You've no idea how good it feels to have finished another chapter...

And who knows, maybe I'll update more regularly again! I had my last big projects, deadlines and tests until the finals in a month, so with studying I can take it relatively easy for the next month... Ah, bless that...
(It feel so wrong not to write... so, so wrong...)

Anyways, thanks again to everyone who reviewed, favourited and/or followed!

I'm sorry this chapter took me so long, and thanks for your patience!

Now I hope you'll enjoy this chapter~!

By December 1941, the United States of America joined the war as well, provoked by a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour early that month.
At the time, Prussia, Germany and Austria were at Hungary's, as Germany had mentioned once. They had the entire month off, a rarity, and for each of them this was sort of a reward for their hard work over the past months. In Africa, Germany had been there mainly to oversee the initial campaign and make sure their army would settle in the area with their Italian allies. Prussia had done an excellent job capturing and delivering Poland to Hitler, and the man had even been interested to hear about the Prussian's method of using sedatives. In the latter half of the year, both brothers had done their respective jobs well on the new Eastern Front: Prussia had surpassed expectations when he had managed to fight for a good two months, but by Autumn he'd been forced to slow down once again and had focussed on strategies more than fighting. Germany hadn't had that 'luck', of course, and had to fight whenever he could.
Austria, naturally, had done his job splendidly in the numerous camps he had been working in. He still refused to talk much, though, and no one bothered him about it anymore this time.

