Mortal

I'm so sorry. That's all I have to say.

Plus, I don't own Hetalia.

Nothing lives forever. Not even the personifications of the countries of the world. They can and do die just like any other man out there. (They just live a lot longer) So, when a certain personification dies, it's country does not suffer in any way. A new personification is 'born' in it's place. So, one could say the country is reborn into this new person. It is not resurrection, for the new personification is... different. The only thing the two share, are the memory of the first's last moments.

This is the tale of an explosion at the world meeting and the new generation of personifications.

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"What's this?!" The personification of Germany asked the delivery boy. His annoyance couldn't help but show, scaring the crap out of the poor boy. He was just trying to get through high school, dammit! He didn't sign up for a scary as hell German yelling at him!

"I-it's a-a package addressed to this meeting hall." He responded, a stutter making itself known. He stood up as straight as he could, stiff as a board.

"Just... set it over there." Ludwig ordered, pointing to an out of the way corner. He'd just have to deal with it later. Right now, it was his job to keep all the countries from killing each other. One of these days, he swore Arthur might actually kill the personification of France. Though he did often wonder what the new personification would be like... He shook away that thought. It would be odd without any of the countries. Even the creepy Frenchman.

So with this thought, he headed for the long table, leaving the delivery boy to set down the cardboard box where he had been instructed too. With that done, the Junior quickly walked away. The hair on the back of his neck prickled with unease. He sensed something very bad was about to happen, and he did not want to be around when it happened.

He couldn't have been closer to the truth.

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Yesterday, a large explosion went off in famous meeting hall, The

Roseann. 196 deaths on record. Continued on page 9.

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Washington D.C., United States of America

A sigh left John's lips as he stared down at the extravagant grave in front of him. It was much nicer than any of the other graves surrounding him, which seemed a little ridiculous. If he was to be at his final resting point, he wouldn't want to draw that much attention. Then again, Alfred had supposedly always been one for attention. Grief washed through John, nearly knocking him over with it's intensity. "I never even met you." He murmured to the previous personification of the United States of America. The dead personification. The man in the grave. His 'father' you could say.

Deciding a switch of topics was in order, he vowed, "I promise I'll find the bastards responsible. And I promise I'll watch over England." He could feel his father's pain at the Englishman's death. Whoever England's personification was, he'd make sure to help him in times of need. As his father would say, he'd be the 'hero'. "See ya, Dad." With these promises in the air, he left Arlington, knowing he'd be back if only to talk to a grave.

London, England

Oliver sat on a bench across from an old cemetery, pain in his grey-blue eyes, and it wasn't just from the recent wound. This pain came from the loss of a great man, a pain that was echoed throughout all his people. "You'll be missed, old man."

A thought caused a tearing feeling in his gut. He voiced it out loud. "On our native soil. I can't face the rest of the world now. They'll blame me for sure." Absently, he gently traced a line over the burn positioned right over his heart. London. "Give me courage old man, I'll need it."

Paris, France

"Crétin! Crétin!" Chloé sobbed, laying her face on the simple gravestone. She managed to stop herself from complete emotional takeover. Still, her sobs could not be stifled. "I don't know anything about taking over France! All I know is l'amour!" A couple passed her then, watching as she sobbed. They had no idea that she was crying for a man she had never met, and they never would. They hurried along, not wanting to watch this moment of weakness.

Wiping away her tears, she sat up on the damp grass. Determination flashed across her gaze. "I'll be show them what it means to cherish love!"

Beijing, China

Lian stared down at the grave in front of her with blank eyes. Well, that's what she appeared to be doing. She was really just trying to keep from crying in front of all these strangers. She may have been no more than a day old, but she looked around thirty. Too old to be crying, especially for a man that she hadn't been alive to meet. Why was everyone staring at her like she wasn't supposed to be there? This was her bàba! She had every right to be here that they had, the people who didn't even know he was a personification. Anger boiled in her, forcing out the grief. How she would've loved for all those people to go away, or better yet, crawl into one of the graves.

