AN: I've seen a couple of these already, but I wanted to write one of my own. It should be pretty obvious who this fic is about, aside from the nations anyway, but if you don't catch it don't worry. All will be revealed in time.

I don't own Hetalia.

Warnings: None for this chapter.

Matthew turned around and looked up and down the road before entering his house. This was the third time in as many days that this had happened. He'd come home to his house in the woods on the edge of town, planning to relax after work, and feel eyes. Whenever he turned around to check for any people who might be watching, there would be no one. This was a bit odd, but it wasn't particularly worrying. Nations sometimes had little bouts of slight paranoia when global tensions were high, and while he specifically wasn't involved in anything, it was coming up on election time at Alfred's place. It was just one more sign of how the two were linked. Having the longest open shared border in the world came with a price.

Speaking of his brother, there was his brother's ringtone coming from his cell phone. He really didn't want to answer it. He'd been feeling off for a week or two now and really just wanted to flop down on his bed and fall asleep. However, he knew Al wouldn't leave him alone until he answered.

"Hey, Al," he sighed.

"'Sup bro? Hey, I know this is gonna sound super weird, but has anything odd been going down in your part of the continent lately?"

"Not that I can think of, why?"

"Ah…" Alfred sounded anxious, "No reason, just wondering. You're sure there's nothing out of the ordinary?"

"No, Al, I-" Matthew cut off when he saw the daily paper, "Actually, yeah, there has been. Some creep has been going around lately mutilating animals."

"What?"

"Yeah. It's kind of freaky actually. They get found up in the woods high in trees pinned on branches apparently."

Alfred sounded even more bothered, "Up in trees you say?"

"Uh-huh, and the weirdest thing is that they're split open, but none of their organs are missing or damaged aside from being encased in these weird plastic bags. The cops haven't seen anything like it before."

There was silence for a long moment before Alfred responded, "Haha…Yeah, that is weird. Hey, are you doing something tomorrow?"

"Um, no, I have the weekend off. Why, are you planning to come over?"

"Yeah, you don't mind do you? What with the election coming up and all, I kinda need to get away from everything, ya know?"

"I understand. It's no big deal."

"Thanks. Well, I'll let you go then, but Mattie?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful, bro." America sounded strangely serious.

"I will- oh damn it."

"What?"

"My nose just started bleeding. I'll see you later, okay?"

"…Yeah. See you later."

Matthew hung up and grabbed a towel to hold up to his nose. This sucked, and he hoped it would end soon.

Alfred hung up with his brother and immediately sent out three text messages to England, Germany, and Russia.

Guys, I think I found him. Video chat ASAP. Urgent.

Within a half hour, he was already talking with the other three nations, along with Italy and Prussia, who were at Germany's and insisted on being included.

"Alfred, you said you found him. Does that mean he's back at your place?" England asked.

"No dude, I wish he was."

Germany was confused, "What do you mean?"

"He's in Canada." This was meant with blank stares from Germany and Russia.

"Gott, West. The one above America, with the Awesome pancakes?" Prussia tried to explain.

"Who?"

"I'm dating him, West!"

"Oh. Him. Well, that shouldn't be much of a problem, we'll just explain the situation to Canada and be done with it, ja?"

America looked worried, "It's not that simple. He's been targeted."

England was shocked, and Russia gave him a confused look, "But he has never targeted one of our kind before, da?"

Nobody could really remember him doing so in recent history, but the only one who was older than the creature was Prussia. Germany looked at his brother, who shook his head, "No, never. I mean, he can't kill us, so I don't think there would really be a point."

America was angry, "So why does he want my brother?"

England tried to calm him, "I don't know, but he needs to be protected. How bad is it right now Alfred?"

"Not too bad. He seemed to be feeling a little bit off, and he didn't mention any sightings. I don't even think there's been any human deaths yet, just animals. He got a nosebleed right before he hung up, but didn't say anything about any previous ones, so it was probably the first. Should I warn him that he's going to have extra company?"

"I think that'd be best. We should all be there to explain it to the lad."

"The Awesome me is coming too. No way am I going to let that freaky bastard get my birdie," Prussia declared.

"Okay, bruder. We may need you anyway since you've known him the longest."

"Ve~ I want to help." Everyone was shocked by Italy's announcement. They expected him to hide from the situation. Germany looked at him in surprise.

"You do?"

"Yes. I know I can't really fight, but I can help take care of Canada if he gets hurt. And someone has to be there to take care of the cooking and cleaning so that you can all focus on helping him, ve~."

Germany thought for a moment. "Okay, if that's what you really want."

"I do."

America beamed, "Alright! I'll let Mattie know to expect the entire kick-ass team. See you in Canada tomorrow guys." They all disconnected and started preparing for a long trip.

Canada's Journal, September 15, 20—

It's weird. I still feel like I'm being followed. I can't wait until whatever this is blows over. The cops found more animals today; the incidents are getting more frequent.

On a completely unrelated note, Alfred, Iggy, Ivan, Ludwid, Gilbert, and Feli have all invited themselves over to my house. Any other time, I'd be flattered by all the attention, but I'd rather have just had a quiet weekend with my brother. The extra company is going to be a pain when I'm already not feeling well.