For once, none of the nations had been called back when decisions were being made, which the three were grateful for. Until they heard what that decision was exactly.
"And so we're at war with America, also," Germany sighed after hearing the news. He was hardly surprised by it, but that didn't mean he liked it much. "Of course, why not?"
Beside Hungary, Prussia sighed also, clearly not too impressed with the news. "It's the Great War all over again, then, isn't it?" Immediately after saying that, however, he snorted and smirked a little. "What am I saying, of course it's not. We're making progress this time, instead of being at a stalemate. We've occupied France, so that's one enemy less to deal with."
"We've got more allies this time, too," Austria put in calmly. "Also, after what happened in Pearl Harbour, I do believe the Americans will focus more on fighting Japan than on us. We'll be fine."
Germany nodded. He wasn't worried much, but he still didn't like it. Austria's reasoning made sense, though, and he was certain that America would be Japan's problem more than theirs. Besides, they were doing much better in this war than they had in the Great War, bringing nations to their knees left and right. They were paying a more hefty price themselves where destruction of cities was concerned, unfortunately, but they were still doing better than the British and the Russians were doing at the moment, not to mention the enemies they had already driven to capitulation.
Prussia huffed angrily, crossing his arms over his chest. "I regret ever having helped America, though," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else it seemed. "What has he ever done for us in return? Without our help, they would have been using their bayonets to roast food with and their army would have perished from infection and disease before the English could even lift a finger against them! They were living as less than cattle, it was so disgusting." He grimaced at the memories but didn't stop talking. "Then after we helped America win his independence, that was it! When France went mental on the rest of Europe, the Americans didn't do a thing."
"Considering France also aided America, though," Hungary argued calmly, "and that England was a common enemy of theirs… America would have likely been on France's side if they'd joined in."
"Even so," Prussia protested, looking really peeved about it. "He's so ungrateful. If we hadn't stepped in to help, they would never have gained independence, mark my words. What do we get in return, decades later? Opposition in wartime. A declaration of war. The level of gratitude astounds me time and time again." Then he sighed and mumbled about how he did have to admit that the Americans sent them money when their economy collapsed after the Great War. Of course, that financial dependence led to even more problems in the end.
Hungary then leant forward, smiling wide. "Well, let's not worry ourselves right now, shall we?"
Everyone agreed eagerly. Austria least of all, though, and there was a haunted look in his eyes as he stared at the coffee table. Eventually he let out a deep sigh. "I wish I could work on strategies also," he mumbled. "Or something similar. A job like yours, Prussia," he said, looking at his cousin for a brief moment, his eyes flashing with jealousy. "My work is only getting worse. It doesn't matter for my job how the war is going, and it's…" He placed his face in his hands and gritted his teeth with a short, exasperated growl. "It's Hell!" the Austrian then suddenly exclaimed, his whole body tense.
Germany was surprised at his sudden outburst, but he was glad at the same time. It was a relief, at least, that his cousin had decided to get this off his chest. It had been about time he did.
