Disclaimer: Haha, no.

Rating: K+

Summary: He may not remember his past, but he is still beyond lost.

Genre: General/Friendship

Looking back, he would remember nothing but the sounds of screaming and clashing swords, and the sharp tang of sweat and blood would bring back the horrors of that day. He would be lost, without a name to give himself, without a memory of who he was, where he came from. He would be- to the best of his knowledge- a child born from death. Bleeding and half way to the grave, he would, perhaps, stumble off alive, continuing a half existence smothered by a sense of abandonment and loss. Perhaps he would never leave that soiled place, laying down instead beside countless men, who he knew not as friend or foe, and joining them in their slumber from which he would not awake. Perhaps he would not stand at all.

As the weapon came towards him, and a sudden awareness he could do nothing to hinder its path to his skull overtook him, he considered all of these things, and a dread sunk into him. He was lost. He had failed. He was fallen.

The butt of the weapon struck its target with a sickening crunch, and the Holy Roman Empire broke beneath it.

*~*~*~*~*

He felt a dull sense of warmth and lightness and vaguely he wondered if this was Heaven. Death, he thought, was silly to be feared if this was what it felt like. He felt as in someone had lifted his battered body and carried him away, and with them he went gladly. Something was pressing at his face, a dull twinge of pain followed, and he frowned slightly. Did one still feel pain after death? A sudden twinge of fear engulfed him then and his heart constricted. Perhaps he was not destined to go to Heaven… What if he had done too much wrong? Defensively he curled inwards, and bid his mind to slip away, if only to give his parting a moment's peace.

*~*~*~*~*

His conscious vaguely registered he was being addressed, but he willed himself to remain in slumber. You know nothing of what calls you. Close your eyes and you cannot see where it is you have gone. It is safer to stay ignorant. There was an agony and a leaden sense from what seemed every limb, and it pulled him sharply back from his respite, demanding attention. He groaned and let out a slight cry of pain, his muscles constricting against the onslaught.

"Hey."

No. Don't call me. Sleep was peaceful. Let me sleep.

"You still here?"

Here? Curiousity overtook him, as he wondered to himself exactly where 'here' was.

With a groan his eyes slid open to allow the light to spill in from the outside world. Colors swirled before him, each blending and dancing together in to objects only half discernable, each screaming to be recognized. With a flinch he shut his eyes tight and whimpered.

A chuckle, then the voice from before. "You back among the living, kid?"

His let his eyes open and his neck to turn in the direction of his caller, and immediately jolted from his daze with a surprised cry.

"Wh-who are you?!" He asked as he took in the face before him. Sharp silvery hair framed a strong jaw and below its' tresses a pair of sanguine eyes regarded him with amusement before turning forwards. Below him he could feel strong arms supporting him and his head had been resting gently against the man's shoulder, his arm draped limply beside it.

"Well that's an awfully rude way to speak to the man who just saved your life, don't you think?" The man was grinning, an eyebrow cocked high.

Shock hit him then, and the boy was filled once again with confusion. Was he… but he had died, hadn't he? "My… life..?" Doubt found words and sought answers.

"Yeah," The grin widened, "But since I'm such an awesome guy, don't worry about paying me back." Those crimson orbs regarded him again for a brief moment, amusement still dancing within them. "You can still praise me though, or something like that."

As the boy regarded the man with disbelief at his words, he noticed a long streak of red against the pale flesh of his jaw. Blood still oozed from it, creeping slowly towards his chin, and other signs of harassment suddenly showed themselves to be evident.

"Sir, you're bleeding." The boy said in alarm, as he regarded the wounds.

"So? What are you? Squeamish? God, I hope I didn't just risk my awesome self for a whimp. Yeesh."

Indignant, the boy puffed up, forgetting his injuries, to defend himself. "I'm not a whimp! You're just wounded is all!"

A slight frown. "Yeah, and so are you, and you're much the worse. You're just lucky I fixed them up for ya'." His tone was almost reprimanding. "'Sides, these little scrapes are nothing, I've seen much more gruesome things." Looking at him, the boy could suddenly believe he had.

There was silence for awhile as they walked, broken only by the soft crunch of his savior's boots upon the grit of the road and the bird song from deep within the trees. He was left to himself, wondering why this man had gone through so much trouble, or so it seemed, just for him.

"What's your name?"

The question jarred him from his reveries and he looked up, startled.

"My name? It's-" He faltered, and when he tried to recall it, all he could hear were the sounds of war and death. For him, there was nothing as he tried again and again to recall who he was.

Finally he replied, his tone broken and hopeless, "…I don't know…"

"Don't know, huh?"

He shook his head, and let it fall forwards so blond bangs fell into his blue eyes. The man's gaze turned upwards, a contemplative look settling across his face, "Well that won't do."

The boy was left in his misery for only a moment, before the man spoke again in a carefree manner, as if he was asking about the weather.

"How about Ludwig?" The boy regarded him with amazement for a moment, before he nodded faintly. The name, Ludwig… It seemed right to him and he felt as though he had been called that for centuries.

The grin was back, and the man's full attention was on him as he offered his own title.

"Good. And I'm Gilbert, by the way. Gilbert Weillschmidt, the most awesome guy to ever draw a breath, you got that?"

Ludwig regarded him for a moment and found he had no doubts about his words. This man was… There was no one greater than he, Ludwig was suddenly sure of it.

Smiling he nodded again and replied with a happy "Mmm! Got it!"

Laughter broke suddenly from Gilbert's lips and he threw his head back for a moment, his smile blinding. "Great, and don't you forget it! Now, let's go get you fixed up before someone thinks I've gone soft or beat up a kid or something stupid."

Ludwig let his eyes fall closed and rested his head more comfortably against Gilbert's shoulder, a smile still dancing on his lips.

"Okay… thank you…" A pause, then one eye cracked open to regard the man who had called him back from death and had found him when he was lost. "Thank you, brother..."

As he drifted back into sleep, Prussia let out a long sigh and cocked his head slightly to one side in feigned annoyance. "Damn, don't get all mushy on me." He said softly, though he was still smiling, "You really will make me soft."

And that's it! Leave me a review, let me know what you though. Liked it? Hated it? Found about a million errors? Clickety the button below! 3

And yes… I know there was probably a bit of OOCness in there v__v||| -siiigh~-