Chapter 48

GDR stopped in the hallway, standing straight and saluting Russia.

"GDR," Russia smiled, putting his hand on the smaller country's shoulder, "Just who I wanted to see. I need your help with something."

"Whatever you need, Russia," GDR nodded.

"Khorosho!" Russia clapped his arm around GDR's shoulders, walking towards the stairs.

GDR glanced back at Latvia's door, worried. Russia led him down the long grand staircase, through the hallways, past the kitchen, and down the basement stairs. GDR shivered. He wouldn't admit to being nervous, but his shaking hands tried to betray him. He forced them into his pockets quickly, hoping Russia didn't see their trembling. He stopped with Russia in front of the dark grey door.

"W-what is it you want me to do?" GDR asked, curious, worried.

"You're one of the best interrogators I've ever seen. I want you to teach me."

GDR nodded slowly, a shiver running down his spine. He didn't say anything, watching Russia turn the key in the lock of the door. He blinked hard, the sound of the lock sending a spike of pain through his chest. He shook it off as Russia motioned for him to walk inside. He closed his eyes, shaking his head, not moving from the doorway.

"Is something wrong, GDR?" Russia smiled, walking in behind him, closing the door.

GDR didn't answer, staring at the horrible picture before him. In the center of the room were two wooden chairs, and tied to them, back to back, were Lithuania and Poland. Both of them kept their heads down, both of them silent. He shook his head, looking back at Russia, "What are you asking me to do…?" he whispered, terrified.

"I want to learn from you, GDR, that's all."

"You want me to torture them?" he could barely say the words. They stung. He couldn't do this.

"Nyet… you yourself told me that torture is useless… 'enhanced interrogation' I believe you've called it?" Russia smiled his sickening, horrible smile.

"What information could you possibly have to gain from them?" GDR turned towards Russia, almost angry.

"Does it matter?" Russia smiled still.

"Yes, it matters!" GDR snapped, "If I'm going to find out anything, I need to know what I'm looking for!"

Russia smiled again, walking around to the other side of the chairs, his giant boots hitting the stone with the same familiar, threatening severity they'd all grown used to.

Poland didn't move as Russia pulled his head up by his hair. His eyes looked dead, refusing to focus on anything.

Lithuania winced, looking at Gil as Russia grabbed his hair, forcing his head back. He trembled with fear, looking away from GDR.

"From both of them, I need the names of the political leaders they've been conspiring against me with. Their behavior is unacceptable. I'm going to teach both of them, but first, I need the names," Russia explained casually.

Gil looked at them both, keeping his shaking hands in his pockets. He had to get them out of this. He didn't know how he was going to get them out of this. He walked up to them, standing in front of Poland. He couldn't do this. He glanced up at Russia and nodded, grabbing Poland's hair himself, pulling the blond country's head back harder.

Poland didn't react. He didn't flinch. He didn't move, and his eyes still wouldn't focus.

Gil shook his head, forcing himself not to sigh in relief, "It's too damaged," he hated calling Poland 'it', but hoped it would help, "No one's getting anything out of him. He's useless to you."

Russia growled, annoyed, walking up to Poland. He grabbed the country's face, turning it towards his own. He pushed Poland's face, slapping his cheek, forcing his head up, then grabbing his face again, trying to get a reaction from the country. Nothing.

Gil made himself to watch. He looked down at Poland's body, almost not believing he was still breathing. The rise and fall of his chest proving he was still alive.

Russia sighed, letting go of Poland's face, letting his head down again. "Fine," Russia snapped, pulling out his knife. He sliced the ropes around Poland's wrists and shoved the little blond country off the chair.

Gil knelt beside Poland slowly, trying to look less concerned than he really was. He brushed the soft blond hair out of Poland's face, "You need to wake up…" he whispered, "Get up!" He said louder, knowing Russia was listening. He glanced back at the giant country who watched amused, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I said," Gil sighed, standing, "Get. Up." he kept his back to Russia, closing his eyes tightly as he kicked Poland hard, hoping, praying that triggering a panic attack would shake him awake enough for him to run.