Austria looked totally enraged and in a total panic at the same time. "There are more prisoners coming in all the time! There's so many, in fact, that new camps are being opened up, just so that we can lock up more prisoners yet! I swear, if I have to see one more starved, sick child being worked to death, I'll….!" He trailed off, trembling all over, his eyes ablaze with pure hatred and disgust. But then he folded his hands together and took a couple of deep breaths in an effort to calm himself. And though he did sound calmer when he spoke again, his words and the obvious strain in his voice told the other nations that he was far from it yet. "Someone please murder Hitler before the end of this year and put an end to this project of his. Not the war as a whole, not necessarily, but this… this… If it doesn't end sometime soon, I will seriously blow a fuse."
"Hey, think of it this way," Prussia said tentatively, obviously trying to be comforting but unsure how to go about it. "It's always better to work there than to be a prisoner, right?"
Wrong words. Germany almost flinched when Austria whipped around to stare wide-eyed at his cousin, rage building up in his entire body yet again. "Is that why you condemned Poland to imprisonment there?" he demanded coldly, his voice soft but sharp as a razor.
Immediately the Prussian paled, every trace of colour in his already snowy skin vanishing in a heartbeat. "I… What…?" he choked out, barely any louder than a whisper and his voice hoarse.
His reaction only served to make Austria even angrier. "For someone as intelligent as you," he scoffed at his cousin, "you can be unbelievably naïve sometimes. What else did you expect? Aren't concentration camps just the ideal places to lock up enemy nations?" The Austrian got up suddenly and walked over to stand in front of Prussia, stared down at him for a few seconds, then slapped him in the face. "If you've got a brain, why don't you ever seem to use it?! If you'd stopped to think about something else than your hatred for Poland, you could've known where he would end up. Would you have done it if you'd known this beforehand?"
Germany bit his lip, wanting to interrupt this confrontation but knowing better than to interfere now, and watched as his elder brother shook his head slowly. Prussia's red eyes were wide with guilt, shock and utter horror as he gazed up at Austria. "I… N-no, I…" he stammered breathlessly, clueless as to what he should say as much as Germany himself was. "I didn't think… Shit." He sighed deeply and let his head hang, looking absolutely ashamed of what he'd condemned his enemy to. "I'll leave France and Russia alone," the Prussian mumbled, more to himself than to Austria, determination evident in every syllable he spoke. "I won't let them be treated like that also. No one deserves that, not even them." Then the albino nation looked up at Austria again, his gaze pleading as he asked him softly: "If you get a chance to speak to Poland, could you tell him that I didn't mean for this to happen, please? That… that I'm sorry…?"
Austria sighed and shrugged, walking back to where he'd sat before and flopping down onto the chair with a thud. His entire body was still tense as he spoke. "Well, I could," he answered flatly, "but I won't; Poland would never believe it, and he might actually only end up hating you even more for it. Just promise me, Prussia," he added more sharply, glaring at Prussia yet again. "Promise me that you won't go around apprehending more nations. Not even you can be that cruel, surely. Condemning anyone else to such a fate would be unforgivable."
Prussia shrunk back where he sat, unwilling to meet Austria's gaze any longer, or anyone else's for that matter. He didn't look like he felt comfortable being around anyone right now, but even so, when Hungary silently placed her hand on his shoulder in a careful comforting gesture, he didn't try to stop her.
Germany would have preferred to be on his own just then, too, if only to process all the information he'd gotten in the past hours: they were at war with the United States of America now, Austria had finally opened up about his work in the concentration camps and Poland was now a prisoner in one of those. It was such a mess. It had been for years. Yet again.
How was he supposed to just deal with all this? How was anyone supposed to deal with this?
Adapt and pretend. Follow orders, ask no questions. Don't think too much. Just do as you're told. Hold your tongue until it's over. Close your eyes until it's over.
…If only it could be over sometime soon.

