Dichotomous Chapter 33, a hetalia - axis powers fanfic

Warning: Language, but I'm not upping the rating unless someone asks me to.

If ever there was such a thing as universal truth, it would be that ignorance, in fact, is bliss. To believe our actions just in every aspect and hold ourselves up as paragons of justice. Even if that is only by sheer lack of comparison. It is within human nature to be selfish. To act in our own self-interest. Only by the structured alignment of a moral compass does it become clear that all beings suffer imperfection. And while it may be kinder to allow ourselves the shield of ignorance, it is our solemn task to unearth the truth. That the greatest of horrors occur when we cast our compasses aside and choose our own true north. And while all of us are heroes in our own stories, we may yet be the villains of a much larger one.

Luciano had taken to counting the sound of dripping water as his measurement of time. At first, he had tried ignoring the soft pings and count the seconds, but in the end the occasional breaks in the deafening silence were too distracting. Maddening even, if he let himself dwell on it too long.

The room was pitch dark and soundproofed. From where he sat, Luciano couldn't tell how large it was, or how far he was from the door, but it hardly would have mattered considering his restraints. He imagined he was in much the same position he'd found Kuro in. Arms and legs strapped to an uncomfortable chair in such a way that he could do little more than struggle and writhe to no effect. The only thing to breach the emptiness besides his own breathing was the steady dripping of water some distance off to his right. And inserted into a vein in the crook of his right arm, was a tube of liquid running somewhere behind him. Seeing as his body didn't seem to crave either food or water, he assumed it was some sort of IV.

The near total sensory deprivation of the room left him alone with his thoughts, only to have a drip of water send his mind spiraling away in attempt to see.

Drip…

One thousand, seven hundred and twenty-three drips into his isolation, Luciano shouted for someone to come down and tell him what they hoped to accomplish. When after another hundred drips and a hoarse throat later still no one appeared, he concluded no one could hear him and he gave up.

Drip…

Three thousand, two hundred and five drips later, Luciano wondered how long it would be until Siegfried demanded to see him. He convinced himself in no uncertain terms that Siegfried would appear soon. Recent troubles aside, they had not spent more than a week or so apart in years. Luciano had no way of knowing if a week had passed, but he was sure Siegfried would not let him rot away alone for too much longer.

Drip…

He wouldn't.

Drip…

He wouldn't.

Drip…

Luciano convinced himself that Siegfried had not been allowed to know his location. Otherwise, he would have already come for him.

Drip…

Sixty thousand, four hundred and twenty drips later, Luciano never thought the salt of tears could taste so sweet yet hurt so much. He needed an end to the dark. To see another living, breathing nation. A human. An insect. Anything.

Drip…

Please.

Drip…

A light, subtle and gentle, appeared somewhere ahead. Luciano couldn't muster the will to lift his head for fear that such a blessed sight was some trick of his mind. Yet another torturous dream. A sound of grating metal pierced the empty air, drowning out the infernal pattern of dripping, and the light grew to envelope the room.

For the first time in -Luciano didn't know how long- he could see the tan color of his own uniform stained dark at the thigh from his own tears. The room he could see was empty and white, save for a single drain in the far corner where the water dripping from a pipe fell to.

Then there were footsteps, quiet and steady, that made their way closer and closer until a hand reached out to his chin and tilted his head up. Luciano blinked through the stinging lights to meet a pair of glowing pink eyes.

"Oh dear, you look quite terrible. I do hope I didn't wait too long to come visit."

Luciano wished he had the will to retort, but as it was all he could muster up was a shallow growl at the back of his throat and a trembling sneer.

Oliver tilted his head and pouted and the pink faded from his eyes until it remained as only wisps among icy blue. "Come now, you can't be this broken already. It's only been a few weeks."

Weeks then. Weeks since he'd seen anything. Since he'd heard another nation's voice. He'd thought it had been longer. He opened his mouth and tried to reach his voice. His breaths rasped as Oliver turned his head closer to hear. "…you can't… keep me, here."

"Can't I?"

Luciano tugged back his chin and mustered up a sharper glare to send Oliver's way. "The other nations…"

"Let me take you." Oliver took a step back and let his hands fall to his hips. "Couldn't wait to wash their hands of you, as a matter fact." Luciano's face grew cold and he assumed, by the wide grin on Oliver's face, that he had paled considerably.

"Y-You're lying. They would never let you of all people, be my jailor." He searched Oliver's countenance for any sign of wavering, any tells of falsehood, but the shorter nation was too hard to read. His mask, too complete.

