Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 12

Yao grabbed onto the doorknob, turning it once, twice, then harshly for a few more times as only the clinking sound of the locked door could be heard. He turned to face the others as Alfred stood up, a look of worry and question on his face.

"I am sure the door wasn't locked when we came in. But now it's not even budging aru." Yao muttered as he took a step back thinking.

"Should we call for help?" Antonio asked as Alfred strode over, cracking his fingers. "Let's just break it down. We can explain ourselves later."

Alfred took a breath as he raised his leg and kicked the door, only to fall back hopping clenching his feet. "What's with the door?! It's rock hard and my whole feet feels numb with static!"

Yao stretched his hand out towards the wooden door, placing his palm on the polished wooden frame and immediately recoiled as electricity cracked at the spot where his hand was just seconds ago. "Magic? Don't tell me—"

"Hey guys sorry to interrupt but I feel kind of faint." Antonio groaned as he staggered towards them, his hand on his head. "My head's killing me."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't been feeling that good for a while as well. The air feels really stuffy in here."

"The air… don't breathe! We have to get out of here fast!" Yao shouted as he covered his mouth and nose with his arm.

"I'll try to break it down." Antonio swung his partisan towards the door, electricity crackling at the tip of the spearhead as it connected with the wood, only to rebound as Antonio himself fell onto the ground on his butt. "Ow ow ow. Great. Now my head hurts even more."

"Leave it to me!" Alfred swiped a card out and threw it towards the door as the runes on it grew red and the card exploded. "No way…" Alfred's eyes widened as the smoke cleared to reveal not even a single spot of soot on the door while the area around it was burnt totally black from the explosion.

Alfred threw another card, then another, but even with the combined attack from all three the wooden door remained the same, merely crackling as electricity sparked across the surface for a moment.

Alfred fell to the ground swaying, his hand on his knee panting. "Damn it what's wrong with the door why can't we break it down?! I'm starting to feel faint." Alfred gritted his teeth as he clenched his left arm tight. "Hurts like hell as well."

"Didn't I tell you to cover your mouth?" Yao hissed, smacking a handkerchief he took out from his pocket onto Alfred's face hard. "Why is Emperor Roma doing this? What exactly is he thinking!" Yao gave the door another kick, before staggering back beside Antonio who was trying to prop himself up. "Tsk Ivan that idiot! Disappearing when he's needed."

Alfred could feel his strength failing as his senses grew dimmer and dimmer. He watched as Yao and Antonio fell down onto the ground, breath getting slower and slower. He could feel his eyelids fluttering close as Antonio reached out towards him, giving Alfred a small weak punch on the shoulder, forcing a small grin on his face. "Don't. Fall asleep now. It… would be a pain. To wake you…"

"I'm not." Alfred huffed as Yao tried to force himself up again. He watched as the door started rippling like water. "Just something in my eye. Sight's messing up, door turning into jelly. Heh how unsightly for a hero."

"No. Something is happening to the door." Yao's eyes widened as the rippling increased.

He turned just in time, falling back onto the ground as the door exploded to show a panting Arthur standing at the doorway amidst the smoke, with his hands raised.

"Come on! Hurry!" Arthur said in between his breaths.

"W-what happened how did you manage to break the door down?" Alfred coughed, as the representatives from Oblitus dragged them up.

"Magic. It's a good thing I managed to break the barrier when I did. If I had been a little later I doubt any of you would still be conscious." Arthur replied.

"Please, we can talk later, we have to leave now!" Ludwig fired a few warning shots as soldiers spilled out onto the hallway.

Kiku took the lead, helping Yao along as Arthur grabbed Alfred, while Feli fussed over Antonio as Ludwig took the rear. They slowly edged along the hallway as soldiers crowded around them, charging forth.

"What's wrong with the soldiers? They're firing with no regards at all! Are they that determined to kill us?" Alfred shouted as a soldier in front of him fell down dead from a stray arrow fired from his fellow soldier far behind.

"At least it's effective." Antonio winched as an arrow flew pass grazing his shoulder.

Alfred could feel his senses coming back along with a pounding headache, and the chaos around didn't help. Blood and screams laid the path as they tried to find their way out inch by inch. He gritted his teeth as he threw a card towards a soldier at the front who was aiming his crossbow at Yao. Alfred squeezed his eyes as the soldier screamed in pain and fell onto the ground dead. He watched in fury as the other soldiers stepped on and over the body, with not even a single glance, weapons raised, all eyes on them.

"Bloody hell, where is the main gate?! Are we even going the right way?" Exasperated, Arthur blasted two soldiers away with a single fireball.

"Eh? But isn't that the gate?" Feli pointed to the other side of the level below them as he rerouted an arrow with a wave of his flag. None of them even noticed that they had reached the castle square.

"Good job Feli!" Ludwig praised as Feli smiled back in reply.

"It's closed aru." Yao frowned, kicking a soldier clean on the throat in the process. "There has to be a switch to open it."

"There." Kiku motioned. "That room jutting out on the opposite side seems the most likely to be the control room."

They went as fast as they could towards the room without getting separated, edging off in a wall like formation as more and more soldiers rushed out, trying to stop them. Yao kicked the door open as Antonio rushed in towards the control panel overlooking the iron gates before the soldiers inside could react.

"Damn it needs a card key!" Antonio yelled, searching the length of the control panel.

