Crazy. This man was completely, totally crazy. My paranoid mother used to point out the jail when we went to the capital on business and say "crazy people make crazy killers". She would nod and purse her lips, and tuck strands of blonde hair nervously behind her ears. "Crazy people make crazy killers," she'd repeat, "and they're always looking for victims."

I pushed the chair back as I stood, the room wobbling around me. I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as I looked at Arthur. My mother was never wrong.

Despite the harsh cry of, "Alfred, wait!" I ran out the door and collapsed on the ground. I blinked at the sun, felt myself shake. The entire world was growing fuzzy. Had there been something in my water?

Everything went dark.

I blinked open my eyes to find myself moved, propped up in some warm bed with light filtering weakly through a window. Frowning, I looked around. This was not the room Arthur had said was mine. It was so… Bare. There wasn't even a dresser.

I got out of bed, and looked down, surprised. I was wearing boots. And these were not my clothes… They were so… old fashioned.

This was going too far, changing my clothes. I stomped out of the room and down a hallway. I tried to open my mouth to call out for Arthur, to get him to come and explain himself, but found I couldn't. It felt as if I was… being manipulated in some way.

And then there was Arthur, in a white shirt and a strange sort of ruffly tie. Black pants. Boots.

He turned as I approached, a huge smile lighting up his face. "America!" he said, bending down and patting my head. "Did you sleep well?"

I tried to put my emotions into words, but found that I once again couldn't. Instead something else spilled out.

"Course not, not with your snoring! I am not used to it, you leave me alone too much!" For some reason, I sounded hurt.

Wait… he bent down? But I was taller than him!

I realized then that I was looking up to see him. And, through the corner of my eye, I could see that this house was not the castle-like model that Arthur lived in.

And he had called me America.

Once again, words I had not called upon tumbled out of my mouth. "England, I'm hungry, will you cook for me?" I could feel the smile stretch across my face, practically taste the eagerness in my voice. And that's when I knew this was not me…

This was some sort of memory.

I woke up, shaking, shuddering, gasping. Green eyes stared down at me, full of worry. I could feel the soft feeling of a bed beneath me, and I looked down at myself, relieved to realize that I was in my own clothes. Glancing around, I saw the airplanes and the TV.

Finally I looked at Arthur, sitting there with his hands clenched into fists on his knees, obviously frightened. I took a couple deep breaths to orient myself.

"England…" I said softly, noticing how my mouth easily formed the name, how a part of my brain had already decided it belonged to this man. To Arthur. "When you said that America's memories were buried in the first Alfred's mind… Did you mean that they are in mine too?"

He stared at me for a second more, eyes widening almost imperceptibly into a form of surprise. But then he nodded.

"Did you experience a memory, Alfred?" he said softly. "I don't suppose it showed me in the best light…"

I shook my head, surprised at how much vigor the action held, as if I was desperate for him to not have that sad overcast to his face. "No, no… But… I believe you, England. My… My brother. My big brother."

Some part of me was desperate to see Arthur smile like he had in the memory, his whole face lighting up, transformed. But he didn't. Just stared off into space, looking pained.

Eventually he looked at me again, lips twitching upward just the slightest amount. "Well then, I'm glad. Maybe things will work out this time."

And then he left. Leaving me alone, hurt, and confused.

Author's Note: Ah yes, this is a little late but I was so busy this weekend... But in a good way! I hope the wait wasn't too bad...

This isn't my favorite chapter, but now the real plot will begin! I can;t wait to start getting to the point of things... And I promise, this time for sure, chapters will get longer. This one was so short...

Some questions to answer...

yokolite - Yes, Mattie will play a bigger part in the rest of the story. Don't you worry!

LuckyNumbers - If you can wait a little longer, I believe the next update will make things more clear...

AND HUGE THANK YOUS TO ALL OF YOU WHO REVIEWED, FAVORITED, AND FOLLOWED! You are so much nicer to me than I am to myself... Please continue doing what you do!