Early in January 1942, the German troops in Russia had been forced back by Soviet forces. The invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, was now declared a failure. Prussia snorted when he heard this and had muttered something about 'if they had listened to him more'. Germany did not disagree: Prussia was familiar with this climate and the weather their soldiers had to endure on the Eastern Front, more so than Germany was anyway. He'd led his troops through snow and ice and biting cold before; he would have managed just fine here, too, if not for the obvious health-related issues keeping him away from the battlefield most of the time.
Mere weeks later, however, they had more pressing matters at hand: on 20 January a conference was to be held in Berlin, and Germany, Prussia and Austria were all expected to attend. Meanwhile Hungary was in the city also, invited there by Minister Goebbels, who had stated that their allies should all be treated well in order to ensure their continued alliance. Germany was pretty sure he had figured out why the man had wanted Hungary here now, of all times: he had heard Prussia talk about her a little while ago, and as per usual the albino had spoken fondly of his old friend. Considering Goebbels's role in the government, Germany suspected he was trying to use Prussia as some sort of propaganda directed at Hungary: 'Look, we love you, and if you'll be our ally and aid us in our war, we'll make sure you're well taken care off!'
Well, Hungary wasn't foolish enough to fall for something like that, and even if Prussia may not be aware that he was probably being used right now, he would figure it out sooner or later.
Now, though, there were more important things to focus on.

"As you all know," Lieutenant-General Reinhard Heydrich began, "the deportation of Jews is only a temporary solution to our problems. Finally I can tell you that we've now established a plan of action from here on forward, and your full cooperation is needed for this." He looked at the attendees for a moment, his gaze trailing on the nations for just a split second longer than with any of the humans. "The Final Solution to this problem," the man then spoke clearly, "is extermination."
There was a silence for just a moment, and Germany felt a flash of hope as he thought these people, his people, were having doubts about this plan. His hope faded seconds later when there were mumbles of agreement throughout the room.
Heydrich looked pleased. "As you know, we have previously been executing people though the use of poison gas. This shall also be used in the extermination of these Jews. Now, Austria," he added turning to said nation, who paled in horror already. "From now on, you shall be overlooking the extermination rather than the camps themselves, understood?"
Feeling his own stomach twist with dread at the mere idea, Germany held his gaze fixed on Austria, whose face rivalled Prussia's in paleness by now. Somewhat tense, the young nation wondered whether he should say something against this idea, that Austria shouldn't have to do such… 'work'. But what? he thought with a pang of regret and guilt toward his cousin. Nothing I say will make any difference. Nothing I say has ever made any difference, for as long as this war has lasted!
After a short hesitation, Austria nodded and choked out an answer, accepting this new position with great reluctance.
Heydrich stared at the brown-haired nation for a few seconds after this, then turned to Prussia instead; the Free State's expression was blank, and not even Germany could tell what his elder brother was thinking. Was he as disgusted by these plans as Germany was? His eyes did not betray any of that, not even when the Lieutenant-General told him that, from now on, Prussia was to oversee the deportation of Jews, now that this would happen on a larger scale than before; they would need an extra pair of watchful eyes and ears for this to go smoothly.
Prussia blinked calmly. "Sure, why not. Do I still need to work as a field medic, too?" The Free State looked disappointed when the answer to this was 'no'.
"This way," Heydrich then stated, ignoring Prussia's dissatisfied mutter, "we'll have our nations working on both the Jewish Question and in the army, their capabilities equally divided between the two."
"Whoa, wait up there," Prussia then interrupted, giving the human a confused stare. He glanced at Austria briefly before looking back at Heydrich. "Austria and I are working on the Jewish Question together while Lu- I mean, Germany is in the army on his own. You mentioned an 'equal division of our capabilities'-"
"Exactly," Heydrich answered calmly, his gaze even as he met Prussia's. Immediately the albino flinched, his red eyes widening indignantly, but he had the sense to stay quiet even when the human added: "Both of you are weaker than Germany in every way, but together you may just prove to be worth as much as him."
"They're not weaker than me in any way!" Germany then protested despite knowing that this might cause trouble for all three of them. He wouldn't let anyone insult his brother or his cousin like that. "Austria has received nothing but praise for all the work he's done over the years, how is he suddenly not good enough? And Prussia's advice on strategies has spared us more than one defeat so far. He's also saved several soldiers' lives and he has captured Poland."
"Are they not working on those things rather than in the army like you, though, because they're incapable of being soldiers?" another man, one that Germany didn't recognise, asked the young nation then. "Austria cannot fight because of his legs and Prussia will never recover from his stroke enough to serve in the army."
Serve in the army! Germany thought, biting back a huff. I've fought in a few battles, but not even I am fighting nearly as much as in the Great War! The young nation wanted to say something else, but Prussia was quicker. "Are you expecting us to just take this from you?!"
"Prussia, please," Austria then put in almost tentatively, staring at his younger cousin with a pleading blue gaze. "Don't make it worse than it is."
"It can't be any worse than it is!" Germany protested, astonished by Austria's reaction. How could he be so calm when he was basically being told that he was useless, right after being told he was now expected to mass-murder innocent people? "You both deserve respect and they should show you that respect!"
"That's quite enough of you!" Heydrich then roared, silencing everyone present in a heartbeat. He was tense with rage as he stared at the three nations. "If you're only going to be disrupting this conference, I ask that you leave now. Any information that's relevant for you will be passed on to you when we've finished." He gave an impatient gesture for the nations to leave. "Now go. Isn't Hungary in Berlin, also? Go to her and be a good host like you should be."
Making no attempt to hide his anger, Germany promptly stood up and left, not looking back. There were limits. All of them had limits, and these humans were getting much too close to crossing them. Austria already couldn't handle the emotional strain his job entailed and Prussia felt worthless enough without being degraded by some humans. As for Germany himself…
…By now he was fairly certain that he had lost any clue as to what he should do years ago already.
It's only going to get worse. We won't win this. Even if we succeed in conquering the world, we won't win this.
He drove those thoughts out of his head, taking a deep breath. The young nation knew that, whatever the outcome of this war would be, it would be Hell. He had known this for a fact since the war had started. Back then he had made his resolve, and he would not back out of that now. Not ever.
He wouldn't stop now. He couldn't stop anymore. It was not up to a nation to openly oppose his leader, that's what Prussia had told him, making this fact very clear to his younger brother. Germany would follow that advice, if that was what the world expected of him. It was the only path he could follow. The path enclosed by high, impenetrable walls. No windows. No doors. No way back.
The only choice he had was to keep on marching, chin up, going deeper and deeper into that darkness.

