December 22, 2032

London, England

"America! America, do I have you online?!"

The holographic screen in front of him flickered, and a teenager's face, with amber eyes and wavy black hair, flickered onto the screen. England blinked, then groaned as the teenager scowled.

"Whaddya want, Tory?" Virginia crossed her arms, looking extremely annoyed. England briefly considered just hanging up then and there, but then remembered exactly why he had tried to call her father and discarded the idea.

"Where is America?" He demanded, weaving around two MI6 agents and into a crowded room, full of the top brass of the British government. Ducking past the Minister of Defense, he set down the phone on the table displaying the map so he could take a file from the Prime Minister. He flicked through it, scowling. "We need him online!"

"He's still in Africa, has been for the past three years!" Virginia exclaimed. "Why are you calling his D.C. number?!" However, England only groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"He was supposed to get home yesterday, why is he still—" he cut himself off. There wasn't any time for petty arguing, however much he'd like to put the irritating girl in her place. "Whatever. You'll have to do." He turned to one of the MI6 officials in the room. "Where's Eurasia?"

"Connecting now, sir!" The man replied, holding out his own holographic projector. A moment later, Eurasia's form flickered into view.

"Привет, England," he greeted in that faux cheerfulness that made eastern Europe cringe in fear when they heard it. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

"I'm sending the live feed to both of you it now," England replied curtly, motioning to another MI6 agent to do as he said. "A rock has been launched out of the Ethiopian area and is currently floating in low orbit over southern Asia and India."

Virginia stiffened, calling out to some passersby that he couldn't see to get the President on the line. Eurasia, on the other hand, merely raised an eyebrow in mild interest.

"Don't shoot it," England quickly announced before the American state did anything rash. "We don't know what will happen when we do."

"Sir!" A messenger burst into the room, frantic. "The object has imploded!"

"What?!" Virginia and England exclaimed in unison, then glared at each other for doing so.

"It seems to be sending out waves of hybrid energy!" The man continued.

"Brace yourselves," England muttered as the room fell silent. "We don't know how this will interfere with the Hybrid Energy we already have harnessed."

Virginia stiffened slightly, but said nothing.

A moment passed. The screen tracking the rock flickered, then came back online as if nothing had happened. England let out a breath of relief.

"The world… has shifted," Eurasia murmured, placing a hand to his chin. "To something we have never seen before."

"New Abyssinia seems to have had a Plan B," England muttered, running a hand tiredly over his face. "Things are going to be changing drastically very fast."

"We'll need to investigate that strange fog over South America," Virginia spoke up.

"I sure Venezuela has already put herself in charge of that," England replied. "She's rapidly approaching first world status. She can handle it; for now, at least."

"This reminds me," Eurasia put in. "Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece are reporting a strange shadow flitting over the skies of their countries, heading north. Romania's keeping an eye out for it, but he hasn't seen it yet." His expression turned thoughtful. "I wonder what it is?"

"Not to mention that huge cave of minerals India found in Jammu and Kashmir," Virginia put in.

England sighed, feeling every year weighing heavily on his body in that moment.

Things were changing, that was for sure. The Modern Era was at an end.

And he honestly didn't know whether that was a good thing.

December 25, 2032

Richmond, Virginia

Alfred opened the door to his home (which was, in reality, a small mansion), making sure it made as little noise as possible as he entered. He let out a breath, putting away his keys as he set down his suitcases.

Home. He was finally home.

Alfred had not set foot in his homeland since his last president had been inaugurated in 2029. Too busy with the war to risk coming back home and desperate to find Manuel, his time with his children had been restricted to video calls and emails. But now he was actually home. He could smell the crisp scent of apple pie in the air that had to be Thomas, and potatoes that had to be Iris and Ryan's dual specialty: funeral potatoes[1].

Oh, he was so glad that he was able to make it for Christmas Day.

"Papa! Estás en casa![2]"

He looked up to the second floor balcony to see Pedro exiting from one of the many bedrooms. The six-year-old let out a squeal as Alfred grinned up at him, rushing down the stairs at such a fast pace that he had to worry if the child would fall down the stairs.

But he couldn't dwell on that for long, for it seemed that his call had awakened the rest of the house. A cry of "Dad!" had him turning just in time to take a Cody to the chest. Alfred laughed, swinging his daughter up in the air. Another pair of bodies barreled into him as his set her down, and Alfred snuck an arm around Felix and Manuel, bringing them into a tight hug. Pedro was downstairs a moment later, and he let go of the three to sweep up the younger territory into his arms.

