The Great War ended shortly after Madeline and Gilbert met. In the end it was not a decisive victory for any side, civil unrest within Germany and Russia ended the war in favor of the Allies. Alfred's boss, Woodrow Wilson, was one of the key supporters for the formation of a league of nations that would help to peacefully resolve future conflicts. At the Paris Peace Conference, where treaties were signed to end the war, the League of Nations became a reality, though America declined participation in it.
The following decade was one of prosperity and drunken rabble rousing and despite the reparations Germany was forced to pay to France, Gilbert took some time during this era to visit with his friends, Francis and Antonio, in Paris. It was during the first of these visits after the war ended that Gilbert put forth a question for Francis.
"Why didn't you ever tell me how cute Alfred's little sister was Frenchy? You had to have known her, I remember Alfred telling me she lived with you when you had that Canada colony."
"Little sister? Alfred doesn't have a little sister Gilbert."
"Course he does. Madeline! Sweet, little blonde with beautiful eyes. How could you not know who she is?"
Francis arches an eyebrow at his friend before turning back to his drink. "D'accord, I understand now. Gilbert, mon ami, Madeline is Alfred's older sister." He let's out a sigh, not noticing Gilbert's jaw hitting the ground. "I suppose even Arthur was unable to help her grow."
"Der fuck, verruckte bastard. Older sister! His older sister!"
"Hmm, oh do calm down. Yes, his older sister. She still looks like a child, oui. About twelve I think."
"Ja."
Francis pats Gilbert's back. "Do not worry, she may one day develop as a woman."
"Fuck."
After that GIlbert simply drank himself into a stupor before being helped back to Francis' home. Francis and Antonio were both concerned for the friend, when Francis explained to Antonio why Gilbert was like this.
"So you think he is in amor, with this Madeline girl."
"Oui, he seemed very upset to learn she hasn't been growing since she was first found."
"Hmm, that is rather unusual. I wonder why she isn't growing?"
Francis shrugs and the two head off to bed.
Back over in the states, Madeline has been living with Alfred in New York. They had moved there after the war ended when they learned that Matthew would be more independent, having control of his own foreign policy. Madeline had asked if they could live closer to Canada so the siblings could more easily visit with one another. Of course, this wasn't the cause of Madeline's perpetual good mood. It was something Alfred noticed very quickly. He would often catch Madeline humming and dancing around the house. One day it was getting to him while Matthew was visiting and Madeline was out so Matthew suggested looking in her room for some evidence of her good mood. At first Alfred had protested saying they shouldn't invade her personal space like that, but Matthew managed to convince him by saying she wouldn't mind if it was something that made her happy. So they snuck into her room and looked around, they didn't look far before finding a stack of unmailed letters written to Gilbert on her desk. Matthew was confused wondering who Gilbert was, while Alfred just had a sinking feeling in his gut. Matthew noticed Alfred's attitude towards the letters and led him from the room, leaving the letters as they were found.
"So, who's Gilbert?"
Alfred sat heavily on the sofa in the living room before answering. "Prussia. She met him while working in that hospital in France during the war."
"Oh, so... Why is she writing him, uh, love letters?"
"How should I know! They barely knew each other two weeks before he escaped and left her tied to his bed."
"Well she hasn't mailed the letters and I don't think she plans to. They were dated several weeks back, I think she's just writing them, sort of like a diary."
"That kind of makes us reading them worse than if she did plan to mail them."
The two brothers thought on that before agreeing to not speak of the letters again and to just be happy for their sister's happiness.
Throughout the twenties this became the status quo for the three siblings as they traded off visiting one another in their capital cities. However this good fortune was not meant to last as in mid October Alfred began to feel bouts of weakness hit him. He tried to get ahold of his boss to find out if everything was alright but found himself getting no answers other than they were working on a new tariff that should help safeguard American jobs. It wasn't until the 24th, when stock prices began dropping dramatically, and Alfred did as well, that Madeline managed to piece together what was happening. Matthew was visiting at the time and helped Madeline to get Alfred to his bed while they listened for news of what was happening. They both sighed in relief when things seemed to stabilize thanks to the efforts of several banks at Richard Whitney's lead.
