AN: Agh, I always say this with this story, but sorry this took so long. I really hope that the chapter is okay. I don't write in Ludwig's perspective very often.

Disclaimer: Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. Hetaoni belongs to/was made by Tomoyoshi.

There was red.

It was red… everywhere. I couldn't see where it came from. The floor was covered in the color. Maybe it was coming from the walls..? Or the ceiling?

No… the ceiling was white. It was really hard to look at, actually; blinding. Where was I?

There was something warm next to me. I couldn't shift my eyes towards it, but I caught the edge of a darker blur. Blur… why was my vision blurry?

Could I move…?

I tried to shift something. My leg, my arm, anything. A hot pain shot through my back and my vision went as white as the ceiling; as white as the walls. I groaned.

"West…? …That you?"

That was… East.

My eyes widened and I sucked in a breath, memories berating my mind. The mansion, getting separated, that thing…

My head moved forward, the best I could manage, and turned. My vision was clearer now. Bruder was sitting… or propped up next to me, his shoulder leaning on mine.

He was… gott… There was so much blood. He had so many gashes I couldn't tell which one was the deepest or where most of the liquid was coming from.

My eyes shifted to myself and I sat that I too was covered in the crimson liquid. That was why the room was stained in red…

"West…"

"I'm…" My voice cracked. It felt horrible trying to get a sound out. "I 'm here bruder."

He laughed, though the sound faded in seconds. "Guess we got hit, huh?"

"If that's what you want to call it…"

He would have hit me if he had the strength. "Humor me."

I smiled slightly despite the situation. "Alright… We were hit."

He was silent for a moment and then he laughed again, longer this time and bordering on hysterical. I wondered how long he had been awake. Had he thought I was dead already? "They sunk our battleship."

"What..?"

He turned his head towards me. "It's a game. Haven't you played it?"

I tried to think, but could come up with nothing. "No… I don't think so…"

"It's fun… you should see England and Spain have a go at it."

I let out a breath, trying to move again. He met my eyes, the usual spark in them now gone. I tried to find it odd how quickly his mood shifted.

"West… We're pretty banged up. We cant…"

"Did you try?"

He nodded slowly, looking away. "I thought you were dead… of course I tried. I couldn't move. Still can't." His face scrunched and I saw his leg move maybe a millimeter.

I looked at him helplessly as he continued to try and move anything, but the only thing that could be accomplished was moving his head in different directions and moving his mouth to cuss. After I don't know how long, I couldn't watch him try anymore. "Okay bruder I understand, just stop."

He gave it one last shot and then his body went limp. "There goes the bleeding again…"

More of his wounds were bleeding profusely. Mine had slowed but I was still becoming more and more light headed, everything was fuzzier. How much blood had I lost in the battle? I looked at the red puddle continuing its trek towards… that might have been a door. I couldn't tell. "…Do you remember where the others are? Or were?"

He shook his head slowly. "No… it's a blank…"

I really hoped that it was from the blood loss that we couldn't remember. "I hope they're alright…"

"Heh, Italy will be fine… He runs like a… like a…" He blinked in confusion. "What does he run like…?"

"…A…" I couldn't find the word. "A… speedboat?" I offered.

He smiled. "A motorcycle…"

"His ferrari."

He burst out laughing, though it wasn't very loud, and in seconds it turned to coughs. After what might have been a minute he quieted down and I thought I saw a bit of blood dribble from his mouth.

"…Are you alright?" I asked, knowing the answer was no.

"It was nice knowing you bruder…" He began, ignoring the question. "We had a good run."

"I suppose we did…"

We were silent and after a moment I thought I could hear something in the distance. Footsteps… Familiar footsteps. They were running towards them.

"…ferrari it is…" bruder muttered, his eyes drooping.

Ludwig's eyes opened slowly, finding that he was not in a white room. It was dark… really dark.

He reached for the lamp and flicked it on, light flooding the room. He tried to steady his breathing and blinked the white away, trying to push away the fear and anxiousness in his stomach. He ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath.

It was just a dream… just a dream…

But… it wasn't, was it?

He couldn't stop his eyes from tearing up. He hadn't seen any of the loops where his brother had…

Had Gilbert really…?

The German wiped his face and stood, silently opening the door. For a moment he froze when he saw the black, empty hallway. Then he sighed and shook his head, pulling out his phone and pressing the button to turn it on. He stepped cautiously through the hallway and tried not to trip as he made his way through the living room. When he reached the stairs leading to the basement, he tripped and tried to grab the wall for support. By the time he realized that there was a rail he was almost on the ground.

But he was on a mission and was going to accomplish it, stumbling or not.

