

…Who did he test it on?

That was a thought that he didn't want to entertain, but now that it started, it didn't want to leave. It was a tick, latching onto him.

"What's up?" Turkey asked. "You look like something's on your mind."

"…How did Japan manage to make a disease that not even a nation can naturally heal from?" Switzerland asked. "I mean, we're able to heal even from HIV. But this thing isn't letting up. So, how did Japan manage that, and who did he test it on?"

There was silence from the other two. Switzerland looked over his notes, trying to see if he was right in his assumption.

"I wonder if it it's just because Malaysia had so much of it in his system," France said. "We need to get blood samples from Singapore and Poland again. If it shows that they are no longer infected, then it's possible that Malaysia can't heal from it because he had been exposed to so much of it."

"And if they still have the disease?" Turkey asked.

"…Then we would need to interrogate Japan," Switzerland said. "Add 'experimentation on another nation' as yet another war crime."

"Have you heard about him recently?" France asked.

"Germany said that he refuses to talk."

After the revelations at the previous meeting, no one thought that it would be a good idea to send Japan back to his country. Instead, Germany took him to a maximum-security prison where he was kept in isolated confinement. Germany had simply told the guards that they were dealing with a war criminal, and asides from giving him food and water, they were not to interact with Japan. Only Germany had that privilege, and he would often go to see if he could get Japan to surrender and agree to give the cure. Nearly two weeks, and Japan hadn't cracked yet.

This was going to take a while.

Most of the time, it felt like there was a competition to see which would happen first: would Japan surrender first, and then agree to give the cure, or would they develop a cure themselves first? Switzerland knew that if he found out that anyone wagered on this, that person would find themselves being used for target practice. This wasn't a game, and…

"Bruder, are you okay?"

Switzerland shook himself, before he turned to the door. Liechtenstein stood there with a tray, looking worried. He glanced towards the nearest clock.

"Is it already time for lunch?" Switzerland murmured. "Thank you, Liechtenstein."

"We should probably log off now," France said. "Suisse, could you perhaps make arrangements to check up on Poland? Turkey, could you go to Singapore, and while you're there, check on Malaysia? I will try to see if I can arrange with Germany to have a word with Japan."

"Are you sure?" Turkey asked. "I mean, aren't you worried that he's going to shank you again?"

"…If he's being difficult, then I am within my rights to take my revenge, non? Besides, up to now, Japan's punishment has been very mild."

Of course, there was a reason for that. They needed to get Japan to give them the cure. There was a chance that he would only grow more difficult if he felt cornered. They needed to work very carefully, but they also needed to place a fair amount of pressure on him. Keeping him out of his country, and preventing him and his government from speaking to each other was one way to do that.

Switzerland wondered which side would crack first.

"I'll call Poland as soon as I finish my lunch," Switzerland said. "Good luck on your ends."

Switzerland logged off, before he turned to accept the tray from Liechtenstein, thanking her again as he did so.

"I'm worried about you," Liechtenstein said. "It's not like you to go to this much effort for someone when you're not getting paid for it. I mean… I-I didn't mean to make you sound like…"

"No, I know what you mean," Switzerland said. "But this is a matter of pride, and standards. Warfare like this… It's not right, and so many innocent people have already died. And the worst part is that neither Japan nor his government have officially declared war, so this comes across as an act of terrorism. And if we didn't stop Japan, then many other nations would have been infected, and based on reports from when the CDC tested their water supplies, millions of humans could have been killed. That's something that completely disgusts me."

Liechtenstein smiled.

"This just shows that you're a good person," she said. "But you should remember to get some rest. You've been working a lot in the last two weeks. Have you been keeping up with your work as a nation as well?"

"My boss is being lenient with me," Switzerland said. "We're one of the countries contributing the most to researching and stopping this disease, so it's important for me to not be too exhausted with normal work."

"Just… take it easy, alright? So… What is this about Poland?"

"He was infected, remember? A little, but it was enough for his body to absorb it. I want to do another blood test and check if the disease is still there, and how much damage it's causing now."

"Wouldn't it be better to ask him to come to us? He can stay here for a few days, and you don't have to worry about transporting his blood."

Switzerland paused to consider it. The disease wasn't contagious, at least not in the traditional way, so airports wouldn't be worried about keeping it contained. And considering how paranoid Poland was about the whole thing, it would probably be easy to convince him to stay with Switzerland for 'observation'.

"Alright," Switzerland said. "I'll call him later."

"I'll prepare a room for him then," Liechtenstein said, before she left the room.

Switzerland sighed. He knew that she was worried, and she was mostly left to her own devices. He would need to make it up to her once all of this was over.

Switzerland finished his lunch, and then he picked up his phone.

…

"Have you ever been to a place like this before?" Germany asked.

"Does the Bastille count?" France asked.

"On which side of the bars?"

"…Both, to be honest."

The guards let them in, and one of them guided them along the route to solitary confinement. They passed by many inmates, and many of them stared at France and Germany, but especially France. They must have seen Germany a few times at least, and they probably realised that he wasn't someone that they could challenge. Unfortunately, France didn't have that privilege.

Well, if any of them decided to attack France, he would show them that he wasn't one to trifle with, especially after two weeks of hard work and little sleep. He wasn't in the mood for some overconfident human to mess with him.

Finally, they managed to reach the wing for the solitary confinement. While the humans had decided that it was cruel, the nations knew that for some, it didn't matter. France remembered that Japan used to have a long period of isolation. Hopefully, he wasn't retreating into that same mindset again. That would make things harder.

The guard opened a door, and Germany and France stepped inside. The door closed soon after, and France glanced towards Germany. Hopefully he had come enough times to have a system in place with the guard. France didn't look forward to spending more time than needed in this cell.

"Oh, you brought France along this time. Exciting."

France turned to regard Japan. He was seated on the bed with his legs in a semi-lotus position. Dark rings were under his eyes, and he was a lot paler than France remembered him to be. He also seemed a little thinner. If circumstances were different, France would have been worried about Japan. However…

"You stabbed me and let me bleed to death," France said. "And then you tied me up and put me in a shower. Then there's also the amount of work you gave me with that disease of yours. So, I wouldn't test my patience, if I were you."

Japan cocked his head, though he didn't flinch. France tried comparing Japan as he was at the moment to the Japan he had been before, even during World War Two. Was this seriously the same person?

"So, is there a reason for this visit, or did you just come to complain?" Japan asked.

"It's been two weeks, and Malaysia is in a coma," France said. "His body isn't healing from your disease. How did you do it, and which nation did you test it on?"

Japan snorted.

"Malaysia is literally the first nation to be infected with this pathogen," Japan said. "As for why he's not healing… The pathogen is designed to fool the immune system into thinking it's safe for the two weeks it takes to incubate, and then it moves to destroy it. It attacks all of the immune cells, and then it starts to attack other cells. As for why Malaysia's body isn't healing… It might just be that he has so much of the pathogen in his body that it's become impossible to create new cells. The pathogen destroys faster than the new cells can be formed, even for a nation."

"Is this what you aimed for?" Germany asked.

Japan was silent for several seconds.

"No."