The ground buckled beneath them with a terrible groan, tossing them about. The animals fled in terror as the earth and mountains shriek and screech around them. Several of the trees fall with monstrous crashes, knocking over even more. Others smash into the house, leaving gaping wounds in the exterior. The smashing and shatter of glass joins the disastrous symphony.
In a matter of heartbeats, it all ends.
China stands up shakily, looking around. "Mei! Ryou!" He runs toward the remnants of the house, only to be held back by Japan. "What are you doing?"
"You can't just rush in there, Wang. Look." He points to the other visible side of the house. The wall begins to buckle, swaying unsteadily. It finally crashes, taking the remaining walls with it.
"Mei!"
"Wang, listen to me. There is nothing that can be done right now. We need help."
"But Honda…"
"No. You have to get help. I can't approach America or any of the Allies without being interrogated. We, they, don't have time for that. I will go to Germany for his aid. Please Wang. They can't wait for long."
Wang nods, taking one last look at the devastation. "Don't take too long in getting back, nii-san." He turns on his heel, sprinting over a few fallen trees.
"We will be back Mei. I promise." Honda picks his way through the debris quickly, running for his life's worth as he gets to semi-flat ground.
Mei groans, slowly opening her eyes. She coughs and attempts to rub the dust from her face. She gingerly pushes herself up, shoving some bamboo away from her. "Ryou? Ryou!" She searches through the shadows, squinting as the dust settles. She looks up into the blank face of the wall slumped against another, sheltering her in a lean-to. She spots a black shoe and carefully crawls over. She pushes some of the debris off him, searching him over. "Ryou?"
He moans softly, waking up. "Mei… I can't feel my fingers."
Mei follows the strange angle of his arm to the culprit. A piece of wood had splintered off and pinned his arm to the floor. It had pierced his forearm, between his two bones. She frowns and pulls off her half-torn sleeve. She wraps around his arm, creating a make-shift tourniquet. She settles herself near Hong Kong's head gently stroking his matted hair. "It's gonna be okay. Wang-san and Honda-san won't leave us here."
Ryou sighs. "Mei, I'm tired."
"Don't go to sleep yet. You need to see-"
"See what?"
"… I don't know. But, you just can't go to sleep. Not yet."
"Okay."
Mei smiles slightly as she begins to chat vigorously about nothing in particular.