Shinigami-cat: Well… I OWN NOTHING!

Awake

Gilbert stood knee deep in snow, his hammer in hand. The wind whistled through the trees and a few flakes of snow fell from the sky. It was oddly calming, but he had to keep alert. There was a possibility of danger behind every tree. A twig snapped and he turned his head. Nothing was there. It never was.

But bit his bottom lip and took a cautious step forwards, his feet crunching in the snow. The flutter of thick clothes rustling through the air made him look up at the trees. There was nothing there. This was ridiculous. He didn't want to be out here freezing his ass off, being watched by something… Something dangerous.

He heard something running towards him. He turned just in time to see a dark figure looming over him before he was knocked to the ground. The wind was knocked out of him. He glared at the figure above him who had him pinned to the ground with their boot. The figure pulled a sword out from under their thick cloak and raised it high into the air. Brining it down with speed and force almost cutting off Gilbert's ear.

The figure pulled off their dark ski goggles and looked at Gilbert with disappointed eyes. "The point of this exercise is for you to dodge me Gilbert." Said Ukraine.

Gilbert glared at her. "Yeah well… screw you. I'm doing my best!"

Ukraine removed her boot from Gilbert's chest and frowned. "Obviously your best is not good enough. If I was a Plague or a Grabber or a thug you would be dead."

Gilbert sighed and sat up, dusting the snow out of his hair. "I know I'm useless. I'm not used to carrying around a hammer. I'm more of a lightsaber person."

Ukraine raised an eyebrow. "A lightsaber? I've never heard of something like that."

"It's like a sword." Said Gilbert. "It's about a meter long, but instead of the blade being made out of metal it's made from a laser."

Ukraine furrowed her brows trying to imagine what a lightsaber looked like. "Maybe a different weapon then?" She asked. "Do you think that would improve your performance?"

Gilbert shrugged. "Worth a shot." So Ukraine gave Gilbert her sword and Gilbert gave her his hammer. He held it and swung it around a little. He liked the feel of it. It was balanced and light, but at the same time he could tell it was heavy. He looked at Ukraine and frowned. "What if I end up stabbing you?"

"It's a dull blade." Said Ukraine. "As long as you don't try to stab me it will be fine." She turned and quickly disappeared back into the snow.

Gilbert frowned and started to walk through the snow again. Ukraine's training for teaching him how to fight consisted of teaching him how to react to being ambushed, how to defend himself, and finally how to fight. According to Ukraine he couldn't fight until he learnt how to defend, and he couldn't defend until he learnt how to react to being ambushed.

He heard something walking through the snow and paused for a second. More than likely it was Ukraine. He contemplated a way he could do this. He had once heard that blind people had to rely on their other senses to compensate for their lack of sight. He shrugged. "What do I have to lose?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strip of cloth. He tied it around his eyes and waited for his senses to adjust. Without the distraction of sight his other senses were becoming heightened. He could feel the cold wind biting at the skin on his face and hands, he could smell the subtle hints of the forest and he could hear everything much clearer. It was weird really, but at the same time very cool.

He heard something slowly moving behind him. He froze and he tightened his grip on the sword. Suddenly the thing moved towards him at a rapid pace. Gilbert quickly side stepped and delivered a round house kick to the person's chest knocking them to the ground. He took off his blindfold and smirked. Ukraine was flat on her back stunned. Gilbert chuckled and helped her to her feet. "Better or worse?"

"Better." She said. "But not great. You have a weapon for a reason." She quickly swung the hammer at Gilbert's head, who easily blocked it with the sword and knocked it out of her hand.

He pointed the sword at her throat and smirked. "I think I just won."

Ukraine smiled and nodded. "Okay you win. You're a natural with the sword you know."

Gilbert smirked. "Yeah Canada said when we get a chance to find new weapons I should get a sword."

Ukraine smiled knowingly. "Of course he would say that… Anyway it's cold. Let's get back to base camp. See how Nursey is going with looking after Canada." Gilbert nodded and followed Ukraine. They weren't that far away from the camp, just a far enough away that they couldn't see it.

XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX

As they approached the camp they noticed something wasn't right. People were running around frantically, gathering boxes and other large objects. Some men were shouting at each other and gathering weapons. Ukraine frowned and approached one of the men. "What's going on here? What are you doing?"