Poland turned, looking up at Gil, terrified, his whole body shaking with fear. He was too scared to even scream. He just stared up at Gil, trembling so hard Gil could hear his teeth chattering.

"Get out of here!" Gil yelled at him again.

Poland scrambled to get to his feet. He couldn't. He pushed himself back into the corner of the room, covering his head with his arms, curling his knees to his chest, shaking his head, muttering unintelligible words, mixing languages together, pleading, begging.

Gil closed his eyes. He couldn't look at Poland. He couldn't watch this.

"Felek!" Lithuania called for him, "Felek, please…" Toris turned to look at Russia, angry, "Let him go!"

"He's free to leave this room whenever he wants to," Russia laughed, amused.

Lithuania struggled at the ropes that dug into his wrists, staring at Poland.

Gil opened his eyes again, looking down at Poland. He didn't want to do this. He had to do this. He stomped forwards, forcing all the authority he could find into his steps. He grabbed Poland's hair, pulling him forward to his knees, looking down into the terrified green eyes. His heart ached, he'd never seen that much pain and terror in one face before. He dragged Poland towards the door, opening it and kicking the smaller blond country into the hallway.

"You were ordered to get out. Now stay out." Gil said coldly, trying to bring as much ice into his voice as he could, trying to sound like he did during the war.

Poland let out a short scream, covering his head, curling into a ball on the floor of the hallway.

Gil closed the door, staying in the room. He turned back to Russia, "Situation handled," he said.

Russia laughed, smiling, "Khorosho, GDR, very good!" he smirked, "Now… we still have Toris to deal with." he grabbed a fistful of the dark hair and pulled Lithuania's head back, smiling to see the anger in the weaker country's eyes.

Gil tried to think of a way out of this, a way to save Toris from what he was sure Russia wanted to be hell. He looked into Lithuania's eyes. He'd never seen that much anger from him, even hatred? He shook his head, looking up at Russia, "No."

"What?" Russia asked, confused.

"I won't help you. I won't help you do this… I can't… I can't…"

Russia sighed, shaking his head, "I thought you were on my side…" He looked up at Gil almost sadly.

Gil shook his head, "You're asking me to torture my friend… I can't do that…"

"I have," Russia's voice was cold.

Gil looked into the violet eyes, expecting to see pain. He was wrong. They held no emotion, only ice.

"I'll give you one more chance, GDR. Help me get the names I need, or Toris isn't the only one who gets a lesson today," Russia smiled.

Gil looked from Russia's face to Lithuania's. The dark-haired country closed his eyes, resigning himself to whatever happened. Gil met his eyes as he looked up again, they scared him. Surrender? He shook his head, looking up at Russia, "Nein. Nein, I won't do it."

Russia sighed, letting go of Lithuania's hair, walking up to Gil.

Gil extended his left arm to Russia with a sigh. He wouldn't fight.

Russia grabbed Gil's wrist, pulling him towards the war, somewhat disappointed that Gil didn't struggle. He chained the smaller country to the wall, his arms raised above his head, pulling the chain tight enough that Gil had to strain to keep his balance on the ground.

"I'll be back in two days if you last that long," Russia smiled, patting Gil's face hard, stepping away from him.

Dread sank into Gil's chest, "Russia…" he whispered, struggling suddenly. Two days? He couldn't last two days without-

"Oh yes, I suppose you'll be needed the drugs every day won't you…" Russia pretending to think for a moment, "I think perhaps you'll learn faster without them, da?" he smiled, laying his hand on the door handle, "Unless you've already changed your mind?"

Gil looked away from Russia, trying to think, trying to prepare himself for two days without the drugs he still desperately needed. He was used to four syringes a day, given to him by Russia. He wasn't sure he would even survive without them. He looked at Lithuania, who stared at him, worried.

