"I lost them!" someone panted. ChibiSweden cracked open his eyes with little energy remained and spotted Holy Roman Empire, or Kitty as Amelia had nicknamed him, sitting by the river with his back facing him.

"H-*Gurgle*oly Oman Emp*Gurgle* ire" He said weakly, not able to speak the words correctly as his head sunk in the water.

"Sweden!?" He heard someone shout, but sounded only like a whisper over the churning waters. Holy Roman Empire whisked his hat away and dived into the water. He pulled ChibiSweden's head out of the water and hauled him out of the water. HRE smacked ChibiSweden's chest and instantly water starting gushing out of his mouth like a waterfall. ChibiSweden gasped in the sweet air and continued choking up water.

"Amelia!" He gasped, pointing to the river before falling flat on his back.

Holy Roman Empire looked toward the river, noticing another floating wet bundle heading towards the water fall. ChibiAmelia, as a last resort, had folded her wings around herself, making a waterproof cocoon.

"I didn't know I could do that" Amelia said in awe, looking at both her wings and Maple's. Maple rolled her eyes and turned Amelia's head around with her long black claws.

HRE gasped and ran to ChibiAmelia along the bank.

"CANONBALL!" He shouted, jumping into the water. Its coldness chilled him through the very core of his being, indicting that he was very close to river's end. Very close to the water fall. Moreover, even closer to ChibiAmelia. HRE kicked his short legs and burst through the barrier of water and sucked in the fresh air with greed. His blue eyes scanned over the river for the purple cocoon. He spotted a long brown curl protruding from the water and he almost shouted with joy. The other day ChibiPoland and ChibiFrance had tried to chop it off, but he, ChibiRomano, ChibiItalia, and ChibiSpain had managed to stop them to only have Amelia kidnapped. He, ChibiSweden, and ChibiEngland barely succeeded in re-rescuing her. That day ChibiSweden experienced his first nosebleed. 'I wonder why he got a nosebleed...Amelia was just wearing a dress..' He thought as he struggled to reach ChibiAmelia against the tides, trying not to get too swept up in them which proved to be a difficult task. He stretched out his small arm and locked his eyes on his target that was only a fingertip away. His body protested against him as he strained his muscles. He gritted his teeth and summoned up all his energy for one final kick.

ChibiSweden slowly crawled over to bank and watched in horror as HRE and a purple cocoon became one with water fall.

"Nooo..." He moaned, stumbling over to the edge. He tripped over a root and landed face first into water. His eyes widened and frantically tried to fight against the current, but it no use. It seemed that he was meant to perish with his friends. He closed his eyes as the air rushed all around him as he fell.

"SWEDEN!" He opened his eyes and saw Maple holding HRE and him with her sharp claws. Maple grunted with the new weight and began flying over to a ledge. He breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Amelia on the ledge just a foot away from him. Maple unceremoniously dropped them on the hard stone floor and flopped down onto the ground with her tongue lolling out in exhaustion. HRE and ChibiSweden lay down on their backs, breathing heavily.

"Let's never do that again" HRE panted and ChibiSweden let out a grunt of agreement. They crawled over to cocoon and looked at it with looks of wonderment and puzzlement from HRE, while ChibiSweden's eyes sparkled in interest.

"We should get it open, ja?" He asked. ChibiSweden shook his head positively. HRE tried to pry open the wings, but they didn't budge, not even a centimeter.

"Can you help or are you going to sit and stare?" He asked impatiently.

"Waffles" He sighed and rolled his eyes when her wings flapped open.

"How did you do that?" ChibiSweden shrugged.

"She came with a manual" They were shoved aside as Maple came rushing over to Amelia. She placed her ear upon her chest. The boys watched curiously as Maple's fur and eyes turned white.

"No Breathe!" She shrieked in broken National Tongue. The language all Nations spoke so they could be understood among one another. HRE and ChibiSweden rushed over and laid their heads on her chest. They strained their ears for even the tiniest hint of a heartbeat. There was nothing.

