"Wait up you stupid git!" England called out as he caught up to America.
America stopped to wait for England to catch his breath. Canada soon also caught up to the two of them, but he wasn't as out of breath as England.
"Ha, England, you're like an old man," America laughed.
"Why did you run off like that, America?" England asked, glaring at America. "And don't call me old."
"If I'm gonna be the hero, I need to find the exit first," America said enthusiastically. "And this way we got first choice of which path we'd take."
England let out a sigh. He couldn't believe America would run off for such a stupid reason, although he could understand why America would have wanted to take the brightest path.
"Just don't run off again, we don't know what could be ahead, so let's just stick together from now on," England said, unimpressed with America's current behaviour.
"Okay, I won't leave you behind again, but don't slow me- AAAHHHHHHHH!" America screamed before he finished what he was saying. "GHOSTS!"
"You're not making fun of Canada again, are you?" England frowned.
"I'm not!" America trembled in fear. "There are actual ghosts! Look!"
America pointed, with his shaking hand, towards the shaded areas behind England. England turned around and saw what America was pointing at. In the shade were what appeared to be black shadowy figures that somewhat resembled people due to their human-like shape.
"I bet you're glad you didn't go too far on your own now," England said in an 'I told you so' manner.
"Just make them go away!" America shouted as he hid behind England, clinging to his shirt. "It's like I've been pulled into a horror movie."
"Hiding behind England won't help, America," Canada said in his quiet voice. "There are some the other side of us too."
Canada looked around at all the ghostly figures in the darkness while clutching tightly to Kumajirou. America had heard Canada and also began looking around, hoping to find somewhere that didn't have ghosts.
"We're doomed!" America cried. "There's no escape."
"Calm down, America!" England spoke loudly. "And let go of me! They're not going to hurt you."
"How can you be sure?" America asked as he loosened his grip on England's clothes.
"Don't you think they would have done something by now?" England asked rhetorically. "They don't seem to be leaving the dark, shaded areas, so even if they are dangerous, you should be fine as long as you stay where it's better lit."
"Okay," America didn't sound like he could confidently trust what England had just told him, but completely let go of England nonetheless.
The trio continued to walk, keeping in the dim light as much as possible. As they progressed, it appeared to be getting darker. America nervously glanced around, worried that the ghosts would come closer to them. He began to walk closer to England so that he would feel safer. Canada was just quietly following them and was no longer tightly hugging his bear.
"Are you sure we're safe?" America asked England, hoping for more reassurance that they would be okay.
"No," England simply replied.
"WHAT!? How can you say that after saying they won't attack us?" America began wishing he had never asked and began to panic.
"I can't be sure we're safe because I have no idea what else might be lurking in this place or what dangers may await us," England replied, becoming annoyed with America's constant panicking. "Your guess is as good as mine, so stop expecting me to know everything and think for yourself."
After hearing England's reasonable answer, America felt even less confident about their situation.
"You know a lot about supernatural things, so it's only normal for me to expect you to know about these things," America said. "Why are there ghosts here anyway?"
"You really can't think for yourself, can you?" England sighed. "If I were to take a guess, I'd say they are the trapped spirits of others who were pulled into this realm that weren't lucky enough to escape."
"If I knew you were going to give a creepy answer like that, then I wouldn't have asked," America complained.
"Just stop asking questions altogether then," England said, walking faster in the hope that if they hurried up they would be able to get out faster, meaning he wouldn't have to listen to America's constant complaining as long.
America and Canada also walked faster so they would not become too distant from England. Just as England has suggested, America stopped asking questions. Not because England had told him to, but because he was afraid of what reply he may receive.
Soon, the three of them realised the ghosts were leaving, going back into the darkness in the distance. However, this occurrence was not a fortunate one as it only signalled that something much more disastrous was coming.
Once the shadowy ghosts had fled, a faint clanking noise could be heard. The noise became louder and louder with each step they took. The trio stood still, trying to figure out what it could be. The sound was still getting closer. America was beginning to panic again and Canada tightly grasped his hockey stick for safety.
Out of the darkness, five mechanical creatures appeared. They had bodies that resembled a pin drum, which, to no surprise, was something that would be found inside a music box. The pins on the drum looked to be particularly sharp. It was these that were creating the strange clanking sound, and they were headed straight for England, America, and Canada.
America pulled out his revolver and began shooting at the cylinder shaped creatures. The bullets weren't even leaving a dent in their metal bodies. The three of them knew they had to do something before the creatures got too close.
"England, bullets don't work," America said in a panicked tone. "You have to fight too, so use your magic or something or they're gonna slice us to pieces."
"Calm down, we can get through this," England said, as he pulled out his spell book and started flipping through the pages. "One of these has to work."
England stopped at a page and spoke out a chant. Neither America nor Canada could understand what he was saying, but suddenly fire flashed before them. The fire burnt at a temperature so fiercely hot that it melted the three metal creatures it had hit.
