Hello again, and welcome to this chapter. This one will be longer than the one before it, but it will deal with some extremely heavy subject matter. It will not be happy, and even the nations are shocked and sickened by it.

Disgustingly enough, this chapter was inspired by real events of extreme bullying. There have been tons of stories about this on the news, which sickens me… What happens in this chapter is very extreme, but the scary thing is, similar things are happening in reality.

Going along with the previous notes, this chapter contains extreme bullying (to the point where it could be considered torture). It also contains a scene of implied rape. While the actual act will not be explained (I want to keep this story T-rated), I thought it would be best to put a warning about this scene in the A/N, just to let people know it's there. I just hope I wrote it tastefully.

-Sigh- This was a tough chapter to write, I will say…

After this, I will be returning to work on TWL, so this won't be updated as quickly.

*Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.*

Chapter Six: Ruin

For once, Rue didn't feel stressed on her birthday. The weather was warm, unusually warm, for the end of November, so she enjoyed not wearing a heavy jacket. In fact, she wore no jacket at all. It has to be sixty-five degrees! This is amazing! She enjoyed the fact that she was able to have the room (not to mention the day) to herself, without any bitter relatives or disrespectful roommates to bother her. And later tonight, Lithuania had something nice planned for her, though she wasn't sure what.

In fact, her nineteenth birthday this year was shaping up to be the best one she had since her parents died. While her aunt and her family didn't hate her, it still didn't feel right celebrating with people she didn't really think of as family. Sighing, she shook the negative thoughts out of her head and enjoyed the nice walk to dinner.

When she had eaten all she could, she checked her phone. Seven-thirty on the dot. Lithuania should be coming in a few hours. Grabbing her bag, she began the trek back to her dorm. As soon as she reached the halfway point, she found herself suddenly grabbed from the side and dragged behind a set of large bushes. When she tried to resist, something was pressed against her nose and mouth. She held her breath for as long as she could, but was soon desperate for air. A little while after breathing in whatever was on the rag, she found herself passing out.

/

When she came to, the first thing Rue noticed was that she couldn't see. The second was that her wrists were restrained, and that she was tied to something. Before she could speak, something was roughly shoved into her mouth, and a piece of what she assumed was tape slapped over it.

What is going on? She tried to shrug the blindfold off, but whatever knocked her out before was still in her system, so her body was still groggy.

"Welcome to night class, Rue." The voice was muffled, as though a scarf was wrapped around the speaker's mouth. "Since you're the star student, we thought we'd treat you to some extra lessons."

Before she could even make a sound, the small blonde felt something crash into her cheek.

"Lesson one," another voice began. "Don't speak unless you're being spoken to." More hits to her face followed until the blindfold slipped off. Tears dripped from Rue's eyes from both the pain as well as knowing who her attackers were.

Jocelyn Hollis stood at the front of the group, her face cold. She rubbed her knuckles, cracking them. Without a sound, she pulled a knife from her pocket, tossing it to one of the girls. "Cut off her shirt."

Panicking, Rue shook her head, making as much noise as she could. But it was to no avail. No amount of squirming saved her from the humiliation of getting her shirt cut open and ripped off by a group of strangers. If anything, it just made her now almost-bare back scrape painfully against the tree she realized she was tied to. She whimpered when the globe necklace's chain was broken and tossed aside.

"Let me guess. A-cup?" Jocelyn smirked. "You won't be needing that, either." She nodded to who Rue drowsily dubbed Knife-Girl. Raising an eyebrow, she cut through the straps of the last bit of clothing protecting Rue's upper body, not even caring that she nicked the girl's shoulder in the process.

"How about it, boys? How does she rank?" Jocelyn took the knife back.

All the males in the group whistled.

"I'd say a zero," one said. "Look at her body; it's like a stick!"

"Nah, man. I'd give her a seven. Her skin looks so smooth, I just want to grab it!"

Rue's face burned at the comments. She let more tears fall when a few of the boys groped her. Make it stop! I'm sorry! Her nose was starting to get clogged, making it hard to breathe due to whatever gagged her.

Her eyes snapped open when she felt someone pinch the most sensitive part of one breast. "Stop!" she tried to scream at Jocelyn, who kept her hand in that position. But all that came out was a quiet gurgle.

"So this hurts?"

Rue nodded frantically.

"You're supposed to feel pleasure from this. Maybe you're defective." Almost pouting, the redhead grabbed the knife from her pocket once more. "Maybe they should just be removed. And surgery is so expensive. Be grateful we're doing this for free."

Rue had no idea what she was talking about until it was too late. More pain than she had ever felt in her life exploded from the left side of her chest. She had no time to prepare herself before the same pain burst from the right side.