"I think we should try…"HRE gulped nervously

"CPR!" HRE shouted with wide scared eyes. ChibiSweden gulped as HRE looked at him expectantly.

"Well hurry! She isn't going to come back no matter how hard you stare!" HRE yelled, tears flowing down his cheeks. ChibiSweden pushed back the tears and did what Germania had taught him to do in these situations. He nervously pumped down on ChibiAmelia's chest. HRE Silently watched, trying to remain calm, but failing. What happened if it didn't work? 'Sweden and the others will be so sad' He thought, looking at ChibiSweden's impassive face, but he could see the panic and worry swimming in those deep blue eyes of his.

ChibiSweden pinched her nose and covered her mouth with his and blew. He tried to stop the blush from emerging, but it was no use. He had a light blush spreading across his cheeks unwillingly. Amelia eyes and wings snapped open, Hitting HRE's shoulder

"Amelia!" They both shouted with joy. ChibiAmelia began violently coughing up water and HRE patted her back.

"Maple!" Maple shrieked, jumping in her friends lap. Amelia smiled down at her and then up at the two boys looking at her.

"My Heroes!" She shouted, giving them both a kiss on the cheek. They both blushed, but ChibiSweden was the reddest of them all.

"It was nothing really" HRE mumbled, trying to sound humble. ChibiAmelia snuggled into the two and rubbed their tummies, a loving gesture where ChibiAmelia came from.

"You guys will always be my heroes." ChibiAmelia said softly. HRE Smiled to himself.

"Oh my...Waffles.." Amelia said breathlessly, her eyes glued to the scene below. Maple smiled. She flew over to Amelia's shoulder and perched there like a parrot.

"No wonder I always get this funny feeling when I hear the word Hero"

"And when people say Kitty or Cutie" Amelia turned her attention towards the trio as they lay down on the bank opposite of her.

"HRE?"

"Ja?"

"What were you doing in the forest in the first place?" ChibiAmelia tilted her head slightly and ChibiSweden's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Uh..Well you see um I kind of ran into a umm.. little bit of trouble" He said sheepishly.

"What kind of trou-Did you hear that!?" Amelia whisper-shouted. ChibiSweden looked at her questionably, thinking his friend had finally gone around the bend.

"I didn't hear anything" He whispered, sensing the need to whisper. Then they heard it. A deep low growl coming from across the opposite of the river.

"I really hope that was your stomach asking for waffles," HRE whispered.

"Sorry, but my tummy is too scared to be asking for waffles right now" They all scooted against one another, scared Shizless. ChibiAmelia reached for ChibiSweden's hand and clutched it fearfully. They heard sniffing and giant thuds that sounded like gigantic footsteps from the bushes, but nearer. Then there was a long sniff and a loud terrifying bark. The children covered their ears and winced in pain.

"Is this the trouble you were talking about?" ChibiAmelia whispered.

"Yes" Just then two giant dogs, each the size of an grown elephant, jumped out of the bushes and snapped their jaws in their direction. One was bigger and bulkier than the other with a sort of black mane running from its mid back to the forehead. The rest of its pelt was a pure snowy white with a big black spot over its right eye and a pink sniffing nose. It's snout was pulled back into a snarl and it's large green eyes glared at them. The other dog was slimmer and had orange-red type of mane. Its pelt was a light brown mixed with red-orange with a white underbelly and tail. Its bright blue tongue hung out of its mouth and its big blue eyes were more focused on Maple and Amelia's wings.

"OH MY WAFFLES! YOU CALL THIS A LITTLE BIT OF TROUBLE!?" ChibiAmelia shouted, as the two dogs circled them.

"I didn't want to worry you guys!" He said defensively. Maple jumped out from ChibiAmelia's arms and let out a high-pitched roar that shook the trees and sent the dogs flying into a tree. The bark took up the last of Maple's energy and she passed out right on the floor.

"Run" ChibiSweden said. ChibiAmelia picked up Maple and ran as fast her legs could go.