Thanks to AquaEclipse and FerayEs for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 95

Christiana opened the door as quietly as he could. It would be bad for him if either Switzerland or Denmark knew about what he was doing, so he had to do it while they were still occupied with the invasion.

He quietly tiptoed towards the bed, where a figure was sleeping silently. Christiana bit his lip. Iceland was kept in a permanent state of subservience, and had to specifically be ordered to sleep, otherwise his body would shut down on itself when it became too exhausted, and food was also barely remembered.

"Iceland," he whispered, shaking the teenaged nation's shoulder. "Wake up. The age of Ragnarök has started."

Iceland groaned, before he opened his eyes. Christiana's breath hitched when he saw the blank expression. For a moment he was worried that it might not have worked, but then Iceland frowned and clutched his head.

"What happened?" he asked.

Christiana smiled in relief. It worked.

"What do you remember?" Christiana asked.

Iceland frowned, before wincing in pain.

"I remember… having breakfast with Finland, Sweden and Norway," Iceland said. "D-Denmark… wasn't there yet. And then… Swe and Nor… they were in pain, and said something about the Danish army. And then… nothing."

Christiana grimaced.

"That happened about two weeks ago," he said.

"What?!" Iceland exclaimed, and Christiana quickly shushed him.

"Not so loud," he whispered. "The last thing we need is for Denmark to realise that you're yourself again."

"D-Den…? I… I think you need to explain to me what's going on."

And so Christiana did. He explained about Requiem, and what they'd been doing. He told him about Alvora, and the war between the two groups. And he told him about the only casualty.

"T-Tino is dead?" Iceland whispered, eyes wide.

Christiana nodded his head sadly.

"I'm sorry," Christiana whispered.

"How… how could any of this have happened and… when?" Iceland asked. "I-I mean… If what you said is true… and I was brainwashed and hypnotised and everything, then… when did he do it? And… why me?"

"Greenland and Faroe went through the same thing. The only difference is that the process could change their personality, while you're incompatible. They needed to give you a split personality if they wanted to use you as a sleeper agent."

Iceland looked as though he was about to be sick.

"Did… did I do anything?" Iceland asked.

"Nothing really," Christiana assured him. "Denmark uses you to take food to Sweden and Norway. But since you can't react to anything they say…"

Iceland flinched, and Christiana knew that he understood what the problem was. People he cared about weren't able to reach him, and he was nothing more than a puppet.

"W-what should we do now?" Iceland asked.

"We free Norway and Sweden," Christiana said. "And we help Alvora take them down."

…

Australia was starting to panic, and he wasn't the only one.

They realised that no one had seen Kiribati since the previous afternoon. It wasn't too unusual, since her awakening magic was still unstable and often sent her to her room for long hours of rest. And since she had a room to herself due to a few accidents because of the magic, no one had noticed that she wasn't there. It wasn't until Australia went to check on her that morning that he realised something was wrong.

They searched everywhere for her without success. Australia started hoping that she had gone outside, met one of the venomous creatures that made his country its home, and that she had temporarily died. Because he didn't want to think of the possibility of her being captured by Requiem.

He knew that it was probably ridiculous to immediately come to that conclusion, but the longer she remained missing, the more he considered the possibilities. If they knew about her magic and thought she could be a valuable asset…

And this thought led him to another realisation: Requiem knew. At the very least, New Zealand had been aware of it. But… why would he strike now? Why grab her now?

Australia hoped that he was wrong. He hoped she just had a bad run-in with the wrong animal. Because, no matter what, they'd be a lot safer than Requiem.

If only there was a way to find out…

There was someone that he could call, but he didn't know if he would get an answer. Perhaps he might get lucky if one considered the time… Well, it wasn't as though being courteous was a priority, all things considered.

He waited as he listened to the phone ringing, anticipating quite a bit of cussing.

"What the fuck?! Australia, do you have any idea what time it is, you little shit?!"

"I want answers," Australia calmly replied. "And if you don't tell me the truth, I'll call Wales and tell him that the only reason why I called was because you wouldn't tell me what I want to know."

"…You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

He heard Ireland groan, and he knew that it was a victory for him.

"Fine," Ireland said. "What do you want?"

"Did you guys kidnap Kiribati?" Australia demanded.

"Huh? Kiribati? Listen, I've been out of touch with the others, and I only know the most important things. And the capture of an island nation doesn't particularly concern me at this time."

Australia gritted his teeth, but he supposed that he could see that Ireland had a point. Respecting the truce between Ireland and Wales, neither of them could really participate in the activities of their respective groups. Which didn't help Australia's nerves.

"Fine, you don't know if they took her," he said. "Do you know why they would take her, if they wanted her?"

"Now, what makes you think that I would tell you and potentially ruin my allies' plan, should there be one?"

"I'll call Wales. What time did you say it was again?"

"…Fuck. Alright, fine! Yeah, we know that Kiribati has magic in her, and we know that it's potentially the most destructive magic in the world. If we're able to weaponize that… Well, let's just say that it's in your best interest to surrender."

