Not needing to pay attention to where he was going, Canada let his feet take him to Prussia's house. He knocked on the door. He hummed to himself as he waited for someone to answer. After a few seconds, the door swung open. Germany was standing in the doorway. He blinked, possibly to acknowledge Canada's presence.

"Hello, Germany," Canada said. "Is Pru -"

"Yes," Germany said, stepping aside to let Canada in. "He's in the basement."

Without another word, Canada made his way over to the basement door. As he journeyed down the stairs, he heard Prussia's voice. It was odd though - it didn't sound like Prussia's tone at all. The raspy sweetness was there, but the voice came out quiet and sorrowful. Canada wondered what was going on. He heard the flow and lull of conversation, and he wondered who Prussia's guest might be. It couldn't be Spain - he was out of town. France, maybe? No, Canada had seen France with England on the way over. So, then, who was Prussia's friend?

Canada reached the bottom of the stairs. He drew a breath to announce his arrival, but his words caught in his throat upon seeing the sight that lay before him. There was Prussia, curled up on the futon with his back to the room. One hand was half-covering his face, rubbing at his bloodshot eyes. The other hand was elevated, acting as a perch for Gilbird. Prussia drew a deep and shuddery breath, and continued talking.

"I can't, Gilbird. I don't know what to do anymore."

He sobbed. Gilbird waited patiently and listened.

"Everyone's always too busy for me. Everyone ignores me. I'm... I'm not awesome anymore. I haven't been awesome for a long, long time, and - "

Once again, he dissolved into tears.

"And I'm tired, Gilbird! I'm tired of being alone and forgotten. I swear to you, no other nation has to deal with this. What am I saying? I'm not even a nation anymore. The world acts like I don't even exist, and they might as well, because... because for most purposes, I don't."

He sniffled. No wonder Canada had found something odd about Prussia's voice. Prussia was... crying. Canada had never seen him appear so uncertain, so frightened. Canada wondered if he should step forward and say something, but he didn't want to startle Prussia. Still, he couldn't help but keep listening.

"Gilbird, my own brother doesn't even respect me. West owes me, you know. I practically raised him. And I was always nice to everybody, just spreading the joy of my awesome self. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing! All I really have to call my own are my thoughts and memories. Everyone's left me. No one cares."

Carefully, Canada ventured deeper into the basement.

"I care," he whispered. His whisper coincided with a fresh round of Prussia's sobbing and a gentle tweet of condolence from Gilbird. Neither ex-nation nor bird had noticed was there Canada yet. Canada watched as the tears spilled from Prussia's eyes. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. Instead, he silently backed away and tiptoed up the stairs.