A/N: Okay, so I wrote this for my English class. We had to create a model of a time machine and write a story involving it, so yeah...this. Haha, I haven't been working on much else since I've had so much homework, so I apologize!(I will continue The Most Awesome Dream Ever, it will not end up unfinished, I promise!) Actually, there's this oneshot I've been kinda sorta working on...mhmm. This is my second Hetalia fic, and first time writing Canada/Matthew and Prussia/Gilbert, so I hope they're not too OOC. There's a mix of human names and country names, but I tried to make it so my English teach wouldn't get confused...And I don't know much about time traveling and paradoxes, so I apologize if I got something wrong, which is most likely. And I hope it doesn't seem too rushed... I had a page limit, you see...

So yeah, this is PruCan if you want it to be. Same for USUK. I wasn't sure what category to put this in... eh, well enjoy!

Disclaimer: Heh, forgot the disclaimer! It must be obvious by now, but I do not own Hetalia, Hidekaz Himaruya does. Yay.

Banned?

Gilbert glared at the TV, not even bothering to pay attention. There wasn't' anything good on, anyway. He continued simply staring until he got frustrated, and grabbed the remote, grumbling as he did so. He began flipping through the numerous television channels, intent on finding something interesting enough to watch.

"Now, just add a 'lil E.V.O.O…" No.

"I wumbo, you wumbo, he she we wumbo…" No.

"So if I'm Hannah and Miley, then-" Heck no.

Gilbert finally decided on a Korean drama, and watched as the actors, well, acted, and the subtitles ran by. Dang, those things moved fast. Gilbert watched the drama anyway, inhaling extremely buttery popcorn and chugging Coca-Cola as he did so. He had just put his feet up on the coffee table when Matthew entered the living room, his pet bear Kumajirou trailing behind.

"Gilbert!" Matthew crossed his arms in front of his chest, in an effort to make himself look threatening. "Get your feet off my coffee table! I just bought it!"

Gilbert smirked, but moved his feet anyway, his boots making a loud 'thump' as they hit the floor. "Yeah, yeah. You're just like England, I swear."

"I am not!" Matthew shook his head defensively. "If I was anything like him, I would have kicked you out of my house by now!"

"Hm… true." Gilbert shrugged and moved over to give the blond enough space to sit. Matthew sighed, and sat next his albino friend, then hoisted Kumajirou unto his lap.

"What are you watching?" Matthew asked, a bit confused when he realized what Gilbert was watching wasn't in English. It didn't appear to be in German either, so did Gilbert even understand what the people were saying?

"I dunno, one of Korea's shows. I have no idea what's going on, man!"

"Then why are you watching it?"

Gilbert shrugged. "Nothing better to watch. This will have to satisfy my awesomeness for now."

Matthew shook his head, and laughed at his friend's odd, yet usual behavior. He got up from the couch, letting Kumajirou crawl off his lap first. "I'll go get us something healthier to eat than that popcorn. You've been spending way too much time with my Alfred. His eating habits are getting to you."

"Kesesesese!" Gilbert laughed, and shoved another handful of the snack in question into his mouth. "No way, man! I don't eat hamburgers twenty-four-seven like your bro does!"

"Not yet, you don't." Matthew rolled his eyes and left for the kitchen, in search for some flour. He'd make pancakes, which were much better than popcorn, in his opinion. He had just gotten the eggs he needed from the fridge when he heard Gilbert's unmistakable accented voice calling him.

"Matt! You gotta come see this! Matt! Mattie! Birdie! Canada! Matthew!" Matthew sighed, and put the eggs in a bowl before heading out of the kitchen. When he entered the living room, Gilbert's face was practically stuck to the television, his red eyes open wide.

"What?" Matthew placed his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow. "And get away from the TV! It's bad for your eyesight."

"Matt! Come here! You gotta see this!" Gilbert removed himself from in front of the TV and grabbed Matthew's wrist, pulling him into his previous spot. "Look!"

"Eh?"

