(January 1864)

Austria regarded the other nation, his face devoid of expression. Actually, in this case, he was glad he'd had so much practice keeping up a neutral mask. It was difficult to manage when he was sure he had fallen into some kind of parallel universe.

"Please allow me to get this straight, Prussia," Austria said. "You want me to go to war with you."

Prussia nodded. "Yes."

"And by 'war with you' you mean fighting alongside you, and not against you, as has been our habit for over a century?"

Rolling his eyes, Prussia repeated, "Yes."

"I see," Austria said. Then he asked, "Have you completely taken leave of your senses, or it this a temporary state of insanity?"

"Look," Prussia said. "My boss said to make nice with you, so I'm doing it. Doesn't mean I have to like it, but what can I do, right? Anyway, Denmark violated his treaty with the German Confederation. So, that seems like a pretty damn good when reason to go to war, right?"

"I gathered all of that," said Austria. "I am just baffled by the fact that you want me involved."

"Take it up with my boss, I'm just the messenger."

Austria frowned, slightly. He did not know why Prussia's boss had sent his country to him, but he got the nagging feeling there was a message being sent. And it had Bismarck's name written all over it. Austria knew neither he nor his government particularly wanted to get involved in this, but what choice did they have? Without them, the Confederation had little hope against Denmark, and refusing to get involved would make them seem weak, would it not? While Prussia might not realize it, Austria was stuck in a corner.

There was an uncomfortable silence before Prussia finally asked, "How is he?"

"Germany is very well," Austria answered. Anticipating Prussia's next question, he said, "He is still in Innsbruck."

"I figured," Prussia replied. Austria, mostly out of guilt, had done his best to secure regular visits and correspondence between Germany and Prussia, but he knew that his boss was not happy about his actions. He seemed determined that they should interact as little as possible. And, for the most part, he got his way. Austria disliked the entire situation, but there was little he could do to change it.

"You should know that I'm not giving up that easily."

"I would expect no less from you."

Austria mentally made note of yet another compelling reason that he should trust his silver-haired peer approximately as far as he could throw him and stood up to escort him out. Prussia seemed all too ready to go. Once he had left, Austria rang a little bell and after a few moments, a servant came in.

"Good day," Austria said. "Tell the kitchen to begin preparing a luncheon, and have it brought to my study. After that, please ensure that no one disturbs me. Oh, and be so good as to inform my boss that we should begin preparing for war."

(June 1866)

Prussia grinned as he surveyed the territory that they had won back. Of course, Denmark had barely stood a chance against him. Poor fool had been doomed the moment Prussia had crossed the border into Schleswig-Holstein. After all, he had always been most at home on the battlefield

Austria stood beside him. The aristocrat had actually been pretty useful Prussia was surprised to say. The Confederation had bailed on them, not that he was shocked by that fact. Their government was a weak bunch of bureaucrats that couldn't have organized their way out of a paper bag. But he aimed the change that. Germany deserved better.

"I suppose some sort of congratulations are in order?" Austria said. "Frankly, I am unused to standing alongside you once a conflict is done."

"Too used to me kicking your ass?" Prussia said, smirking

"Too used to watching my wife kicking yours, actually," Austria retorted, wiping the smug expression off Prussia's face.

"Hmph. Well, you're right, it is pretty weird. Us fighting together."

"Indeed."

"I don't plan on making a habit of it."

"Nor do I," Austria replied.

"Yeah. And speaking of fighting-" In a flash of movement, Prussia drew his sword from its scabbard at his waist, and swung it in a fluid motion towards Austria. To his surprise, he heard the ringing sound of metal on metal and saw that Austria had met his attack with a strong parry.

"You intend to declare war, I suppose?" Austria said, sardonically. "How uncouth."

Austria riposted, but Prussia had already taken a fighting stance, and was easily able to step back, causing the thrust to miss. "I just couldn't resist," Prussia said, smug grin returning to his face. He lunged, attempting to cut low.

Austria met his blade with another parry and a step back. "And you really didn't think I would see it coming?" he said. "How idiotic do you think I am?"

Prussia shrugged, but he had to cut the motion short in order to parry another high blow from Austria. "I don't think you want to hear the honest answer to that, rich boy," he replied as their duel continued.