Oliver cocked his head. "Oh, you'd be surprised. I suppose they thought I was owed." Oliver giggled to himself and brushed invisible dust from Luciano's shoulders. Luciano tried to pull away, but there was only so far that he could go. Oliver circled until he stood directly behind Luciano and let his hands drape on either of his shoulders. Luciano shuddered at the ice slipping down his spine as Oliver brought his head just beside Luciano's. "Turns out," he said. "You build up a fair amount of goodwill after dying for the cause. Which is understandable, yet surprising considering, well… I'm me. A fact which everyone seems to forget." Oliver straightened and made his way back around to face Luciano from the front. "But I guess I have you to thank for that. Not that this was by any means your intended outcome, but you know what they say, 'the best laid plans of mice and men' and all that."

Luciano jerked in his chair, mostly because he felt he should rather than because he thought he could work himself free. "You should have stayed dead, you freak."

Oliver tutted and turned his chin up at Luciano. "Now, now, don't be rude. You should be glad Lilith brought me back. If she hadn't, you'd be much worse off right about now."

Luciano scoffed.

"No, it's true. As it is, I had to talk my boys down from outright killing you. And between you and me," Oliver leant forward, hands on either arm of the chair. "I wouldn't have counted on anyone else getting between Alexander and Matthieu when they're out for blood."

The disbelief was still strong in Luciano's mind. As angry as the other nations were at him, there was no way, now that they knew of their connection to their counterparts, that the others would have allowed harm to him that could in any way affect Feliciano. Not to mention unintentional side effects to his southern half. He said as much, but Oliver just giggled.

"Don't be so sure. Flavio's been rather eager. He's even taken the initiative to keep your humans in line for the foreseeable future. With Matthieu's generous assistance, of course. And as for everyone else, well… the balance between hatred and compassion has always been rather skewed in us, hasn't it? As Alex likes to say, no one's ever accused us of being anything more than chaotic neutral at best. But enough about that," Oliver smiled and straightened back up, letting his hands fall from the chair. "We're here to talk about you."

Oliver looked down at him and Luciano supposed he was waiting for a retort. A play at retaking control of the situation. Luciano ignored him and held his tongue. With a minute shrug Oliver continued, "I thought you might want to know how everyone's decided to deal with you."

Luciano squirmed in his seat and fought with his facial muscles to control the expression of pain that wanted to make itself known. "It took… this long… just to decide?" His chin dropped and Luciano suddenly found his pant leg to be incredibly fascinating. They'd sat around arguing while he'd been left to rot in this hell.

A hand dropped on the back of his head. And while the gesture probably looked soft from the outside, Luciano felt the rigid fingers on his skull that put a strain on his neck. "Don't be too upset. They wanted to be careful. For Feliciano and your brother's sake."

Luciano hissed between clenched teeth. It took all his strength to keep the lump firmly in his throat and not croaking out his mouth when he asked, "… and?"

The hand fell away from his head and Luciano looked up to see the pink dancing in Oliver's eyes. "I get to do whatever I want." Luciano didn't know he'd been holding his entire body in a tense knot until Oliver blinked and cocked his head in the opposite direction, lips twisted in a pout. "Up to a point. I did have to agree to certain rules. Most of which meant to keep you whole. But I can work with that."

Luciano shuddered and fought to keep his breathing calm. "Go on then," he said. "Do your worst."

"Hm?" Oliver's head tilted even further. "Oh, I'm not going to hurt you, Luciano." Luciano flinched as Oliver reached down and let his thumb brush the side of his cheek. "I mean, I could." The hand dropped to his shoulder and then slowly worked its way around as Oliver circled. "But where's the fun in that?" Luciano bit his tongue and kept his eyes locked on the opposite wall. Refusing to meet Oliver's crazed eyes.

Oliver made his way in a full circle until he was back facing Luciano and his hand snapped up to snatch Luciano's chin once again; forcing eye contact. He said, "You expect me to hurt you. You want me to. No don't deny it. You don't want to be, but deep down you think that if I hurt you, it makes you something worth tearing down. You'll tell yourself that it proves that you are strong. But you're wrong, Luciano. I don't hurt people because they need to be broken. I do it because it's fun. Because the taste of their blood and their fear is so sweet." Oliver licked his lips and tilted his head back for a moment, sighing in a moment of ecstasy. Then he focused back on Luciano. "Besides, I don't need to inflict pain to break you. That would exert more effort than I feel the need to spend on you. No, all I have to do to break you, Luciano is, ah-" Oliver snapped his lips shut and pressed a finger against them in a gesture for quiet. "Spoilers."