"That guy over there!"

Alfred watched as an officer grabbed the handle of a door on the other side of the room, the important card key dangling out from his belt. Everyone else was either too far or busy protecting the rest to do anything.

"Tsk I don't have a choice." Alfred swiped a card out but immediately buckled as he felt his legs give way due to what had happened in the room and exhaustion. He growled, forcing himself to take a step forward, raising his card as the officer turned the handle opening the door, and threw.

The whole room went silent. As if time had stopped, Alfred stared stupefied as his card, their lifeline to getting out, flew towards the grinning face of the officer and impaled onto the door, right in front of the officer's face. The officer stood for a moment, grinning even wider before pulling the door open wide and laughing victoriously, only to run head first onto a long unbuttoned light tan coat.

"Oh! There you guys are!" Ivan exclaimed.

"Grab him!" Yao shouted as the officer recovering from his second shock tried to dash away, not before Ivan grabbed him by the collar, smacking him onto the ground with a spine breaking crack.

"The card key! Hurry!"

"I was looking for you guys for so long! Some soldiers appeared and insisted on escorting me while I was walking around, then they attacked me when I refused, and I got lost when more came out. I'm so glad to finally find you guys!" Ivan smiled cheerily, passing Antonio the card key stained with the officer's blood.

"A-anyhow the gate is open, now we have to get down pronto!" Antonio stuttered as he pulled the leaver opening the heavy iron gates.

"A way down? I came from downstairs. Just out the door, turn left to a stairway down and out to the gates."

There was a new sense of relieve and hope as they bolted the door were they came from shut, and ran down, only to see the square filled with soldiers all armed and ready to kill. Alfred swiped out another card, feeling his legs buckle again as Arthur raised his cutlass, breathing heavily. The two princes glanced at each other, giving a slight nod before charging head first into the squadron of soldiers.

The battle was a frantic mess as the two groups fought with an unravelled ferocity towards the gates. Both knowing that if they stopped even for a second there would be no second chance. The gate had started to close. But the precious few minutes the bolted door gave them was more than enough for everyone to get out if nothing went wrong. Arthur watched as the gate grew closer and closer. He grinned, feeling a sense of victory as Feli ran out from under the gate.

He took a step forward towards the closing gates which everyone had passed, letting the smile on his face grow, and felt a hand grab his leg. Arthur looked down in horror as a soldier stabbed in the stomach gripped his leg tightly, a determined look on his face. Arthur muttered a quick sorry as he kicked the soldier, pulling his leg away. But it was already too late. Another soldier grabbed hold onto him, pinning him down, as he watched the gate that was just a few step away slowly close.

"Get away from him!"

Ludwig grabbed onto the soldier, putting his pistol to the soldier's head, squeezing the trigger as he wrenched him off Arthur. He clicked his tongue as he turned to look at the gate, before pulling Arthur up, and shoving him. Arthur fell onto the floor, trying to comprehend what was before him as he looked the iron gate before him, now shut with Ludwig still inside.

"Ludwig! No!"

Arthur turned his head, eyes watching as Feli rushed towards the gate. "Ludwig, I'll lift the gate and get you out, hold on!" Feli cried as he gripped the gate so tight that his knuckles turned white, trying to lift it.

"L-Ludwig, why?" Arthur croaked as he stumbled to his feet as everyone crowded around, having recovered their Faris from the makeshift stable.

"It's my duty to make sure you're safe Your Highness. I'm glad I was able to make it in time." Ludwig replied with a smile turning to face them as the soldiers surrounding him crept closer wearily. "Now please run. I'll find a way out on my own."

Feli's eyes widened as tears flowed out. "No! I'm not leaving you! I won't!"

"Feli please, you have a duty to look after the Prince. I'll be fine, I still have a promise I need to fulfil with you don't I? I'll see you soon. Kiku please look after him for me."

Kiku hesitated for a moment, before giving a slight nod as he approached Feli and hit him on the back of his neck, knocking him out.

"Thank you." Ludwig said with his back facing them as Kiku gently mounted the unconscious Feli onto the Faris.

Alfred took a step forward, when Yao placed his hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. "We can't do anything, let's go."

"Ludwig, I promise I'll come back for you." Arthur cried, unable to control the tears flowing down from his face as he got up on his Faris.

The soft smile on Ludwig morphed into a hard determined look on his face as he heard the galloping growing further. "Come on then, we haven't got all day." He said as he raised his pistol.

The soldiers rushed at him as fired his pistol at any that came too close, dodging blades and spears for what felt like hours. He clenched his teeth together as one by one they managed to injure him more and more. There were too many and he was exhausted and losing blood. He could barely stand straight for much longer. "Die!" Ludwig spun around surprised, raising his arm against the blade of the soldier.

"I'm sorry Feli." Ludwig whispered, bracing himself for the impact.

'CLANG' Ludwig watched as the sword flew, stabbing onto the ground a few feet away from him. The soldier, with a look of horror and shock slowly fell to the ground, dead. Ludwig stood still, trying to comprehend what had happened when a warm back hit his, jolting him back to reality.

"Who?"

"Heh so you're the guy Feli has been jabbering about." The man behind him scoffed as a little yellow bird chirped and landed on his head.

Me: Hibari-san! you're in the wrong place! (Hit, fly