"You might not want to get in the way of my magic," England said as a warning to America and Canada, but also as a threat to the two remaining mechanical creatures.
Before England had the time to cast the same spell, the creatures sped up, rolling straight towards America and Canada. England couldn't possibly attack the enemy with fire at such a close range without risking Canada and America also taking a lot of damage. He flicked through his book once more to find a more suitable spell.
As England began chanting, one of the creatures had reached Canada. He blocked the hit with his hockey stick, but the creature was still too close for comfort. The spikes were so close to Canada that if they were any closer they'd cut right through him. Kumajirou was also feeling uncomfortably close to the creature.
After Canada hit it away with his hockey stick, England had completed the spell. Ice appeared from out of nowhere and froze both the creatures, rendering them unable to move at all. America felt lucky that the one that was after him hadn't got close to him after seeing what a difficult time Canada was having.
"Are you two both alright?" England asked, concerned that he may have hit either of them with his magic.
"I'm fine, this is nothing a hero like myself can't handle," America boasted.
"You didn't even do anything, it was my magic that saved us," England complained. "I feel so drained now; I need to take a break after all that excitement."
"No way, we have to keep moving before more show up!" America insisted. "I don't feel safe here."
"I don't think we're safe anywhere, but if I have my energy back then at least we'll have a better chance of fighting them off again if more do show up," England argued, crossing his arms and refusing to move.
"Can't we just walk slowly?" America asked. "Moving at any pace would be better than sitting around doing nothing!"
"Fine, but-," England didn't finish his sentence before being picked up by America. "What are you doing?!"
America had picked England up and started carrying him over his shoulder.
"New plan," America said as he began to walk. "I'll just carry you until you feel better so we don't have to waste time; I'm the strong hero after all."
"Put me down this instant!" England ordered.
"No! You'll just slow me down if I let you walk," America said as he picked up the pace.
England didn't bother fighting back because although he didn't feel comfortable, he was kind of glad he didn't have to bother walking. It had felt like they had been walking for ages and the path didn't seem to change much. It was almost as if they were walking in circles.
"You need a better weapon," England said to America.
"Where am I supposed to find a better weapon in a place like this?" America asked.
"There has to be something somewhere," England said, despite not actually having any idea what could be used as weapon. "Anything would be better than that ineffective gun you carry."
"Fine, I'll keep my eyes out for something I could use," America said, not expecting to find anything useful. "The hero has to have the best weapon after all."
After walking for a little longer, more of the mechanical creatures appeared. They could recognise the clanking sound coming from the distance, so this time they were better prepared for fighting.
"America, if you're not going to help this time, then stay out of the way," England said as America placed him back on the ground.
"But I'm the hero! You can't expect me to do nothing!" America pouted.
"There are more of them this time," England said as the metal, spiky cylinders came into sight. "Hopefully I can take them all out in one hit."
England began to chant the same fire spell he had used before to melt the creatures. Before he could finish the chant, America picked up a nearby piece of metal and ran towards the creatures, ready to fight. It was a flat rectangular shape and had a jagged edge.
England noticed America's stupid act, and quickly finished his spell. He aimed the attack as far away from America as he could while still hitting half of the creatures.
"Get back you idiot!" England yelled. "I can handle this on my own!"
"A hero has to fight too!" America shouted at he went head to head with one of the creatures. The sharp metal he had acquired managed to leave a dent in the creature, but was not very effective. The sharp pins on the creature were close to slicing at America's arms and legs, but he wasn't going to let them touch him.
"Take this," America screamed as he slammed his sword-like metal down onto the creature, slicing it in half.
He may have dealt with one of the creatures, but four more were still attacking. England sent another flash of fire to melt the two that were still quite far away, but he couldn't destroy the last two that were attacking Canada. America ran over to help Canada who was defending himself and his bear from them with his hockey stick as best as he could. America slashed down on to the top of the creatures, one at a time, destroying them both.
"We did it!" America cheered.
"What are you so happy about?" England didn't sound pleased at all. "We could have been killed by your stupidity!"
"What are you talking about, England?" America couldn't understand what he did wrong. "I found a better weapon like you said I should."
"That doesn't mean you can charge straight for the enemy!" England scolded him. "I would have had everything under control if you just let me use my magic, but then you got in the way."
"Well no one got hurt, so what's the problem?" America asked, not noticing that Canada's leg was slightly bleeding.
"I'm sick of talking to you," England said, also not taking any notice of Canada. "Let's just go and find a way out of here."
Suddenly the extremely loud sound of the music box playing echoed throughout the realm. Everyone covered their ears just as they did the first time the sound played and waited for the sound to stop.
"That sounded like what we heard when we first got here," America commented as he removed his hands from his ears. "Does that mean someone else just got here too?"
England didn't bother replying; he just continued to follow the path.