Luciano growled and stole back his chin before looking up and glaring. "Bullshit. You said it yourself. You can't do anything to me. The other nations wouldn't allow it. That means, for all your posturing, you're nothing but an empty threat. Nothing but fear tactics."

Oliver blinked down at Luciano a few times, face blank, before running a hand through his hair and sighing. "Oh, Luciano." Oliver shuffled forward and leaned down to grab the back of Luciano's neck. The grip held him in place as Oliver moved his head forward just short of touching nose to nose. "After all this time," he whispered. "You're still underestimating me. It's incredible. You think yourself so very clever. And yet, you are just so incredibly thick. You think I can't hurt you, Luciano? You think I couldn't rip you to pieces in just the right way so that no one, not even your brother or your counterpart would know? I'm insulted." Oliver's solid grip turned vice-like and his eyes swirled with even more pink. "I could hurt you in ways you couldn't even imagine, Luciano. I could inflict such delicious, invisible pain." Oliver leaned the rest of the way forward and let his tongue and teeth brush along the line of Luciano's jaw before pulling back. "The thought is… salivating."

Luciano was actively pushing against Oliver's grip now. He was on the verge of hyperventilation.

Oliver let his eyes dance with pink a moment longer before settling back into blue and backing away. "So, when I say, that I don't need to lift a finger to break you. I mean it." Oliver's hand dropped from Luciano's neck and the Italian let himself breathe a sigh of relief.

"W-what about Siegfried?" he asked, voice small.

Oliver quirked a brow. "What about him?"

"Where is he? He can't have agreed to this." Siegfried would come. He would. Not even Oliver could keep him away.

Oliver chuckled. "Oh, him? He's quite busy I'm afraid. Researching a cure for his brother. You know, the one who died because of you. Who knows how long that will take? It could be months… years even."

The sad part was that as much as Luciano repeated the mantra that Siegfried would never let him suffer in Oliver's custody, it wasn't hard to believe. Siegfried had warned him before they returned to Otherworld that he wouldn't be Luciano's dog. But the reality was still something hard to accept. Luciano let himself sag in defeat.

"Of course," Oliver continued, ignoring Luciano's blank expression. "I suppose I could always expedite the process." Tapping his chin in contemplation with one hand, Oliver used the other to dig into his pocket and retrieve a long necklace with a moon-and-cross pendant dangling from the end.

Luciano furrowed his brow at the piece of jewelry. "What's that?"

"Hm, oh this?" Oliver looked wide-eyed between Luciano and the necklace. "Something I took from the intrepid Dr. Valfiore Lang -exceptional little human, we've been having weekly chats on the phone. It once belonged to Lilith Walker." Luciano couldn't help but quirk a brow at the apparent admiration in Oliver's tone. Directed at a human no less. He found it irritating.

"And?" Luciano growled.

Oliver giggled and took hold of the pendant and turned it so the base of the cross was facing up. Luciano recognized it as the end of a flash drive. "And inside is every dirty little secret Lilith Walker kept in her skeleton closet. Including, the formulae for both the nation-killing bullets and how to reverse their effects." Luciano's breath caught and he couldn't take his eyes off the invaluable wealth of knowledge just sitting in Oliver's hands.

"T-then… then why haven't you…"

"Told anyone?" Luciano swallowed and nodded. His mouth had gone dry with the fear that the pendant would simply disappear if he took his eyes off it. Oliver shrugged and swung the pendant around his finger. "Why would I?"

Luciano could feel his breaths coming quicker again, more panicked. "W-why… why would you? You could save Siegfried's brother! Gilbert too! You could bring them BACK!" They would owe him. Surely Oliver saw the value in having two versions of Germany in his debt.

Oliver's eyes flared pink and his lips curled in a smirk. He leaned forward and let the pendant dangle inches from Luciano's face. "Beg me." Oh. Vindictive bastard.

"Che cosa?"

The pendant was snatched away and replaced with Oliver's face. "I said, beg me."

Luciano's insides roiled at the thought coupled with the complete and utter look of triumph in Oliver's smile. He took a deep breath and swallowed. "Please."

"Hm?" Oliver turned his ear to Luciano and pretended to examine the pendant. "What was that?"

"Please!" Luciano let his body sag and turned his head down. "Siegfried loves his brother more than anything and you can save him. Please."

Oliver hummed and frowned. "Maybe you're just playing this out so that your big strong guard dog won't be distracted from coming to your rescue?"

