The Gate Beyond

Author's Note: (Originally for sapphire7777 on fanfiction.net) Wow... I have absolutely no idea where I came up with this story. XD I was just writing some ideas down, because I was taking a break from writing my HetaPotter fanfiction...and it sort of happened. XD I swear, every time I wrote 'the Kingdom of Hearts', I thought of the game Kingdom Hearts. XD I almost wrote Sora instead of Matthew a couple time too! XD WHO DOES THAT, OTHER THAN THE CRAZY WRITER KNOWN AS SAPPHIRE?! XD I REALLY liked how it turned out, though! THERE ARE SO MANY IDEAS ARE RUNNING THROUGH MY BRAIN! But, I wanna know what YOU think, so feel free to drop a review! If I missed a spelling/grammar mistake, please let me know so I can quickly correct it! Thanks so much for reading the story! Really, you have no idea how much that means to me! SAPPHIRE OUT!

Warning: Mild language, OCs, or possible genderbends will be used! Don't like, please move along and don't read~

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia! If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing this. xD

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Chapter One: Prince of the Heart Kingdom

He was running. For how long, it was anybody's guess. Maybe it was hours upon hours, or a few simple minutes stretched out to an impossible length due to fear. His lungs screamed and burned for oxygen, his gasps eventually becoming like fear's deadly metronome. Hot, sticky blood dripped down from a large gash on his forehead, a recent wound compared to the others across his chest that threatened to reopen.

He could still hear that creature behind him! God, he could still hear it! How could it still be in arms' distance when he had been running at top speed for so, so long? Its impossibly large feet thumped against the wooden floor, its monstrous breath still steady and intimidating.

He tried running down the stairs, praying to whatever god was out there that he wouldn't trip and fall. He made quick turns and twists every time he spotted a hallway, but everything he did proved to be a waste of time. The creature still kept him in sight at every turn, even getting closer. He bit his lip. He knew he wouldn't last much longer, and the creature knew it too.

His eyes widened in sudden realization when he found he had made a wrong turn into a room, trapping himself. He barely had the time to turn around before the monster brought its clawed hand down. At first, the tick of a still running, nearby clock seemed to slow. He felt no pain at all. To be more precise, he felt nothing at all. He simply stared down dumbly at the arm stuck inside his chest; the purple arm bulging with unnatural muscle. Then, it hit him. The white hot, searing pain. He screamed in agony and crumbled to the floor when the arm was removed. The creature's breath got softer and softer as it walked away, feeling as if its job had been done.

His breath came in short, ragged gasps. He could feel the blood pouring into a crimson pool around him. He almost let out a chuckle at how pitiful he must've looked. He was going to die alone in his own pool of blood. How cliché was that?

At death's door, he found tears smearing the blood stains on his cheeks. He was going to die without anyone ever remembering him. He was going to die without telling Alfred that he wasn't that bad of a brother. He was going to die without truly loving someone, and having them love him back.

Heh, what a pathetic waste of oxygen he was.

Then, a face hovered over his. The man's blue eyes were wide and tear-filled, his usual energetic expression wiped away. He stared at the new man, obviously shocked to see him, "A-Al? H-How...? I th-thought-"

"I didn't want to leave my younger brother. I thought that I would be able to save you if I came in time. Pl-Please, Mattie... D-Don't die..." Alfred explained, tears dripping from his cheeks onto his brother.