"It's a time machine!" Gilbert pointed to the TV screen excitedly. Matthew saw the obviously cheap machine and laughed.

"You don't think it actually works, do you?"

"Well, um, probably not… but you should totally buy it, Mattie!"

Matthew gave Gilbert an incredulous look. "You want me to buy it?"

"Haha, well yeah!" Gilbert reached for the remote and paused the TV, leaving the screen on the "time machine" commercial. "I'm kinda broke right now, remember?"

"'Kinda'? When do you ever have money? You're constantly coming to my house at random hours to demand pancakes, since you can't afford to buy your own!"

"Hey! I can afford them! Yours are just the most awesome pancakes around! Be proud!" Gilbert turned his attention back to the TV. "So you'll buy it then?"

Matthew sighed and pulled out his cell phone. "You owe me."

"You're awesome, Mattie!"

The time machine arrived about a week later, and was quickly unpackaged by an eager Gilbert. Matthew didn't understand why Gilbert was so excited, since he had said he didn't actually believe it would work.

"Okay… so you turn this, and then press that green button…" Gilbert was, to Matthew's surprise, actually reading the instruction manual. It was odd, since Gilbert usually decided to skip all kind of directions, claiming he was 'way too awesome for lousy directions.' Gilbert put the manual down and glanced at Matthew before turning his attention back to the machine. "Time travel is a serious thing, Matt. You can end up with a green tongue."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "A green tongue? Where did you-"

"It's in the disclaimer."

"Ah."

"So where do you wanna go?" Gilbert asked, the machine in his hands. Matthew eyed it warily. It seemed to be made out of wood, and the paint job was very poor; it didn't look very functional at all.

"I'll pass." Before Gilbert could begin trying to change his mind, Matthew left for his room upstairs. "I'm going to take a nap, Gil! Make sure Kumakiki doesn't sneak off again!"

"B-but Mattie!"

When Matthew woke up again, the sun had already set, making his room almost pitch black. He glanced at his alarm clock on his bedside table. 'It's already 11 P.M.? Wow… I guess that meeting with Al ad his boss tired me out more than I thought,' he thought to himself, as he exited his room and descended the staircase. He looked around in search for Gilbert, who was usually awake at that time, watching horror movies with Kumajirou. He headed for the kitchen, since neither his friend nor his pet polar bear were anywhere to be seen in the living room. He finally found the white bear alone, his head deep in the refrigerator.

"Kumachako!" Matthew crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You know you're not allowed near the fridge, Kumaruto!" Matthew pulled Kumajirou out of the refrigerator, much to the bear's protest. The Canadian put his bear down, and looked around the kitchen once more. "Where's Gilbert?" he asked. "He was supposed to be watching you while I took a nap…"

"Who are you?" Kumajirou asked, much to his owner's frustration.

"I'm Matthew, Canada!" Matthew sighed. He still couldn't get over the fact that even his own bear couldn't remember him. "Do you know where Gilbert is?" he asked again. Kumajirou silently crawled away from Matthew, leaving him alone in the kitchen. Matthew frowned, believing that he had been ignored, until Kumajirou came back into the kitchen, holding a wrinkled piece of paper in his mouth. Matthew patted Kumajirou on the head as a thank you, and removed the note from his mouth. He flattened it as much as he could, and began reading it.

'Hey, Mattie, I'm out with Francis and Toni. I'll be back later. And I'm sorry about making you buy that stupid machine. It didn't even work. I'll make it up to you, I swear on my awesomeness! And that is a lot of awesome.

-Gilbert (Master of Awesome, no matter what America/your brother says!)'

Matthew chuckled and put the note on the counter. So the time machine hadn't worked? Matthew wasn't surprised. He spotted the device one the dining table, manual open beside it. Curious, he walked over and picked the device up, glancing at the manual as he did so. There was nothing to lose if he tried to use it, right? He didn't think it would actually work, so he decided to try it, just for fun. He read over the instructions quickly, making sure to catch the main points. He laughed at how simple the machine really was. He couldn't even pick a certain time!