As quietly as he could he opened the door and shined the light in Gilbert's room, trying his best not to get it in his brother's face. Or what he could see of his face.

He smiled slightly when he saw his brother was sprawled on the bed, tangled in the sheets, one leg hanging off of the bed. Light snoring filled the room. He looked alright. He was breathing and everything. There weren't any cuts.

Gilbird chirped quietly on the nightstand next to the bed, looking towards where he was standing. Ludwig put a finger to his lips, telling him to be quiet. The bird didn't seem to need to be told, however. He was already silent again.

He debated on waking Gilbert up, but he knew that his brother hadn't been getting a lot of sleep. As he turned around however, a voice spoke.

"…West…? …Everything a'right?"

Ludwig turned his head and nodded. "Ja, everything is fine. Just go back to sleep." There was a moment of silence before he heard Gilbert's reply.

"…'kay…get s'me sleep too…"

He smiled and shut the door. "Okay, bruder…" He whispered. The German walked back up the stairs and realized he had a headache. Gilbert would surely have one in the morning as well.

"Hey West."

Ludwig looked up the paper and nodded towards his brother. "Guten morgen bruder. How are you?"

Gilbert snorted. "My head hurts like a bitch."

Yes, it did seem like that. Gilbert looked like had just rolled out of bed and that was probably what he had actually done. Smiling slightly, Ludwig grabbed a bottle of Advil and held it out, trying to hide the slight amusement in his voice. "Here you go."

The Prussian took it gratefully and gulped down two. He sat next to his brother. "Any news?"

Ludwig shrugged, looking over the paper again. "Not a lot."

"I meant with the others."

The younger German shook his head again. "I know. There still isn't a lot."

Gilbert's eyebrows furrowed. "Anything from Feli?"

"No, not yet. Lovino never responds and Feliciano calls…" He paused. "I think the call while I was out has been the only one."

The Prussian sat in the chair next to Ludwig's. "How do you think they're holding up?" He paused and shook his head. "Never mind… Don't answer that."

Ludwig nodded and laid the paper down. He glanced at the clock and was almost surprised to see that it was only about nine o'clock.

"So, why did you come and check up on me last night?"

He blinked and slowly turned his head. "Huh?" He really didn't think Gilbert would remember.

Gilbert smiled slightly. "I think you did. It didn't feel like a dream anyway…" He paused and his face turned serious. "Is everything okay?"

Ludwig nodded, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, bruder."

But his brother merely looked him in the eye, not fooled. "I'm not asleep anymore Ludwig." His tone was almost sad. He didn't want anything to be wrong.

The younger German was silent and averted his eyes. There were a few moments of silence before Gilbert must have decided he would try again later and stood up, the chair squeaking slightly. He smiled when he asked, "Want some breakfast?"

Ludwig raised an eyebrow, despite knowing what his brother was trying to do. "I don't think I trust you with the stove."

The Prussian's smile widened. "Come on West, it's not like I'm going to burn the house down." He grabbed a skillet and set it on the stove. "How do eggs sound?" His eyes widened as did his smile. "Oh, and Birdie showed me how to make really awesome pancakes while we were at Kiku's house."

Ludwig smiled to himself and stood up. "Alright, but I'm helping. You would make too much of a mess otherwise."

"Ha." Gilbert smirked. He had only just put ingredients in the bowl for pancakes and some of it was already on the countertop. "You know me too well bruder."

They made things separately at first. Ludwig took care of the eggs and Gilbert the pancakes. This situation didn't last long though.

Gilbert groaned and set another mildly burnt pancake on the plate. Ludwig thought it was like a grave for the food. Some were undercooked and some were overdone. There were some that were mixed. "Why can't I get these right? Birdie makes it look so easy."

Ludwig rolled his eyes now. "You have to be patient bruder." He looked at his eggs. They were almost done. "Do you want to switch?" When his brother nodded, they switched places.

No more pancakes were killed after and the eggs looked good enough. It didn't take that long for the food get done. Ludwig set the pancakes on the table and turned towards Gilbert. "Jam or no?"

Gilbert shrugged, transferring the eggs from the frying pan to a plate. "Whatever works."

He turned to grab the jar of jam he had bought the day before but stopped when he saw the color.

Red again…

"West-"

"-any sign of the others?"

I shook my head, grip tightening on the whip as I looked around cautiously. "Nein. Is everything clear ahead?"

Bruder turned and made one last cautious peek around the corner and nodded. He motioned for them to move ahead.

We still hadn't found anyone since they had initially been separated. Kiku had been gone since he had gone to check the noise after they had first arrived and they had lost Feliciano not long after.

"Where should we go? We don't have a safe room."

