Welcome to the next installment of 'Duality'! Thanks for sticking with the story this far!

This one introduces the other Baltic representatives, as well as brings Latvia and Lithuania into the story.

…I'll find it hilarious if people actually shipped Elts and Eduard together, XDD. (I was trying to make their bond platonic, but if people get shippy vibes from them instead, I don't mind, haha.)

Also, I am currently obsessed with Star Wars, hence the little nods to it in this chapter, X'D.

*Hetalia does not belong to me. Elts, Liutas, and Liene do, however.*

Installment Eight

Estonia and Elts had a few hours to kill before their friends arrived, but instead of working, the two found themselves curled up on the couch together, watching a movie. Elts shyly requested the original Star Wars, and Estonia happily obliged; he had all the movies on DVD. When the movie started, they were at opposite ends of the couch, but as it progressed, the closer they shifted. When the doorbell finally rang, they were sharing a blanket, with Elts' head resting on Estonia's shoulder. He was almost disappointed to pause the movie; he had never seen the copper-haired girl look so serene.

Resisting the urge to laugh at the unfortunate face Luke Skywalker was making during the pause, Estonia quickly ushered Latvia inside. The short nation was followed by an equally-small (and nervous-looking) girl. Estonia recognized her as Liene from the videos, though she had put on some weight since them.

"Ah, welcome," he began awkwardly, not sure what to say. "Toris and Liutas should be here soon, actually."

"Did you have to pause on that moment?" Liene scrunched up her nose. "I can't even look in your direction without seeing Luke all…" Not knowing how to describe it, she made the same face.

Rolling his eyes, Estonia switched the screen off. After the conversation he overheard this morning, he was glad Liene was feeling well enough to joke around.

"Do you mind if I use your bathroom, though?" The expression on the shortest girl's face looked serious.

"It's upstairs. Elts can show you where it is."

Looking as though something dawned on her, Liene ran—as fast as her limp would allow her, that is—over to the couch and literally jumped onto Elts.

"Oh God, it's so good to see you!" She hugged the copper-haired girl tighter than Estonia thought possible.

Elts held her friend close, rubbing her back. "I've missed you so much. It's so hard being…" She let the end of her sentence trail off, as though she didn't know how to phrase what she wanted to say in English.

"Let's go upstairs," she finally continued. "I have a feeling you might need my help."

Nodding, Liene allowed the taller girl to carry her upstairs.

Estonia was amazed at this feat; Elts was so frail; he couldn't understand how she was able to withstand so much physical labor, especially since it was obvious she didn't have any unnatural strength.

Realizing that Latvia was still in the room, he gestured his friend to join him in the kitchen, where they took seats at the table.

"So, Liene seems a little better than she was earlier." Estonia drummed his fingers on the table.

"After the incident this morning, she explained what happened to her." Latvia looked like he was going to throw up. "She needs surgery, Eduard. A proper one. So I got in contact with a doctor that knows about us nations and set up an appointment for her with him." The smaller blond sighed. "Why didn't my government approve her for one right away? I know that all the test subjects were given preliminary medical care before being tossed to us. It's obvious that she's in a lot of pain. She still bleeds from it, and it's been a month."

"I don't know why they didn't help her, Raivis." Estonia was asking himself the same question. He was about to add something to his response, but the doorbell going off interrupted him.

"That must be Toris and Liutas."

He was right.

"Sorry we're late; we sort of got caught in traffic." Lithuania rubbed the back of his head.

"Hello, Eduard." Liutas turned to the Estonian. "Toris has told me so much about you."

"All good things, I hope."

"Oh yeah, all good things." Liutas smiled warmly. Estonia noticed that she looked the healthiest of the three girls, though even she had dark circles under her eyes, and occasional tremors.

"Elts and Liene are upstairs. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you."

"Thank you, Eduard. I will join them." With a nod, the blonde walked up the stairs.

"How is she doing? I can sense that some of this cheeriness is an act." Estonia turned to Lithuania.

"Surprisingly, pretty well. Of course, she can't sleep alone, but besides that, she's been helping me with some paperwork. She is very worried about her friends, though."

"And for good reason. I'm getting through to Elts, but she'll need some time to just relax before I make her do any work."

"Same with Liene." Latvia nodded. "She tried so hard to help me with my own paperwork, but due to her physical pain, it's hard for her to stay focused and still for long periods of time."

Lithuania winced. "I still can't believe those scientists would stoop so low. Yes, the test subjects are immortal now, but the fact that they were tortured to death over and over again?" The brunet looked sick.

"I know." Estonia looked down. "I watched some videos of the experimentation. It was disgusting. And I've seen the scars on Elts."

Latvia shuddered. "Liene's are bad, too. That poor girl… She also told me that most, of her non-vital organs are gone, ripped out of her while she was still conscious. I can't even imagine what that must have been like."

"Liutas showed me the scars on her back, but I don't think her organs were ripped out, from what she's told me." Lithuania narrowed his eyes.

"I just don't know what to do. How can I take care of her when I can barely take care of myself?" Latvia wrung his hands.

"Don't beat yourself up, Raivis." Estonia placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "Like I said before, Liene most likely understands. She reminds me a bit of you, actually. Maybe ask her about hobbies, or movies she likes. I had no idea Elts liked Star Wars until we decided to watch a movie today. The less she focuses on her time with the scientists, the better."

"And make sure she keeps in contact with her friends," Lithuania added. "Liutas skyped with the American test subjects today, which helped her relax more, I think. She's dating the one from California—Paula is her name, I think. And America himself was with them, which surprisingly put her at ease. Alfred always was good at cheering people up; I know it worked for me."

Estonia could have sworn that Lithuania was blushing, but said nothing about it. Instead, he changed the subject. "It seems pretty quiet upstairs. Maybe we should check on them?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I'm also interested in meeting Elts and Liene." Lithuania stood up. Latvia and Estonia followed suit.

Dun dun dun, cliffhanger! The next chapter will show how the girls are faring, and how they interact with all the Baltics.