Chapter 33

Wake up and Pass out

"How can we be sure?" Mathias was still holding him down "Shade has tricked us before" He looked over at the ground where the shadow was. It seemed to be very angry but that didn't help them figuring anything out right now. Both Shade and Antonio would be mad in that position.

"Just touch it." The nations looked at Emil that glanced over Lukas shoulder "It has to be either me, Lukas or Arthur though"

"I'll do it" Arthur walked over. There was a lot of things going through his mind right now, he didn't understand what actually had happened. It had all happened so fast too. Lukas fight, Emils return, Antonios supposed return, the fire and now this. He crouched down next to the shadow and, with a last glance at Mathias that nodded, placed his hand onto it.

"ALL OF YOU WILL BE DESTROYED, EVERYTHING WILL BURN. JUST WAIT. EVEN IF IT TAKES HUNDREDS OF YEARS I'LL COME BACK. YOU CAN'T STOP ME. ANTONIO CAN'T. I'LL RIP YOUR WORLD INTO PIECE-" Arthur stumbled backwards to get away from the words. There was so much hate hidden within them, so much rage.

"Well?" Mathias looked up at him, waiting for confirmation.

"Yes" Arthur let out a relieved sigh "Antonio is back" The tension lifted as the realisation hit. It was over, they had won. Mathias leaned back and Antonio sat up slowly. He looked at his hands, he shuddered in the cold air and as he reached down on the ground he could feel the dirt underneath his fingers. Pain spread through his body from the hits that Shade had received but it didn't bother him. He could feel again.

"I'm back" He looked up at Emil "And you're alive" Antonio was beyond relieved but it changed when he suddenly remembered and turned around. "Lovino…"

"He'll be fine" Lukas walked over and sat own on the ground next to Antonio "He'll be back when the time limit wears off"

"How long?" Antonio couldn't look away from Lovino.

"About… 20 hours?" Lukas looked thoughtful for a moment "Yes, that seems accurate"

"That's too long" He tried to stand up but couldn't. "You really didn't hold back"

"You're in no position to complain, you said we could go all out" Francis walked over and helped him get over to Lovino. Meanwhile, Mathias turned to Lukas.

"So you mean that your original plan was to outlast him for 20 hours?"

"Well it was 24 hours to begin with, though it gets shorter the more energy you use." Lukas shrugged and Mathias shook his head. Emil sat down next to Mathias.

"It's been a long day today, hasn't it?" They stared at him, his calmness slightly creeping them out.

"That reminds me" Mathias turned and grabbed Emil before he shook him violently "ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"Mathias, wha-"

"Running into a ball of fire! You could've died!" Mathias stopped shaking him and settled on just staring at him.

"I had a feeling it would be fine!" Emil pouted back at him and Mathias let go while trying to calm his breathing.

"A feeling… You had a feeling? So you ran into…" The emotional and physical fatigue, the relief from realising Emil was okay and the realisation that it was all finally over caught up with him.

"Mathias!" Emil saw how he tipped over and passed out on the ground. "What happened?"

"Leave him, he'll be fine" Tino sat down next to Emil and poked his head. "Are you okay there?" Emil reached up and felt the bandage. The pain had almost disappeared completely and the heat he had been feeling before was fading. He shuddered in the cold air.

"Yes, I'm fine" Lukas suddenly poked him from the other side.

"Here take this" He held out a shirt "It's a bit dirty but it'll keep you warm"

"Where did you- DON'T STEAL PEOPLES CLOTHES" Emil pointed at Mathias that was now laying shirtless on the ground.

"We need to tend to his wounds anyway. Put it on" Lukas stare told him not to argue so Emil put on the shirt. All the other nations were now sitting on the ground, either talking or being lost in their own thoughts. Arthur was having Yao tell him what his fairies were saying, apparently they had some information about Shades kind. Alfred seemed to be feeling pretty down since Emil stole the spotlight while Gilbert tried to explain the upsides of being a mermaid to the rest. Only Antonio and Feliciano were sitting next to Lovino, both obviously worried.

"Can't you do anything?" Emil looked over at Lukas that nodded slowly.