"So now you're not allowed to work in the medical staff anymore?" Hungary asked that evening, looking at Prussia. The three German nations had just told her what had happened at the conference. The young woman just snorted. "Such idiots. You'll get your job back once they realise how much they miss you as a medic, Gil, don't worry." Her expression changed in an instant when she turned to Austria instead. He still looked distressed and horrified. "Oh, Roderich…" she sighed. "You don't have to do everything they tell you to, surely? Can't you tell them that this goes too far for you?"
"Maybe if I were feeling particularly masochistic, I would," Austria replied quietly. That was all he wanted to say now, clearly, for he averted his gaze afterward, staring at a wall and lost in thought.
Hungary looked at him for a moment longer, but then she must have decided to leave him be for now. Prussia followed her gaze as she looked at Germany instead; the younger nation was obviously troubled by something. "Are you all right, sweetie?" Hungary asked him gently.
Prussia bit the inside of his lip as his younger brother shook his head stubbornly and answered that he was fine. The Free State knew better than to insist on getting an honest answer out of Germany; somehow, the tactic that had always worked on Prussia in the past and which had also been effective on Germany was getting counterproductive.
Suddenly Germany got up from where he sat. "I should prepare to leave again soon," he stated flatly without looking at any of the others. "I'll be going straight to bed when I'm done with that, so good night." Austria then got to his feet and said that some solitude and a bed sounded just perfect right now, and a minute later both nations were gone, leaving Prussia and Hungary alone.
There was a silence between them at first, but then Hungary leant against Prussia with a deep sigh, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I can't stand this, Gil," she said softly. "Seeing you all like this. Roderich never used to be so distant and poor Ludwig… I can't even tell how he's doing most of the time." Prussia could feel her press a little closer as she grew tense. "One moment he hates the war, the next moment he doesn't seem to mind it much… And you…" Hungary straightened herself and looked Prussia straight in the eyes, her gaze sympathetic. "You're… still feeling bad about Poland, I take it?"
Of course she knew about that. Prussia had in fact not been thinking about his enemy all month, after having tried very hard to banish such thoughts from his mind. During the conference, however, he had been reminded of it once again. "You don't think they'll…" he began tentatively, feeling a lump of guilt and shame in his throat like when he had first heard where Poland was being held. "Surely they won't… try to gas him, too…?"
"Don't think about such things," Hungary told him gently, although there was a flicker of distress in her eyes as Prussia spoke.
"But what if they do?" Prussia went on, ignoring her. Completely against his will, he began picturing it in his mind. Poland alone in some dark room, the air being filled with poison, the nation choking on it, his airways burnt up by the gas… No one deserves that. Prussia felt sick by now, desperately trying to stop his mind from imagining all this so vividly. "What if they make Austria do it, and Poland dies? Or if humans do it, and he survives that." He shuddered for a moment. "It… would be my fault…"
Once again, Hungary told him not to think of that. "That you feel bad," she assured him warmly, smiling at him, "that's what shows that you're not to blame. You did not decide to put him in a concentration camp. You will not be the one to decide what happens with him from here on."
Prussia shook his head with a huff. Why did she understand one thing so easily, but couldn't she understand this at all? "I could have known what they would do to him," he insisted stubbornly. "I should have known!" It would all be his fault. So yes, maybe Prussia could be somewhat sadistic. Maybe he could be cruel. This went far beyond what he could do with little to no remorse. Whatever Poland now had to suffer through, it was undoubtedly worse than what Prussia would wish on anyone.
Hungary was just as stubborn as him. "You remind me of Ludwig," she said with a soft sigh and an amused twinkle in her green eyes. "After what happened to Scotland in the Great War, he was just like this. What did you tell him then? 'It's not your fault'." She pulled him toward her for a moment, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Listen to your own advice, Gil. Stop beating yourself up over this."
The difference between what I did and what Ludwig did, Prussia wanted to argue, but he held his tongue now. Ludwig had no idea that he was harming a nation. I willingly and knowingly targeted Poland, without bothering to stop and think about the consequences. Even so, Hungary probably had a point. The Free State took a deep breath and then breathed out slowly. "I'll try…" he said in a whisper. "Thanks, Lizzie."
The young woman just smiled even wider and gave him another peck on the cheek. Then she got to her feet and held her hand out to him. "Maybe it's about time we went to bed, also. End this day. Tomorrow may turn out to be better again."

