Canada threw himself onto the snow and caressed England's bloodied face.
"Kumajirou." Canada whispered, examining the cuts on his ribs and stomach. He moved on to America, moving his hands over the bruises.
"What have you done? Why would you-"
"Now I know how you feel when you say everybody ignores you." Said the bear simply, cleaning his paws in the snow. "Now they're dead, you love me again, right?"
Canada was shocked into tears that his bear would think that this makes things better.
"N-no! Kumajirou, they're dead?"
"How should I know? Will you bring me breakfast now?' Kuma asked brightly.
"N-no!" Canada spluttered again. He jumped up, unsure of what to do. How could he move the boys? There was a hospital near...
"M-Mafew..." America slurred quietly. Canada's focus dropped to the bloody little boy in the snow. His eyes were barely open and he was still bleeding.
"Sh-shush, Alfred." He whimpered, taking the boy gently into his arms. America cried out quietly in pain and burrowed his head into Canada's chest.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'll save you, don't worry..." Canada blabbered uselessly, attempting to pick up Arthur without hurting him worse; he was bleeding much worse than America. With both boys tucked into his arms, soaking his tan jacket with blood, Canada ran as fast as he could to the tiny hospital in the more crowded part of the northern city.
Both boys had fallen unconscious again by the time he burst through the door, sobbing and begging for reception. Unlike his summer home, (In Toronto) this area wasn't too crowded, and doctors carried away the boys on stretchers while Canada did the reception stuff.
*ThereIsALineBreakHere*
Hours had passed and Canada was stuck in the waiting room with his head in his hands, mentally cursing himself off for not paying attention to his pet. And then for upsetting the boys.
"Stupid," he told himself. "You are so, so stupid."
"Mr. Williams. We have bad news about your sons."
Sons? His sons... He had no sons. His muddled mind took a moment to comprehend the doctor's words; He meant Al and Arthur.
"B-bad n-news?" He asked dumbly, standing up. The doctor, a short man with black hair, nodded solemnly.
"Yes. Those boys have a low chance of making it. You are allowed to see them and bid farewell."
The world has ended. It must have. If it hadn't, the doctor would be lying. He wouldn't have said those horrible words. The only two people who'd ever paid attention to and seen him...
Canada stared at the doctor.
"You're lying." He hissed through tears. "They're playing with me, aren't they?" He asked, then jumped away, towards the hall. He ran down the hallways, peering in through windows until two pale faces stood out to him. Panicking, Canada threw open the door.
Surely their status as nations would keep them alive...? Right? The news was on in a corner of the room as Canada burst in.
"...President of the United states has died recently, several towns in Southern states have caught fire and three major explosions have been documented. Los Angeles has experienced an earthquake and was dislodged from the country and plunged into the water. The entire nation has noticed a massive blackout, cars have stopped working and WiFi networks are down, as well as radio stations. This is Deep Jackenson, from Canada's best news station." Said the newsman, shutting off his horrible report on the United States.
Canada blanched and threw himself at America's bed. The little boy was coughing madly. A heart monitor beeped vaguely and irregularly in a corner.
"Alfred?" Canada asked. Alfred's eyes opened. The normally vibrant blue orbs were dull as he looked up at Canada.
"Mafew... I'm sowwy. I don't hate you." He wheezed. "It... It huwts, Mafew." He whimpered. "M-make it stop..."
"I-I can't, Alfred. You have to. You're strong, right? You're the hero, you have to be!" Matthew cried.
"I-I don't feel like pwaying da hewo game today, Mafew. You can be da hewo, okay?" Alfred said, raising his hand and patting Matthew lightly on the head.
"Alfred, no! You're the hero, you're the strong one, please, stay awake!" Matthew whined; the heart monitor in the corner slowed.
"N-no. I feel sick. I wanna nap, Mafew... G'night, Arfur!" He called quietly to the other boy.
"G'Night, Mafew. I... I wuv you." He said, panting slightly as he put his tiny hand on Matthew's.
His heart monitor stopped bleeping.
Matthew let out an anguished wail as the grip Alfred had ion his hand loosened and fell. He kissed the boy's head, letting his tears fall onto Alfred's face.
"Goodnight, brother."
"The United States has fallen." Declared the T.V.
"I-interesting how the country fell when my brother died."
Matthew looked away from Alfred; Arthur was awake -he must've been napping- and his eyes were glistening with tears as he gazed at Matthew and Alfred.
"A-Arthur! You're not dead!" Matthew cried happily, rushing over to him. Arthur's injuries had been worse than Al's; his nation must be taking longer to fall.
"Y-you're okay! Good, good, stay okay, do you want something? Do you want some water? I'll tell you a fairy tale! I'll give you anything." He sighed, falling beside the child's bed. Childish innocence glimmered in his eyes as he whispered,
"Anything?"
"Yes, love," Matthew said, using the British pet name, "anything."
"Can you, use that magic you said you had to fix Alfred? Or were you lying about the magic?" Asked Arthur suspiciously.
"I wasn't lying." Matthew said, pulling the forgotten spellbook from his pocket. "But, I can't find a reviving spell... Oh! I can-I can regrow you! I can still fix this!" He said excitedly, pressing his hand to the child's forehead reassuringly.
"Um, um, okay." He raised his hand hopefully, and chanted,
" Animam pueri , corpus exiguum. Abrogare eaque semel."
For a brief second, England glowed red. Then the glow subsided. And the boy hadn't changed. With a cry, Canada looked down and discovered a bit of fine print.
'Works in NON-TRANSMITTED age reverse spell.'
"Oh, no!" Canada yelped, tears spilling incessantly from his eyes as Arthur studied his still-small body and coughed.
"I-I can't fix you! I-I'm so sorry!" Matthew whispered, and Arthur touched his head.
"I don't care. I just like to know you cared enough to try. I still don't believe I can be a nation, because that makes no sense. But I believe you are my brother," he coughed, and when he spoke again he rasped,
"And I'll love you and Alfred forever." He coughed again, and his own heart monitor began to skip beats.
"Arthur, no! Don't leave me, you can't leave me too!" Matthew cried, grasping his hand.
Two deep breaths.
"I'm going to nap too. It'll make me feel better. Good-goodnight, big brother."
The monitor stopped. Arthur's hand loosened as Alfred's had, and Matthew dropped it softly. Sobbing, he pulled the sheets over Arthur's pale form, then Alfred's.
"Goodnight, little brothers." Matthew sobbed. "You can't sleep in my bed tonight, but if you're good, I'll tell you a story..."
A/N: For those of you who are confused, the bombings, fires and Earthquakes in the states came from Al's injuries, and the WiFi, power loss and car failure was from the back in time thing. The reporter was using Canadian stuff, so his technology wasn't broken.