"Dad! You were supposed to be home three days ago!" Manuel laughed as Alfred did his best to keep them all close, especially the one he'd nearly lost.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Paparazzi caught wind of my departure time. I had to wait days before they dispersed enough for me to sneak out."

Cody groaned loudly, always one to let the world know when she was displeased. Pedro giggled.

"And this is why I'm glad I'm an inner state," Ryan put in with a grin, striding over to them. "I don't have it nearly as bad as York or Caitlyn. Hardly anyone cares about little old Utah."

"Thank goodness," Cody sighed as Felix hummed in agreement.

"Let's just say that you don't want to hear the crap Caitlyn's pulled," Virginia put in, just behind her younger brother. She gave her father a quick, tight hug. "She's California for a reason. That's all I'll say about it."

"Where's everyone else?" Alfred asked.

"Out back. Thomas is convinced that he's going to freeze to death but he went and drug the rest of the Deep South with him when the Northeast challenged him to see who could last the longest outside."

"Have you opened presents yet?"

"'Course not," Virginia smiled. "We had to wait for Dad."

"Well, I got a ton of stuff for y'all," Alfred announced with a frustrated grumble. "But it got stuck in security since I bought so much stuff. Honestly, I'm their nation! You'd think that I'd get a free pass for once."

Felix laughed.

"You came," he declared contentedly. "That's enough of a present for me."

"Merry Christmas, then," Alfred smiled genuinely. Screw what was going on in the rest of the world, superpower status and all. He had his kids and that was enough. "No more World Wars does sound like a good present."

Manuel laughed. "I still get to visit the Tesfas, right?"

Alfred hummed. "Uh, no. You are not allowed to leave my sight, young man."

"Dad!"

Alfred laughed again.

Yeah.

The world could go screw itself. He had his kids.

A/N: I wrote the last half of this chapter on Christmas Day. So a Christmas segment was added to the end of this.

[1]-Thomas is Texas, Iris Idaho, and Ryan Utah in case you needed a reminder. The best restaurant for apple pie (that I found) is in Texas, and funeral potatoes are a signature Idaho/Utah dish that I've tried before (it is amazing).

[2]- "Dad! You're home!"

World News (February 18, 3031 to December 31, 2032):

1) 150 thousand Djibouti rebels have retaken their country. They lay waste to a giant lab

2) India runs out of the dangerous mineral and retreats from the front line. Chinese troops take their place

3) Merille Tesfa, AKA Ethiopia, has not been heard of since he took chase after his twin brother Ezana, AKA New Abyssinia. The people of Ethiopia pray for his safe return.

4) Hybrid energy levels on Earth are rising fast.

5) Namibia and Botswana refuse to turn over the Abyssinians inside their country for trial. The United States of America declares war on them.

6) 96 countries have now developed their own strains of hybrid energy. The UK was the first.

7) Scientists are unable to determine the cause of this rise in Hybrid energy

8) It is believed that Hybrid Energy cars will replace all cars in the world

9) Hybrid Energy uses a special type of battery to control its energy flow

10) Hybrid Energy's origin is still unknown

11) Switzerland's chocolate is aiding the children in the wasteland left by the war

12) There has been a large increase of hybrid energy in Jammu and Kashmir. Miners have been trying to dig into it safely

13) Eurasian Union warns Iran about abusing Hybrid Energy

14) There have been reports of large amounts of Hybrid Energy deep within Ethiopia.

15) The media insists that New Abyssinia is behind the creation of Hybrid Energy

16) Ezana Tesfa has been marked as the most wanted man on Earth

17) Egypt reports a strange shadow heading towards Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria

18) World News is malfunctioning. Systems shutting down. R.I.P. World News.

And... that's a wrap! Thank you all for your support. The sequel, The Hybrid Wars, will be out next Sunday, and I expect it to be much longer and more cohesive, now that I actually know what I'm doing.

What to Expect: Introductions and major Arcs for Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, and South Africa. New alliances and rivalries rising as South America actually does something relevant to world politics ;). And as always, New Abyssinia continues to manipulate things from behind the scenes.

Hopefully I'll see you all in the next book! Bye-bye!