Australia shuddered. He'd seen some of the things that happened when Kiribati lost control of her magic. If she was brainwashed, and could use that magic for Requiem, then it would become a truly destructive force.

"Now, is that all?" Ireland asked. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to sleep."

"Yeah," Australia said. "I guess that's all."

"Fine. Next time you decide to wake me up in the middle of the night, I'll accept that you're committing suicide!"

Australia flinched when Ireland hung up. He had no doubt that Ireland would severely punish him if he managed to get him angry enough. Well, at least it was reassuring to know that Wales could be used to threaten Ireland. And at least the truce and distance meant that Wales couldn't directly punish him.

Still, he didn't know for sure if Requiem had taken Kiribati, only that she was a potential weapon that they thought they could use. And he didn't think that it would go well if he contacted New Zealand. Knowing Alvora's plans, now would not have been a good time.

…

Sweden froze when he heard footsteps approaching. He quickly got away from the wall and turned to face the door to the dungeon, along with Norway. Judging by the footsteps, it wasn't Denmark or Switzerland, and there was a second set as well, incredibly faint. Sweden almost didn't hear it.

He turned to Norway. He knew that the shorter nation had come to the same conclusion as him. It was Iceland that came. Seeing the younger nation was always painful for Norway. It was worse than if his brother had been killed. Iceland had lost himself.

A few seconds later, Iceland came into view, followed by a young boy. A micronation. Sweden recognised him as Christiana, though it might have been only once that Sweden saw him. The boy wasn't particularly social.

But something was different this time. Iceland's eyes widened and he rushed towards them.

"Lukas! Berwald!" he exclaimed.

Both Norway and Sweden gasped. Iceland was himself again. Norway actually approached the bars of the cell and reached out his hand.

"Emil?" he called out.

Iceland grabbed Norway's hand, and Sweden was surprised to see tears brimming in Norway's eyes. He was also relieved to see Iceland as himself.

Sweden was so absorbed in the reunion of the two brothers that he didn't notice as Christiana approached the cell and unlocked it. He jumped when he heard the sound and turned to Christiana, who kept his gaze lowered and stepped back when the door was open.

"Thank you," Sweden said.

For some reason, Christiana flinched, and he turned his gaze to the side. Sweden noticed as Christiana tensed, and he turned to see what the micronation was looking at. Sweden winced when he realised that his gaze was focused on the decapitated, decomposing heads of Sweden's micronations. Perhaps the child knew that they were like him, and that Denmark did that to them.

And Sweden had no idea what to say to reassure the micronation.

"How did this happen?" Norway asked.

As soon as he had gotten out of the cell he rushed to properly embrace Iceland. The younger still looked a bit confused, especially by the sincere elation on Norway's face.

"Christiana helped me," Iceland said. "I still don't know what's going on. I can't remember anything, and… I-I heard about Tino, and… How could this all have happened?"

"It doesn't matter, for now," Norway said. "We need to get out of here. There's an invasion happening, and I want to help."

"Me too," Sweden said. "But how can we?"

That seemed to snap Christiana out of his trance, and he turned towards them.

"If you want to stand a chance, then you'll need to join the enemies of Requiem," Christiana said. "I can take you to them."

Norway and Sweden exchanged looks. Norway was the first to break eye-contact, fixing his gaze on Christiana.

"First, I want to know something about what they did to Iceland," Norway said. "What did he do that made Iceland act like that?"

"I thought it didn't matter," Iceland said.

"I want to know about that day," Norway clarified.

"There's a trigger phrase," Christiana explained. "Denmark must have slipped it in when he made his move."

Norway nodded in understanding.

"You said you can take us to the invaders," Sweden said. "Finland's allies?"

Christiana nodded.

"We just need to get out of this room first," he said. "And then I'll take you."

…

White kept her attention fixed on the phone, waiting for the signal that it was their turn to attack. Her other hand was resting on her stomach, and she hoped that she wouldn't be forced to retreat due to her nausea.

Perhaps they had drunk the potion at the wrong time.

She was near South Sudan's border, and she was supposed to help him with the attack on Ethiopia. North Korea was there to take control once they were finished.

She removed her phone and called someone that could help ease her mind.

"Anika?"

"Imane, how are you feeling?"

"Tired, and a bit dizzy. Why?"

"You don't feel sick or anything? The potion?"

"No, but… Wait, you're feeling sick? Nauseous?"

"Ja. I don't know if it's a side effect or…"

"It's a bit early, don't you think? I mean… what are the odds that it would be so fast?"

White sighed, but nodded.

"I guess I see your point," she said. "Maybe it's just the side effects."

"But, do you have reason to think…" Morocco started to ask.

"Are you saying that you wouldn't?"

"…Fair enough. When's your turn?"

White checked the time on her phone.

"Three minutes," she replied.

"Ouch. Then I advise you to be careful. If you feel that you can't do it, you need to let Jeng take over, alright?"

"Okay. We should check in with the others as well. Sorry to bother you. Rest now."

