Before I go on, Let me just say I have nothing against Russia. He's actually one of my favorite characters, but I kinda needed him to be the villian in this story. And if you've read the comics, try looking up the one where Poland sees Toris' scars. I've always assumed Russia caused them. So before you guys start hating on me for doing this to Russia, this is my explaination.

Okay, on to the story. I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 4 Contact

Leonas sighed as he watched his counterpart slip unconcious before lifting him up and laying him on the bed, making sure his back was facing him. After making sure he was still breathing, the 2p grabbed a washcloth and one of the water bottles and brought them over to the wash pan on his dresser. A quick glance at the mirror told him that he was actually there, and not watching from his own world.

The wounds look pretty bad. It might be a few hours before he'll finally wake up. Leonas thought as he locked the door to Toris' room before soaking the washcloth. And I don't want that Russian bastard to come in on me while I work.

The second he placed the washcloth on one of Toris' wounds, the nation's body twitched in pain, and Leonas heard a sharp intake of breath as well as a gentle whimper of pain from Toris as he cleaned the wounds. It was obvious that his counterpart was in a lot of pain, but he knew unless he cleaned them, the wounds would get infected. As he cleaned the knife wounds, Leonas could tell sense his counterpart's breathing steady, the blood no longer leaking out when he dried the wounds.

With his back cleaned off, Leonas could finally see the extent of the damage on Toris. Slash marks littered his back, and bruises from the metal pipe he saw before tore at the skin on the back of his shoulders. A rather large slash mark stretched from the top left shoulder to the middle of his back, and it seemed to be what was causing Toris pain.

"Well, this could've been worse. They'll still scar afterwards, but it's better than leaving them to get infected," Leonas stated as he grabbed the bandages and sat his counterpart up so he could wrap up the wounds, "I'm almost done Toris."

The rest of the process was quiet as Leonas bandaged his counterpart, making sure to check on his pulse in case it was weakening while he worked. But to his relief, the pulse stayed steady as he finished the process and turned Toris onto his back. A steady stream of breath escaped his lips as his chest moved up and down in the same process.

"His condition is improving, but..." Leonas notice the slight shiver coming from Toris, before placing several blankets over him that were on a nearby chair, "That's all I can really do until he wakes up."

A faint knocking on the door forced him to mentally curse as a quieter voice could be heard, and he identified it as one of his counterpart's partners, Raivis. "T-Toris? Are you doing okay?"

Leonas felt himself curse as he slipped under the bed, making sure to grab his bag as the door was unlocked and the Latvian and Eduard entered, both gasping at the blood in the room. "M-Mr. Russia hurt him again, didn't he?" he whispered.

"Yeah. And judging by the blood, he must've passed out from it." Leonas heard the covers shift above him, "That's odd. He's already been cleaned up and bandaged."

"Really?" Leonas' eyes watched as shoes entered his line of view under the bed. "Do you think Russia did it?"

"No. These are rather good-quality bandages, and the way they're wrapped is different from Mr. Russia's form. But it's opposite of Toris' style. He wraps his starting from the left. Whoever did this started from the right."

Leonas mentally panicked as the two baltics continued talking. "Do you think his 2p did it? After all, they are our opposites." Raivis pointed out.

"I don't think so. After all, look at what the 2p axis is doing. Ours might be the same way. At any rate, we shouldn't worry. Let's get some sleep. We've got a lot to do after all."

Leonas exhaled slowly as he heard the covers being fixed and footsteps fading away, before hearing the door shut. After a few moments of silence, he felt the tension release before finally climbing out from under the bed. "That was just too close. I'm not ready for them to see me just yet," The 2p stated as he looked at his reflection, "I better clean up. The blood probably made him panic when he saw me in the mirror earlier."

A sudden groan from the bed caught Leonas' attention, and he paused what he was doing to watch Toris attempt to sit up, unsure of what to do. Pain seemed to flash through his eyes, and immediately shut as if to block it out. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I just fixed cleaned your wounds and I wouldn't want them to reopen," Leonas pointed out.

Toris' eyes snapped open as his gaze connected with the 2ps, and immediately the weakened nation began panicking, the paranoia flashing in his eyes. "Y-You! B-But how!? N-Never mind that. Just s-stay away." he stuttered as he continued trying to sit up, before giving up and settling on just laying back on the pillow, "Y-You're going to take control of me like those other 2ps! I-I know it!"

Leonas shook his head. "If I really wanted to take control of you, I wouldn't have dressed your wounds. And contrary to the other 2ps, I disapprove of what Ivan's doing. There are 2ps who are kind. We just don't show it often." The 2p stated as he approached Toris, "Of course, making sure others are okay is something you know a lot about, right Toris?"

Toris stopped and looked straight at the 2p. "You know my name?" he asked.

