Well, I'm back, with the alternate ending. Actually, this is only the first half of the alternate-the other half will come when I finish it, so probably tomorrow.
Anyways, this was what I was trying to write with the other one, and I think I've succeeded better with this chapter. Hope so, anyways. :) This is also the ending the possible sequel will be based off, although the premise of the sequel won't be hinted at until next chapter...
When the lights came on, Lithuania didn't move. He could have, could have stood up and faced Russia. But, instead, he remained kneeling next to Estonia, until he felt a cold touch on his shoulder.
"You know better than to be down here, da?" Russia asked.
"Y-yes," Lithuania stammered, "But I…I couldn't stay away."
"You are so very pathetically funny," Russia said, sounding amused, "How loyal you act sometimes, when other times you leave them. And you can't decide which one you love more, can you? Even now, you are wondering if you should have chosen Estonia over Latvia."
"I wouldn't have willingly chosen between them," Lithuania said, "You forced me to. I…I didn't have any other option but to choose, and Estonia would have died if I didn't choose him…"
"He would come back," Russia said unfeelingly, "He is the smart one, da? Maybe he would learn from this. Unlike you…you never seem to learn from any of thse punishments. It is funny, you are my favorite…but you don't know what's good for you."
"What's good for me…?" Lithuania said slowly, "Maybe what's good for me is different than what you think? Why do you think that hurting people will mend their faults? Don't we all have faults?"
"You should learn to be better," Russia said, "Until you do, this will keep happening. Now…I think you can stay down here for a while, since you seem to like it…but we can't have you close to Estonia. He'll never learn anything if you're always there to make the punishment seem like normal life."
Lithuania felt Russia's large hands grab onto his shoulders, pulling him away from Estonia. He tried to smile at his friend, but found that he could not.
"Well," said Russia, as he dragged Lithuania away, "Where shall we put you?"
"Please let go!" Lithuania gasped, struggling to loosen the larger nation's grip, "You're hurting me!"
"Lithuania, won't you ever realize?" Russia asked, "The only way I can teach you to behave is by hurting you. Pain will teach you."
"Russia…please… Just listen…"
"No!" Russia said, his voice growing more sinister, "I will not be listening! You listen to me! I am the head of this family, da? So I make the rules. Any of my family who does not follow my rules…must be punished. I don't like to punish you, you know that. But I have to. It will help you."
"Russia, it's not helping!" Lithuania screamed, frustrated, "Do you want to know why Latvia is always trembling? It's because of you! Because of what you do to him, to us! He's scared to death of you, can't you see it? Can't you see what you're doing to us all?"
The pressure on Lithuania's shoulders built, until the small nation found himself kneeling on the floor. He looked up slowly, to find himself staring into Russia's cold, angry eyes.
"You…" Russia said, his voice low and angry, "Don't ever question my judgment! I am not mad, no matter what they say, and I'm not doing anything wrong!"
Lithuania looked away, frightened by the Russian's angry expression.
"Mr. Russia," he said, "I'm sorry…but I can't believe that."
Lithuania wanted to die. It would be better that way, if the pain would just stop. But if he did die, here in the darkness, he wouldn't really be gone at all. He would just die a thousand deaths, each one belonging to a different person who was a part of him, until someone finally revived him.
But as a human…as a human, he could have died. He would have, whether of thirst, hunger, beating, or in war. He would be dead, most likely at Russia's hand. He wondered if it would make a difference to Russia if one of the Baltics were to die. Perhaps if they were really capable of dying, then it might make a difference to the larger nation. And then they wouldn't be in torment anymore, either, if they were gone.
And yet, he couldn't bring himself to hate Russia for the pain they were put through. Because he thought that he understood why. There had been a time when he hadn't been able to figure it out…and then he finally remembered. He remembered certain incidents of Russia's childhood that he had seen himself or been told about, and he realized that Russia had never really had a friend. Even as a child, Lithuania had been frightened of the strange country, and the fear had only grown, so other countries probably felt the same. So Russia was only doing to the Baltics what everyone had done to him as a child, not remembering how much it hurt to be bullied. And there was insanity to factor in…because Russia was definitely not completely sane. So bullying had turned into abuse, and Russia probably didn't even realize how much he was hurting them.
Of course, considering he was currently suspended from a ceiling, awaiting punishment, Lithuania suspected that this would be one of the days when he would find it very hard to keep pitying Russia.
The other nation had gone off to get something, presumably a weapon. Far too soon, Russia was back, carrying his beloved metal pipe.
Lithuania heard a whimper from the other side of the room, and could just distinguish Estonia shrinking further into the shadows.
"You don't have to do this, Russia," Lithuania whispered, "You could try a different method. Try caring instead of hurting. It might work…you might be surprised."
"I know what works," Russia said, and raised the pipe over his head. Lithuania sighed and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the strike that would inevitably follow.
Estonia watched from the shadows, horrified by what he saw, but unable to look away. The beating he had been given three days before had been brutal, but Estonia was fairly certain that it was nothing compared to the way Russia was treating Lithuania. The older nation's screams echoed through the cold, stone room, and all Estonia could do was watch. Even if he had had the strength to move, he was sure he wouldn't have, except to run away. Because now he knew. He realized how much it hurt to be beaten half to death, and his punishment had been trivial compared to what Russia was inflicting on Lithuania.
And as he stared at Lithuania, watched as the brunet nation screamed and begged for the beating to stop, watched as blood began to run down Lithuania's body and onto the floor, the other nation looked over at him through desperate, tortured green eyes, and actually smiled for a second, before the next strike hit him, and he began screaming again.
When the beating finally stopped, Russia turned away, silently, leaving Lithuania suspended from the ceiling by thick chains around his wrists. The eldest Baltic was sobbing, trying to catch his breath and regain his composure. And yet, as Russia left, Estonia saw Lithuania's face soften slightly. It looked almost as if Lithuania, who had been beaten within an inch of his life, actually pitied Russia, who had inflicted all this pain upon them all.
And Estonia couldn't figure it out. He could not understand how Lithuania could possibly pity Russia, when Russia had turned their peaceful lives into hell. And he couldn't understand, as he watched Lithuania struggling just to keep on breathing, why the eldest Baltic didn't leave. Because he could have, certainly, if he had wanted to. Couldn't he?
That last bit is so RANDOM... Ignore me and my weirdness. Anyways, next time will be the conclusion of this fic, although I plan to write a sequel soon. :)