Moscow, Russia

Snow swirled around Dmitry, making him shiver. His small frame was buffeted by strong winter winds. This was not the time to be outside, but he braved the weather for the soul purpose of visiting Ivan's grave. He deserved his respects and that's just what Dmitry was going to give him, even when no one else would. His feet felt heavy with both the cold and grief that enveloped him. Finally, he reached the cemetery where his 'father' lay. He stood there, not even trying to hide his tears. They froze on his cheeks, but he barely noticed. "You tried to save them all." He whispered, the memory of his father's last moments fresh in his mind.

"You tried, but it was too late."

Tokyo, Japan

Ren rolled his eyes at the reserved gravestone in front of him. "It's not really fitting is it? From the kinda man I'm told you were, you should've been given something bigger." He could sense his father's spirit hanging around. A stern feeling filled him. "Don't yell at me. It's the truth." Yes, he was talking to the spirit of his father. No, he wasn't crazy. Just... a medium. So, it made sense that he could talk to his father. Another emotion that wasn't his own filled him; anxiety. "Don't worry. I'll play nice with the other countries, as long as they don't mess with those two Italians." Relief and a little bit of curiosity. "You know, you were a lot less nosy when you were alive." Ren commented bitterly. Amusement. "That wasn't supposed to be funny. Now, shoo. I gotta get ready for the World Meeting." Annoyance. "Oyasuminasai."

Rome, Italy

Two twins leaned against each other for support. One of them, Rosa, appearing to take it harder than her brother. She was sobbing into his shoulder while her comforted her. "It's just not fair! Why did they have to die for us to live?!" She asked her brother, glancing up only long enough to ask the question, before returning her face to his shirt. "Angelo, why did he have to be so brave in the end?"

Angelo smiled gently at his sister, a feat that was harder than he wished for her to believe. "So that we could remember him as a brave, brave man that gave his life trying to save the German." His sister's greenish eyes turned cold at these words. Anger towards Germany spiked up in her. Her brother felt this and sensed trouble ahead.

Berlin, Germany

Luka stared at the grave in disgust. Though the disgust wasn't directed at his 'Vati' it was at himself. He felt like the last minute replacement of a broken gear. He was dirty and rusted, but better than nothing at all, if just barely. He was only there until there was time to replace him. With disgust, anger flared. "Stupid, how could I replace such a great man?! My people are going to hate me!" Suddenly, the memory of his Vati's death came back forcefully. Brushing it away, he sighed. "You trying to tell me something?" He asked the grave. "Yeah, yeah. I'll try my best."

Madrid, Spain

Sofia sprinted through the crowded streets, constantly running into different people and murmuring apologizes. The one thing no one saw were the tears streaming down her face. She wouldn't accept it. Where was Antonio? He had to be here! That memory couldn't be real! But, she heard the message it brought loud and clear. "Watch over South Italy" But how?! How could she watch over him when she didn't even knew who he was?!

Ottawa, Canada

"SON OF A BITCH!" Abigail yelled at the gravestone. "You idiotic son of a bitch! The day you die is the first day you make people notice you?! UGH! I can't believe you!"

"Abigail..." Kumajiro nudged her with his cold nose. "Don't yell at him." Abigail turned around with a sour expression. "Who?!" She demanded, making the polar bear's gaze fill with guilt. She turned away from the bear, and faced her father's grave again. "Trust me, no one will dare say that to me!"

Budapest, Hungary

Katalin cried terribly. Her eyes were red and swollen from her tears, but she did not care. Her 'mother' had just died. Someone in her country -a hero- had just died. Her little innocent heart was being squeezed in a painful way that was horrible for her. She ran a hand over the smooth grave, her tears falling along with the rain that seemed so cliche to everyone else. It just seemed cold to her. How could she possibly handle her mother's people and land when she felt so young and naive. "Give me strength, Mom."

