Welcome to Chapter Five of 'Duality'! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

Now, Elts is back in the spotlight for half of this installment. (Though Eduard gets the last half haha.)

This one handles some pretty heavy material, as well. Elts explains to Eduard why she doesn't really like being in Tallinn, among other things. While there is no torture written out in this, some unpleasant things are still implied.

In the Estonian school system, a five is an equivalent of an A, and a four is equivalent to a B, at least from what I've researched.

*Hetalia doesn't belong to me. However, Elts, Liene, Liutas, and everyone from their universe does.*

Installment Five

"Eduard…" Elts' mentor was crying, something that unnerved her greatly. From what she had seen of Eduard, he was the epitome of professionalism. But something shook him enough to hug her, in tears.

"You and your friends were tortured to death so many times. I should have known. About Project Longevity. About you and your friends. I'm the personification of Estonia, damn it! I should have known about this! But I didn't. I had no idea. I am so, so sorry."

"Eduard." Now tears filled her own eyes. She wrapped her arms around the now-shaking boy as tight as she could manage. "There was nothing you could have done; no one in the governments of the world, other than a few corrupt people, knew about Longevity."

"I saw some videos," he said abruptly, leaning against his protégé. "And I saw a lot of pictures. Those 'scientists' were sick. They were sadists. I saw you and your friends get shot. And then frozen to death." He gently brushed his hand over the scars on Elts' throat, shoulders, and chest. "I saw pictures of these wounds. You were so strong to endure everything, and were brave for Liene and Liutas. I saw what you looked like before Longevity. You were just a typical teenager, with a typical life. But the Elts I see now, though I know you are tired and hurt, is a hero."

Eduard's words cut deep into her heart; before she could stop herself, she buried her face in the crook of his neck and sobbed. "I'm not a hero," she rasped after her eyes could shed no more tears. "I'm a coward. When I was vivisected, I begged for death. I tried to run away from the scientists, even when Liene and Liutas were still restrained. When I got ahold of a gun, I couldn't even point it the bastard who tortured me because all I could think of was my friends getting shot. Yes, I was one of the leaders of the students' resistance, but I couldn't do anything right! I was a failure, just like Mother said."

"What?" Eduard removed himself from the embrace so he could gently tilt her chin up so that her eyes met his own. Everything she said so far was concerning to him, but the last bit sent up red flags, especially since it seemed to refer to a time before she was taken by the scientists. "Your mother called you a failure?"

"She did a lot more than that." Elts' voice took on an icy tone. "Contrary to what you said, my life was not typical or fun before the organization took me. School proved to be a bit better, but that bastard Ivan ruined what time I had there my second year. He bullied Liu and Liene, too. But before all that?" She shook her head, a bitter smile on her face. "The scientists were not the original artists of 'honor student', Eduard."

The blond's brow furrowed.

"I was an accident; I wasn't supposed to have happened. My parents didn't want a child, but they were stuck with me because they didn't want the stigma of an abortion. However, they quickly found out that I did have a purpose: to be their pose-able doll. My mother was a terrible alcoholic who wanted to live her academic dreams through me. My father agreed with her, though when the abuse started getting extreme—anything lower than a five would warrant a beating—he just up and left. He said I was the one who caused his wife to drink. I was the one who ruined everything for him. After that, Mother became even more unstable. Because of the constant stress, my academic performance plummeted, if you count 'average' as plummeting. When I got a four on a really important exam, Mother just…snapped." Her back throbbed painfully, and she resisted the urge to press the scars. "She…she tied me to the kitchen counter…" Her mouth got dry. "And then she carved those words into my back. In English. I still don't know why she didn't use our language, but I'm grateful she didn't. It would have been ruined if she did." She didn't meet Eduard's eyes when she continued. "The scientists thought it would be funny to reopen the scars. I'm sure they got a good laugh out of it. Liene heard me screaming from down the hallway."

She didn't realize she was crying until Eduard wiped tears off of her cheeks. "That's why coming back to Tallinn was so hard. She ruined it for me."

"You lived in Tallinn?" Elts felt her mentor stiffen.

/

"Yes. Born and raised."

No. Estonia felt his stomach churn. I live in Tallinn. She was being tortured in her own home, and I was right there. I could have helped her. I could have moved her somewhere else. But because I didn't, she suffered.Another bout of self-loathing was about to overtake him, but suddenly, his own words to Lithuania sprung into his mind. "You can't save them all, Toris. I know you want to help, but it's impossible for you to be everywhere at once. I know it hurts, but there's nothing we can do."

Estonia took a deep breath, trying to relax himself. "You're wrong, Elts," he finally said, once he was composed. "You're one of the bravest, most heroic people I know. And I know a lot of people." He ruffled her hair again, trying to make her see that she wasn't a failure, nor was she a coward. "I know you've gone through so much pain, but like I said before, you made it, didn't you? You're no longer with your mother, nor are you at the lab. You're here. Free."

He realized that he was beginning to get through to her when some of the fog dissipated from her eyes, and she nodded. She looked like she was going to say something, but her stomach beat her to it. She blushed and looked away.

"If you're hungry, dinner's ready. I just might have to warm some of it up again. It's just chicken, carrots, and potatoes, but it should be enough for both of us."

"Thank you." She bowed her head. "I mean, not just for the food. For everything."

"It's no problem, really." And it was true; he genuinely wanted to know his protégé, to become her friend.

