Chapter 2
A/N: It's been about a month, hasn't it? REALLY sorry this took so long but I've been on holiday, had my room redecorated and basically got distracted by a whole bunch of other stuff! I was going to have this out for last Thursday but I was ill earlier this week and wasn't up to writing^^ Super sorry!
All the followers and kind reviews I am getting make me so happy! :D Hope you like this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia :(
Enjoy!
"Gilbird is missing!"
Prussia stared at the gathered countries in the conference room. They stared back. A genuinely worried expression was plastered across his face but it was beginning to turn into a look of confusion. Gilbird, his Gilbird, the world's most awesome animal had disappeared. Everyone should have been jumping up to help find him! Why was no-one saying anything?
The thing is, some people didn't even know who or what Gilbird was. Many of those who did couldn't care less. To most, Prussia was an obnoxious jerk who would never shut up about his bird's awesomeness. If it was gone, so what? Maybe they might get some peace and quiet for once! And after the incidents of last meeting, everyone was even less enthusiastic to help him. However, this was not the kind of response Prussia was after.
"Remind me why this is our problem?" asked a very irritated Britain. There were mutters of agreement across the room. He wanted nothing more than to leave now that the meeting was over, but, being a gentleman, he decided it was inappropriate to go at that particular moment. It might, however, have been because he was scared that he might have been murdered by Hungary, her eyes shooting daggers in his direction.
"When did you last have him, Gilbert?" Hungary asked, turning to look sympathetically in his direction.
"I dunno," Prussia sighed, "Gilbird was there earlier, but then I went to the bathroom and he was gone. It was probably about an hour ago?"
Hungary and Germany exchanged glances. Romano had left the meeting just over an hour ago, and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together. They both wanted to help Prussia, but making accusations in-front of everyone wouldn't do anything to solve the problem, especially with no proof. They made a silent agreement to keep quiet for the time being.
"I'll help you look for him and I'm sure your brother will too! We'll find him soon, don't you worry!" promised Hungary, being the kind girl that she was.
"Awesome!" said Prussia, whose mood suddenly seemed to improve, "I knew you guys would help me, even if it did take some persuasion from the awesome me-"
"Well, this seems like lots of fun but I am going to have to be leaving now!" Russia smiled. With that creepy smile, no-one dared argue with him. He got up and left the meeting room flanked by the trembling Baltic trio, who seemed even more nervous than usual. It was at that moment when Prussia realised something - Out of all of the countries in the world, only 2 wanted to help him.
Many decided to follow Russia's example and left, leaving Prussia standing awkwardly at the front of the room, feeling embarrassed and disheartened.
It was over a week since Gilbird's disappearance. Prussia had been searching day and night, getting very little sleep. He never expected his faithful bird to leave him; they had been through so much together. The shock of the situation plus the lack of rest were taking their toll on the ex-nation. There were dark bags around his eyes and he looked like he had crawled through a hedge backwards. His expression never changed from worried and lonely. It was like his trademark smirk was locked away. The truth was, aside from his brother, Gilbird was his only real friend. And now he was gone.
At least he'd had some help. Hungary helped him search the house after the meeting and promised to be on the lookout for the missing bird. The next day, France and Spain came over and turned the house upside-down, much to Germany's annoyance, but even they couldn't make Prussia smile. Or find Gilbird. Germany had spent that day scouring the local area in-case it was nearby. He knew he looked stupid, climbing trees and shouting, so to find his home looking like something had exploded… He wasn't impressed. The next day passed. Still no sign of Gilbird. The search continued, and as the days progressed, it seemed more and more hopeless.
It was late afternoon on the 8th day and Prussia was running out of places to look. He'd checked the house, garden, town, pet shelter, the sweet shop, everywhere he could think of. He didn't want to admit it, but deep in his heart, he knew there was no point hunting any longer. He returned to his house, grabbed an armful of beer bottles and locked himself in his room.
Other than the actual problem, the thing bugging Prussia was the lack of helpers. Why did no-one really seem to care? He'd always had friends in the past. Perhaps everyone was just fed-up from the meeting. That would make sense - he was all too familiar with that feeling. But still, at the time, it had seemed more like the others thought the problem was below them. The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that, despite his awesomeness, nobody liked him. For Prussia, this was a seriously big deal. He would usually be yelling about how great he was; wallowing in self-pity was not remotely part of his personality.
