The largest factory in the sunless slums stood out against the grey sky like a decaying animal. Its walls were blackened from the fire that had destroyed it and so many workers years ago. The windows were shattered, and the floors were black. The archaic machinery had been smashed and scorched and left throughout the building, blood still dried and visible on the blades. What these machines had been used for was long forgotten.

Gilbert Beilschmidt leaned calmly against the grimy wall, staring up at the shattered skylight in the center of the ceiling. His white hair was unbrushed and stuck up in places, and his scarlet eyes were tired and dull. He yawned slightly, scratching the side of his head and tucking the old walkie-talkie he'd been using a moment ago into the pocket of his ratty pants. He'd been standing there for a good portion of the morning, alone, listening.

He heard a noise and immediately crouched down, turning and grabbing his pistol. But he relaxed slightly when he heard giggling. He peaked through the window. Just some kids, sneaking into the abandoned building for a laugh. He rolled his eyes, then jumped out the door. "Boo!" He yelled.

The giggling turned to screams, and the boys scrambled backward, howling bloody murder and scampering away. Gilbert started laughing, wiping his eyes. Gott he loved kids. Or at least messing with them.

"U-Um, excuse Mr. Beilschmidt…"

He stiffened again and spun around again. There was a boy, maybe his brother's age, standing in a doorway leading deeper into the factory. His brown hair was shoulder length and looked as if he'd attempted to brush it, but his clothes were torn and dirty. "W…What were you doing?" He asked quietly, looking slightly worried.

Gilbert grinned at him. "I look kinda like a ghost, right? Kesesese, kids must've wet themselves…" He snickered some more. He glanced up at the kid. "Well? So what's the deal, you people asking to see me?"

The boy nodded quickly. "R-Right, sorry," he apologized. "Um, well, right this way, Mr. Braginski is anxious to talk to you."

Gilbert sighed and nodded, walking after him with his hands tucked into his pockets, still gripping his gun out of sight…

Hey. You wanna know what the devil looks like? Let me describe him to you: His hair is white-blond and his eyes are violet and cold as death. He's massive and pale, and has this awful childlike smile that will be the last thing you see when he drags you down to hell, laughing all the while…

Sounds kinda like a ghost story huh? Scary.

Right, so I'm gonna explain a little bit more about this war, alright? 'Cause it's not awesome just kinda throwing you guys in here without understanding anything. Okay, well, there're three sides fighting. Sounds kinda dumb at first, but trust me, when it's a choice between the devil and hell on earth, you're gonna try for a third option.

Okay, so the first side of the War is the government guys. You never know much about them, they don't show their cowardly faces in public. They use blackmail and deceit and, uh, some third thing Ludwig figured out, to control everything. They have a shit-ton of things we don't have here in the slums. Like magic. They control the magic.

I really don't get magic. I mean, what? What is magic? I'm sure there's some whole philosophical crap-ton of useless scheiße that can explain it, but hey, not helpful. From what I've figured out, though, there're several important points you should know.

First is Mages. I think that's what they're called. Magicians? Sorcerers? Something. Well, they're magic people that do magic. Easiest way to put it. They do everything the government tells 'em to, why I have no idea. There're not that many of them though, so it's not like it's the hugest problem in the world.

Other magic is this stuff called Magitech. Imaginative, right? It's like this stuff that sucks the energy out of those fossil fuels and makes them not kill you slowly. Kinda works like a battery; at least, that's what it's used for out where the sky isn't the color of smoke.

Problem with that is it's super expensive. And the factories that make it still poison the air and are dangerous and evil beyond anything you can freaking imagine. So I guess the government thought, 'Hey, why don't we just slowly poison the slums! It's not like they're real people~!' And, um, well, ja that's one problem we got here…

Anyway, so the second side of the War: Ivan Braginski. He is basically what evil come to life would look like if it wore a creepy smile and a tacky scarf. He's brutal and ruthless and will kill you if you're in his way. Which is not awesome for civilians, on either side. Err, not awesome for anyone actually.

They've wiped entire towns clean off the maps. I mean, the government won't take them seriously until they actually threaten someone 'important', but Ivan Braginski doesn't care. He just wants blood, and a lot of it.

He has this crazy idea about making a utopia. Like, a perfect place where everyone is 'equal' and no one will oppress us anymore. But I know it's all a load of scheiße. He calls it "Mark's-ism" or "Communitism" or something weird like that. But it's nothing more than smoke and mirrors, and I really can't figure out what his real goal is.