Victoria, Seychelles

Eliana sat on the edge of the cliff looking out at the ocean below her. Her bare feet swung slowly. She had the sudden urge to swim in the churning waters of her island, but ignored it. This was a day to mourn, not to swim. She opened her mouth and began to sing a wordless, mournful tune. A dolphin chirps somewhere below her, joining in the song. She smiles sadly. "Even the island's creatures miss you." She whispers.

Hanoi, Vietnam

Thanh Ha was was in pain. She hadn't known her 'mother', but it had still hurt like hell whenever she thought of the day of her death. The burning, the screams, the flash. It was all maddening. Yet, none of these were the worst. The worst was the shattering feeling in her chest. A single tear slid down her cheek as a name filled her mind, the same name her 'mother' had screamed as she died. "Gilbert"

Tallinn, Estonia

Viktor pushed his glasses further up his nose, praying the wouldn't fall off when he bent down to retrieve his fallen books. When he straightened, hhe came face to face with the warrior that rose above his father's grave. He was still slightly insulted that no one bothered to ask him what he wanted his father's grave to look like. Though, to everyone else he was just this random boy that had decided to show up at the hero's funeral. At least now he was alone without any pestering eyes. "Don't worry father, I've got this." 'I think...'

Riga, Latvia

Markuss had to be brave. His people had just lost their hero. They needed a new one to rise above and help them, and that had to be him. He was the personification of Latvia. He'd be the hero they needed. This being what he promised the small boy's grave. With a salute, he finished, "I can be their prince!"

Vilnius, Lithuania

Matas wasn't crying. He didn't care about a man he'd never met before. That would be stupid. He wasn't crying. Oh hell, he was crying. Only a little bit though! When your forced to remember someones painful death, of course you would cry! "I-I'm not crying!" He insisted to no one.

Minsk, Belarus

Anastasiya refused to wear a dress. There was no way in hell they could get her to wear such a girly thing. Didn't they get how humiliating that was for the young tomboy? Well, who cares anyway. She wore black jeans, wasn't that enough?

Anastasiya didn't cry. She found it silly to cry for someone she's never met before. But she did feel grief. Her 'mother' had loved that Russian to the very end, yet all he did was push her away? What a dick. Hatred spiked inside her, making her imagine stabbing the tall Russian multiple times with her mother's knife. Oh yeah, this next meeting was gonna be a helluva fun time.

Kiev, Ukraine

Mariya didn't mind the rain. It meant she could have a rest for today, instead of breaking her back watering her crops. It was a pain, and she was still grieving. Katyusha had been a kind woman, even in her last moments. Mariya could feel her people's sadness as well as her own. It was a little overwhelming and distracting. So instead of working, she mourned for the hero of her people. "You were great."

Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Alec refused to go to the ceremony with his 'big brother'. Screw him! It wasn't even in his homeland! Why the hell should he go?! So with that thought, he stayed home, mourning for the little girl who had died in his own way. She was too young for him to think of her as his mother. If she was still alive today, he would actually look older than her. The scowl that he wore constantly only adding to his apparent age. He wore such an expression now as he stared up at his ceiling. "Bye, Sis. I've got things now."

Berne, Switzerland

Nico was the first to accept it. It wasn't his fault, nor was it his 'father's'. It was whoever had sent the bomb, and like all the other personifications at one time, he promised his father to find the wo/man responsible. He also promised to watch over his people as best he could. "Don't worry. I won't fail you!"

Warsaw, Poland

Filip was a man. Men don't cry. Still, that didn't mean he wasn't sad for the young woman who had died in the explosion. She couldn't have been older than thirty. Plus, she was a known hero in Poland. It was a huge loss for his land and people. But still, he didn't cry. "I'll stay tough for ya, ma'am." He said to the air. "Trust me."

City of Brussels, Belgium

Noah cradled the bottle in his hands, while chatting up the pretty girl next to him. Elise was it? Or Ellen? God, he couldn't remember. Did it really matter? "So, what do you think of Bella's death?" She managed to ask the one question he didn't want to answer.

"Well..." He said, dragging out the word to stall for time. What to say, what to say? "Of course, it's horrible for all of the country. She was such an amazing woman." He flinched at the memory of her death. He downed the beer in his hands.