"A bit cheap, eh?" Matthew said to himself, as he turned the red knob on the right side of the machine, which would supposedly take him to the past. He knew about all those paradoxes, but since the machine wouldn't actually work, he wasn't worried about it. He pressed the green button at the top of the box-shaped machine, and as he suspected, nothing happened. He was about to put the 'time machine' down when he felt a sudden gust of wind blow against him, swaying his dark blonde hair, and almost knocking his glasses off his face. The wind continued, almost as if forming an invisible tornado around him. Matthew clutched the time machine close to his chest, and kept his head down, close to it.

"Maple!" he exclaimed, as he finally managed to press the green button once again, remembering it would stop the machine. As soon as he pressed it, the wind stopped abruptly, leaving Matthew alone in the silent space. He slowly lifted his head, afraid of what he might see. He hadn't been paying attention to time as it had rushed by, so he had no idea how much time he had traveled. He looked around his kitchen, or at least whatever it was at the time, and was surprised to find that it was almost exactly the same as it was in his present time. Maybe he hadn't traveled very far at all... but that meant that his past self was alive there, somewhere. He had to make sure he didn't come into contact with himself, because he didn't know what the consequences would be. He carefully moved to the refrigerator, where he always kept a calendar hanging. His violet-blue eyes widened in shock when he saw the date.

''November 10, 2040?"Matthew shrieked, but quickly covered his mouth in order to keep anything else from exiting his mouth. 'I thought I had gone to the past! How did I end up thirty years in the future?' Matthew pondered. Maybe he had gotten the instructions mixed up? He hadn't read the instructions through, after all. It didn't make much of a difference, anyway. As a nation, he was practically immortal, and had been alive for a very long time, and would probably live on for an equally long time as well. Now that he was in the future, why not see how the others were doing? Matthew glanced at the clock on the wall, which was still where it had always been, and noticed that it was still about 11 at night. Well, his future self was probably sleeping, so no problem there. Matthew shrugged and left the kitchen, to search for some sort of bag to carry the time machine in. Gilbert always said that Matthew needed to have a little fun sometimes anyway, so what could go wrong?

Matthew was surprised to find that his closet in the hallway was practically unchanged from how he kept it in his time. It was as if it hadn't been touched or even opened in years. He took out a random backpack, and coughed quietly due to the dust. He opened it, and jumped back when black spiders came crawling out of the bag. Matthew shivered. There was definitely something wrong! There was no way he would ever let his house become so dusty and infested with insects! He suddenly felt scared. There hadn't been another world war, had there? Had something happened to him? Was his brother okay? Was Gilbert okay?

Matthew shook the rest of the bugs out of the backpack, and placed the time machine inside. It would be easier to carry that way. He slid the backpack on, but stayed on his knees. He wasn't sure on what he should do. He could take a risk and go up to his bedroom and possibly run into himself, or he could venture out and go to his brother's house. Matthew though it over for a second, and then got up. He would go to his brother Alfred's house. It was too risky to stay in his own house. He walked to the front door, making sure not to step on anything. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. There was trash all over his floor! There was pizza and popcorn, dirty socks, and even empty bottles of maple syrup scattered all over his usually clean floor. How had he not noticed that before? There was definitely something wrong.

When Matthew finally arrived to his brother's house, it was still dark, but Matthew could tell sunrise was approaching. He knocked on his brother's door, and hugged himself as he stood alone in the cold. He was relieved when the door finally opened, but was confused when he saw that the one that had opened the door had not been his brother, but England.

England seemed to be equally confused, but his jade eyes quickly widened in disbelief. "C-Canada? Matthew? Is that really you?" Matthew slowly nodded, taking in England's state. He looked so…tired. Matthew couldn't help but wince when he saw the bags under the older man's eyes, and the way those eyes seemed so dull, almost lifeless. His messy straw blond hair was even messier than it normally was, and his eyebrows seemed thinner somehow, but in a rather sickly way. Matthew gasped when he took it all in.