At this, Luciano worked up the will to turn his head back up and glower. "Maybe. But would you let him?"

Oliver tilted his head in concession. "True."

Luciano shifted in his chair. "So, you'll do it?"

Oliver stood to his full height and backed away from Luciano. He pocketed the pendant away and crossed his arms. He looked down his nose at Luciano in a way the Italian found more reminiscent of Arthur than his own English nemesis.

"No."

"… What?"

"Did you not hear me?" Oliver stepped forward, expression stony. "Then read my lips. No."

Luciano shook his head. "Why-!" his voice cracked.

Oliver's hand shot out. This time, instead of snatching Luciano's chin it locked around his throat. Luciano fell against the back of the chair and gasped as Oliver's hand began to restrict his airway. Oliver's eyes were glaring pink.

"Because, why should I?" he hissed. "You killed my son. My youngest son. Sold him out to the humans like a lamb to the slaughter. Will curing Siegfried's brother bring Peter back? Bring my Sealand back?" Oliver shook his head and tightened his grip on Luciano's neck. "No." He held the asphyxiating grip a moment longer before releasing Luciano to rasp and cough and backing away. "Besides," Oliver continued, the dark expression fading from his face and returning to an indulgent smile. "You guard dog is far more useful to me kept busy. Kuro too."

"I-I don't understand."

Oliver giggled and gave the side of Luciano's face a pat. "And isn't that just par for the course with you." Oliver jumped forward and sat himself down across Luciano's lap, tossing his legs over one arm of the chair and leaning back against the other while his arm wrapped around Luciano's shoulders for support. Luciano wheezed at the sudden weight and felt his hairs stand on end at the proximity. "Lucky for you, confession is good for the soul. And," Oliver took hold of the back of Luciano's head again and turned it forward so that their foreheads were pressed together. Luciano tried, but he couldn't escape Oliver's mad gaze. "Like everyone says, I'm a psychopath. I want you to understand. To know the full extent of your failure."

Oliver released Luciano's head but stayed seated right where he was.

"Siegfried still loves you, you know?" Oliver raised a brow in Luciano's direction but the Italian refused to speak or make eye contact. Oliver shrugged and continued. "It's rather problematic. Everything else has fallen in line so splendidly, so his complete and utter devotion is becoming a thorn in my side.

Luciano's lips turned up in a small smirk, but when Oliver looked to him again he still refused to speak.

Oliver huffed. "I really wish I'd had the chance to thank Lilith for this opportunity. I mean, when has anyone from Earth ever looked to Otherworld for salvation?" Oliver shrugged and jumped back up to stand and pace in front of Luciano with giddy excitement. "And now? Oh," he swept his hands and laughed. "And now look at what's fallen into my hands. Not only has Matt swept poor, underappreciated Matthew into his influence; but Alex has slithered his way into Arthur's good graces as well. That gives me unbridled access to Earth and all its bountiful resources. Not to mention a powerful magic user who has taken it upon himself to train Alex far better than I ever could."

"But-"

"And that's not all," Oliver continued, ignoring Luciano's attempt to interject. "After your failed bid for power I'm afraid Kuro's quite done with you. Seeking out better prospects as it were. He and I do get on quite well over tea and recreational mutilation. Luciano seethed at that, but admitted to himself it was something that had been bound to happen for a while.

Oliver went on. "With Flavio, I didn't even have to try. You can guess what he and Matthieu have bonded over during the last few decades or so. So, the only outlier, is Siegfried. Good, loyal Siegfried. And he might be angry Luciano, but he loves you. Really, truly loves you."

Luciano looked up at Oliver then, and he smirked. "Then you haven't won everything."

"Oh, yes I have." Oliver dropped his voice to little more than a whisper and knelt in front of Luciano so that they were eye to eye. "I just have to be patient. I've read through the process to bring back Sigmund. It's long, complicated. I've no doubt it took hours for Lilith to have me revived. So even with Siegfried, Ludwig, and all the other nations across both out worlds working on a cure, they'll never find it. Especially not with a few roadblocks set up to lead them astray."

Luciano felt the blood drain from his face. "Y-you wouldn't?"

Oliver frowned and tilted his head. "Again, dearie. I'm me. Why wouldn't I?" Right. It was a stupid question and Luciano knew the answer. For Oliver, there was nothing that could be considered 'too low'.

"And as time passes, as Siegfried's desperation turns to obsession, his hope will fade. His love for you, Luciano… it will sit on his heart and it will hurt. It will bleed and it will fester like a disease. First, into fear." Oliver held up a finger in the start of a count and used to tap Luciano on the nose. "Fear that Sigmund will always remain just out of reach." Oliver held up a second finger. "Then that fear, will turn to frustration, then anger. And from anger, all that love -a truly bothersome amount mind you- will turn to hate."

