I didn't realise quite how long it's been since I finished NPIS... Well, guess who's writing now! :D

Anyway, before we get started, there's one thing I'd like to clarify: this story is written from three different POVs. Before each chapter, I'll tell you which POV it's from.

Also, if there's a time skip (this does span over 500 years in total), I'll clarify the year.

Yay, I get to make up future inventions! I'll be sensible with those, though ^_^ (some of the companies mentioned are real, and some aren't.)

THIS IS NOT GOING TO TURN INTO PrUK (not that I don't like the pairing; I just don't want this one to be a shipping fic).

~England's POV, early 2078~

"Mornin', Gilbert," I mumble sleepily, walking through the living room to the kitchen.

"Oh, hey Artie!" he calls over his shoulder, with one relaxed arm draped over the back of the sofa.

"I've been telling you for decades to stop calling me that," I reply.

"Come on, we're close enough for nicknames, right?"

I sigh, ending the conversation with "I find human names colloquial enough," and continuing to the kitchen to get my first cup of tea for the day.

I must say, I've appreciated Prussia's presence, even though the fact that Germany kicked him out of his basement for being too obnoxious was as strong a reason for him living in my house as him wanting to keep my mood up. He's been here to help me through many of my breakdowns; sometimes, I almost gave up completely on life. He's been ready, always, to provide a shoulder to cry on, or to keep alcohol away from me.

"What would you like today, Igirisu-sama?" asks a cheery voice - Hatsune Miku, one of those virtual singers (Vocaloids, I believe they're known as) - from a prototype tea machine that Japan gave me for free a few years ago. Her voice is cute, although it's still better-suited to speaking Japanese. That's probably Japan's reason behind keeping 'Igirisu-sama' programmed into it as my name. It grew on me, and now I don't want to change it.

"I'll have a cup of cranberry tea, please," I say. The machine takes a moment to process that command, symbolised by Miku 'thinking' it through on the display screen.

"Coming right up! Would you like some music while you wait?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Okay! It'll just be a few minutes," she sings, then going into a series of idle animations. Her interestingly-coloured hair reminds me of Emmakala. It doesn't matter that her hair is long and teal as opposed to short and purple, but every day she reminds me of her nonetheless. In fact, most things remind me of her.

It hurts so much to know that Emmakala's trapped that I can't even remember exactly how she came to be in another world, only that she's been there for 66 years. I've tried so hard to distract myself from the wrenching emotional pain that I was close to self-harm, but every time I forced myself to put down the knife, the razor, or any other sharp object that inched close to my wrist. I knew it wasn't like me to be like this. It's like me to at least try to help out a friend, right?

I tried to help her out. I really did. A few years ago, I realised I'd exhausted every spell that could have taken me there to free her, or brought her back here; each spell had a slightly different potential result.

But there haven't been any cases of people transporting themselves to different dimensions, and so my spells were limited in that respect. I even tried tweaking some of the words, but nothing properly worked. Of course, this led to multiple failures.

I had to apologise to a few fairies whom I'd accidentally teleported to my house. Once, I even made the news and became an urban legend as some people reported seeing me appear and then disappear in their back garden. Occasionally I had to fix some possessions which I'd knocked over with the sheer amount of power I was using.

"Your cranberry tea is finished, Igirisu-sama!" Miku calls out, and part of the machine rotates to reveal a steaming cup of tea.

"Thank you," I respond, taking it.

Walking back into the living room, I gesture for Prussia to take up a little less of the sofa so that I can sit down beside him. He scoots over to the left side, clearing enough space for me.

"What's happening in the world, then?" I ask, looking over to Prussia's and my Linaron. Once bendable screens became commonplace, and we collected enough money from part-time jobs on top of co-running my country, we decided to buy DigiSnake's latest device - the Linaron, a device that snaps to your arm, which works similarly to both a tablet computer and a TV.

"Apple's gone out of business," Prussia remarks, with a mirthful tone. "It was only a matter of time, with their prices set so high to recover from the recession!"

