DISCLAIMER: This is an actual event in history. All of what transpires in the following chapter is historically accurate, and therefore I am warning the reader that this chapter is graphic and disturbing. But once again, the events in this chapter are very real and actually happened on June 10, 1944. Please take this into consideration as you continue to read, but most importantly of all, let us not forget, so that this may never happen again. Also, I do not own Hetalia or the characters.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

Yes, that was the question now, wasn't it?

Two decorated SS officers, in the company of two young Jewish girls. If anyone became suspicious that either of the Beilschmidt brothers could possibly be helping these girls, then death surely would come swiftly to all four souls.

The risks were great, yes.

But the certainty of the guilt that surely will follow if the two men were to do nothing was more than enough to solidify a conviction in each man's heart.

Better to die while trying to save an innocent life than to live knowing that you snuffed that life out.

"Well," Ludwig whispered. His voice was rough, like he had swallowed a handful of gravel. "We have to at least try to get them to somewhere safer than here. This place is crawling with SS, and I don't want to take the chance that someone will find them hidden in a building. We can't take that chance."

"I understand." Gilbert rubbed one hand across his face absentmindedly, trying to think. It was hard to form a complete thought, the stench of burning wood and flesh was so strong. "There's a town only a few miles away. It's neutral. We can take them there."

"This town was neutral, Gil, and you see what we did to it."

Gilbert sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Then I don't know what to do."

Ludwig leaned his head back against the cool stone wall. A rough piece poked through his hair and scratched his scalp. "That makes two of us."

Gilbert was pacing now. The oldest girl watched him, and Ludwig could tell that Gilbert was worrying her. "Gil, stop."

Gilbert stopped and turned to face his brother. "What?"

"Stop pacing, you're worrying her."

Gilbert glanced down at the girl's concerned face and sat down on the floor. The girl started to relax a little.

"She doesn't understand a word we're saying, but she's pretty good at reading body language," Ludwig remarked. Gilbert nodded, deep in thought.

A few moments passed, and nothing could be heard outside of their breathing and their pounding hearts.

That's when the screams started.

They were sharp, renewed, terrible. The kind of scream that you will never be able to get out of your head, no matter how long you live.

They were coming from the church.

From the women and children.

It was only a second before the cracks cut through the air.

Gilbert was on his feet in an instant. He tried to scramble to the door, in a blind rage. Ludwig managed to grab him from behind by the coat collar and yank him back, so that he fell against his chest. "Gilbert, no!"

"Ludwig, they're-"

Gunshots.

Terrified screams.

A crash.

A deep boom.

Two.

"What are they doing?" Gilbert screamed. Ludwig clamped one hand over his brother's mouth, the other arm was wrapped tightly around his chest. "Shut up, just shut up or they'll hear you!" he hissed into his ear. He couldn't bring himself to voice what he and Gilbert already knew.

Those 'booms' were grenades.

The two girls both pressed their tiny bodies up against the two men, trying to press together to crowd out the screams that were filling their ears.

Machine gun fire.

More blood-curdling screams.

The sudden birth of an idea.

"Gil, grab one of the girls and follow me."

Ludwig swept the youngest of the two girls easily into his arms, and Gilbert did the same, his face riddled with questions and rage. "Where are we going?"

Ludwig pushed the door of the building open with his shoulder. Bloody sunlight streamed in over his head, giving him a sort of morbid halo.

"We're getting out of here, right now. This is the best chance we have."

Gilbert nodded, inhaled sharply, and pressed the oldest girl's body against his. "Then let's get going, bruder, we don't have all day!"

Ludwig smiled, and Gilbert returned it, before they fled the darkness, running into the burning light.

-x-x-x-

Ludwig and Gilbert met no resistance. They met no one at all. All of their Nazi brethren were either at the church, where they were massacring the women and children, burning barns filled with dying men, or tearing homes apart in search of anything of value. The streets were devoid of people, but they were filled with the terrified screams of the dying and the stench of the burning dead. After a few minutes, the two brothers heard a chorus of cheers from behind them, and knew that the church was going up in flames.

Gilbert spoke then. "I just want to know why…"

Ludwig's reply was simple. "I don't think there even is a reason at all."

-x-x-x-

The men arrived at the convoy of parked jeeps, their precious stolen cargo in tow. No one was there to guard them, and the sea of shining metal was deserted. Ludwig smiled. Perfect.

"Where'd we park, Gil?"

Gilbert glanced over the jeeps quickly before pointing to one that was close to their right. "There!"

The two sprinted to the jeep, and set the girls down on the dirt. Gilbert immediately went to work tearing the back seat cushion away from the frame. "Clear a space out under here," he said to Ludwig over his shoulder. "We can hide them under here."

"Good idea," he replied, and he joined in the task of clearing a space, but he soon realized that there was a problem. "Gil, there's only enough space for one here! Where are we going to put the other?"

Gilbert paused, thought, then reached into the back and opened a large box that was bolted to the frame of the jeep. It had been filled with ammunition when they had first come to the village, but it was empty now. "This'll work!"

Ludwig set his rifle down against the door, slipped his uniform jacket off, and balled it up to create a makeshift pillow before setting it inside the box.

"Gil, let's hurry up and get out of here before they realize that we're gone."

Gilbert nodded, then lifted the seat cushion up with one arm and gestured for the oldest girl to crawl inside. She looked at him, then at the jeep, then at her sister. Her sister smiled up at her, and the older girl frowned up at Gilbert. She then climbed into the jeep quickly, curled up under the seat, and yanked the cushion down over her head. Gilbert smiled and patted the cushion happily, but the cushion replied with what Gilbert assumed was language quite inappropriate for a girl her age. The angry tone was what tipped him off, but he only laughed and climbed into the passenger seat of the jeep.

Ludwig scooped the younger of the girls up in his arms and placed her gingerly in the ammunition box in the back. She pulled her skinned knees up to her chest and laid her head down on Ludwig's jacket, a wide grin on her face.

"Merci monsieur!" Her voice was light as a feather, and the happiness in it washed over Ludwig like a wave. Ludwig smiled, and he brushed a piece of stray hair off of the girl's tanned forehead gently before shutting the ammunition box and climbing into the driver's seat of the jeep. He fished his key from his pocket, started the engine, and floored the gas pedal.

-x-x-x-

The lone jeep tore out of the outskirts of the lonely village of Oradour-sur-Glane.

The dust that billowed out from the wheels mingled with the ash that now rose high above the scene of a now burning village. Black smoke pressed against a weeping sky, curled over the bleeding ground. Thunder rolled in the distance.

The village was silent. The only thing that broke that silence was the sound of German laughter.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave a review! I hope that every one of y'all have a very happy new year!