To Prussia's surprise, Austria was matching him blow for blow. Every attack was met with a strong defense and counterattack. Austria almost managed to catch him a few times. Turned out the prissy aristocrat had some fight in him after all. That was good, Prussia thought. Otherwise this whole thing would have just been too boring. Not that it really mattered in the end. All Prussia really had to do was bide his time.

Austria turned aside another blow, but instead of counterattacking a shocked expression crossed his features. He gasped in shock, then pain, and collapsed, clutching his side.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Prussia said, kicking away Austria's sword. "Italy's come to war with me, too."

"What?"

"Turns out those silly Italians want to be one country," Prussia said with a mock sigh. "So, I just thought I would help them out, if you don't mind."

"You bastard," Austria said through clenched teeth.

Prussia could not help but chuckle at his fallen rival. It wasn't quite fair, he reflected, as he watched Austria grimace from the pain of an unexpected assault, but then again, life just wasn't fair. And if life was unfair, then war was just a downright bitch.

He lowered his own blade, so the tip was pointed towards Austria's chest.

"Told you I wouldn't quit that easily," he said. Austria looked up at him. He knew he was beaten. He knew that his armies would fall soon enough. But the fire in his eyes never faltered. His face was the same, steel mask it had always been.

Let's see if we can fix that, Prussia thought, not even bothering to try and hold back a cruel smile. He did so love every opportunity he had to make the arrogant bastard beg for mercy.

"Brother, if you and Austria do fight a war," Germany said, "Could you try not to hurt each other too badly?"

Prussia paused as the memory came completely unbidden to his mind.

"Sure. We won't hurt each other too badly."

"Dammit," he said. He could clearly recall that morning in the field, the smell of gunpowder, the eerie silence, his brother's face. Why couldn't the memory of that promise have waited just a few more minutes, he thought, mournfully. But there was no going back now. He sheathed his sword.

"I'm going to win this war," he stated simply.

Austria did not bother arguing with him.

"You know what I want," he said.

"The Confederation," Austria said.

"My brother. I don't give a single damn about all the politics," Prussia said.

Austria sighed and shook his head. "An entire war," he said. "All for the sake of a child?"

"Well, that and the fact I really like beating you up," Prussia said, the smirk returning once again. "I mean, you really should see your face, right now,"

"I dislike you intensely," Austria said.

"Fine by me."

Prussia walked away.

(September 1866)

Germany checked all of his bags again. Every article of clothing was immaculately folded; every possession was in its place. At last, he was satisfied, and he called for a few of Austria's servants to help take his belongings down to the carriage that awaited him.

When he arrived downstairs, both Austria and Hungary were waiting for him. Hungary rushed up and embraced him warmly, telling him to be careful and stay safe, and several other worried admonishments. As he disentangled himself from her arms, he looked at Austria. While the war had clearly taken its toll on him, he stood erect and strong, never letting anyone see that he had been beaten. Germany respected that in his former guardian. It was something that he hoped to be able to emulate.

Austria shook his hand before he left. "Farewell, Germany," he said.

Germany nodded, and said "Farewell." He was almost at eye level with Austria now. He was surpised as how quickly he had been growing lately. Of course, that meant most of his clothes were quickly becoming too snug as well. Even the jacket he wore today was a little too short in the sleeves.

He turned to go, but before he left, he turned and said "I want to thank you both, for all you've done for me," he said. "And I promise, I will become a worthy ally one day, to repay you for everything." Then he left them both behind, and climbed into the carriage.

The trip to Berlin was a long one, and he had never been able to stand reading while the carriage rocked and swayed, so he had plenty of time to think. The moment he found out his brother had gone to war with Austria, he knew that things would change for him. But he didn't know what to expect, now. The German Confederation was going to be abolished, and the borders redrawn to exclude Austria and most of the South. It would be strange thinking of Austria, who had been at least partially responsible for raising him, as a completely separate county now. And to add to all that, Prussia had promised him that he would become a real country soon, not just a confederation.

He wasn't sure whether that fact excited or terrified him. One the one hand, he did want to become a nation. He hated feeling so weak. Like in the war over Schleswig-Holstein, he had been completely useless. Of course, useless was a step up from invalid, but neither was something he was proud of. And his people, they wanted a real nation too. But part of him was still afraid. Afraid of the responsibility, the power he would hold. Afraid of the damage he could do if he did something wrong.

