Chapter 34: Sorrowful parting

France and François were led back to the beach where they were met by the sight of Chun sleeping on top of Russia while he ate a piece of fruit nonchalantly and the Americans and the Japanese were thinking of all the horrible things that could of happened to the others. Sakura saw Feliciana and quickly ran up to her with a concerned frown on her face.

"You were supposed to come back half an hour ago! What happened?"

François stepped up and put a hand on Sakura's shoulder and gave her the upmost serious face she could make. "They found us; that's what happened."

Sakura gave her a nervous nod and stepped back, and then France turned to the group, his one concern being of Alice and England. "How do we get to Alice and England?"

Chun woke up and quickly got up and became red in the face when she realized she was on top of Russia though he seemed to be pretty calm. "What's going on aru?" She saw the France's and sighed with relief but then tensed up again. "Where's Anya and China?"

Everyone realized their absence and looked around, hoping that they had just missed them, but they weren't around. "Well shit." Amelia frowned.

"They should have come back by now, and it's not like China to be late." Japan became increasingly worried though it didn't show through his face.

"Do you think something happened?" Germany looked into the forest anxiously.

"I'm sure there fine…just late I'm sure. It's hard to keep track of time without a watch ya know." America tried to say reassuringly but it didn't lower the rising intensity of the group.

Then, out of nowhere, an explosion echoed through the entire forest, nearly knocking them back a few inches. There was a silence and then another crash, except this time it was much closer. Feliciana grabbed a balisong from under her shirt and stood while Italy cowered behind her. The other girls did the same and got into a fighting stance, though the guys continued on to just stand all tensed up. There was another explosion and this time something could be seen coming through the trees at extreme speed; it was going right toward the group.

"Get out of the way!" Amelia screamed as she jumped to the side, everyone following her lead.

A giant ball of fire shot through, causing the sand under it to be singed black. It went into the ocean and exploded, the water coming down like steaming rain. Everyone got back up and saw trees falling and fire spreading, though the reason was still unknown.

"What the hell is that thing?!" America shouted as he recovered from his dive into the sand.

"I think I have an idea, but I hope I'm wrong." Amelia answered back, her baseball bat in hand.

Then another explosion went off, only this one knocked back the group onto their backs. After a quick recovery Chun looked up and saw a figure running out of the blaze. Anya was coming out of the fire, her clothes almost burned off and her hair covering her face; in her arms was China who had a wet piece of cloth that she ripped off of her coat over his face. She fell to the floor and looked up at them, her face dripping with blood.

"It's a Scorcher!" She shouted as she got back to her feet, still holding an unconscious China.

As she said this, a giant beast that was covered in flames and had feet that looked like they belonged to a lions smashed its way out of the forest and onto the sand. Its skin was scorched red and black, its eyes looked like they were changing colors, and it stood over ten feet tall. The beast let out a horrendous howl, spitting fire as he did so.

"Mien gott," Germany was at a loss of words but Feliciana was quick to give orders.

"Everyone keep your distance! Head to the water and prepare to attack. Anya and Russia, you help keep Chun and China out of harm's way; we'll keep this thing preoccupied."

The girls gave a nod and the guys followed in their lead and scattered; Chun and China were carried out of the monsters destructive path while the others ran to the shore, the beast hurling its flaming fists in the air.

"François, use your crossbow to go for the eyes." Feliciana said as she flipped backwards and dodged a fire ball, though it did singe her skirt.

François shot her arrows but they burned up before they could even get close to the beast. "No use, were going to have to submerge it." She shouted as Amelia jumped off her back and threw a rock at the beast, though it merely shattered when it hit the monster's chest.

"What the hell is that thing?" America shouted as he pushed Italy out of the fire's path.

"They're called Scorchers; they're a different breed of Kaydoms that derive from fire." Amelia explained as she grabbed Japan's arm and pulled him towards the shore while the others were scrambling around the maze of fire.

The beast let out another shattering howl and spread an even greater fire into the forest, the blaze becoming even hotter. Sakura ran towards the monster with her dual blade and threw it, the blade cutting through its thick flesh and letting out purple blood which steamed. The beast blew out a ball of fire at Sakura and though it didn't hit, it created a ring of fire around her, slowly burning out the air around her. She looked for an opening to get out of the blaze but all it was doing was closing in on her; she fell onto her knees and covered her mouth, coughing from the smoke.

"Sakura!" Feliciana screamed when she saw her friend becoming engulfed in flames, becoming totally hidden behind the firewall.

Then as if on cue, America ran towards the blaze, taking off his jacket and using it like a shield then ran into the fire. He disappeared into the smoke, and though the beast was still running rampant, they all stopped in horror to watch. America fought his way through the smoke to Sakura, covering his mouth with the jacket and wiping the sweat off his head. He picked up the still coughing Sakura and put the jacket over her face; he then ran back through the fire, only this time his face wasn't protected from the flames. He tried to keep his face down but when he passed through, the fire singed his eyebrows and burnt part of his hand. He jumped out and ran to the shore, but his entire body felt like it had been cooked like a turkey.