As Elts made her way toward the door, though, Estonia realized that she was forgetting something. "Ah, Elts? Aren't you going to put your clothes back on?"

The copper-haired girl blushed before hastily throwing on her turtleneck and slacks. "I'm sorry. We just didn't wear much clothing at the facility, when we were even allowed that comfort. I'm still getting used to not walking around practically naked."

Another thought appeared in his head, and he blurted it out before he had the chance to filter it properly. "Did any of the scientists take advantage of that to…" He stopped himself from continuing the sentence, especially from the reaction Elts gave to it. She stiffened, her hands tightly clenched into fists.

"To me personally, no. But there was one 'test'. The organization wanted to know if, now that we were immortal, we were still fertile. So they sent the most sadistic of the group to find out. He got to pick which of us 'lovely ladies' would be chosen for the 'honor'. He was just supposed to take a sample of one of her eggs, but after the test came back negative, he got mad. We were supposed to still be able to bear children, so that aspect of the experiment was a failure. He didn't like failure. So he took it out on his test subject."

Estonia almost didn't want her to continue, but at the same time, he wanted the information so he could notify the Nation who was most likely taking care of the girl. "Did you know who was chosen?"

The pain in Elts' eyes was so visible that the blond nearly wept for her. "Liene," she finally spat, her shoulders shaking—though this time Estonia could see that it was out of anger, not fear. "She was the one Pyotr picked. All because his son Ivan had feelings for her, and he wanted to break him. So he used her to get to Ivan. And it worked. Ivan eventually killed him, but the damage was already done."

Liene? But she's so small. Estonia felt sick. He had no idea who this 'Pyotr' man was, but he didn't care. Not only did these people torture teenagers in the name of 'world peace', but they had also stooped lower. While it didn't sound like she was forced upon in the traditional sense, her body was still invaded unwillingly.

"He was 201 centimeters tall, Eduard. She didn't stand a chance. He performed a hysterectomy on her without anesthetics, pulling her reproductive organs out through her…" She ended the sentence there, looking away. "It was too much; he hurt her so much during that procedure. She was too small, so he had to shatter her pelvis in order to make it so he could remove everything. And the kicker? He filmed it. And then made Ivan watch it. Liene wasn't the same after that. That 'experiment' gave her constant pain, both physical and emotional."

Estonia resisted the urge to call Latvia that very moment. No, he would wait until Elts was asleep to make that phone call; he didn't want to worry her more than she already was.

By the time he pulled himself from his thoughts, he realized that Elts was already downstairs. The chicken was cold, but Estonia didn't feel like reheating it. The two ate in silence until Elts broke it. "I'm sorry if I'm not eating a lot. It's just taking time for my body to adjust to eating this much food."

"I understand." And he did; he knew Poland went through the same thing when he was liberated from a concentration camp after the war ended.

"This is good, though. But Liutas' cooking was better; she knew how to make even the blandest dish taste delicious." After laughing a bit, her tone turned serious. "Do you miss them, Eduard?"

"Hmm?"

"The other two Baltic personifications. I assume you're close? Do you miss them, too?"

"Yes. I love my independence, but I do miss them a lot. They are my best friends, you know." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "What brought that question on?"

"I was just thinking about my own friends. Liene and Liutas, of course, as well as Taaveti—he's from Finland—and Paula, Jane, and Tobiasz. I…miss them a lot. Especially Liene and Liutas. They were there for me when I was at my lowest. And I was there for them when they were at theirs. We shared a bed at school, you know. It got hard for any of us to sleep alone. I was just wondering if they'd be able to sleep tonight, without someone to hold." Elts wrung her hands, looking almost shy.

Ah. I see what she's trying to say. "Elts? Do you feel uncomfortable sleeping alone, too?"

Not meeting his eyes, she quickly nodded.

"I know we just met and all, but if you wanted to share my bed with me tonight, I wouldn't be opposed to it."

"Thank you," Elts murmured, looking down at her food. "I would really appreciate it. I'm sorry this is so awkward, but—"

Estonia stopped her. "Latvia, Lithuania, and I used to share a bed when we lived together. It was one of the only things that gave us peace in those dark days. Latvia in particular still has trouble sleeping alone. So believe me, I understand where you're coming from."

Elts nodded again.

"I know you're probably still tired, so why don't you get in your pajamas and get ready for bed? I'll take care of the dishes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll join you when I'm done."

After his protégé hurried up the stairs, Estonia went over the events of the evening in his mind. He was especially concerned with what he now knew about Liene, but he wasn't sure how to approach the situation, since he wasn't even sure if Latvia himself knew, or if his government even left Liene in his care. I'll figure it out later. He realized he was very tried, more tired than he thought, so he quickly finished washing the dishes before running back to his room.

And now this fic gets even more angsty than it already was, haha, X'DD.

Hopefully, the stuff with Elts and the rest of the characters from her universe is making sense. (Ugh, poor Liene, though. She'll actually show up in the story in a few chapters. I hope people like her...)

Also, yeah, the character who bullied Elts and co.'s name was Ivan. (I just chose a random stereotypical Russian name for him, actually.) He's obviously a different Ivan than Hetalia's Ivan, though, duh. (Different personality than APH Ivan, too, actually.) I just find it funny that, in this scenario, the two Ivans would be stuck with each other, haha. (At least my Ivan's surname begins with a K, so there wouldn't be confusion if they were in the same scene, XD.)

But I digress, XD.