Arthur woke after what felt like hours. His head hurt and his lungs burned. Glancing around the basement only hurt his head more, it was a mess, and everything was coated in a thick layer of dust, except the spell book he had just been using. Shaky, he got to his feet and made his way up the creaky stairs.

The rest of his house confused him even more. It was a mess. There was clothing laying on the floor and across furniture, his kitchen was littered with fancy cooking equipment he had never seen before. Rubbing tiredly at his eyes Arthur reached for the fridge, feeling his stomach grumble.

There was barely any recognizable food in the fridge. Instead there were bags of chunky red, he was afraid to even check what was inside, and a few jars with different variations of warning signs and skulls. Reaching around the toxic mess, he grabbed a left over scone.

Arthur set the scone on a plate and began to fill his kettle with water, eyeing a half full 'swear jar' on the counter. He turned the stove on and glanced at the clock. 'Shit,' he shouted, Turing the stove back off. Never had he been late to a world meeting before, but today's meeting started a half hour ago.

Everything looked different as he ran to the meeting room. Darker and more dreary. The large wood door was cracked and splintering, he made a mental note to get someone to fix that soon.

The room got quiet as he walked in. Everyone turned to look at him, Alfred looked furious. 'Arthur! You are late! Sit down and shut up, Ivan was talking.' Arthur stared at Alfred in shock. Not only was Ivan talking during a meeting, Alfred was letting him? Those two had such a rivalry. 'Did you not hear me? Sit! Now! Jeez.'

Arthur mumbled an apology and rushed to his seat. His stomach was still grumbling. 'Hey, uh, Alfred, I didn't eat anything this morning, do you have any food with you? I'd even eat a burger I guess.' He was answered by Alfred throwing a carrot at him. 'Uh, thanks.'

Arthur didn't really pay attention to the meeting, he was trying to figure out what was so different. Nobody had looked the same way they did yesterday. He laid his head on the table for a second trying to relax.

The sound of metal on metal next to him made him lift his head. Feliciano was beside him, dragging two knives together. He grinned mischievously at Arthur, put his finger to his lips to signify quiet and pointed at Ivan. Ludwig slapped him.

Arthur couldn't help notice the large scar across Ludwig's face.

Feliciano rolled his eyes and flung one of his knife towards Yao, sticking into the table in front of him and making him jump. Arthur glanced back over at Ludwig, expecting him to hit Feli again. But the blow didn't come, instead they both laughed quietly at Yao's angry glare.

The meeting ended earlier than normal, no one even tried to argue the whole time. When the meeting came to a close each country stood and exited without a word. The only two left in the room were Arthur and Alfred.

Cautiously, Arthur walked over to his friend who was shuffling through a stack of papers. 'So, um, things seem a little different, huh? Everything okay?'

Alfred's eyes were cold and serious. A look Arthur had never seen. 'The only thing different is you, Arthur. What is wrong with you? Your clothes, your attitude, and did you dye your hair? Lateness is something I might expect from Ludwig or Feliciano on occasion, but never from you. I am disappointed.'

It took Arthur a second to process what he heard. He was going to ask Alfred about hair dye, the auburn hair colour looked so out of place on his naturally blond friend. 'I, well... wait, Ludwig? The only way he would be late is if there was an apocalypse, and even then he would probably still be the first one here. Also, since when do you eat carrots?'

Alfred tossed his papers into a worn out bag and walked towards the door, waving for Arthur to follow. 'Ludwig hasn't been that responsible in years. He just stopped caring after that brother of his died. Don't you remember? And, I eat carrots a lot since I became a vegetarian? Almost eight years ago, remember?'

'You're a vegetarian?'

Now Alfred's angry expression looked more like pity or concern. 'Yes, Arthur.'

They walked down the long hallway in silence. As they went down the front steps, Arthur spoke up again. He would probably be ridiculed for asking, but this one was really worrying him. 'Hey, Alfred. Francis wasn't at the meeting. Where is he at?'

Alfred turned to Arthur and put his hand on his shoulder. 'I'm going to call Matthew and have him drive you home okay. You should just sit down until he gets here.'

'Wait, why? Where's Francis? And who's Matthew?'

Alfred had started to walk away now, holding his cell phone to his ear. 'Matthew is my brother. And Francis is probably passed out at a bar or sitting at home. He doesn't come to the world meetings anymore. Hasn't for six years.'