'Tomorrow' still didn't quite start for them yet, though; Prussia still lay pondering in his bed, staring at the ceiling. That despite Hungary lying next to him.
The plan had been for someone to sleep on the couch while Hungary was in Berlin, whether that someone was Hungary herself or Prussia or anyone, but that hadn't happened in the end, for reasons Prussia himself didn't really understand. But he didn't mind it. It was a little awkward though, for both Prussia and Hungary and likely for Austria, too, that Hungary was sharing a bed with Prussia now rather than with Austria. The last time Prussia had slept next to Hungary, not counting that little incident where Hungary had been drunk, had been at the start of the 19th century. The time before that, they had been children. This… still took some getting used to….
Right now, Hungary was inspecting him quietly and sighed after a few minutes. "All right, Gil, I'm done with this," she told him, a little more bluntly than before. "Talk."
For a moment Prussia was still silent, unsure what to say, until he decided to just blurt out what was on his mind, random as that may be. "I've wanted to do some pretty fucked up things in the past," he confessed softly, his red gaze still fixed on the ceiling. He could still recall his feelings when he'd declared his hatred for this world, when he had sworn revenge for all the pain he'd been put through. It was mostly gone now, but it had never really left. The Prussian bit back a sigh. "I swore to unleash Hell on this world for all that's been done to me. All the pain. The injustice. In the end having nearly my entire family ripped away…" He had wanted to watch the world burn. He had really, truly wanted to set the entire world on fire and watch everyone in it be consumed by the flames like they had once tried to do to him. The entire ocean would have run red with blood before he would have been done with everyone. Even so…
Prussia bit his lip for a moment, reflecting on that. "Guess what? My dreams came true." Hell really had been unleashed on this world now. Except this was not the revenge of the Legendary Black Eagle.
This was the insanity of some psychopathic Austrian.
"Hell's here, Lizzie. All around us. And I hate it." He took a deep breath and held that for a moment, closing his eyes. The moment he did so, however, he saw Poland again, horrifying images conjured up by his mind, and he prayed that they were just his imagination. "Poland was near the top of my list of people I wanted to tear apart," the albino nation went on in a whisper. "Well, I've come this close to doing so. I've hurt him, I've drugged him just for fun, I've taken him prisoner and condemned him to a terrible fate. And you know what, Lizzie? I could not be more disgusted with myself."
The silence that fell between them felt heavy, and every second of it was slowly choking Prussia. For just a moment, he felt like there was no better sound in the entire world than Hungary's voice when she finally broke that terrible, crushing silence. "We all fantasise about hurting others one in a while, I'm sure," she answered carefully. "I know I have. It's only human, you know: no one is a saint, no one is pure and innocent and sweet all the time. It's acting on those darker desires that sets the bad people apart from the good. I'll admit, you have done more than your fair share of… rather twisted things in your life. But look at it this way," she then added, leaning over Prussia and forcing him to look at her now. There was a determined light in her eyes, which somehow was soothing to Prussia, and he felt calmer just by staring into her beautiful green irises. "Yes, you have caused people misery, Gil. That much is a fact. But don't you think that someone like Hitler has caused the world more misery in a few short years so far than you have done in centuries?" She leant down and kissed him again, on the lips this time, still a rarity between them. Honestly, Prussia wasn't sure what to define their relationship as these days. Whatever it was, he enjoyed it, and she was just who he needed to ease his mind a little now. Brandenburg wasn't around at the moment, after all.
When the two nations parted after their kiss, Hungary gently pressed her face into Prussia's snowy white hair. "Whatever you are, Gil, you're not evil. Anyone who has ever thought so should take a long, hard look on who's ruling Germany right now, who's head of state in Russia, to name only two examples. That is sick, that is cruel and twisted and I daresay evil. You're not. You never have been."
Prussia just closed his eyes and breathed in her scent as she half lay on him like that. It was moments like these that made him realise how he could have loved both Brandenburg and Hungary.
They could both be blunt, to the point that their words could hurt more than a knife did. At the same time, both of them could convince him that he was a better person than he was, they knew what to say and when. They made him believe that he really did deserve better than what life had given him so far, all by doing one simple thing that barely anyone had ever done for him: caring.
He couldn't wait to be with Brandenburg again. Until that day came, though, he would be perfectly happy with Hungary.