"We are under attack." Said the man.

"By what?" Asked Ukraine. "Grabbers? Plagues?"

The man shook his head. "I wish we were. We would be able to kill it. That friend of yours. He attacked Nursey and some weird smoke is leaking out of your tent."

Ukraine and Gilbert looked at each other with wide eyes. Ukraine quickly gave the man a bottle full of a green liquid. "Pour this in a line in front of the tent. He won't be able to escape if you do that. I'll be there soon. Where is Nursey?"

"Medic tent four." Said the man. Ukraine nodded and grabbed Gilbert's hand, dragging him over to the medic tent. Inside were a few people lying on mats with broken arms and legs. Nursey was up the back, a young girl had just finished putting bandages over half her face and was now was putting several stitches in the old woman's arm.

Ukraine ran to her side and knelt down next to her. "Nursey!" She cried. "What happened?"

Nursey looked up at Ukraine. She was a tough old woman who had seen some terrible things in her time. Her injuries wouldn't change that old bats attitude. "That bastard attacked me." She hissed. "I was checking his temperature again when his eyes snapped open. They were all blood shot and crazy looking. Don't really know what happened next, it all happened so fast. Jumped up and threw me across the other side of the room. When I landed half my face had been ripped off and there was a deep gash in my arm."

Gilbert looked at Nursey in disbelief. There was no way Canada would have done that. Ukraine on the other hand seemed to believe every word she was saying. "I see… I'll take care of it. Canada won't be a bother to anyone here again." She stood up and walked out of the tent.

Gilbert stood there for a few seconds stunned. Nursey chuckled darkly. "He's no different than the Plagues."

"Shut up. He is nothing like them." Hissed Gilbert as he ran out of the tent and followed Ukraine. When he caught up to her he grabbed her arm. "What did you mean back there? You don't believe here do you?"

Ukraine didn't look at Gilbert. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead. "I have to believe her Gilbert. I have a duty to protect her and everyone here. If Canada attacked her he has to go."

"Hey it sounds like you're getting g rid of him for good." Said Gilbert with a worried voice.

"That's because I am." Said Ukraine.

Gilbert's eyes went wide and he started to panic. 'What? Is she going to kill him? She can't! She can't do that! There has to be some other explanation! Ukraine can't just kill Canada!'

They approached the tent; the small structure was surrounded by boxes and planks of wood. People were standing around, some holding torches. The looked like they were about to set it on fire. Ukraine growled and marched over to the men. "What the heck do you think you are doing? Are you going to set fire to my tent?" The men jumped back at the sharp tone of her voice. "Whose idea was this? Answer me now or you're all as good as Grabber meat!"

One of the men stepped forwards. "We all kind of decided on it." He muttered. "We don't remember who suggested it but we all thought it was a good idea… Smoke him to death and all…"

Ukraine face palmed. "Smoke him to death? You can't smoke him to death! He's a damn country! You can't smoke him to death, it'll only make him angry! Move all this rubbish away from my tent right now!"

The men quickly did as she ordered and moved the stuff away. While they were doing that Gilbert quickly slunk into the tent; He could see blood splatter on the floor from where Nursey bled, the requirement closet was smashed to pieces, glass from the mirror was everywhere and torn up shreds of fabric, feathers, pillow stuffing and bed springs were everywhere. Gilbert gulped and took a step forwards accidently stepping on a piece of glass causing it to crack. Something shifted from behind the broken closet. Gilbert could only assume it was Canada.

"Canada?" He called. "Are you okay? I'm coming over okay?" He got no response so he walked forwards. Doing his best to step over the carnage in front of him.

He was about a meter away from the broken closet when Canada hissed at him. "Stay away."

Gilbert stopped. "Okay I won't come any closer… Canada you need to calm down. Ukraine is going to kill you if you don't." Canada didn't say anything. He just muttered things under his breath. Gilbert slowly walked closer. "Hey… Why did you attack Nursey? I know she's a bitch but did you really have to rip off her face? Even if she did deserve it." Canada said nothing. This frustrated Gilbert. "Last night I heard you talk in you sleep. The burning. It hurts so much. Burning. Dead. What were you talking about?"

"So much blood." Whispered Canada. "He slaughtered my people. He slaughtered his own people. He slaughtered everyone. He laughed and drank their blood like wine. He's sick."