The small blonde screamed, though she knew no one could hear her. Her vision got foggy, and the world spun, going black.

In her semiconscious daze, she could still hear people talking. "Jocelyn! I thought we were just beating her up and humiliating her. But you fucking cut her nipples off! This isn't the plan! She's gonna bleed to death eventually!"

"She saw our faces. She knows who we are. As soon as the blindfold came off, the plan changed. She is not leaving this ravine."

"But!"

"Do you want her to go to the police? You can say bye-bye to that baseball career if she reports this!"

"But…" the voice was quieter this time. "You're right."

"Of course I am, dumbass!"

Some of the fog in Rue's head cleared, and she could suddenly see again. But now, her body wasn't responding. She couldn't even move Jocelyn carved something into her stomach.

"Please…" she tried to say, though nothing went through the gag. I won't report this… I don't want to die! The realization that these people were really going to kill her made her stomach turn. With a shudder, she vomited. But it was stuck in her throat. She couldn't breathe. Her eyes swam, and her head pounded. She was choking. But everyone just watched.

Suddenly, though, the tape was ripped from her mouth and the gag yanked out, spilling everything that was in her throat onto the ground.

"Please!" she choked, her voice weak. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"You ruined my college career," Jocelyn said coldly, slapping her bruised face. "I worked so hard, and you had to fuck it up for me!" Bending down, she picked up a rock. "Everyone grab one."

As soon as all ten people held a rock, Jocelyn nodded. "Now throw them."

Rue wasn't sure if luck was on her side, but only half hit her. That didn't mean it still didn't hurt. Too weak to scream, she whimpered, her head spinning when one hit her forehead.

"All of you, scram." Jocelyn's eyes narrowed into slits. "I'll finish her. Unless any of you want to see."

The others didn't need to be told twice. Through Rue's blurry vision, she saw them run up the decrepit steps. Only two figures remained: Jocelyn…and Kurt.

"Before you do it, can I?" the boy asked, tapping his foot.

"You're really gonna go through with it?"

"Of course." Rue could just hear the leering in his voice. "I've always found her appealing. It's a shame she's not going to be around anymore. It's only fair I get my share of her at least once."

"Fine then. I just thought you had better taste than that. Whatever."

"Are you seriously going to watch? Pervert."

"There's the pot calling the kettle black!"

The conversation went in one ear and out the other, to Rue. To her, they were just words. However, everything clicked into place when Kurt untied her from the tree, throwing her onto the ground. Her restrained wrists twisted painfully behind her back, and her burning chest flared up as her body hit the ground. But all of that was forgotten when Kurt unbuttoned her jeans, yanking them off, followed by her underwear.

Why? She hyperventilated, unable to even kick.

Before she could think of anything else, pain consumed her.

/

Rue knew it wasn't long, but to her, it felt like an eternity. Her lower half burned even when Kurt was long gone, and she felt the wetness of blood and God knows what else in the dirt under her.

She had no idea the weather changed until a freezing wind whipped through her bare body. Shivering, she tried to curl up, only to be met by a stabbing pain.

"He did you a favor, you know." Jocelyn's voice was almost gentle. "At least you got to experience it once before you pass on."

Not willingly. But at this point, Rue could not speak.

"I'm not going to slit your throat," she continued. "You're going to die here, but it'll be a lot slower. I know you enjoy nature, so I thought maybe, I'd let it kill you. Or blood loss. Whichever comes first."

Shrugging, she knelt next to the small blonde, presenting her the knife. "I'm personally hoping the loss of blood does you in. Hypothermia isn't pretty." Sighing, she dug her weapon into the girl's chest, dragging it from one side to the other. She repeated the process until she got bored.

"Bye, Rue," she finally said, wiping her knife. "You were fun while you lasted."

Without another look, Jocelyn climbed the stairs, leaving Rue alone.

I'm sorry, Toris. Hot tears dripped down her face. I never got to say goodbye…

/

Lithuania was ready to get Rue for her party. While he told her it was going to be a small gathering, he didn't tell her that a world meeting was going on, and that she'd get to hang out with the others. She's going to be so excited!

Since Latvia and Estonia had never been to the other world before, Lithuania thought it would be fun for them to pick up Rue together.

But when they stepped through the portal, the brunet knew something was very wrong. Instead of walking into the dorm, they were met with the cold of a tree-filled ravine. What? He looked down, and saw a familiar necklace lying broken at his feet.

"Toris!" Estonia's frantic scream tore him from his thoughts. He ran towards his friend, only stopping when he saw what caused him to panic.