Germany knew that he was dreaming when he found himself in the streets of Berlin. The city looked perfectly normal, the people looked perfectly normal, and that was just what convinced him that he wasn't awake at that moment; if he had been, he would have seen signs of the war. In fact, this was more like the Berlin he'd known even before the Great War. Peaceful. Flourishing.
The young nation sighed. Why couldn't that time have lasted forever, or longer than it had, at least? The world had never been right again since.
"That's because time passes and people change, dear."
Germany halted, startled by this sudden answer to his thoughts. Confused, he looked to his left, from where he had heard that strange voice. A young woman stood beside him, barely more than a teenager, actually. She looked to be around the same age as Germany, although her eyes betrayed wisdom and experience befitting an old lady. The girl's light brown hair was tied back with two braids, joining at the back in a ponytail that only just reached her shoulders. There was a strange warmth in her blue gaze as she looked up at Germany, a certain familiarity, as though they'd known each other for years instead of being the total strangers they were.
That look in her eyes unnerved Prussia almost as much as her words had done, but her words still won in the end. "How did you know what I was thinking?" he asked this strange girl, taking a step away from her.
She only smiled warmly, her eyes glowing with warmth even more strongly. "That's something I can just do, Ludwig," she answered softly, chuckling a little for a moment. "One of the perks of being dead." She said that as calmly as if she was talking about the weather.
Who even is she?
The girl blinked at him. "I'm Brandenburg."
Those simple words sent Germany's head spinning and he felt dizzy for a moment. Brandenburg? Impossible. Brandenburg had been dead for almost 250 years. That's what she just said, idiot. No, he was just dreaming. Of course this wasn't Brandenburg, not really. This was the Brandenburg as he imagined her to be, and if he had to be honest, his imagination was disappointing him just a little right now. This girl wasn't nearly as beautiful as Prussia had once described her to be.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
Involuntarily, Germany felt his face grow hot after hearing this response. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
Brandenburg laughed for a moment. "Don't sweat it, dear. I know you didn't mean to offend me, and you didn't. If anything, it flatters me that you gave me more credit than I deserve in your imagination." Something flashed in her eyes then, a shimmer of a deep, strong emotion that robbed Germany of his breath when he saw it. Brandenburg sighed softly. "Prussia doesn't talk about me and the others a lot, I know, but don't blame him for that, please."
"Of course not," Germany answered hoarsely, still staring at her eyes, astonished by the amount of love he saw there, from the moment she'd said Prussia's name. No wonder he misses her so much, he thought then, having to remind himself to breathe again. What must that be like, to be loved so deeply by someone? Of course, he knew that Prussia cared more about him than about anything else in this world, and he though the same of his elder brother, but he was fairly certain that this was still different. He wouldn't want to lose it either, especially if he felt the same way about that person, had a connection with someone like the Personal Union between Brandenburg and Prussia had been.
It was quiet for a moment then, and after about a minute of silence, Brandenburg sighed softly and turned away. "Come, Ludwig," she told him in a gentle tone. "Let's find somewhere we can sit and talk; this isn't the right place to have a conversation." She started walking without checking to see if he was following, confident that he would do so.
Which the young nation did, of course. Naturally this was a dream, it was all just his imagination, but even so, it was a peaceful dream without the constant worry about the war. That, and Germany had always been curious about Brandenburg, even if she wasn't real.
Brandenburg led him to a square and sat down on a bench at the edge of it. It was only after he sat down beside her that Germany realised all the people walking through the streets earlier were gone now, as if they hadn't been there in the first place. It was only him and Brandenburg.
When the girl was still silent even when Germany sat beside her, the blond nation began to feel a bit awkward. Uncomfortable, he glanced around, staring at the buildings surrounding them. Why was he dreaming something as crazy as this? For all he could recall, he hadn't been drinking any alcohol and dinner had been normal too, so those things couldn't have caused this. He hadn't particularly been thinking about Brandenburg and there had been few mentions of her for months now. I would like to wake up now, if that's possible.
His thoughts came to a halt when Brandenburg shifted a little beside him. "Would you do something for me, Ludwig?" she asked him all of a sudden, and he nodded confusedly. A smile played on the girl's lips then, and the twinkle in his eyes confused him only more. "For just a moment, pretend I'm real, would you?"
"Impossible," Germany replied instantly, maybe a little too bluntly, but there was no way such a thing could be true. "You're not Brandenburg; she has been dead for centuries. I've seen her grave, I've heard the story of how she died. You're not her. That's impossible."
Brandenburg looked unfazed by his outright refusal to even pretend, and only calmly gazed up at him. "But what if it wasn't?" she insisted patiently. "I'm not asking you to pretend you're talking to a ghost, or that I came back to life. What if I had never died? You've thought about that before, I know you have." She paused for a moment, blinking once, then smiled warmly again. "Please try. Pretend I never died. Can you do that for me?"