"I do. I heard it mentioned through my world. I saw what Ivan did to you the past few days reflected in my bathroom mirror, and it sickened me that he did that to you," Leonas stated as he gazed at Toris.

His counterpart seeming to relax, but still kept a watchful eye on him. "For all I know you could be lying."

Leonas nodded as he approached his counterpart. "Yes you're right. And trust is a fragile thing. It's easy to shatter. But I've seen what's happened to you in the past few days. You care a lot for the other baltics, and would protect them. Because of that you take their punishments, and depending on Ivan's mood, his wrath could be devastating. Like what happened earlier this evening."

Toris grew quiet as he gazed at the 2p, allowing Leonas to continue. "But deep down inside I know you're wishing things could be how they use to be. The war took away your freedom. I want to help you regain it. I know it hurts, being in this position."

Leonas watched as his counterpart's eyes closed, as if remembering painful memories. "I-I hate being here. H-He's so cruel to us. I-I just want the pain to s-stop," The weakened nation stuttered, the tears streaming down his face, "I-I don't know w-what to d-do anymore!"

"I know. And you don't have to worry. I won't hurt you." Leonas placed his hand on his counterpart's shoulder gently. "What Ivan is doing to you is wrong."

Toris ignored the pain in his back as he brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them, muffled sobs escaping his mouth. His whole body trembled as he seemed to be recalling all the times he was punished. "It hurts... I-It hurts so damn much..." He whispered, the stutter growing as his body shoke, "I-I just can't t-take it anymore! I-It feels like I'm l-losing my own i-identity!"

Leonas nodded as he sat down on the bed next to him and gently played with Toris' hair. "I know. The pain of being hurt like this is unbearable. Sometimes it just helps to cry though." the 2p pointed out quietly as he hugged his counterpart, being careful not to press on the wounds on his back, "I'll make sure Ivan pays for what he did."

With nothing else to say, the two sat in silence, the only noise being the softening sobs from Toris as the time slowly passed. Eventually they stopped, and the somewhat broken nation looked up at Leonas with red, swollen eyes. "Y-You're the person I've been seeing in the mirror the past few days. You're my 2p, Leonas," Toris whispered, earning a nod from the 2p, "B-But why would you want to help me? We both come from different worlds. Why should you care about what happens to us? What happens to me isn't really your business."

"I know. But I've seen the look in your eyes, and it's so much like what I've seen in nation being broken by the axis. I've seen a lot of those facing the Axis break down into the same state you're in, and it's happened so many times that I decide to change that. You remind me so much of Natalie." Leonas stated as he looked up at the window, stars fading in the night sky.

"Natalie?"

"The Belarus of my world. She was a gentle girl. Deadly, but quite gentle. And that's what made Luciano want to and tried to break her. And what's worse, Viktor, her older brother, allowed that! The gentle little girl that would often follow me and her older brother, was broken in a matter of months. What's worse, she was tortured in Russia's own house, where I was staying for a few months, because Viktor claimed it was a lullaby to him." Leonas growled, before taking a deep breath, "So what I did was something that went against other 2ps morals. I took Natalie in for a few weeks after Luciano broke her, and helped her recover. It was a long process, but the gentle 2p she was before slowly returned. She may no longer fight, but she's doing well."

Toris was surprised. "The state Ivan's pushing you into is breaking you apart. But there's still time to help. No one should have their freedom taken like that. I wish to help regain that lost independence." Leonas finished.

"You'd do that?"

Leonas nodded, and for once a brief amount of hope flickered in Toris' eyes. "I don't know how long it'll take, but as long as you don't give up, there's still hope."

The faint sound of birds chirping caught their attention, and both noticed the sun starting to emerge from the darkness. R-Russia will be probably coming to wake me up soon. What should I do?" Toris asked, "He might see you."

"He won't. I can conceil myself under the bed. Kinda had to do that when the other baltics came in to check on you."

A small, almost faint smile could be seen on Toris' face as he climbed out of bed, the pain fading into a slow, stiff, and sore feeling. Leonas felt content with the look on his face as he helped his counterpart button up his uniform, being careful not to brush it against the wounds on his shoulders. "It'll be alright. Just go through what you usually do during the day. I'll be here when you return Toris," the 2p stated, earning a nod from the nation in front of him.

Toris smiled briefly as he slid out the door, leaving the 2p alone in the room. "You're still fighting for it inside. And in the end, Russia can try all he want, once a nation has regained hope, they take their first step in want independence." Leonas stated as he watched the sun rising outside, "Hope is a powerful emotion. It gives people and nations alike the strength to carry on in this forsaken world."

A brief look in the mirror made him notice the blood from the mirror fragments cutting his face when he entered Toris' world. "Must've been a side effect from using a mirror instead of the portal. Might as well clean this up while I'm here."

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