Me: A/N?

(blahblahblah)

Authoress: a/n shall be they run then they meet ppl then they run then they jump then they walk. Done lol

Me: okay then

Authoress: LOL really? best lol

Me: that's wut u said.

Authoress: erer thx for likes/favs

Me: Oh yeah, Language. You've been warned.

Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 15

"As much as I haven't had a fight like this in a long time, those idiots need more training!" The white-haired smirked, swinging his long sword as the blood of the final fallen soldier splattered onto the pale white snow.

Ludwig sighed in relief, lowering his pistol. He glanced at the tall iron gate, before turning back to face the silvery white haired man wearing a white military uniform that was now stained red from the blood of the soldier he killed. "He truly is worthy of his title. But of course he's still human." Ludwig noted briefly, looking at the cuts on the man's pale face and body, and the blood on the long sleeve on his left arm spreading rapidly before opening his mouth to talk."I appreciate your help, Gilbert."

Crimson eyes turned to look at Ludwig in surprise which quickly turned into pride. "Ha, of course! Who wouldn't know of the awesome me!"

"Why did you help me?" Ludwig asked, ignoring the laughing as he tried to stop the blood flowing out of his side, soaking his uniform.

Gilbert shrugged. "It was the right thing to do," He opened his mouth to continue, but paused for a moment listening, as sounds of running and shouting could be heard. "Tsk, those fuckers are fast. Well they ought to be, I trained them after all." He scoffed.

"Come on, we haven't got all day." Gilbert called, running back towards the castle.

Ludwig hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and followed behind, pistol in hand. The questions could come later. Trap or not, he didn't have a chance of survival if he stayed out here. Right now he had to focus on getting out and meeting the rest. They could hear the gasps and shouts of the soldiers who had just reached the courtyard, horrified from what they were seeing.

Both zipped through the castle halls and out onto the back, running left and right through the most inconspicuous of places that one would never notice even with living in the castle for a long time, until Ludwig lost track of the way back to the front gates. He was panting harder than usual, each breath felt as if someone was stabbing him with a blade as he continued to follow Gilbert who seemed to be enjoying himself with this death game of tag with the soldiers who were still chasing them.

Gilbert suddenly stopped before turning to the left in a small stone corridor. Ludwig came to a sudden halt as well, almost falling over. He took a peek at what lay after the turn, and groaned softly as he stared at a group of at least five soldiers standing around laughing and talking amongst themselves. Gilbert clicked his tongue, his brows furrowed deep in thought, but stood up straight after a moment, a grin on his face.

Ludwig closed his mouth, trying to control his raspy breathing, eyebrow raising in question when Gilbert raised his hand towards him, signalling him to keep back stay quiet and follow his lead.

"What do you think you're doing?" he called out as he stepped up and out into the open.

The soldiers jumped at the sound of his voice, frantically trying to pick up their weapons properly and stand in attention at the same time as Gilbert strolled in front of them.

"N-nothing sir." One of them answered, as another raised an eyebrow at the sight of the cut and bruised man before him.

Gilbert narrowed his eyes before asking, his voice low and commanding. "Do you know who I am?"

The soldier beside raised eyebrow whimpered, "G-Gilbert Beilschmidt sir, 2nd in command to his Majesty Emperor."

"Heh, at least one of you idiots know just who you're dealing with," Gilbert smirked as the eyes of the other soldiers widened in fear. "The awesome me is feeling generous so leave now. There's a person his Majesty Emperor wants dead running amok in the castle. All soldiers are to look for him."

Ludwig stood frozen for a moment, trying to comprehend what Gilbert was doing. There was no other path the soldiers could take but to pass him in order to head back to the castle. No matter what he did, the soldiers would see him for sure, and if any of them recognised him or his uniform, Ludwig knew that things wouldn't end well even with Gilbert's help. He took a step back, considering the possibility of escaping detection for a moment before breaking out into a small smile, understanding what was going on when he caught side of Gilbert smirking and the slight tilt of his head, signalling him to step forward. Standing up straight, Ludwig walked out of the corner. Ignoring the confused stares of the soldiers, Ludwig stride towards Gilbert who was trying his best to hide a grin.

"Sir, there has been some new progress." Ludwig said, trying to supress the pain from his injuries with each step he took.

"Just the man I wanted to see." Gilbert grinned before snapping at the soldiers once again. "What are you fuckers still standing around for? Leave!" The soldiers yelped, rushing down the corridor, none of them giving Ludwig a single glance in the dark corridors.

"Won't those soldiers realize what happened?" Ludwig asked, following Gilbert down the corridor as the frantic footsteps of the soldiers faded into the distance.

Gilbert laughed. "By the time those fools realize their mistake we ought to be long gone."

They took a few more quick turns before Gilbert finally slowed down, coming to a halt at a dead end. Gilbert pushed open a door on the right with his scabbard, peeking in cautiously. Pleased with what he did or did not see, he motioned to Ludwig and both entered the small dark room.

Gilbert headed towards the table, squatting down in front of the old worn carpet, a wide grin on his face as he picked up a candle and a box of matches. "Looks like he left us a gift before leaving."

Ludwig watched in silence as Gilbert used the tip of his scabbard to move the carpet, tapping the floor twice to reveal a vague fissure on the floor. Gilbert heaved the stone trap door open as the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching.

"Not bad, faster than I expected." Gilbert muttered before looking up at Ludwig. "After you." He grinned stepping aside to reveal the rusty ladder down into the darkness.

Ludwig sighed before leaning down wincing as he descended the ladder. He reached the damp smelling pitch black tunnel at the end of the ladder and waited, listening as the sound of boots hitting stone got louder and louder.

It felt like ages when the dim light from above disappeared and Gilbert climbed down, his black boots clinking on the rusty metal steps of the ladder.

"Thought you were never coming down." Ludwig jested as Gilbert finally reached the cold damp stone floor, lighting the candles as the soft orange light reflected off his silvery white hair.

"Had to settle something." Gilbert replied, crimson eyes twinkling in mischief. "Come on, this way, we're almost out."

Ludwig once again followed behind Gilbert as shouts of confusion followed by panic accompanied with the sound of something rolling could be heard from above them. They walked slowly as Gilbert explained the tunnel they were in.

The tunnels has been around since the castle was built, and was first used to bring in supplies when the roads in Capital was yet to be built. It was then used to transport water into the room they came from, from a man-made lake which before long had dried up. After that, it was used to dispose of bodies of those who tried to assassinate the Emperor or sought to disturb the peace. And now it had fallen into disuse, with only a handful knowing of its existence.

They trod along the moss and algae covered rocky walls, the flickering light from their candles casting eerie shadows that danced around, skittering into the recesses of the wall as they passed. The voices and footsteps of the soldiers faded off, only the sound of their own worn out erratic footsteps and the occasional water droplet echoing softly as silence descended upon them.

Finally Ludwig spoke.

"You said it was the right thing to do, but with that you've just betrayed your nation. Why?"

Gilbert remained silent for a moment before replying. "It's not betrayal if I'm doing it for my nation." He continued on, picking up speed. "Come on you want to meet Feli don't you? The longer we take the more dangerous it's going to be for them. We have to find them soon, and warn them about Nullus."