"England? …Arthur? It's me, Canada-I mean, Matthew. W-what…what happened to you?" Matthew asked, the start of a fresh batch of tears threatening to fall to his numb cheeks. Arthur continued staring, as if he hadn't heard him. Matthew suddenly remembered who he had originally come to see. "Where's Alfred? Is he alright?"

England simply shook his head, a dazed look still in his eyes. "It…it is you. But it can't be. It can't be you!" He abruptly jumped back, away from Matthew. "It isn't possible… it isn't…"

"Arthur?" Matthew approached the Englishman slowly, confused. "What do you mean it isn't possible? What happened? What's going on? Please tell me!" Matthew screamed, something he didn't do often. Arthur looked as if he had been slapped by reality.

"Matthew… it is you! I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me… But how are you here? After what happened thirty years ago…" Arthur shook his head quickly, trying to get his brain to start working again. Why was Matthew there? Surely, it wasn't possible…

"What happened thirty years ago?" Matthew asked, the fear returning. He had come from thirty years in the past! Something really had happened!

"C-come in…Matthew." Arthur gestured at Matthew to enter the house, which he did gratefully, after spending so much time in the freezing night outside. As soon as he entered, he analyzed the interior of the house. It was just like his house had been, in almost the exact same conditions they were in Matthew's time, except cleaner, most likely due to Arthur.

Matthew took a seat on the couch, Arthur wearily taking a seat on the couch in front of him. Before Arthur even managed to ask Matthew if he would like a cup of tea, Matthew asked his question again.

"What happened thirty years ago?" Matthew stared at Arthur steadily, trying to stop the tears that had started flowing when he first saw the Briton. Arthur tried to mask his confusion, as not to worry Matthew. 'How does he not remember what happened? It…it literally broke him…'Arthur wondered.

"You don't remember?" Arthur asked.

"No… no I don't." Matthew answered, deciding not to reveal he was from the future. It was safer that way. There was no need to make Arthur go crazy… it looked as if he was already halfway there.

Arthur sighed and put his face in his hands. "Then I'll remind you. But…. I don't really think I should tell you."

"Please tell me, Arthur. I forgot and I want to remember." Matthew knew he wasn't making much sense, but he needed to know what had happened to make the world so messed up.

Arthur hesitated before continuing. "I don't know what happened, for you to be here, sane. I am not going to ask. I have a feeling it will be better that way. I do not want Alfred to have to suffer any more than he already does."

"Alfred? What's wrong with him?" Matthew felt his voice get higher, almost turning into a squeak by the end of his sentence.

"After what happened to you… he was devastated. He locked himself into his room for months, and nothing could get him to come out. I got so worried that I came here to see him myself. I finally managed to get him to leave his room, but… the poor boy. He was so thin and fragile…He lost all of his strength… He hadn't been eating, and as the United States of America, of course he couldn't die. But his mental state and weakness caused a depression in the country…" Arthur trailed off, his sobs taking over. Mathew watched the older nation cry, shocked. What had happened to make his older brother go…insane?

"What happened for him to-"

"It was all because of that stupid time machine."

Matthew gasped. "What?"

Arthur wiped his tears away and straightened himself. "I'm sorry… Alfred's doing better, he is, after I came to live with him. He wasn't taking care of himself…" Arthur pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose. "It all started with a time machine Prussia, or erm, Gilbert, asked you to buy for him, supposedly. He tried it, and it didn't work. Then… you tried it, and you… you actually managed to go to the future. You came back, and told Gilbert it had worked. That got him excited, and he finally figured out what he had been doing wrong in the first place. He kept traveling in time afterwards…I remember all of those stories he used to tell us… Well, one day he decided to go to the past, I don't recall how far back. I just remember he asked you to go with him, but you declined. So he went by himself…and he never came back."

"G-Gil?" Matthew whispered. He had never come back? His best friend gone…Matthew's eyes widened in realization. It had all been his fault! If he hadn't tried using the time machine, Gilbert would've never realized that it actually worked! He would have never started time traveling, and he would never have disappeared! It was…'It was all my fault!'