The problem about his 'utopia' thing is that even though it's just a bunch of shit, people believe him. He's got all these people following him. People that believe him. People that are afraid to not believe him. If he manages to get any more people he could cause some serious damage…

Well, last, but certainly not least, is the resistance movement, lead by none other than the Awesomeness that is Gilbert Beilschmidt! Kesesese~

Ja, so it's me and Ludwig and Elizabeta, and a bunch of guys who've realized that Braginski is a monster and the current system is hell. The three of us have been rounding up fighters and chipping away at the enemy's defenses for almost four years and…

…err…

…

…well, maybe now it's just me…

Elizabeta and me had been the commanders. We started everything. She had been my neighbor, my best friend. She was…strong and pretty and wonderful. They captured her a year after we started fighting though. I haven't heard from her in two years. I don't even know if she's still alive…

But I'd always had Ludwig with me. He was my brother, my second in command. He was my little brother. I was supposed to protect him…

God damn it, why am I using past tense? He's alive! I know he is. There'd been a few survivors of the ambush, that Kiku kid, he'd said he saw them take Ludwig, he's not dead! I know he's not! I know he's not…

The boy walked through some hallways, and Gilbert began to see more and more people walking around. They'd known for a while where Braginski and his men were hiding, but they'd never gotten near. Too dangerous. Not enough men or weapons.

But now here he was. Alone in enemy territory. With only a pistol and a walkie-talkie.

Awesome.

This was why Ludwig would always listen to his plans before they were put in action. Ludwig was the calm one, the clever one. He knew when one of Gilbert's ideas was dangerous or rash. He always knew what to do. But Ludwig was gone.

Gilbert sighed and calmly followed after the kid leading him deeper into the factory. Oh well, no use just complaining when there's awesome shit to be done!

They seemed to meander for a while, until they finally reached a large door of what had been an office years ago. The boy nervously grabbed the door, took a deep breath, and pulled it open.

Ivan Braginski, sitting calmly at a small, wooden table, glanced up. A childlike smile broke across his face. "Gilbert! Привет!"

The person sitting across from him turned abruptly, looking startled. And his brown eyes grew wider at the sight of Gilbert. "Wha…?" He spun around to frown at the other. "Why is—?"

"We will continue this discussion later then, да?" Ivan interrupted.

The young man looked taken aback. "W-What? B-But this is important, I think more important that anything he has to say aru—"

"We will continue this discussion later, да?" Ivan repeated, his eyes flashing dangerously.

The other paled slightly at the dismissal, then stood up, brushing his long dark hair back in a huff. He brushed angrily past Gilbert and the boy who had led him there, scowling at the both of them. Before he passed through the door, however, Ivan frowned. "Oh, yes, Yao!" The man turned. Ivan looked up at Gilbert. "Will you hold our guest's gun?"

The young man blinked, then frowned, looking nervous. "I-I am not your servant aru—"

"But you do work for me," Ivan said softly.

There was a long silence, then Yao turned toward Gilbert, holding out his hand. Gilbert glowered at him, then at Ivan, his hands tightening around the pistol still in his pocket. Ivan was smiling calmly at him. Finally, Gilbert pulled the pistol, and placed it in the other man's hand. Yao quickly turned and disappeared through the door.

Gilbert warily turned back toward Ivan. "You will take a seat," Ivan said with a smile. Gilbert could hear that it wasn't a request, but he didn't move, just raising his eyebrow. Ivan, of course, didn't comment. "Do you want any vodka? Toris!"

The boy, who had been silently edging toward the door, jumped, straightening up quickly. "Y-Y-Yes sir—?"

"You will bring our guest some vodka," Ivan told him.

Toris nodded quickly. "Of course sir, right away." And he dashed from the room as fast as his legs could carry him.

Gilbert watched the young man run. "I don't want any vodka," he told the other, turning back around with an insolent smirk. "It's disgusting. I like beer a hell of a lot better."

Ivan didn't seem to hear him. "I am glad you could come," he said cheerily. "I was afraid I would need to drag you here myself!" He smiled up at him. "Why are you not sitting?" He asked suddenly.