"Gil…" Lithuania whispered, shaking his head, "It's okay, you can-"

"Shut up, Toris," Gil snapped, shaking his head in return. He looked back at Russia, "I'm still not f****g helping you!" he screamed, staring into Russia's face, determined.

Russia laughed.

Gil shivered, looking back at Lithuania, who turned away shaking.

"Won't this be entertaining?" Russia smiled, "I wonder what will hurt you more, Toris… would you rather Gil torture you, or will you enjoy watching him go through withdrawal? I've seen it…"

Gil closed his eyes, shaking.

"It's terrible to watch, I can't imagine having to go through it…" Russia smiled at Gil again, "What did you say it was again? Cold hands? Ghosts? Pain…? And what was the last one? Oh yes, the smell of burning human skin… and you would know what that feels like, wouldn't you GDR?"

Lithuania looked up at Gil, confused, and worried.

Gil said nothing, looking away from Russia.

Russia smiled again, "I'll leave you two to talk, while you can, GDR. As I said, I'll be back in two days. I expect you'll both be more willing to cooperate with me by then," he opened the door, pausing to look back once more before he stepped into the hall, "Oh, GDR, if you change your mind about this whole thing, I'll be listening, just call for me. I'd like to save you from this if you'll let me," he smiled kindly, walking out and closing the door behind him.

Gil winced, hearing the key turn in the lock.

There was a long silence, both of them not knowing what to say.

Gil tried to move his shoulders, trying to find a way to make the position more comfortable. After two days he was sure he wouldn't be able to move his arms at all, and he'd be lucky of he could stand. He looked back at Lithuania. He was tied with ropes, and he'd noticed they were already starting to burn his wrists.

"So…" Gil broke the silence finally, "It's a nice day outside…"

"Really?" Lithuania looked up at him, annoyed. He laughed a little, sighing deeply, turning away.

Gil smirked, "Well hey, I did get a laugh out of you."

"I was laughing at how sad that attempt at a joke was…"

"I know, but you still laughed."

Lithuania didn't reply, letting another long silence pass. He looked up at Gil again, "Are you going to be ok?"

"Oh you know, just… everything Russia said and more… it's no big deal, I'll be fine. Actually, I'll probably pass out before it gets too bad, it's a little hard to breathe with my arms above my head like this, and considering breathing's going to get difficult anyway…" he would have shrugged if he could have moved his arms.

Lithuania shook his head, "Do you always try and be funny when you're terrified?"

Prussia shrugged, "Yeah, kind of a thing… a lot of people do it you know, it's pretty common actually…" He looked away, biting his lip, refusing to show even Lithuania how scared he really was.

Another long silence passed, neither of them wanting to talk about what was coming. Finally, Lithuania spoke again.

"Gil… when Russia said you knew what… burning skin feels like…?" he closed his eyes, almost afraid of the answer.

"I figured you'd ask that eventually…" Gil looked away, trying to take a deep breath, finding it difficult. "I uh…" he shook his head, trying to collect his thoughts. He hadn't expected it to be so difficult to talk about. "The witch trials…" he sighed, "they called me 'devil child', something about red eyes being a little scary or something…" he closed them, frustrated by a choke that rose into his throat. He pushed it down, "Once they decided I was, in fact, the devil child, despite being the most devout of all of them… they uh…" he sighed again, "They tried to drown me first. No torture, no interrogation, just… right to the river. Only I didn't die… then they tortured me." his voice trembled. He tried to steady it, tried to hide it, tried to push down the memories that flooded his mind, "It was worse than anything else I've ever… and I just kept healing… and that made it worse. They asked how that was possible, saying it proof… I could quote whatever verses they wanted me to, I begged them, I drew crosses on myself with my own blood while they were torturing me to try and prove to them that I wasn't…" he wiped the tears away from his eyes on his sleeves quickly, annoyed by them.

"You don't have to…" Lithuania sighed, shaking his head.

"No. No, it's ok… I… I've never actually told anyone… ever… not even Ludwig…"

"How does Russia…?"

