I opened my eyes and stared up at the dirty ceiling. It was so dull and lifeless, just like the rest of this damned place. So awful... So isolated. Was there no one who would come to rescue us?

My back ached painfully, screaming in protest at my current position. It was hopeless to try and move though, since I was still bound with a frayed old rope. I struggled against my restraints, hoping that they would give.

"You are awake now?" A menacing voice spoke from the corner, and the russian stood up, pipe in hand. "Too bad, I have to leave in a bit. I guess you can go see your brother now."

"You bastard..." I growled around the rag in my mouth.

"Oh... Don't use that kind of language in my presence... I might have to punish you." He wielded the pipe threateningly.

I worked the dirty cloth out of my mouth, and spat at his feet. I was already hurt, why not be a little defiant? I couldn't go back to Romano with such a pathetic amount of injuries. I couldn't let him know that I had submitted so easily... He would be so disappointed in me.

Russia laughed, twirling the pipe in his hands before bringing it down on my right leg. I screamed, regretting my decision instantly. I wasn't strong enough for this. A sickening crack resonated off the walls of the claustrophobic room.

The russian swept me up as I was still in pain, and carried me out of the torture chamber. Cold air rushed at my flushed face, cooling me down. I shivered violently, not yet used to the drastic drop in temperature. I was suddenly thrown into another dark room, still blinded by the pain in my right leg.

A loud curse snapped my eyes open. "Roma..."

"Ah... Veneziano, I thought from the screams coming from that room... And the sudden silence..." He hugged me gingerly, and I could feel him shaking.

"Fratello..." I muttered, slumping back against the wall.

Romano straightened out his uniform and wiped away his tears, sniffling as he said, "Where did he hurt you Veneziano?"

I closed my eyes wearily, still exhausted from the day's events. "It's nothing close to what he did to you. He knows I'm weak."

Romano frowned, his brows knitting together in obvious frustration. "Veneziano." He sounded angry.

I cringed. There was nothing that would stop Romano from getting his own way when he was like this. "Well... I-I'm not exactly sure. I know that my leg is probably broken... But there isn't anything else too serious." I yawned widely, feeling myself drifting off.

"Feliciano?" I was curious as to why my brother had used my human name. It was so... Formal.

"Yes?" I cracked an eye open.

"Please don't lie to me. I'm your big brother, I'm supposed to protect you... But I can't do that if you aren't being honest... Stupid bastardo..." He added half-heartedly.

I grasped his hand, looking him straight in the eyes. "Please... Don't lose yourself in rage like you always do, fratello." Letting go of his clammy hand, I removed my black button up shirt, then my undershirt, trying not to make it too obvious that both of the aforementioned garments were sliced and bloodied in places.

Romano gasped as he looked at the number Russia had done on my torso. He shuffled around me, taking in my broken appearance. Even I hadn't seen the extent of the damage. There were several new wounds, mostly on my back. The brand, identical to Romano and Toris' displaying Russia's human name, looked terrible, dirt, sweat and blood smeared across the open wounds. I felt nauseous, and had to put my head between my knees as Romano examined the rest of my exposed torso.

"Not too serious my ass..." Romano muttered, his usual scowl etched onto his face.

"Roma?" I asked shakily, my voice muffled slightly.

He looked at me seriously, pursing his lips. "What?"

I inhaled deeply before looking up at him tiredly. "I know you're worried about the effects of the drug in the food I ate earlier..."

He nodded sombrely.

I smiled weakly. "It's fine. They had no negative effects... Besides me being a bit out of it when I kicked Russia..." Romano sighed in relief, reaching down and removing his black tie, tossing it aside.

"You had lessons on how to detect poisons and other drugs, and I had lessons on how to recover quickly; whether it's alcohol, drugs or sleeping pills, I can get into a normal state of mind in a matter of minutes." I explained, carefully putting both of my my shirts back on again.

Romano nodded again, taking it in slowly. "So did you know that the food was spiked beforehand?"

"No. I could only tell when it started to take effect." Another large yawn surfaced, and my eyes watered.

"You should sleep fratello."

"Yes, but we should try to come up with a plan-" My sentence was cut short as I yawned yet again.

Romano sat beside me, draping his jacket over my shoulders. "First priority is to recover."

I rest my head on Romano's shoulder, grateful for his reassuring presence. I would have given up a long time ago if it wasn't for him.

It took no time at all, snuggled up to my big brother, to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

A/N: I'm so sorry for the short chapter. I'm super busy with my deviantART ask account called ask-shy-canadia, and haven't worked on this story at all. I'll finish it very soon, I promise... I hope this chapter wasn't too OOC, and I know, it's really sappy and everything, but I'll be working on more torture scenes, and we'll start to see the italians coming up with a plan soon~! Don't forget to review!