That weekend newspapers reported on the fall in the stock market and come Monday, despite the best efforts of the banks, prices continued to fall. Madeline, knowing how tied Matthew's economy was with Alfred's urged Matthew to return home so when this hit him he was home rather than out, something that would help him in the long run. Reluctantly he left and Madeline was left to tend to Alfred when the following day led to even more prices dropping in the exchange. Madeline was worried for Alfred as his strength, his inhuman strength, left him and he could barely lift his hand from its place beside him.
Anya was called home from her visit in Alaska, she had been helping to build up the territory, at the same time Matthew was sent home. It took her two weeks to get home, by which time the stock market had hit its all time low. She helped to tend to her father while Madeline phoned to Canada to check on Matthew. It seemed his government was working to slow the effects of this crash in their own country, sparing Matthew the debilitating weakness his brother was suffering. Madeline and Anya were forced to watch as the effects of the crash took their toll on Alfred. Neither able to do anything to help him as he suffered through.
Eventually the depression, as it was come to be called, began to affect the other nations. They all became ill to varying degrees. Eventually Madeline found herself asked by both of her brother's bosses to fill in for them while they were bedridden. Madeline and Anya decided that Madeline would fill in for Matthew and Anya for Alfred. So that is how when Madeline and Anya heard about people fleeing from Germany they began to worry, especially when they heard about a new leader rising to power. Worried and not sure what else to do Madeline wrote to Gilbert in hopes he could answer her questions about what was happening in his brother's nation. When she received a reply it was disheartening to say the least. She already knew of Gilbert's current state, having been absorbed by his brother's nation and effectively annexed, so she knew he would be in a similar state of health to Anya and Ailana. What was upsetting about the letter she received back from Gilbert was that this Hitler person was keeping Gilbert out of the workings of the government. As a state personification the German government should have turned to him, asking for his help in fixing things, much as America and Canada's governments had done. That they hadn't worried Madeline greatly. Gilbert did make mention that he had noticed people being taken, whole families being loaded into military vehicles and driven off to never be heard from again. He pointed out that they were mostly Jewish families that were being taken, but he pointed out that other individuals were becoming harder to find on the streets. Cripples, mentally insane or unstable people, they were slowly disappearing. Madeline sent a follow up letter but received no answer to it. Her worry increased after that.
By 1939 whatever was happening in Europe had come to a head and war broke out. Madeline urged the Canadian government to join the war and they soon did. The American government, however, didn't join right away. Apparently both Anya and Ailana were scared to join and the government followed their lead on the matter. Matthew and Alfred though both bounced back to their former health quickly, Matthew more quickly than Alfred. Matthew soon followed his troops over to Europe, sending Madeline to tend to Alfred as he recovered.
Finally Alfred was shocked out of his recovery and to full health by the attack on Pearl Harbor, which left Ailana bedridden with his wounds. The attack led to America joining the war and Alfred quickly went overseas, leaving Anya to tend to Ailana. Madeline tried to get him to get her a position working in a hospital like in the last war, but Alfred just shook his head saying that wouldn't work this time, even if she had taken the time to get an actual degree in medicine in the last few decades. In the end she huffily went to New York and stayed there, brooding.
It didn't take long after Alfred went to fight for word to reach Madeline that the war was being won. When VE Day came Madeline was cheering with all the rest. When VJ Day soon followed Madeline took the first flight to where she had learned trials would be held for the war criminals, her worry for Gilbert had not lessened. She soon came to the Palace of Justice and sought out her brothers. Matthew and Alfred were both shocked to see her, but didn't scold her like she expected.
"Madeline?"
"Why are you here?"
"The war is over, I came to see my two favorite soldiers."
The two look down guiltily at her words, both thinking back to the letters she had written.
"Madeline..."
"We know about how you feel about Prussia."