"After he disappeared," Arthur continued, "you were never the same. You were depressed, and blamed yourself for Gilbert's… death." Arthur whispered the last word, and watched silently as Matthew's tears continued, heavier than before. "You became withdrawn, and people actually started noticing you for once. You hated it, being the center of attention, apparently, because of the guilt, I believe. And one day, you snapped, and…" he stopped and took a deep breath before he continued. "You committed suicide."

Matthew was speechless. He had killed himself? But, he was a nation! He couldn't have died…

"Of course, you didn't die." Arthur said, as if reading Matthew's mind. "Well, you did die, but you soon came back. After you returned, you were no better than before, if not worse. For the next twenty-eight years, you stayed locked up in your room. Alfred, Francis, and I, visited you constantly, but you wouldn't budge. That's why I don't understand how you could possibly be here… well, anyway… After all the failed attempts to improve your condition, Alfred started getting mentally ill as well. He had always blamed himself. He had been the one that had personally financed that time machine company, and he believed it was his fault you ended up crazy in the end. He stopped attending all world meetings, and soon he kept himself locked up in his room, just like you had."

Matthew felt more guilty than he had ever felt before in his entire long life. He had cause the possible death of his best friend…the insanity of his own brother… and by the looks of it, Arthur looked like he was close to mental collapse as well.

"It's my fault," Matthew whispered, as he glared at his hands. He was the one that caused the messed up future. The blame was all on his shoulders. Matthew looked up at Arthur, who still had tears in his eyes and a soggy handkerchief in hand. Another pang of guilt hit Matthew. He didn't want this kind of future. He needed to find a way to fix it. He put his chin in his hands, in an effort to think of something. He ignored Arthur's continuous asking if he was okay, and finally managed to come up with a solution. The base of the problem was the time machine. If Gilbert had never found out it worked, he wouldn't have disappeared. Matthew sighed in relief and stood up, startling Arthur.

"Matthew? Are you sure you're alright?"

Matthew sent a strained smile to Arthur and nodded. "I'm fine. I'll fix this future for you, I promise. Take care of Alfred."

"What? Matthew? What do you mean?" Arthur asked, a worried look on his pale face. Matthew frowned. Arthur looked so old, even though he had the body of a twenty-three year old.

"I meant what I said, Arthur. Don't worry. It'll be fine." Before Arthur could begin to argue, Matthew pulled the time machine out of his backpack and opened it, quickly setting the short clock hand to the 12. The last thing he heard was Arthur's gasp of surprise before he was engulfed in the same fast wind as before, the one that was going to take him home.

As soon as the mini tornado stopped, Matthew immediately dropped the time machine and stepped on it. It wasn't enough to damage it, but it was enough to satisfy Matthew for the moment. He shivered and left the machine on the floor. He would destroy it later.

Matthew ventured into his living room, relieved to find Gilbert snoring on his couch, his limbs entangled in blankets. Matthew smiled to himself and headed to his room. He was glad he had fixed everything, somehow. He knew there was only one thing left for him to do.

"Whaddya mean it's banned?" Gilbert asked, his mouth agape. "Darn, Mattie, I know you got ripped off, but banning the thing? Don't you think that's a little…extreme or something?"

"Not at all, Gil. Not at all." Matthew shook his head and walked past his friend, as they headed for his brother's house.

Gilbert looked at Matthew's back in disbelief. 'What's up with Mattie? He's usually more lenient on stuff like this…' Gilbert's ruby eyes quickly narrowed. Something must have happened…

"Something happened, huh, Mattie? And you're not going tell to your totally awesome best friend?" Gilbert grimaced at Matthew's chuckle. "Keeping secrets is not awesome, Mattie."

"There are some things that are just too awesome for your ears, Gil."

"Wha-That is so not true! What happened, Mattie?"

"Oh, look, a pancake shop!"

"Mattie!"