"I know. That happened years ago," I deadpan, taking a sip of tea.

"There's nothing interesting going on though!"

I roll my eyes. "Switch to the news channel."

"But this is the most awesome show ever... apart from the one I hosted once."

"You've been staring at that screen for God knows how long! It's my turn!" I retort childishly.

"Quit nagging me, Mutti!" he responds jokily, moving his arm further away from me. I lean over and flail for the device. At some point during the scramble, I manage to hit the '1' button, which switches the channel to BBC 1.

"Hey!" he exclaims, pouting, as I pull his arm back over so that I can see the screen.

"In other news, yet another protest has taken place outside of the Houses of Parliament," announces the newsreader. The video cuts to a recording of a large crowd of people holding up signs and chanting. "After such riots have been taking place in many capital cities around the globe, coupled with the overwhelming results of an Internet poll, the nations of the world have decided to abolish countries."

My jaw drops. "Gilbert, I never knew anything like this was going on! Why couldn't you have switched the channel every now and again?"

"You shouldn't have sold the TV if you wanted to watch your own shows..."

"We were in the middle of a recession!" I shout, placing my half-finished cup of tea on the table. "Also, we both paid for that Linaron, so I'm entitled access to it every now and again!"

"This abolition will take place today at midday, so stay tuned!" the newsreader finishes, cuing a stereotypical news animation and jingle.

I check the small digital clock in the bottom-right corner of the screen; it's 10:41.

"Wait, how's it THAT late already?" I exclaim. "I only just got up!"

Prussia stares at the floor for a moment, taking a few seconds to respond.

"You've been having trouble sleeping again, haven't you?"

It takes me a long time to reply as well.

"Yeah."

"We've been over this."

"I know."

"There's nothing you can do, Arthur." He puts a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"...I know."

No matter what I do, I can't go back. I can't save her.

"Gilbert?"

"Ja?"

"...I've never made a more colossal mistake in my life."

He fails to respond, and the room becomes silent aside from TV advertisements. I don't say anything either, choosing to stare off into space. The advert break ends long before Prussia speaks.

"So, they're getting rid of countries, huh?" he comments. "That should reduce conflict."

"I hope so," I reply, picking up my previously-forgotten tea cup. I swirl the liquid around distastefully; there's little doubt that it's gone lukewarm by now. I drink it anyway, even though it doesn't taste as delectable as before.

He checks the time. "One more hour..."

Once an hour has passed, which we spent watching Prussia's 'awesome show' (just one of the mundane, rehashed game shows they have nowadays), I switch back to BBC 1.

On the screen, there's a countdown to one side, with live recordings of several scenes showing people cheering.

The countdown reads 30 seconds.

"Can you believe it?" asks Prussia.

"What?" I turn away from the screen to see him looking at the Union Jack hanging on the wall opposite.

"They're really getting rid of country borders. The whole world will be united."

15 seconds.

"I won't be the only ex-nation."

10 seconds; the cheering people onscreen have begun to count down along with the timer.

"We're not going to have such responsibility anymore," I add.

"Just five seconds left."

"Wait, what's going to happen to me?!" I exclaim, panicked, just before Prussia and everyone through the screen shout "zero!" in unison.

Suddenly, a strong feeling of exhaustion overwhelms me; my limbs drop to the sofa as iron filings to a magnet. As my surroundings blur and I become woozy, unable to sit upright any longer, I slump against the edge of the sofa, weakly calling out for Prussia to get help. Sleep leaves me senseless, and my heartbeat beats heavily, yet slowly, as my tiredness even overrides fear and panic.

My eyelids slip closed.

Without warning, a burning pain shoots through my heart, and spreads to other parts of my body. So raw is the pain that it numbs me for a second, and then I let out a strangled scream, but I don't have the energy to writhe - I just suffer.

Now my heart beats louder, trying to speed up against the sudden onslaught of exhaustion, but it can't. I'm too weak, and the feeling's getting stronger; I wouldn't be able to open my eyes if I tried.

As I slip away from reality, I hear one last cry:

"Arthur!"