I huffed. There were so many horror movies I had watched before, whether from my country or others but I had never realized how terrifying it would be to be in the situation, no matter how cliché. "We need to kill that thing." Despite myself I shuddered at the thought of it and looked around nervously like just speaking of it would make it come.

He looked at me almost like I were crazy. "It's too strong. We need better weapons." He looked sadly at his sword and then paused to look down the next hall. "This sword is awesome but… it's on its last leg."

It was true. The sword had multiple cracks they hadn't been able to fix. Gilbert would probably need a new weapon sometime soon.

"Clear."

We continued and saw I saw the stairwell leading to the third floor. I glanced at him, wondering if we should continue.

He nodded. "You first. I'll watch your back."

I started climbing, trying not to make any unnecessary sounds and willing the stairs not to creak. I was about to reach the top when he yelled.

"Shit-!"

I turned just in time to see the thing slam into his outstretched sword with incredible speed, the weapon shattering into pieces. Before I could even try to attack it blood littered the floor, soaked into the wood.

It opened its mouth and…

"West, look at me. Come on bruder."

He was in a chair now. He wasn't sure how he had gotten there.

"Ludwig."

He met Gilbert's eyes but the moment he did he felt nauseous. The German's arms wrapped around his stomach and he tried not to be sick.

Gilbert stood in front of him, a hand on his shoulder. "Want some water?" He asked softly.

Ludwig shook his head and didn't dare open his mouth. He stared at the floor, not even sure what was going on inside his own thoughts. He couldn't have just seen that… It was… it was so… Was this how his brother felt after seeing a memory?

There was a clink and he looked up to see a glass of water on the table despite his protests.

"It's there when you need it." was Gilberts explanation. He nodded slowly and reached for it. His hand was shaking.

Gilbert handed it to him, smiling softly. It seemed to say, 'whenever you're ready.'

He looked at the water; clear and pure. He lifted it to his lips and hesitated a moment before taking a small gulp. As long as it wasn't like the water Kiku had given him…

Gilbert waited, not saying a word. It seemed he was the only thing his brother could be patient with.

"Flashback." He murmured.

The Prussian nodded. "Of?" He asked tentatively. They didn't usually ask. Not unless the other one wanted to tell.

"…You." Ludwig spoke a little louder this time and he handed the half empty glass to Gilbert, who set it back on the table.

"Did I…?" His brother trailed off, not wanting to say it.

He nodded and Gilbert's face fell. "It wasn't very awesome was it?"

His brother said it in a way that seemed empathetic. He wasn't referring to his death, but the thing he saw itself. Ludwig wasn't sure whether to shake his head or nod, but Gilbert understood from his silence.

The Prussian sat up straighter and looked him in the eye once more, completely serious despite the small smile on his face. "I'm not going anywhere okay? I haven't yet and you've kept me around. And we are going to blow that place up for good." He paused. "And if you get any more of those, let me know. I know it probably started before last night."

He nodded, but after a moment his eyebrows furrowed. "Kept you around?"

Gilbert shrugged, smiling almost sheepishly. "Despite my presence being awesome I have been told that it can be… annoying by many."

Ludwig smiled slightly, trying to shake off the rest of the images that would probably never go away. "The house would be much too quiet any other way."

His brother's smirk came back in full force now as he motioned towards the food. "Let's try to eat a little, huh? I didn't screw it up that bad."

The rest of the day went by alright. He had no more flashbacks and, surprisingly, neither did Gilbert. However, when the night came, Ludwig found himself making his way through the living room once again.

To be honest, it almost reminded him of when he was younger and he had nightmares. He would always find Gilbert or…

It was when he started walking down the stairs that he noticed the light was on in Gilbert's room. This was normal, but then he heard the doorknob unlock. A moment later his brother's head stuck out. "Come on in. You don't need permission." He disappeared into his room.

Ludwig got down, thankfully without tripping this time thanks to the light, and walked in before he shut and locked the door once more. Gilbert was sitting on the bed, his legs crossed. He spoke in a casual tone. "Flashback or nightmare?"

"A bit of both." It had been worse this time and Ludwig was sure they would only continue to get worse as time went on. He knew that he was missing so many time loops. There were a few things that might not be time loops too, like someone else's voice coming from a figure that looked like him.

Gilbert nodded. "It's kind of like when we broke the clocks. You have to sort them if you can or some of them clash." He motioned for Ludwig to sit. "Maybe we can help each other sort?"

Ludwig nodded and sat in one of his brother's chairs.

Either he would find Gilbert or Gilbert would find him.

AN: Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think if possible.

Translations:

Guten morgen(German)-Good morning