"Technically yes" He looked thoughtful for a moment "I can always try" It was a bit hard but he managed to get up and walk over to the small group. He sat down next to Antonio. "Do you want to help him?" Antonio looked up, a bit surprised.

"Yes, I want to" He bit his lip. "Is it possible?"

"Yes but, it'll be hard and only you can do it" Lukas saw how Antonio nodded nervously. "Then watch and listen carefully"

"Anything" Antonio stared at Lukas with a focus that was almost scary. Lukas reached out and pulled Berwald to his lap.

"First of all, you need to make a connection. The easiest way is with a kiss but it can be anywhere on the body." Lukas took Berwalds hand and held it in the air to show him. "You have to try and reach him, feel his whole being. Do you understand?"

"I think so" The other groups had stopped their conversations and was now all focused on Lukas and Antonio.

"Good" Lukas nodded approvingly "When the connection is made, you'll feel the energy flow back to Lovino. It's easier giving back since it wants to go back. It was Lovinos to begin with" He paused for a moment to let Antonio process his words before he continued. "It will disconnect when all the energy has been sent back, you do understand your fatigue will increase drastically, right?"

"Yes I know" He seemed focused "So the only problem is making the connection?" Lukas nodded and looked down at Berwald.

"I can show you once but I don't know how much help it'll be" Antonio nodded at him and waited patiently. "First, make the connection" Lukas pressed his lips to Berwalds hand and the blue light shone around them. The thread linked their wrists together again and after a minute of glowing, Lukas lowered Berwalds hand while the light faded.

"Lukas..?" Berwald slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Lukas "Did we win?"

"Yes" Lukas was breathing quite heavily "And Antonio is back" Berwald sat up and looked at Antonio that seemed a bit scared that he would be blamed.

"Oh, welcome back" Berwald looked around at the people staring at them, a bit uncomfortable, but he barely noticed as he laid his eyes on Emil. He quickly got up on unsteady legs and ran over as fast as he could and tackled him so they both fell over. "EMIL!"

"Berwald, calm down I-"

"I thought you were gone forever!" While the two nations reunited, Lukas turned towards Antonio again.

"Do you think you can do it?" Antonio swallowed nervously.

"I can try" He took a deep breath and looked down at Lovino. He couldn't make sense of his emotions. He was scared, relieved, happy, angry and worried at the same time. But most of all, he blamed himself for all this. Antonio took a deep breath and lifted Lovinos hand. After a moment of hesitation, he closed his eyes and pressed his lips to the palm. He didn't know what he was searching for but he tried to feel something, something to connect with. But nothing happened. After a minute had passed, he dropped the hand and looked desperately at Lukas. "What do I do wrong?"

"I don't know" Lukas didn't look up at him. He only continued to stare straight ahead. "I can't really see you" Antonio realised. With the extra energy gone, Lukas had lost his eyesight again. He felt how something twisted in his stomach as he looked at Lukas. He seemed exhausted and it was obvious that he was in pain. Antonio gritted his teeth as the same thought kept repeating over and over again in his head. My fault, my fault, my fault, my…

"It's not your fault you know" Arthur sat down in front of him and raised an eyebrow "You're too tense, you blame yourself. That's why it's not working"

"But it is my fault" He looked down at the ground "If I could've-" He was interrupted by a hard slap at the back of his head.

"Stop this, you did what you could" His eyes were a bit teary as he looked up at Francis standing behind him "No one blames you"

"But I…" Antonio looked around at them one by one. It was true, no one actually seemed mad. They seemed more worried and anxious. Then, he suddenly got another slap at the back of his head causing him to almost fall onto Lovino. "What the-"

"Pull yourself together man!" Gilbert lowered his fin again. "If you really got to blame someone, blame that crazy shadow of yours!" He pouted a bit to show his annoyance.

"Just breathe and focus. For him, okay?" Arthur nodded towards Lovino that was frowning even in his sleep.

"Yeah… Just… Breathe…" Lukas seemed to have reached his limit long ago and was having a hard time staying awake. Arthur shook his head.

