Shinigami-cat: Almost done now… I OWN NOTHING!

Welcome to the bushfire

Their plan was simple; go into the Quinkan lair, spread petrol everywhere and set the place on fire. Then they would run for their lives. Well… Arthur would run for his life anyway. He wasn't so sure about Matthew.

They ended up with a tank of petrol, a lighter and a bag of eucalyptus leaves. Arthur wasn't sure about them but Matthew had said the eucalyptus oil was highly flammable and would be really good for making sure that there was lots of smoke in the air.

Once they had all their supplies they were back at the secret tunnel that led to the mausoleums. Matthew had given Arthur the torch. "If you have to, shine the light in your face." He said. "They won't be able to get you."

Arthur nodded. "But what's stopping them from taking you?"

"Nothing." Said Matthew half-heartedly. He turned to the cave and started to walk inside. "Just a warning, there are some Quinkan that will probably be up and about by now. They will appear as the missing children. Don't be afraid. They won't hurt you unless you attack them first."

"Good to know." Muttered Arthur as he followed Matthew. They walked into Kiku's mausoleum and Arthur froze. Sitting on one of the graves was Kiku… just like the day he died; naked and with no internal organs. He looked over at Matthew and Arthur. He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.

Matthew tugged on Arthur's shirt. "It's not really Kiku. It just looks like him."

Arthur nodded. "I know… but still…"

Matthew shrugged. "I know it's hard but come on." He led Arthur to the Vargas mausoleum. A gruesome sight awaited them; Feliciano and Lovino were both sitting with their backs facing them, the back of Feliciano's head was missing showing off the red and pink sponge of his brain and the right side of Lovino's head was gone, chunks of pink and red slid out of the wound.

The sight made Arthur sick. Matthew just shrugged it off and walked down the steps to the bone room. Along the way they happened to see Antonio lying down on the steps; one of his legs twisted out at an odd angle and he had a festering green and purple bite mark on his cheek. His eyes followed them as they walked.

There were more of them in the bone room. Francis was standing next to a little girl with long black pigtails. He was soaking wet. Gilbert wasn't too far away either. He was just leaning against a wall, with his head casually resting on his shoulder exposing his spine and letting all the blood run down his body. Matthew averted his eyes. Arthur couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It must have been painful for him to see the person he loved like that.

As they walked further into the bone room Arthur saw the last two people on his list of people he knew list. Ludwig was idly looking around the room without a hint of interest. The dark purple bruise around his neck stood out against his pail skin. Then Alfred… he was sitting right next to the small cut out hallway. Blood was pumping out of his neck and it was all over his hands and shirt.

Arthur cringed and followed Matthew down the hall. After about three meters they came to a large room with a lake. Matthew grinned and started to spread the leaves around like confetti. "We need to hurry." He said. "More of her children were out than I thought. Spread the petrol."

"Right." Arthur quickly unscrewed the lid and spread the petrol around the floor and walls. He even put a little on the water for good measure. When he was done he looked over at Matthew. He had just finished emptying the leaves. "So where's the lighter?"

Matthew's eyes went wide. "I thought you had it."

Arthur shook his head. "No you have it."

"No I don't!" Cried Matthew. "I'm a ghost! I don't have pockets! It just falls to the ground!" Suddenly the sound of children laughing filled the air. Matthew's eyes went wide. "They're coming."

"Shit." Hissed Arthur. He quickly dug his hands into his pockets and tried to see if he had the lighter. Thankfully he did. "Got it!"

Suddenly an invisible force knocked him back against the wall knocking the lighter out of his hand. He groaned and opened his eyes. M.S and her children were standing all around, some of her children didn't even look like the kids he knew. He looked over at Matthew and gulped. He was trembling in fear as some of her children surrounded him. M.S looked over at Matthew and laughed. "Funny boy, you really are too much! You told him too much!"

"Please…" Whimpered Matthew. "Don't hurt me…"

M.S and all her children laughed. "Don't hurt you? You were trying to kill us?" M.S quickly glided over to Matthew and put one hand on his shoulder. "Funny boy… You don't entertain us anymore." Before Matthew could say anything M.S shoved her arm through Matthew's chest.

Matthew's eyes went wide and he let out a strangled cry; his eyes became dull, the flesh around his stomach started to dissolve until there was nothing left but his spinal cord, leaving him almost severed in half. Matthew looked just how he did when he died. M.S pulled her arm out of Matthew's chest and let him fall to the floor. Matthew stayed there lifeless for a few seconds before he slowly stood up. He had been changed into a Quinkan.

M.S turned back to Arthur and smirked. "So this is Arthur. What a nice British boy you are… My son was a good British boy too… What did he do to deserve death?"

Arthur looked up at the Quinkan and growled. "How should I bloody know? Shouldn't you know this stuff? You're the one who is dead not me."