Copenhagen, Denmark

"Well," Isabella said, "You tried your best old man. I'll drink to that." She raised the crystal glass in her hands, before swallowing it all. "Now it's my turn."

Helsinki, Finland

Aleski hated the cold snow brought. Sure, snow was pretty cool but he really really hated being cold in any way. That was what kept him from going to his father's grave. This didn't fill him with as much guilt as it should have. He had never met the man after all, why should he be all broken up about it? He hadn't asked to be born/created/whatever. It was their fault for dying. Still, he had a country to watch over. "You can count on me."

Reykjavik, Iceland

Katrin loved animals more than she loved human beings. She could understand animals easier than humans, she could talk to them easier than humans. Animals were just easier. There didn't have all these unspoken rules that you had to follow, they didn't bother her about showing her emotions. When she cried, they snuggled with her, when she laughed it was usually because of something they did.

Because of her connection with animals, she shut out most humans. This made it painful when she went to the funeral. Everyone stared at her when she sobbed, like it was something wrong to be crying at a funeral. Then they had the nerve to ask her what she was doing there! These were her people?! Well, screw them! She liked animals better anyway.

Oslo, Norway

Emil wasn't really sure what to think about all of this. He'd never met this man, but he still had the memory of his death fresh in his mind. That gave him a closer connection with him than anyone else who had met him. And frankly? They didn't know him as well as he did. "Don't worry." He muttered to the gravestone. "Everything's great on my end."

Stockholm, Sweden

Elsa couldn't stop talking. That's what happened when she got nervous. "-no one likes me?! What if everyone hates me?! I can't talk to the rest of the world! I don't know anything about anything! Why did you have to leave me in charge?! I mean-" Yep, she was yelling at a grave. But, well no one was around so it was okay.

Athens, Greece

Aikaterine stroked the kitten's soft fur, before burying her face into it. The warmth comforted her, but it wasn't enough to stop the tears from flowing. It didn't matter that she never met him, she had experienced his death the moment before she came into this world, to anybody that would be daunting. To a young girl like her? Crushing. "I-I'm so sorry!" She sobbed into the kitten's flank.

Ankara, Turkey

Onur found the mask creepy. Really creepy. Actually, he found the previous personification of Turkey all around creepy. Man, if he was supposed to act like that then he would have to break a few rules. There was no way he was going to be such a creep. Well, at least the people at the world meeting were in for a pleasant surprise.

Vienna, Austria

Lena was eating cake. She did not care for the ceremonies of the dead. Too many people around to make nice with and pretend she wasn't completely overridden with guilt. It was hard enough pretending to herself. "It's not like it's my fault or anything! He died by a bomb!" She said out loud, hoping to convince herself. No such luck. "Yeah, but I'm also alive because he's dead..." She murmured.

London, England

Gilbert watched in horror as the building burned. A scream caught in his throat as he ran towards it, only to be held back by another micronation. Saro most likely, Peter and Sky couldn't hold him back even if they tried. Still, Gilbert barely noticed as his scream finally dislodged itself from his throat. "WEST! VIET! DAMMIT NO!" Pain exploded in his chest just as violently as the explosion in front of him. Saro's restraining arms soon became the only thing keeping him up. One thought flashed across his mind.

"Why couldn't it have been me?"

Oh, the cliches...

'Kay, that's all done FINALLY! It was absolute CRAP having to brainstorm half of those. Anyway, it was actually fun writing this (Oh what a horrible person am I for having fun writing about the entire Hetalia cast dying), so I hope you at least have a little fun reading this. I can't wait for the next chapter, but from the way things have been going, there will be a bit of a wait. Sorry 'bout that. It's just horrible juggling school and writer's block. And since I can't hire a clown (Scary ass things...) to do it for me, I'll just have to deal the best I can. Sorry again.

Also, as you might've been able to guess, there will be... interesting pairings.

REVIEW! W! DO IT!

Kiwi \(*0*)/