Well, hello~ Thank you for clicking on my little story. :D I hope that you all enjoy it and remember that reviews are like the food of writers. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as is praise (but I imagine the criticism would be more likely), just please don't flame.

Anyway, enjoy~

Brave New World

The meeting was supposed to be just an average, everyday meeting. Ivan was supposed to sit in his usual seat, smile politely, correct a certain infuriating American, add in a few comments here and there, and leave to return home. That was the plan anyway.

But, of course, things never really did go according to plan for Ivan Braginski. Problem number one began around the time he attempted to catch a cab. He reached in his pockets to make sure that he'd picked everything up, not wanting to make a return trip to America if it could be avoided. His hand dug around the empty pocket that generally held his keys. Well, he couldn't go home without those.

Muttering a "kolkolkol" under his breath, he walked back into the meeting room to pick up what had obviously fallen to the ground as some point. Unfortunately, the meeting room was busy hosting England, his brothers, Norway, China, and Romania. A large banner had been put up at some point between the end of the world meeting and the beginning of this one holding the words "Magic Club" written in England's neat, swirly font. And, things got progressively worse from there.

He remembered the look of horror etched onto England's face, Scotland's shouting and cursing, and Romania's strange chuckles right before there was an explosion of green light followed by darkness. That had been the second problem.

When he finally managed to wake up, his head was pounding as if he'd emptied out his vodka cabinet again. Placing a hand to his forehead, he sat up, cracking open violet eyes to see if he could catch sight of the "Magic Club." But, he was not in the meeting room, which constituted problem number three: he had no idea where he was.

The walls were a light tan and the room was rather sparse save for a desk pile high with papers and a phone. He had been lying on the large, soft bed, seeming to have been simply dumped there. Frowning, he climbed to his feet. Those stupid little countries must have dropped him off somewhere so they wouldn't have to fear retaliation. Now it was just a matter of finding out where they'd left him and how to extract revenge anonymously.

He walked to the simple wooden door and went to turn the knob at the same moment someone else on the other side bet him to it. He drew his hand back, an all too pleasant smile on his face waiting to greet whoever it was.

A pair of sky-blue eyes framed by a pair of glasses looked up at him, a hint of surprise and…something else showing in them. It was America. Of course. They probably thought it was funny to drop Ivan off with what was once his greatest enemy. Another "kolkolkol" passed his lips as he recalled every face in the magic club's meeting room.

But that's when problem four popped up: Alfred, America, flinched. Ivan frowned, sure that his eyes were mistaken. This was the same man who stood up in front of the strongest army in the world, at that time, grinning and ready to take on anything the British Army could throw at him. This was the man who barged right into a European war, intent on saving the day, facing some of the most horrific weapons man had ever made without blinking. This was the man who'd once stood toe to toe with Ivan, both holding the world and the future in their hands, without so much as faltering. And he flinched at a simple "kolkolkol."

Maybe he was sick or something.

And then the strangest thing happened. Alfred turned around and walked back down the halls. Ivan blinked, utterly confused. No gloating? No "commie" jokes that had long since lost any meaning? Ivan nodded. Alfred must be quite ill.

Ivan followed after America, intent on figuring out what was going on. The American seemed to speed up, his shoulders noticeably tense as he heard Ivan approach. Ivan quickly caught up and grabbed hold of the man's shoulder, trying to hold him in place without crushing his shoulder. This time, Ivan could feel the flinch. He wasn't imagining it at all.

"What are you doing, Amerika?" he asked.

The American turned his head to look over his shoulder, a strange confusion in his sapphire orbs, "ничего, Россия."

When… did Alfred learn to speak Russian? Sure, he knew a few insults that he liked to throw around, but that was hardly an insult. What was even odder was the fact that Alfred's Russian sounded Russian. When Alfred threw around his insults, his speech was horrible, more than once making Ivan cringe internally. If he hadn't seen the blonde's mouth move and heard the familiar voice behind it, he wouldn't have believed it.

"Alfred," Ivan began, using his human name to get his attention, "Why are you speaking Russian?"

More confusion filled those sapphire orbs. The boy turned around to face Ivan completely. That's when Ivan noticed problem number five. The scar that brutally sliced its way from under Alfred's jawline, across his sun kissed neck, and across his opposite collarbone before neatly disappearing beneath the boy's shirt hadn't been there at the meeting just hours before.

Before Alfred could answer, Ivan pointed to the scar, "And when did you get that?"

"Have you been drinking?" Alfred asked, clearly confused and seeming slightly weary.

Ivan shook his head, knowing that he was echoing the confusion on Alfred's face, "нет, I have not. Perhaps I should be asking you that question. Tell me who did this."

"You did this," Alfred said, his fingers touching the jagged scar, "The day you brought me here as your colony. That's what you wanted to hear me say, right?" The last part has been a hiss, fury decorating those usually cheerful blue eyes like blood on a white robe.

Ivan stared, unable to respond. Either this was the most elaborate joke Alfred had ever pulled, or this was the work of a certain English warlock.

Ничего, Россия – Nothing, Russia.

Well, I hope that wasn't too bad. That's the prologue, so trust me when I say that it gets a bit longer when the chapters start. The story also get better, so don't worry about that. In the next chapter, you get to see the regular Alfred and a glimpse of alternate world Alfred. Anyway, like I said, feel free to review and thanks for trying out the story~