'What is wrong with me?' he thought as he opened a bottle. He collapsed onto his bed and started to drink. 'What is wrong with me?'
Germany was sitting on the sofa discussing the problem with Hungary, for he had also noticed the change in his brother's behaviour. They hadn't spoken for days. He also knew that something must have happened to Gilbird for him to be gone this long, but he didn't want to say this to Prussia in fear of making him feel even worse. Being completely unsure what to do, he had invited Hungary to his house to discuss the problem.
"I hope he's okay. I really do worry about what he gets up-to sometimes," said Hungary, looking down at the mug of coffee in-front of her. She hated seeing anyone upset, and was trying to come up with a way to make Prussia feel better. This was easier said than done. He wouldn't want a replacement bird because he was so attached to the one he lost. It was quite sweet actually.
"You should just talk to him. He is your brother after all," she suggested.
"I know," Germany sighed, "but telling him that his beloved bird isn't coming back surely won't solve the problem…"
"Wait! What about Italy Romano? I forgot about him. He left the meeting early the day Gilbird was taken so he must have done it! We should tell Prussia! That way, at least he will have some hope, right?" Hungary jumped up from her seat and headed for the door, dragging an uncertain Germany behind her.
*About 70 years ago*
The room was dark and silent. Cobwebs covered the walls, having not been cleaned in centuries. One tiny hole served as a window; the faint light creeping from it illuminated the dark red stains on the floor.
An unconscious man was hanging from the ceiling by heavy chains around his wrists. He was dressed in a blue military uniform, soaked in blood, and deep cuts and bullet holes could been seen all over his bruised body.
His eyes fluttered open at the sound of the iron door creaking open, revealing a large man, wearing a scarf. He seemed to be carrying a long metal pole, shiny, and clearly polished. A prized possession.
He approached the prisoner and studied his body. With a smile, he raised the pipe above his head and swung down.
Thwack!
The sound of bones crunching filled the dungeon. A high pitched gasp came from the chained man, now gasping desperately for breath. The other man's smile grew at the sight of his pain.
He placed the pipe down on the floor, picking up instead a very sharp, curved dagger. He brought it affront his prisoner's face, grin never wavering.
"You know what I am here for, comrade."
A ball of spit found itself between the torturer's eyes once he spoke, the prisoner having no energy to speak. The smile vanished. A dark aura filled the room.
"All you have to do is sign it~"
As he moved the knife to above his captive's eyes, the defiant gleam in them vanished for but a second, yet soon returned along with a smirk. The intense pain and threats were ignored, choosing to deliver one fateful word.
"Never."
The knife came down, a fine line of blood trickling across the now unrecognisable face. The torturer's aura seemed to grow; more metals appeared from nowhere. As one, they plunged into warm flesh and twisted. Screams of agony racked the helpless body. A river was beginning to form under his feet.
The torturer released the chains. The prisoner fell limply to the ground, landing in the pool of his own blood, gasping and panting, fighting to stay conscious. The blades were still piercing him when he dropped, the impact pushing them even further into him. It was unbearable. The man brought the pipe above his head once more.
"Wrong answer, comrade~"
The pipe came down.
Hungary ran up the stairs towards Prussia's bedroom, grinning in anticipation of cheering him up. Germany followed her, but he wasn't sure that telling his brother about their suspicion of Romano would help, especially as they had kept this information a secret. Prussia would just drill them about why they didn't tell him before. 'We forgot' didn't seem like a satisfactory response. However, Germany trusted his friend's judgement, so he agreed to come with.
"Prussia!" Hungary sang, knocking on his door, "Open up!"
No response.
"Bruder, are you in there?" asked Germany. When no reply came, they cautiously let themselves in. When the door swung open, they were devastated at the sight in-front of them:
Prussia lay sprawled across the floor, unconscious. He looked thinner than usual, and his face was streaked with tears, as if he had cried himself to sleep. He was trembling too, like he was having a nightmare, but his hand was also reaching out for something. Something that was not there.
Hungary and Germany stood frozen in shock. It was at that moment when it truly dawned on them how serious this problem was -
Without Gilbird, Prussia was falling apart.
A/N: Please review! Next chapter should be much shorter: more of Prussia's depression and the creation of a plan to help him! I am back at school now, so I'm not sure how writing this story will fit in with my timetable. Please be patient! :D