Germany pushed those thoughts aside. They had no place in his mind, and they would only hold him back. He could not afford to hesitate. Whatever it took to earn and keep the power he needed, he was ready to do it.

It was late when they finally reached Berlin. Nevertheless, the moment the carriage pulled up, Germany heard a familiar (and loud) voice shouting a greeting.

"Hey, Germany!" Prussia called as Germany lowered himself out of the carriage. "Looks like you finally decided to show up."

Germany rolled his eyes. "How are you, Prussia?" he asked.

His brother laughed. "Never better! Now, come on inside, there's someone you have to meet."

"Now?" Germany said. "But it's the middle of the night."

"So? Hurry up, he's been waiting for ages already."

"Who am I meeting?" asked Germany.

"Bismarck," Prussia replied.

Germany stopped in his tracks. "You mean, Otto von Bismarck?"

"Well, I don't know of any other Bismarcks you would be meeting, Germany," he said, giving him a look like he was a simpleton.

"But-but," Germany stammered. "I've been traveling! I look like a mess," he protested.

Prussia gave a derisive snort. "What, are you a girl or something? Honestly, I can't believe I let the aristocrat really rub off on you that much. Now, come on." He grabbed Germany's arm and dragged him into the house. Germany tried to straighten out his too-small clothes as they went, and he smoothed his hair back as best he could. After all, he was being dragged off to meet one of the most powerful men in Europe. And this was a man with a formidable reputation.

Seeing his discomfort, Prussia slowed down and said, "Don't be nervous, kid. You're a nation. Have a little pride."

Germany looked down at the floor. "I'm not a nation," he said.

Prussia grinned. "Not yet. We aim to change that," he said.

"How?"

"You'll see." They paused before a solid, oak door. Prussia knocked. After a few moments, a servant let them in and bade them wait in the antechamber, so both took a seat.

"You got taller," Prussia said. Germany blinked at the observation that seemed to come out of nowhere, but he nodded.

"I've been informed that that sort of thing tends to happen as one gets older," Germany replied. Prussia smiled at him. Only it wasn't his usual wolfish grin, but the sort of expression that made Germany think Prussia knew something that he didn't. He found that rather annoying.

However, before he could press the issue, the door to the next room opened, and the two of them were told to enter. They stood up, Germany's heart hammering against his chest, his stomach twisting in knots.

"It's okay, Germany," Prussia said. "You'll be fine."

Germany nodded and willed his feet to step forward.

Author's Notes

More History!

These next two chapters were actually supposed to a single chapter, but it got too long, so I split them. These chapter basically deal with the three wars that are also known as the Wars of German Unification. The first two are mentioned in this chapter.

- The Second Schleswig War- Basically, in 1863, the King of Denmark declared that the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were a part of Denmark, rather than separate entities, and in Holstein's case, part of the German Confederation. Neither the people of Schleswig-Holstein, nor the German Confederation (which saw this move as a violation of a treaty they had with Denmark) were very happy about this. When the German Confederation's attempts at a diplomatic solution failed, Prussian and Austrian troops crossed the border into Schleswig-Holstein and seized control of the region. This was also the last victorious war in the Austrian Empire's history.
-Please note that this is a very simplified version of what happened. There was also a dispute over succession in Denmark and a constitutional crisis, but explaining all that would make the Author's Notes longer than the actual story. But, if you are interested, google it ;)

- Austro-Prussian War- Again, pretty complicated and will be simplified here. Right after the Second Schleswig war, Austria and Prussia were in disagreement regarding the administration of Schleswig-Holstein. One thing led to another, and the diplomatic situation became so bad that Austria declared war on Prussia (sorry, took some creative liberties with this in the story. But it was Otto von Bismarck, Prussia's Prime Minister, who basically orchestrated most of the conflict leading to the war, so I maintain that my version has validity. Besides, it's Hetalia). And Prussia also made a secret alliance with Italy against Austria. The main results of the war were a shift towards Prussian hegemony over Germany, the end of the German Confederation, and the creation of the North German Confederation, which excluded Austria and many of the Souther German states. Italy also unified, after this war.

Tune in next time for the final war of German Unification. Special guest appearance from everyone's favorite wine-sipping, cheese-eating, pervert ;)