Luciano's mouth was open, but no words came to him.

"Siegfried will come to hate you, Luciano. You are, after all, the source of all his pain and loss. And then," Oliver reached back into his pocket and retrieved Lilith's pendant. "Then, when Siegfried is left with nothing but a broken, blackened heart, I will give him what he wants most in the world. I, who never stopped looking even when, over the years, everyone else did. I, who discovered the cure, will give him back his brother." Oliver stopped for a moment and trapped Luciano's face between both his hands. "Then where do you think all that blind love, that loyalty, will go, hm?"

Luciano's cheeks were wet. Luciano gasped as salty tears dripped from his chin. "…y-you can't."

Oliver stood to his feet and smiled with all his teeth. "Oh, can't I?"

"This was your plan, wasn't it? From the beginning!?" Oliver didn't answer other than to grin. Luciano should have known. Even after their confrontation on the way to Sealand. His first instinct had been right. Oliver was always planning something. There was just one thing, "But you were dead. You couldn't have known I'd turn on the others. That Walker would kill you and bring you back."

Oliver shrugged, but his smile didn't diminish. "True, you did throw me quite the curve ball. But as they say, the true mark of genius is the ability to adapt. And I must say, of everything that could have gone wrong… your absolute stupidity and trying to get me killed has done wonders. Why, thanks to you I get to reap the benefits of being both hero and martyr. The faith and trust of the Axis as well as the Allies from both Earth and Otherworld are now mine." Luciano shook his head as Oliver swept his arms out wide and laughed. "If you're so terrified about what I could do manipulating Matthieu and Alexander… oh. Thank you, Luciano. Thank you. You've single-handedly given me not just one world, but two."

It wasn't fair. "No!" Luciano jerked in his seat and Oliver stepped back and laughed. "No."

"And you know what's funny?" Oliver laughed and flicked Luciano in the forehead with his thumb and forefinger. "You started this because you were so sure I was planning something. You believe it even now. But I wasn't!" Luciano shook his head. That couldn't be true. But the little psychopath just laughed again. Full-bodied, with head thrown back. "Not until you set the game in motion by coming after me and mine." The laughter diminished in seconds and Oliver shrugged again and pointed a finger in Luciano's direction. "A word of advice, in case I ever decide to let you out. Don't start battles with people you haven't the slightest chance of beating. Because I will win. Every time."

With that, Oliver turned on his heel and started making his way back toward the doorway and a sobering fear swept through Luciano of being left back in the darkness with the still dripping water pipe counting his way down to madness. "Wait!" he called, stopping Oliver right as he began pulling the door shut. "What are you going to do to me?"

He looked up, but Oliver never turned back to face him. Instead, Luciano was met with a small, satisfied huff. "Isn't it obvious?" asked Oliver. "The only thing I have to do. Nothing. Absolutely, nothing. And who knows? Maybe I'll come down to visit in a few months. Until then, do try to remain sane. Addio, Luciano."

The door shut, and once again Luciano was plunged into darkness. And now he knew that no one was coming.

Drip…

Think about it this way… If you turn on us. You'll have no one. And not even the most twisted of nations wants that.

A/N: The End! First of all, thank you for everyone who has stuck through this story with me. After almost two years, thirty-three chapters, and I think maybe three hiatuses, you guys are the best! Special thanks especially to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed, you guys are the reason I was able to finish this.

Speaking of the ending, hope you enjoyed it. I like to think Oliver has an extensive dungeon in his basement where he likes to give his big, dramatic monologues to people who'll never see the light of day again. It's how he keeps himself from doing it in public. So, after being a team player for so long of course he's going to take advantage of having Luciano down there.

P.S. I have to say I really enjoyed writing the 2Ps in this story and I hope you enjoyed reading them. Once again, most of the names and some of the background for the 2Ps is based off and inspired by the headcanon of Kyokoon64 so you should definitely check her stuff out on youtube. Also, I think 2PUS1PUK has become my new BROTP and I didn't even realize it until it already happened. So in light of that I don't think I am done with this AU and if people are interested I might write a spinoff, sequal, or prequal. OR I might come up with a completely different AU. I haven't decided yet. Either way I can't wait to start something new.

So until then, bye!

P.P.S. Shout out to the person who guessed Oliver wrote his number of Dr. Lang's hand. You were completely right.