"Eduard. Tell Raivis to stay away!"

But it was too late. "What?" Latvia's soft voice echoed throughout the trees.

"Eduard." Lithuania's voice cracked. He removed his jacket, wrapping the unmoving girl in it and cradling her to his chest. "Take Raivis back. Now. And clear the cafeteria. But have America stay."

"Is she dead?" Estonia rasped, his teal eyes frightened.

"She's alive. But she won't be for long unless we go. So move!"

The tall blond grabbed Latvia's hand and practically dragged him back through the portal.

"You were supposed to be her Protector!" the youngest Baltic sobbed. "Why didn't you stop this?"

Lithuania said nothing, though he felt like he was slapped. But he shook the feeling away in order to direct all his attention to the broken girl in his arms.

As soon as he stepped through the portal and arrived back in the hotel cafeteria, the whole room went into an uproar. Some nations wanted to move closer, while others tried to leave.

"Why is she naked?" he heard Sealand ask Sweden, who literally pushed the boy out of the room.

"Everyone! Leave now!" Lithuania yelled as loud as he could. "Except America, Hungary, and Ukraine."

When the room was clear, the brunet gently placed the girl on one of the tables, unwrapping the jacket. He heard Ukraine hiss as the full extent of her injuries were made known.

"That poor child." The Slav's eyes watered. "It looks like she was…" She eyed Rue's lower body.

"I know." It took all of Lithuania's strength to keep from crying.

"And her chest! It's mutilated!" Hungary ran over to them, a first aid kit in her hands. "She needs a doctor."

"I can drive her to one. There's a hospital just down the street that knows about the nations." America's usually cheerful voice was solemn.

"Will we make it in time?" Lithuania wrung his hands.

"If we patch her up well enough, we will." There was a grim determination in Ukraine's voice.

While the two women got to work, Lithuania sat in one of the chairs, feeling useless.

"What happened, Toris?" America whispered.

"I don't know."

/

Beeping. That was the noise that was assaulting Rue's ears. She groaned, the sound irritating her aching head. When she opened her eyes, she saw the haggard face of Lithuania staring at her. "Toris?" she whispered. "That means I went to Heaven, then. It has to be, if God put an illusion of you, here."

The brunet's eyes watered before tears fell from them.

"You're not dead," another voice stated. A woman dressed in a white coat stepped into her line of vision. "But you would have been if Mr. Laurinaitis here didn't find you when he did."

"What?"

"He and his friends saved you." She looked down at her chart. "Before I say anything else, my name is Dr. Lawrence. But there are a few things you should know." She took a deep breath. "When we took evidence for a rape kit, we also did an exam, as well as a pelvic ultrasound, just to get clearer pictures. There was the usual tearing—" Rue winced. "—but there was also something else, something genetic, that we discovered. Did you know that your ovaries are deformed? It is likely that you will be infertile."

Rue had no idea that Lithuania moved and was now sitting next to her until he squeezed her hand. Normally, she would be embarrassed about having this explained to her while a male was in the room, but at the moment, she appreciated the comfort he gave her.

"Your chest was also severely mutilated when you were brought in," Dr. Lawrence continued. "In order to prevent future infections and pain, both of your breasts were removed."

For the first time since she woke up, Rue looked down. She saw that she was wearing nothing on top, save bandages that wrapped around her chest. Suddenly feeling stifled, her head spun. Her breathing sped up, and she found tears leaking from her eyes. Everything hurt, and the reality of the situation sunk in.

"Toris," she finally rasped, wanting to get the thought out, just in case she panicked again. "I can't go back! Can I stay with you permanently?"

Nodding, the brunet gently embraced her, weaving his fingers through her hair. The gesture calmed her down, but it let exhaustion take over. Within minutes, she was asleep again.

I am so glad this chapter is over. It was so hard to write. I thought writing the previous chapters of TWL was bad, but this… This was the most disturbing chapter I ever had to write. I almost want to change the rating of this story to M, but this was the most explicit chapter. (I can change it if needed, though.)

This chapter marks the beginning of a lot of changes for poor Rue. (Not to mention the nations who have to see her this way.)

Sadly, similar stuff happens in real life. I depressed myself while googling extreme school bullying and the like. –Shudders-

Lithuania calls Hungary and Ukraine over because he thought it would be more decent if they bandaged her and touched her.

Dr. Lawrence knows that Lithuania and the others are nations, but Rue won't know that until the next chapter.

If parts of this chapter seem choppy, good. They're supposed to read that way, since everyone is frantic.

To be honest, I am so glad to be done with this chapter. I hated writing it.