"I don't know," Gil shook his head, "Maybe I said something when I was going between withdrawal and being high for the several months he kept me down here, breaking me…"

"I'm glad that didn't completely work…"

Gil didn't answer, "Anyway… That's enough of that…"

"You can tell me the rest. Would it help?"

Gil wasn't sure, "If it bothers you…"

"After all he's done two me? You think anything bothers me anymore?"

Gil sighed, shaking his head, "Good point…" he looked down, continuing, "I um… after they had even more 'proof' that I was the devil child, they dragged me out in front of a crowd of thousands and thousands of people and… I wasn't the only one they burned at the stake that day… but… but it took forever for me. Hours and hours before it started to get bad… I was only a child, but my country was strong… I was so hard to kill… it… it took almost all day before…" he winced, shaking his head, trying to keep the choke back in his throat, "I wasn't dead for long… they took me back to the prison, tortured me all over again, they weren't even trying to get a confession anymore, they were so convinced that hurting me would make the devil angry, that he would release others… then they burned me again… and again… and again… they tried fifteen times…"

Lithuania closed his eyes, looking away, horrified. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure there was anything he could say.

"Then it was over… I don't know who got me out, but someone did. I hid for years, I stained my skin, my hair… tried to hide my eyes… eventually the trials ended, everything went back to normal, the scars healed… I… I grew up. It was a long time ago…"

"And the burning now, it's from…?"

Gil looked down.

Lithuania sighed deeply, understanding, even though he wished he didn't.

Gil tried not to think about it, the faces starting to flash in front of him again. He jerked his head to the side, trying to shake them away.

"Gilbert…?" Lithuania asked, concern in his voice.

"I'm fine." Gil nodded, opening his eyes again. He could feel his heartbeat getting faster, slowly but surely. He closed his eyes in pain.

"Gil, you don't have to do this…" Lithuania shook his head, "Just call Russia in here. I can take anything you can give you don't have to-"

"Stop it," Gil opened his eyes, angry, "Stop doing that. I'm not hurting you…"

"Russia's right, you think I'd rather watch you…"

"I'm sorry that both options absolutely suck, but there's nothing I can-" he winced in pain, his breath catching.

"Gil…?"

"No, Liet… I can't… I can't hurt you, I can't…"

"Gil… Gil please, don't do this…"

"Sorry. It's my choice not yours…"

"Gil…"

Gil closed his eyes tightly, turning away from Lithuania, trying to hide behind his arm. He didn't want Lithuania to see the pain in his face. He couldn't hide it completely. His breath caught again, his heart beating faster. He shivered, swallowing hard, trying to keep down a gag. He could smell the burning again, and it nearly choked him. He let a few tears fall down his cheeks, trying to hide them.

I can do this… he tried to tell himself, don't give up… please don't give in… I can do this… I can do this…

Lithuania looked away.

A/N: Well... we knew the happiness couldn't last forever... Ugh, Russia... why are you so cruel? You were so nice the past few chapters... *sigh* and he thinks he's teaching them... ugh his mind... Anyway, I hope you all 'like' this chapter. We get to hear a bit more about Gil's past, and so does Lithuania. These two basically need each other for sanity at this point. And while Gil certainly appeared to be cruel to Poland (and probably hurting Poland a lot...) he was saving him from something much, much worse... he did the 'right' thing... (if there is a 'right' thing in this kind of situation...) but this is going to affect Poland pretty hard for a while... being kicked by Gil again... ugh...

As always, reviews are so deeply appreciated! You guys were all ABSOLUTELY LOVELY with your comments on my last chapter. I am so incredibly honored by your words. Truly. I strive to be an excellent author even in a story that I'm writing for love instead of future monetary gains... becuase that's important too. I've learned a lot myself in writing this as well... and for those of you concerned about it ending soon... have no fear! I fully intend to continue this story through Prussia's recovery once he's back with his little brother, and the wall is long gone. :) Cookies, hugs, lemonaide, tea, scones, candy, and all things lovely for reviewers! *gives flowers* Thank you all!