Gilbert sighed. Gott he wished he'd stayed home; this guy was insane. "Listen, Braginski—"

"Why do you call me that?" He asked curiously, interrupting Gilbert. "You should call me Ivan, you are my friend."

Gilbert narrowed his eyes. "We're not friends," he replied coolly.

A strangle gleam appeared in the other's violet eyes. "I think you will want to change that soon," he replied.

Gilbert frowned, but before he could ask what he meant, the door opened, and Toris stumbled inside with two small glasses and a large bottle of vodka. Ivan frowned at him. "Only one bottle?" He asked. The boy tried to stammer an apology, but Ivan held up a gloved hand, silencing him. "I do not care, go get Eduard."

"R-Right, of course." He disappeared again.

Gilbert watched him disappear. He could hear the clink of glasses, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Ivan place a glass onto the table in front of him. He turned back toward Ivan and crossed his arms. "So, Braginski," he muttered, plopping into the chair and leaning back, propping his legs onto the table "what do you want with the awesome me?"

Ivan simply took a long drink from his own glass, draining it in a matter of seconds. "Дa, I was going to talk to you about your brother Ludwig."

Gilbert's heart stopped.

"W…What?"

Ivan smiled, calmly pouring out more vodka into his glass. "You should drink some vodka," he told him, without looking up. "Vodka is good for you."

Gilbert stared at him, unable to breathe. Shakily, Gilbert grabbed the glass and took a swig. He almost coughed, feeling the fiery liquid slide down his throat, but forced himself to swallow. Then he placed the glass back down. "So, what the hell are you talking about?" He asked evenly, forcing himself to look bored forcing himself to relax.

"Well, I never knew you had a brother!" Ivan exclaimed, refilling Gilbert's glass. "Why keep secrets from your friends? But then again," he took another gulp of vodka, "it would be dangerous if people knew you had a brother, дa? I wonder if they've made the connection. He could be a good hostage. Or a good corpse."

Gilbert forced a sneer, his hand tightening around his glass. "Listen, I don't know what you're talking about—"

"M-Mister Braginski," a voice stammered, and Gilbert turned to see a nervous blond boy with a computer standing in the doorway, his glasses crooked on his face. "You, um, wanted to see me?" He asked.

"Дa, why don't you show our new friend what you found yesterday?" Ivan suggested.

Eduard looked confused, but nodded quickly, pulling open his computer. "O-Of course! Um, where was it…it was… here, 'Ludwig Beilschmidt, age sixteen, currently serving his life sentence for treason, requested at the Vargas household at—"

"Thank you, Eduard," Ivan interrupted.

Eduard jumped, then nodded quickly. "Y-Yes, of course, sorry," he stammered, closing the computer.

Gilbert stared blankly at the computer in the kid's arms. So they had Ludwig. He definitely was alive. And, of course, Ivan knew who he was. "You didn't tell me where he was," He commented, although to whom he wasn't entirely sure.

Ivan just smiled. "Then it wouldn't be fun!" He replied. Gilbert scowled at him, but before he could make a retort, Ivan had already stood up. "So, are you ready to be my friend," he asked with that childlike smile spread across his face.

Gilbert smirked slightly at the man standing across from him. "Kesese, why would the awesome me want to be your friend—?"

"Because I know where Ludwig is," Ivan replied, now taking a long drink from the bottle of vodka. "Because you don't have enough men to go and help him by yourself. Because any second they could find out who he is. Because it is only a matter of time before I get bored and decide to destroy the town he is in."

Gilbert bristled at that last statement. "You wouldn't—"

"Why not?" Ivan interrupted. "It is only a matter of time before they find out who he is, дa? He is a dead man! But…" he placed the empty bottle onto the table, "perhaps if you agree to help me, we could find him in time!" He fixed Gilbert with a questioning stare. "Are you ready to be my friend?"

Gilbert stared back at him. He stared into those calm violet eyes, refusing to break eye contact. He couldn't see a way out of this. He needed to save Ludwig. He had to. Before someone found out who he was, before someone killed him, before he lost someone else.

"…what do you want me to do…?"

I love Gilbert, but this is a pretty angsty chapter huh? I just love pissing Rachel of with angst~! Yeah, that's right, Rachel, this is your fault. :)

So here are a bunch more of my favorite characters. God, I like these characters waaaay to much. I love all of them!

Thank you all for your comments and reviews and favorites and the like! I know I've said this before, but seriously, thanks!