"Go and rest, you'll do no good here right now"

"A bit harsh maybe?" Still, Lukas complied and crawled over to Mathias only to pass out next to him. Emil seemed a bit confused to why they were falling unconscious one by one but no one really had the time to explain. They were all too focused on Antonio.

"Okay, breathe" Antonio took a deep breath and shook his head. He tried to convince himself that the others were right, it wasn't his fault. But he couldn't. He took another breath and looked down at Lovino. Even if it was his fault, he had to forget about it for now. He could blame himself later. With a third breath he managed to push the guilt he felt back somewhere deep within him. Once again he took up Lovinos hand. This time he didn't hesitate before he closed his eyes, took it to his lips and kissed it. At first there was nothing but Antonio wouldn't give up. He couldn't. He focused harder and searched for something, anything. But there was still nothing. He opened his eyes.

Then he found it.

It was as if it had been searching for him too. Antonio felt Lovino connect to him and how the energy started flowing between them. Something red floated in the air around them and he could see that it looked like small clouds. Their wrists linked with something that looked like red silk and flowed smoothly between them. His eyes grew wide in surprise but only for a moment because he suddenly felt how he almost collapsed. The clouds disappeared and he broke away from the kiss. His whole body was hurting, it was hard to breathe and his vision was blurry. Still, he could see how Lovinos eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Lovino…" Antonio barely managed to whisper and he saw how Lovino turned his head towards him. Then he didn't see much more because Lovino punched him in the face, causing him to fall backwards. The combined fatigue from all the running, fighting and now falling that his body had been through that day made him pass out before he even hit the ground.

"Lovino, wait! It's Antonio! Antonio's back!" Feliciano waved around with his hands, relieved that Lovino was back but concerned about Antonio.

"I know that damn well!" Lovino stood up on shaky legs while seeming pretty pissed off. "I saw it before I passed out, I knew you guys would win."

"Then why did you-"

"Because" He pointed down at Antonio "It took a long fucking time!" The group fell quiet for a moment. Then the first chuckle was heard. It spread throughout the group and soon they were all, except Lovino, laughing. It was very much needed and they could feel days worth of tension drift away.

"That's why you're angry?" Gilbert wiped away a few tears. "That's very weird"

"Well, at least I don't smell of fish"

"Shut up" It took them all a few minutes to calm down after that but they managed. When the laughter died out, Elizabeta spoke up.

"Isn't it time for these guys to get treated?" She pointed at the tree unconscious nations laying on the ground.

"I guess so, there's not much we can do here though." Francis frowned a bit and looked over at Arthur "Unless you can do some kind of abracadabra thing and fix them?"

"It's not some abracadabra thing!" Arthur crossed his arms and glared at Francis "I can't do much now, used up too much energy protecting all of you."

"Oh right, how rude of me" Kiku stepped forward "Thank you very much" The other hummed in an agreeing tone.

"I-It was nothing, R-Really!" Arthur stuttered and blushed a bit "I just did what I… was supposed… to…" Then he fell over on the ground. Francis sighed deeply and looked around.

"Anyone else going to pass out?" They shook their heads but then Emil slowly raised his hand. They looked at him and noticed that he his legs were shaking and his face was completely pale.

"If you don't mind" Francis nodded and waved his hand in a "go ahead" movement. Tino caught him before he could hit the ground and laid him down next to his brother. It took them a while but soon enough they had loaded the five unconscious nations onto backs and into the shopping cart. Feliciano got the pleasure of carrying Gilbert while Berwald rode on Tinos back.

"Let's get back and sort this mess out" Tino sighed, he was tired as well.

"Sure" Berwald sighed, though he wasn't very tired. They walked along the road in a slow and quiet pace everyone lost in their own thoughts. Some thought about how lucky they were to not have been noticed by any citizens, some thought about food, one was a cat and had ran off into the forest when no one was looking and one was still a bit pissed about not being the hero. They had one thing in common though, the relief of it all being over. Now they only had one thing left to do.

Break this spell.

A/N Hey! Sorry about the lateness of this chapter and the lack of A/Ns in these past few chapters. Thank you for all the support this far, every review is highly appreciated! This story is slowly closing in to it's end but it's still a few chapters to go. I hope you'll stay with me! Thank you for reading!