White hung up and pocketed the phone.

"So, what potion was that?"

White jumped and yelped, and spun around to see North Korea behind her, arms crossed and eyebrow arched, demanding an explanation.

"J-Jeng!" she exclaimed. "How… how long have you been there? How much did you hear?"

"Since you managed 'sick' and 'potion'," North Korea explained. "Now, what did you drink that might endanger this assignment? An assignment where you took the lead?"

"It… I promise, it's nothing bad, it's just…"

"Anika, don't try to wriggle out of it. Or do you want me to call Roberto to ask? Does he even know?"

White flinched, averting her gaze.

"N-nee," she admitted. "It's… To be honest… Please don't tell anyone!"

He narrowed his eyes.

"That all depends on what you tell me," he said.

She shifted nervously, checking the time again. Suddenly the appointed hour seemed too far away.

"W-well," she said. "You see… The potion… it's… it's supposed to… um…"

"Supposed to what?" North Korea demanded.

"It's supposed to allow a nation to become pregnant!"

Whatever North Korea was expecting, it obviously wasn't that. White would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.

She was startled again when the message came through. It was time. She searched for South Sudan and saw him standing nearby, and it would seem that North had a new South. She blushed when she realised that he'd heard the same thing.

"J-just forget it, okay?" she asked. "W-we've got work to do."

She moved towards South Sudan, but North Korea moved faster. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he sighed.

"If the potion was a success," he said, "then I think it would be better for me to take over. It might be harder because I'm not an African, but they're Alvora's nations. It should work."

She took a step back, and North Korea took hold of South Sudan's arm. The look he gave her told her that they were going to discuss it later, and White knew she had to think of a good explanation of why they didn't say anything about it before.

…

Lithuania checked the time. In one hour it would be their turn to attack. He had the best chance of getting to Denmark's capital, but whether or not he was actually there was another matter.

There was a commotion behind him, and he turned around to see three familiar figures, accompanied by an unfamiliar child. The child was caught as he passed out, and Lithuania immediately realised that it was a micronation that had brought the others there. But he still had to focus on the matter at hand.

"Sweden!" he exclaimed. "Norway! Iceland! What are you all doing here?"

Norway turned to Lithuania and blinked in surprise.

"You're attacking Denmark?" he asked.

"Well, in the next hour…" Lithuania said. "What's going on?"

He didn't know whether or not they were with Denmark. Finland had explained what happened when Denmark revealed himself. Had they been prisoners all this time? And did they stay out of the Washroom?

"You're Tino's ally?" Sweden asked.

Lithuania nodded.

"Tino died a week ago," he said. "Denmark played a huge part in his murder."

"We know," Norway said. "He showed us his head."

Iceland looked sick, but Lithuania needed to focus on the others.

"So, what brings you here?" he asked.

"We want to join you in taking down Denmark," Norway said. "We'll even provide you with his exact address. He asked me to help him with fortifying the country with magic, but since it's my magic, I can easily undo it."

"And if he decides to run?"

"He can't. Before we left, I cast one last spell. He and Switzerland are stuck in the manor."

"Switzerland is there too?"

Sweden and Norway nodded. Lithuania thought about it, before glancing at the phone.

"We've still got time before it's my turn to attack," he said. "Why don't you tell me as much as you can?"

…

"Are you sure you three are ready for this?" Portugal asked.

Colombia looked at the other two, knowing that Portugal specifically addressed them. Ecuador would have to face his brother for the first time since all of this began, and Brazil… The fact that their enemies were known cannibals didn't help ease his mind. His hand kept reaching for his chest, where the scar remained.

"Whatever it takes," Ecuador said. "We need to strike a blow against them. Just… You'll forgive me if I can't…"

"We understand if you don't want to attack Peru," Portugal said. "He's your brother, after all. It's always painful. And the others?"

"Don't worry. It's just Peru that might be difficult for me."

"And what about you, Roberto?" Portugal asked, directing the question at Brazil.

"I have to be," Brazil said. "I'll just keep all of that out of my mind."

Romania sidled up behind Portugal, embracing him from behind.

"I'll make sure you're all safe," Romania said. "But do you think you'll be ready to kill them, if necessary? Your former friends?"

"Yes," Colombia sighed. "If it comes to that, I'm prepared for it."

The other two hesitated before nodding their heads. They knew that France was somewhere in Mexico, and as soon as it was midnight there, they would strike.

Hopefully they decided to go to bed early.

…

Peru stepped out of the shower. As much as he enjoyed being covered in blood, not when he was about to go to bed.

He wondered if Spain was aware of the latest torture inflicted on France. A mockery of a baptism, before bashing his head in. The same thing the Spanish did to their children. He hoped Spain managed to see the poetic justice behind it. Because, as fun as it was, it could sometimes be exhausting to torture France.

He made his way to the bedroom and slipped into bed. He smiled when an arm wrapped around him.

"Goodnight," Peru said.

"Sweet dreams," Egypt replied.

The details of the potion came earlier than I wanted, but that's where the story wanted to go.