Chapter 1: The Incident

It had been a normal day, all the way until Ludwig returned home, in a bad mood from work. Gilbert stayed silent all the way until Ludwig blamed Fritz for bad weather and said he would make "Gilbird roast" for dinner. Then Gilbert lost his temper, he raised his voice to Ludwig, trying to yell sense into the boy. Needless to say, it didn't work. It made Ludwig angrier. He beat Gilbert with his belt until Gilbert could no longer move, then he left the room to get thread and needle, muttering about teaching Gilbert his place.

The moment the needle pressed into the top of gilbert's lip, he screamed, he fought, all to no avail as Ludwig's larger, stronger form was pinning him to the ground, eyes glinting with madness. Gilbert was afraid, his lips were being unrelentingly strung together with thick string, pulled tight. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't scream, all he could do was lie there, struggling silently, taking what he was given. Tears pricked at Gilbert's eyes for the first time since the wall had fallen. There was nothing for it, he'd have to run when Ludwig was asleep. He'd treat Ludwig like a dangerous enemy and play it safe.

He trembled slightly as Ludwig rose from him, one hand reached up to touch his sealed lips. The hand came back bloody. Then Ludwig spoke, "You have been very bad, Gilbert, I'm afraid I must punish you." There was a smile on Ludwig's face as he said this, and a shiver ran up Gilbert's spine. This reminded him of Ivan, when they were at war and he was captured and tortured in front of Fritz. This would, however, be far more painful. Betrayed love and faith always was.

The 'Punishment' went on until Gilbert lost consciousness, it may have continued after, but Gilbert didn't know. It was impossible to distinguish one set of pain from the others, at least not now. Breath caught in his chest as he tried to move, agony flooded his body and mind, leaving no room for anything else. Somehow, a single thought penetrated the bloody haze, "LIVE" he had to live, had to get out of here. Shakily, Gilbert stood, dragging himself up the basement stairs, pausing in the hall, making sure he made no sound as he slipped out of the door.

The click as it shut sounded final to gilbert, who was carrying all he owned, an iron cross, a Templar's cross, a gold ring on a chain, a few clothes, pictures and one portrait of Friedrich. His meager belongings fit in a small bag, which was slung around his shoulder.

Stumbling, Gilbert made his way to the Butcher shop, slumping against the door, he thumped at it frantically, using the last of his energy. As the door opened, he lost consciousness, and he let the blackness take him.

The butcher, Lyle, was shocked to see the state of gilbert. Sure, he'd come there covered in injuries before, but this was just monstrous. Who would sew someone's mouth shut and beat them like this? Thankful that his wife had gone to bed, Lyle carried gilbert to the couch, taking in the bag around Gilbert's shoulder, he sighed.

Waking up his son, he told him about Gilbert. Pieter, his son, was studying medicine, and had mentioned a genius friend who was always ready to help. He had said something about the boy, Hans, Searching for someone. Hearing what had happened, Pieter immediately called Hans over. Hans said that he would come over in the morning, at seven. So they waited.

Morning came, but the mood in the house was tense. Nobody made any move to prepare the shop or go to study. All eyes in the house were fixed on the unmoving figure lying on the couch. Karla (the butcher's wife) had red eyes from crying, and the two men were pacing.

Hans finally arrived at five-to-seven, promptly, he laid out his instruments and walked into the hall. The sight that met his eyes nearly made him sick. Gilbert lay still, far too still, with tight, thick stitches binding his lips. That explained the silence. He couldn't moan, couldn't whimper or scream. It was unnatural.

"Well Hans?" Pieter asked, "Can you help him?"

Hans' eyes hardened, "Yes. Get me my surgical kit, would you?"

Pieter nodded, moving with practiced ease towards said kit, the movement only slightly marred by the jerkiness of his hands. Hans moved with practiced ease that seemed out of place in his youthful body. His eyes never left his patient as he moved purposefully and silently through every stitch, every cut and every bruise. He seemed to be cataloging them for future reference. When he had finished, his eyes fell on the bag that Gilbert had brought with him, and he opened it, looking through the contents. His eyes stopped at the portrait, and his lips quirked into a half-smile. He lifted the portrait out, placing it near Gilbert, so it faced him, so it would be the first thing he saw waking up. His eyes then fell on the ring, and they filled with tears,

"Damn, Gil. You never forget, do you?" He whispered to Gilbert, placing the ring around Gilbert's neck reverently, "Fritz will kill you if you die before he sees you."

Hans stroked Gilbert's hair gently, hoping he would wake. The gentle gesture wasn't missed by Lyle and his family, who tried to question him about it, instead of answering, Hans told them to wait till Gilbert woke up, after which he'd tell them all they wanted to know. In detail.

The next two days, Gilbert stayed asleep, but color slowly returned to his skin and his lips were slowly knitting back together, it gave all of them hope, seeing his breathing even out, to see him slip into a natural sleep from a coma. Hans' clenched fists and teeth when he saw the old scars were proof that he cared for Gilbert (and quite a lot if the number of swears were any indication, Lyle didn't think he'd even heard a few of those before).

Four days after Hans' first visit, Gilbert began to stir. His eyes fluttered open, taking in the portrait that had been placed in front of him. He raised a hand to his neck, feeling the ring against his heart, tears welled in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. He really was acting sissy.

Pieter was the first to see Gilbert awake, he shouted for Hans and his family and they came to see what was wrong. Gilbert looked at them, a gentle smile on his face. There was pain there, but some sense of relief. Hans stepped forward,

"Gilbert."

Gilbert's eyes widened, "Doctor? HANS?!"

Hans smiled warmly, "This was one hell of a mess, dear friend."

Gilbert nodded mutely before rising and capturing Hans in a tight embrace.

"Gil- wheeze- can't- wheeze- Breathe."

"Kesesese"

"You should be resting, Gilbert" Hans' face sobered from joy to seriousness.

"I've never seen you that still. Ever, and I've patched you up after a hell of a lot."

"I know. I thought I was dead this time."

"Don't joke!"

"No Joke. There's very little other than Germany's whims keeping me alive right now."

Hans flinched, "We're here, Gil. We'll fix it"

Gilbert smiled bitterly, "You and what army?"

"The same one from Silesia."

Gilbert looked shocked and he wasn't the only one

"Someone explain, please." Said Lyle

So Gilbert explained about nations in general, about Prussia and Germany in particular, about the world they saw, the relationships, the trials, the pains, the joys. By the end, Lyle was wide eyed, Pieter was crying, as was his mother.

"Now Hans, You explain how you came into possession of the army we used in Silesia."

Hans smiled, "Friedrich is here. The people will follow him wherever he leads, and I'm not the only one. Wilhelm, Hermann, Schwerin and Keith are here, so is Kleist for some reason."

Gilbert seemed stuck, his hand on the ring around his neck, "Fritz is here? He knows everything?"

"Yes"

"and he still wants to help me?"

"Yes, Gilbert. In fact we all know, and we all do."

This seemed to be too much for the nation, he broke into sobs, and no one had any idea what to do.

"You will war with Germany for me?"

"Yes, Prussia, we'd all do that at least."

"At least? Do you know the risks?"

"We'd all fight the world for you, just like you'd do for us."

Lyle nodded, "Count us in, and the majority of Germany, who are suffering under the government too."

Pieter nodded as well, "well, now you can teach me to fight as well!"

At this point, they all decided to drop the subject, and Gilbert was sent to rest, with the promise that Friedrich would come visit soon.