They all collected at the shore where the beast ran full speed towards them, but right before they collided, the countries jumped out of the way. The flaming beast ran into the ocean, the water around it boiling intensely as the beast writhed in pain. The monster fell down onto its knees which only extinguished it more. After a few seconds of this, Amelia jumped up and landed on the monster's burnt back and smashed its head in with her baseball bat over, and over, and over until the beast was still. The countries looked at her in horror when she turned back to them, her face dripping with blood from a cut on her lower lip. She walked through the water to the others and fell to her knees, Japan helping her back up quickly.

Amelia looked back at the monster. "If that thing could get through then who knows how many are going to follow. We need to close that rift stat!" She hobbled towards Sakura, who was still in America's arms, her face covered with the burnt jacket.

"She's still breathing." America huffed, his hand stinging intensely from the burns.

Amelia saw his reddened hand and face, and then she lifted up the jacket and saw that Sakura had been intensely burned on the neck. Amelia turned to China and Chun who had been carried back after the beast was defeated, though China was still unconscious on Anya's back and Chun was bleeding through the scarf. She then observed François's scratched up face and France's bruises and cuts on his visible body; she looked at Germany who had a cut down his leg from the plane crash (though she didn't think he took any notice) and then she examined Japan's injured skin and purple bruises. These people would never make it through the portal, but if a level 4 enemy could already get through, then there's no telling how many could get through now.

"Are you ok Miss Amelia?" Japan asked when he noticed her silent stares.

She turned to Japan, her face emotionless. "We aren't in any condition to go through the portal. If we do…then" she moved her eyes away from the group, unable to look at their scars.

Feliciana put a hand on her shoulder. "I know, but Alice and England need us."

"But does that mean we've failed?" Amelia's face was hidden by her hair, but a single tear fell down her cheek, fell, and soaked into the scorched sand.

The girls looked at each other while the guys stood unaware of what she meant. Anya moved the cloth from China's face, revealing that he had been hit on the cheek since it had been severely bruised.

"Answer my question, have we failed?" Amelia looked up at them, her face enraged.

They remained silent then Chun lifted an arm to her. "No, we've only failed once we've given up on this world."

"What are you talking about?" America asked.

There was another silence then Feliciana looked up at the group. "I think it's clear that most of us are unable to travel through time and space, though Alice and England are still alone in our world." She shifted her arms positions as she spoke. "So I have something to propose."

"What is it?" Italy, who was strangely quiet, asked.

She took in a deep breath. "I think that those too injured to move should be left at the care of this world while some of the others, including me, go through the portal."

"How would we get them to a hospital?" Germany asked.

"We'll flag down a nearby vessel or plane." Amelia replied, her face still emotionless.

"But that could take weeks, even months before someone actually comes by here."

Then, as France said that, a horn blew from a distance away. They turned around and saw an ecstatic Sealand coming towards them. "What the hell. Where did he come from?" France questioned.

"Well, that was too easy." Feliciana rolled her eyes as the ship came closer.

"I blame lazy writing." America sighed.

"Shut up, shut up. Don't go breaking the fourth wall." François hit America on the back of the head.

"NO NEED TO FEAR, SEALAND IS HERE!" Sealand shouted as he stopped the ship and rowed up to the group.

"How did you find us? We didn't even send a message out." Anya was suspicious of the small country.

"I tracked your plane on the internet." He said proudly.

Feliciana turned to the group. "Chun, China, America, and Sakura, get on."

"But I'm fine…ouch." America winced when he felt his burnt hand though he was still holding Sakura.

"If Chun is going, then I'm going!" Anya stood next to Russia who was holding Chun and stomped her foot down, careful not to accidentally knee China in the back.

"Da, if China goes, I go too." Russia gave a face of determination to Feliciana and Amelia.

"Fine, then it will be Amelia, Germany, Japan, and I." Feliciana was becoming less patient with the issue at hand.

"Did I miss something?" Sealand asked unknowingly though everyone just ignored him.

"Be careful." Chun stretched and gave Feliciana a hug.

"You too," she answered back, her face tearing up again.

"Shall we be off then?" Sealand was totally unable to pick up on the mood.

"H-hai." Sakura coughed.

They loaded into the dingy and Sealand took the injured to his ship, all of them waving goodbye to each other. It was only until the ship itself started moving that everyone realized the magnitude of what was happening.

"Are you all ready to embark on a journey to hell and back?" Amelia asked as she pushed her hair behind her ear.

Everyone exchanged glances, though Italy seemed to be fixated on the ship that was leaving their sights.

Germany turned back to her and straightened his face. "Yes. We're ready."

-I want to dedicate this chapter to JDAH22megirl. Good luck my friend :)

-Thank you all for your dedication to this story, and I hope that you stick with me till the very end.

- Love you all :D