Speechless, Germany stared at her, his head spinning at the sheer absurdity of this dream. He was still trying to figure out what he'd done wrong to bring on such an unusual, slightly unsettling dream. But then he just sighed. "I... I guess…" It was true that he had once or twice tried to imagine what life would have been like if Brandenburg had still been around. Prussia would most certainly have been a totally different person. Germany imagined that his brother would have been a lot happier with Brandenburg by his side still, maybe less insecure about his so-called 'weaknesses' while at the same time Brandenburg might have been able to mellow down his occasional bouts of arrogance, too.
Brandenburg nodded with a grateful twinkle in her eyes, and some careful amusement, too. "Thank you, Ludwig." She shifted again, sitting a little straighter, and turned her gaze to the sky. "So if I were alive and well and sitting beside you like this," the girl then said, "what would you want to talk to me about?"
That question was one Germany had expected least of all, and he was totally speechless yet again. What would he talk about? There was so much he would want to ask. Most of those questions would be totally irrelevant, unimportant chit-chat. What were her hobbies, did she like to travel, who did she get along well with aside from Prussia. Things to get to know her. To get to know his family. But those things weren't important. What else would he want to ask her?
After a long silence, the words tumbled over his lips all on their own, it seemed. "Something's been off about Prussia for a long time now," he began with a deep sigh. "I don't know what it is, but something's bothering him, I just know it. Something that he hasn't told me. Sometimes he just stares into space, and it looks as if he's looking at something, but nothing will be there, and it freaks me out. H-he's not… hallucinating, is he?" He felt a cold shiver go down his spine at the thought, and he shook his head, pushing away those thoughts. He took a deep breath and went on. "I just wish he would tell me what's on his mind sometimes. Austria, too. His work is breaking him, I can see him declining every time he gets back from his job. More than Prussia, Austria has always been… stable." Whenever Prussia's mental state was swinging back and forth between good and troublesome, Austria had been the family Germany could turn to for normalcy, for advice, for reassurance… Whatever he needed most at that moment, Austria would somehow know what that was and often be able to provide it. Now his cousin was secluding himself, pondering day and night, clearly in need of help himself for a change. And Germany didn't know what to do. He wanted to help, he wanted to repay Austria for all the help he'd given him, but he had no idea how.
"My boss is crazy," the blond nation went on, feeling desperate as he thought about Hitler. "Yet, I can't help but be grateful for what he's done for us; he rebuilt our economy, he brought stability to the government and he improved infrastructure and…" He stifled a sigh, his shoulders sagging. "But then, he's also a cruel, heartless bastard who's trying to slaughter thousands of people -and succeeding. And the war…" He paused for a moment, almost deciding to stop there, but if he couldn't speak freely in his own dreams, where else could he do so? "I'm still so angry at Europe. Certain nations, at least. France could have killed us with what he did to our economy. The United Kingdom said they thought it went too far, the occupation of the Ruhr and the war debt, but what did they do to stop it? Not a thing. They deserve to know that we're not putting up with that anymore, that we refuse to be treated that way, but… This war is too much. Whole cities are being destroyed, innocent citizens are losing their lives. Innocent nations are suffering, too." He still felt sick when he thought about Luxembourg. Would the man ever be able to forgive Germany for what he'd done? Probably not. Germany couldn't even forgive himself.
He felt even worse when he thought about Prussia again. "Hitler really dislikes Prussia for some reason. That worries me. Prussia has to be careful all the time as to not anger our boss, and you know Prussia -being careful isn't one of his strong points."
Brandenburg had been silent for as long as Germany was talking, patiently listening to what he had to say. Something in her blue gaze was soothing when Germany looked at her, but even that wasn't enough to make him feel even remotely at ease. "I hate this war. I hate having to fight innocent people. Yet for some reason, it sometimes feels… right. As if we're actually doing this for a good cause. But we're not. I know we're not. So why would I feel as if all this is justified? It's not! But I can't stop -Hitler would have me killed. He would at least give it a damn good try, and I… I need to stay alive for my people. But that's just the thing…" He was shivering by now, feeling as if he was choking on something, his mind reeling. "If I follow my leader and do nothing, my people will suffer in this godawful war. If I resist and try to stop him, who knows what will happen. Either way, my people are suffering, and I…" He tried to breathe in deeply, but he couldn't, and he lowered his gaze to the floor. "What should I do…?"
Brandenburg's soft voice seemed to slice right through his panic and ease his mind in a heartbeat. "Just remember who you are, dear," she told him gently. "There is no way out of this situation that won't be painful and difficult one way or the other, but so long as you don't lose sight of yourself, you'll make it through."
As she spoke, Germany began to feel dizzy, less aware of his surroundings in a way. Eventually even Brandenburg began to fade, but her voice was still clear.
"Don't forget who you are, Germany. That's all you need to do."

Haaa... It really does feel good to have finished a chapter again. So good.

I hope no one's too opposed to minor kinda-sorta-PruHun. They're not in a serious relationship, but... it's not nothing for sure :)

And finally, Germany met Brandenburg, even if he doesn't know it. I wasn't sure if this was the right moment to add this at first, but now...

So yeah, basically, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you very much for reading!