Author's Note: My very first story on fanfiction! Just got hit by a spur of the moment thing, but decided to go ahead and write it anyway. I hope you all enjoy!

The main prompt comes from an older computer game Rome: Total War. The introduction to the Greek faction was one of my favorites, and I thought to myself, what would it be like if it were America's thoughts instead?

So, with that said, on with the show!

Every day it was a struggle for Alfred.

Not a single World Meeting went by that his former self did not pester him. Through great effort and years of experience, he'd succeeded in resisting the cries for return, but there were times when his defenses would slip, and bits of his old nature began to resurface.

His former self, whose existence came into being back in 1846, had colored his personality throughout the next century and a half. His wars with Mexico, and later on Spain, had transformed the freedom loving nation into something he despised. His very existence was predicated on the fact that he had broken away from an empire. Alfred couldn't, in good conscience, allow himself to become the very thing he had wanted to get away from.

So, he gave up his imperial tendencies. For a time, the voice of his former self was quieted, muffled by the deep-rooted feelings of liberty coursing through his veins. His isolationist policies, something he'd tried unsuccessfully to maintain during the First World War, were a testament to this.

Then came the Second World War. Drawn once against into a conflict he'd neither started nor wanted, America was forced to fight to defend his freedoms, as well as those of the nations conquered by the Axis. His other self was silent for most of the fighting. Japan's imperialism had shocked and appalled Alfred to such an extent, he dared not even think of forging an empire, lest he end up like the Japanese.

The truly difficult challenge came when the war was finally over. America had listened in to the radio broadcast from the USS Missouri. Japan, the last surviving member of the Axis, had finally agreed to an unconditional surrender. A feeling of relief and joy had descended upon his people. Ticker tape celebrations occurred in all his major cities, as well as around the world.

Alfred himself was overjoyed at the news. His only regret was that President Roosevelt, who'd given so much of himself for the country, couldn't have been there to witness the moment. Truman, great man though he was, hadn't been there in those crucial early moments of the war when Alfred cringed with each downed plane and every destroyed ship. FDR would've loved to have seen this victory; he had wished for it for years.

Nevertheless, there was little time to grieve a dead leader. Alfred had to press on with Truman, to help give the world a sense of normalcy in the aftermath of its deadliest struggle. His boss had gone ahead of him several weeks prior to Potsdam, linking up with Atlee and Stalin to discuss the fate of the post-war world. To conclude the conference, each nation's representative was expected to be in attendance. Britain and Russia were already there, but, as Truman had said, the meeting couldn't start without Alfred's presence.

He knew why, of course. Ever since Hiroshima, the nations of the world started looking at him in a different light. He was no longer the young, inexperienced nation who came up with ridiculous ideas, he was one of….no, he was the leading power in the world. The other nations now looked upon him with deep respect, and even, to his dismay, slight fear. Alfred possessed the atom bomb; he could turn them all into dust if he so wished with this newfound power.

The responsibility that came with this power weighed heavily on America, as did his former self's calls. Not a day went by from that point on when he did not feel the call to return to his imperialist ways. The Soviet Union had been doing so for much of the 20th century, so why not him?

Even now, with the Cold War twenty years behind him, Alfred could still feel his former self seeking to be unleashed upon the world. The nations of the world think that they can hold off, or even defeat him, but they had never tasted his true wrath. He could crush many of them if he so desired. Why then, didn't he?

"America could rule the world…," he would whisper on occasions, jolting Alfred with how real and alive he still managed to sound. "FDR thought so."

America tried his best to repress his memories of Polk and their war against Mexico. What began as a defensive action, ended with him annexing nearly half of Mexico's own territory. And yet…..he could never truly forget the pride he felt in both his president, and in himself, when he heard the results of the war.

"He took American armies through Europe and Asia. There was nothing left to conquer! The world was his!"

Alfred's memories of Germany and Japan's unconditional surrender filtered into his mind. It was true, at that time, he did hold the fate of the two nations in the palm of his hands. Even though he gave it back, for the time it had been his, the power felt…..satisfying.

"But FDR is dead, his empire is gone. And so, we live in evil days! The free nations of the world have turned on each other, instead of the proper enemies: those who envy all America has done!"

Alfred paused at those words. It was true; he had done a great deal of good for the world. He'd bailed Europe out with the Marshal Plan; he rebuilt Japan after World War II and had successfully protected much of the democratic nations of the world from Communism in the 20th century. Where was the appreciation for his efforts? Where had the praise gone?

"FDR must weep, if the dead weep. I would weep in his place, but I would also hope!"

Colonies had never dared question the good their home nation did for them. He was a colony once, that was true, but he rose up only against the bad which Britain had done, not against the good.

"The world turns; what was may come again. Fate still spins the webs of men's lives. So now, perhaps God wishes us to be great again. Perhaps a new FDR will rise to the task! Bring order where there is chaos! Remake the world men into a better plane!"

His imperial self at last fell silent, his piece given. Alfred, relieved his old ways had finally quieted, walked out the door of his D.C. apartment. There was a World Meeting scheduled for today, in his capital nonetheless. It would show poorly on the superpower if he were late. The world wasn't going to manage itself.

Before closing the door, however, Alfred gave a subconscious reply to his former self.

"Perhaps…."