Gilbert took a few more steps forward. He could see Canada curled up in the foetal position on the floor; his hair was a mess, his clothes were ripped, he was running his nails over his neck with one hand and holding a bloodied piece of glass in the other.

Gilbert's eyes went wide. He grabbed Canada and pulled him into a sitting position. Canada yelped in surprise but otherwise did nothing. Gilbert looked down at Canada's writs and gasped. They were covered in deep red cuts. From the glass no doubt. "You were cutting?"

Canada pulled his writs out of Gilbert's hands and wrapped them protectively around his body. "I… I needed to forget… But I can't forget… Pain stops it for a little while but… But it never goes away. The fire is still there… Burning me away. It hurts. It hurts so much." Tears began to fall down the Canadian's face. "I hate him so much. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him."

Gilbert sighed. He kind of understood why Matthew lashed out at Nursey. He was obviously freaking out about his nightmare and attacked anything that was close at hand at the time because he was afraid that he would get hurt. He was just thankful Canada hadn't attacked him. He crouched down in front of Canada and wiped away some of his tears. "Hey Birdie… Just calm down. It's not awesome to do this to yourself."

Suddenly Ukraine walked into the tent and frowned. "I thought I would find you here Gilbert." She pulled a vile of purple potion out of her pocket. "Get out of my way now."

Gilbert glared at her. "So you're just going to kill him? Make him drink poison? It that it?"

Ukraine glared at Gilbert with cold eyes. "I have to go what's right for my people Gilbert. Canada is dangerous in this state. Completely unstable! He'll rip your throat out in a second if you give him a chance."

"Well I'm not moving!" Snapped Gilbert. He stood up and stood in front of Ukraine. "I won't let you kill him."

Ukraine just rolled her eyes, muttered something under her breath and waved her hand. Gilbert flew across the tent and landed on the ground with a thud. He groaned and struggled to get to his feet. Ukraine was standing over Canada holding the vile in her hand. She forced Canada's mouth open and poured the potion into his mouth and forced him to swallow. Canada gasped and coughed, before going limp and falling to the ground.

"YOU BITCH!" Screamed Gilbert. "YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM!"

"I didn't kill him." Said Ukraine calmly. "I saved his life."

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Ukraine sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I realized when Canada eventually woke up he might have an episode… so I gave him a potion that will block out the thoughts that made him do all this." She gestured to the whole interior of the tent.

"You make it sound like this has happened before." Muttered Gilbert.

"It has." Said Ukraine. Gilbert looked up at her with confused eyes. Ukraine sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Remember how I said Hunter took my brother? Well right near the beginning of this endless war Hunter took Canada. No one knows what Hunter did to him, but Canada was somehow able to escape. This could have been because the Bird Cage wasn't flying yet but still… Look the point is Hunter did something horrible to him and when America found him, Canada tried to rip out this throat with his hands."

Gilbert looked at Ukraine with wide eyes. "He what? Oh god… What did Hunter do to him?"

Ukraine shrugged. "Well no one knows but as far as we can tell from his ramblings Hunter tortured his people and killed them in front of him… He also had burn marks all over his body so we assume he was tortured… Probably raped too…"

Gilbert looked at Canada with wide eyes. 'So I was right… Hunter did rape him.' He could feel anger coursing through his veins. 'Bastard. He made Canada like this. How could he? Canada is… He's… awesome. I'll fucking kill that bastard if I ever meet him.'

Slowly Canada started to move. He groaned and sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Maple… How long have I been out?" He looked around the room and gasped. "Did I do this?"

Ukraine nodded. "Yeah…" She helped him to his feet and sighed. "You're going to have to leave tonight. I'll give you what you need but you must go tonight."

Canada nodded and looked down at his arms. "Yeah… I get it… Thanks for everything… I'm sorry I wrecked your stuff…"

Ukraine smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah well… I hope you get to England's house safely."

Canada smiled and started to wrap his arms up with his torn hoodie. "Do you know if the train still runs?"

Ukraine shrugged. "Not sure. You would have to ask someone who knows the area really well."

Canada sighed. "Oh well…" He looked over at Gilbert and smiled slightly. "Well… Looks like we are heading off tonight."

TBC

Shinigami-cat: That was painful to write… Please review!