Madeline blushes darkly at their confession to her.
"Come on, he's staying here for a while."
"Francis insisted that he be allowed to keep an eye on him while he... recovers."
"Recovers? What happened? Where is he?"
The two young men lead their sister through the building to where rooms had been set up for the nations to use, namely the Allied nations. Madeline followed worriedly behind them. They eventually stopped at a door, unguarded though Madeline thought it would have been if it held a member of the Axis powers.
"He's in there."
"Madeline, just, brace yourself. He, we found him in one of the camps."
"Camps?"
"The Nazi's were shipping people off to concentration camps Madeline. Anyone that didn't fit into Hitler's idea of the perfect race."
"Why was Gilbert in one then? Why would, he's a nation?"
"We think it was his albinism. Madeline, what he went through in there, it changed him."
Still worried about the man in the room beyond the door, Madeline cautiously pushed open the door and stepped in. Inside Madeline found the room to have a dresser with a mirror and a bed. On the bed was a lump curled up against the corner of the bed and covered completely by a blanket.
"Gilbert?"
A small whimper before a small broken voice made itself heard, "B birdie? I is that you?"
"Yes, its me." Madeline holds in a sob as she steps forward to pull down the blanket over Gilbert. What she sees when she does so it has her gasping in horror. There sits Gilbert, he is extremely thin, almost just skin and bones. His red eyes, that Madeline had always loved were now dull and lifeless. It was almost painful for Madeline to look at him and she held in a sob as she climbed onto the bed to sit beside him and wrap her arms around him. She stayed there with him through the trials, she cried for him when she learned he had been dissolved, his nation nothing more than a memory. Gilbert had barely reacted to the news, still in shock from his ordeal in the camps.
"The only thing I regret is that I won't get to see you grow up into the beautiful woman I know you will be some day."
It was the only thing Gilbert said in response to the news and it only made Madeline cry harder and hold tighter to him.
Despite the expectation that Gilbert would slowly disappear, the other nations were surprised to see that he stayed whole. Madeline's brothers were the only ones to notice that she was not surprised by his continued existence and both grew suspicious of what this could mean, but neither voiced their questions. When the trials were done and Germany's lands had been divided among the Allied powers, the question came of what to do with Gilbert. He was no longer a nation but he remained alive. In the end Ivan, Alfred and Matthew managed to convince the others to allow Gilbert to return with Alfred to the States, the argument being that Madeline was the best equipped to help Gilbert through the mental scars he was dealing with after having spent so long in the concentration camp. Grudgingly the other nations agreed to the proposal, most assuming it was only a matter of time before Prussia faded away and no harm would come if he was left to live out the rest of his life peacefully.
Little did the others know though that Matthew and Alfred were now facing similar questions to what Arthur and Francis had regarding Madeline. Her work lack of being affected by the Great Depression, as compared to Ailana and Anya, made them realize she had to be a part of a larger nation, but neither felt the same connection to her as Alfred did with Ailana or Anya. They knew she was their sister but where were her lands. Her lack of surprise at Gilbert's continued existence led to them contemplating something they had never wanted to think about.
"You know, its possible. All the evidence points to it Al."
"I know, but I still hate the idea."
"Look she had to have come from somewhere up North, so I'll look for the where, you try to see if there are any written records in Europe or legends or something."
"Right, at least we can narrow it down to Europe, she doesn't have any Asian or native features."
"Oui."
So they went about looking into Madeline's possible past. It would be many years before anything conclusive was reached by the brothers. In fact the Cold War had caused Alfred to shelve his part of the project for quite some time as his boss became paranoid about his nation's sexual orientation and demanded he cut off all communication outside of business. What had really hurt Alfred the most though was when after having fought for his right to be with whom he chose, Ivan had approached him after a meeting. It was not something he would ever forget.
"We need to talk."
Alfred looked up nervously from cleaning up his notes and space at the table. He had taken his time, hoping the others would clear out quickly and give him a chance to spend some time with Ivan. Despite that the way Ivan had approached him had him nervous.