M.S giggled and crouched down next to Arthur. "Such a strongly out spoken boy… Just like my son… You can become my next child… My new son…"

Arthur glared at the Quinkan. "I'm not your son and I sure as hell never will be your son."

M.S laughed and waved her fingers in front of his face. "One touch." She hissed. "One touch and your soul is mine."

Arthur gulped and clutched the torch in his hand. Just over the other side of the room was a glint of something metallic. The lighter. If he could just grab it, he could end this. Arthur looked at M.S and growled. "Bugger off bitch." He shone the torch into her eyes. M.S screeched and jumped back, clutching her face in agony. Her children shrieked and ruched to her aid.

Arthur quickly seized his opportunity and ran over to the lighter. He grabbed it and quickly turned it over in his hands. It had a picture of the union jack on the side. He smirked and looked over at M.S. She was pushing her children away. "I'm fine! Bugger off!"

Arthur lit the lighter and laughed. "Hey M.S… You shouldn't have messed with Arthur Kirkland." He dropped the lighter. Everything seemed to move in slow motion; M.S screamed as the lighter fell, her children screamed with her, the lighter hit the floor flames and smoke quickly consumed the room engulfing the Quinkan's.

They burned in the fire and Arthur watched. The screamed and crumbled and out of the fire fell Matthew. He coughed and gasped. He looked at Arthur with wide eyes. "You did it."

Arthur nodded and coughed as the thick smoke began to fill his lungs. "We have to go."

Matthew nodded. "Yeah, let's go." Arthur moved as quickly as possible through the smoke filled room but it was difficult to see. Difficult to breath. He could feel the fire hot on his heals but he couldn't move any faster. With one last cough he fell to his knees. His vision blurred and he closed his eyes. He was tired.

XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX

Arthur coughed and spluttered as he opened his eyes. They still stung a little from the smoke but at least he was okay. He slowly sat up and looked at his surroundings; he was on a grassy hill that over looked the town, the whole place was on fire. Sitting next to him was Matthew. He had a huge smile on his face. He looked up at Arthur and smiled. "Thank you Arthur. You saved us. You saved us all."

Arthur shrugged. "Yeah well… thanks for pulling me out of the fire."

Matthew tilted his head. "Fire? Oh yeah… No problem."

"Thank you Arthur kun." Said Kiku. Arthur jumped and turned around. Kiku, Antonio, Lovino, Feliciano, Ludwig, Gilbert, Alfred, Francis and Monica were all standing behind him. They looked like they had never died.

Gilbert nodded. "Yeah we owe you our lives. Awesome job." He looked over at Matthew and smiled. "Hey Birdie… We all know about what M.S. made you do… We forgive you."

Matthew looked at Gilbert with wide eyes. "You do?" Everyone nodded. Matthew smiled and ran to Gilbert who caught him in his arms. A huge weight had been lifted from Matthew's shoulders. He was now at peace.

Monica, who was being carried by Francis, beamed. "Thank you Arthur. I'm so happy you saved us. Thank you so much."

"It was nothing." Said Arthur.

Suddenly Feliciano burst into tears. "I'm so sorry for everything I did!" He cried. "I did such horrible things! I made everyone think it was Lovino but it was me! I killed Grandpa! I killed Lovino! I raped him too! I'm a horrible person! I don't deserve to be free!"

"Shut up idiot." Snapped Lovino. "You were possessed by that monster. You didn't know what you were doing… And as much as I'd hate to say it… I forgive you."

Feliciano's eyes lit up. "Ve? You forgive me? Thank you fratello!" Feliciano launched himself at Lovino and hugged him tightly. Lovino sighed and half-heatedly returned the hug.

Antonio smiled. "Aw they are so cute!"

Ludwig nodded. "Yeah… Antonio I'm sorry that I um… killed you…"

"Don't worry about it." Said Antonio. "It's no big deal."

Alfred walked over to Gilbert and Matthew. He looked very ashamed. "Um guys… about everything that happened… I just wanted to say that I'm sor-"

"It's cool." Said Gilbert.

Arthur smiled. He was glad that everyone could see their sins and forgive each other for them. It gave them all some closure really. But eventually talks grew stale and Monica yawned. Francis sighed and patted her back. "Perhaps it's time for us to go?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. They had stayed long enough. Kiku extended his hand to Arthur. "It's time for us to go now Arthur kun." He said. "We don't belong here anymore. We deserve to rest."

Arthur looked at Kiku with a confused expression and then to the others. They were all waiting for him to say something, do something. Arthur's face softened. He sighed in defeat as he took Kiku's hand. "Yeah, let's get going. Don't want to stand around here all day then?"

Alfred laughed. "Dude its night."

"You know what I mean you git." Snapped Arthur. Arthur, together with the rest of the children walked off into the haze of grey smoke. Their time on this world was over. It was now time to move onto the next.

TBC

Shinigami-cat: ONE MORE CHAPTER AFTER THIS!