"Sure thing, what did you want to talk about?"
Ivan played with the end of his scarf as though nervous himself, it was something Alfred found endearing about the larger man.
"Fredka, nyet, Amerika. It is time we put an end to this silly tryst we have been having."
Alfred gulps, suddenly very afraid of what Ivan was wanting to tell him.
"What do you mean?"
"I do not want to see your fat, lazy Amerikan ass again. We are through."
"Wha, but Vanya?" Alfred looked as if Ivan had just ripped out his heart and stomped on it and yet Ivan showed no emotion.
"I will admit you were a good fuck, but this is done now. We are enemies and nothing more."
Ivan then turned and left, brushing past Matthew who had come to check on Alfred after his delay in departing the meeting room.
"Al?"
Matthew barely had time to move forward to catch his brother up in his arms after he spoke, as Alfred simply collapsed, tears falling freely from his eyes. He held tightly to his brother and just sobbed into his shoulder. He was left shattered after Ivan's words, his heart broken and his will beaten to a bloody pulp. Slowly Matthew helped Alfred out to his car and drove him home. When they arrived Matthew helped Alfred inside and found Madeline coming to greet them at the door. She took one look at Alfred and run up to him, asking what was wrong. It was a week before Alfred told them what happened and it was only thanks to Gilbert's insistence that he even did so. When they heard what had happened they each reacted differently. Gilbert was shocked, he had been living with them not even five years but had not heard a word about Alfred and Ivan's relationship. Madeline was concerned, her brother was broken and she knew someone would need to tell Anya, the girl had come to idolize both her parents even if she had never met Ivan. Matthew though was enraged. He was so angry in fact that shortly after learning what had happened he had gone to Russia, found Ivan and had a nice little 'chat' with him.
During this 'chat', however, Matthew observed that Ivan did not fight back as he had expected. In fact, he just sat there, taking the abuse without complaint. Noticing this Matthew ceased his attack and stared curiously at the half beaten man. It was then he noticed Ivan was crying. It was silent but the tears could not be held back.
"Ok, why the fuck are you crying you asshole?"
"I hurt him." Ivan's voice was small but Matthew was practiced at picking up on quiet sounds.
"If you mean Alfred, then yes, you did."
"He did not deserve that, he did not deserve for me to be so cruel. I thought it would be easier if he could hate me."
Matthew furrows his brow, much of his anger dissipating as he begins to realize what had happened here.
"You didn't want to break up with him, did you?"
"Nyet, I love moi podsolnechnik. But if I did not end things between us my boss would attack and I could not bare to watch Fredka suffer like that."
"Mutual assured destruction?"
"Da."
"I, do you want me to tell him for you?"
"Nyet, I still think he will hate me after what I have said and that will make it easier for him to survive in the future."
"But what about when this is over?"
"You are much too optimistic to think it will be so easy. This will either never end or end in one of us destroying the other. It is better that Fredka hate me, then he may be the one to survive."
Matthew purses his lips together, but says nothing more. A moment later he is turning and leaving, heading back to his brother and family. He wanted to tell Alfred the truth so often over the next few decades but he could not, he knew Ivan was right and he wanted Ivan at least to be happy in his knowledge that Alfred's hate would allow him to heal.
Ah Gilbert you amuse me so, and yet I torment you the most in this chapter. Had one review last chapter from a guest that asked if Gilbert would change his affection once he met Matthew. Well here is your answer, no, he has met Matthew in this chapter even if it wasn't explicitly written and he still likes Madeline. Sorry if this disappoints any of you. Also I'd like to hear how everyone felt during that epic Cold War kickoff, love it, hate it? Also would like to let you all know there is only one last chapter for this story left to be written. However not the end of this concept, still have all those alternate endings, one of which is going to be posted as a two parter in two different crossover categories because well I hope you like Captain America and the Avengers. The Captain America Crossover is going up at the same time this chapter is so please enjoy and it is in the 1P universe for this story. So anyway as always please review and know that it makes me happy.
