Author's Note: Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long- school has been consuming my time. I got inspiration from a review that sort of...pushed me to write this. Sorry it's short, I just wanted to get something out there. Enjoy, and please review!

Previously...

America's eyes were growing heavier the closer the ship was going to the glow. Fighting to stay awake, America groggily sat up, attempting to stand. She fell back down though, and none to soon, because the ship hit a wall of force. It took America a moment to realize that the ship was being deflected from the orb. From her position on the floor, America did a quick check around the submarine to see if the other crewmembers were okay. All of them were motionless in their seats, swaying gently with the current.

America slapped herself in an attempt to stay awake, but found that her arm was already numb with sleep. Desperate for help, she looked to the pilot of the ship. The pilot seemed unaware of all that was going on, and with a moment of shock, America realized that she was the only one awake on the ship.

Now closer than ever to the orb, a splintering headache attacked America. Writhing on the ground, she curled up into a ball and ground her teeth, fighting a scream. Her head filled with the noise of a thousand years and she covered her ears, desperate to prevent going deaf. Finally spent and completely exhausted, America barely noticed her lack of consciousness with all the bickering voices still filling her mind.

Chapter 4

England sat peacefully reading the newspaper at the kitchen table of his London home. Avery was still asleep, so the morning was quiet, with only the occasional chirp of a bird disturbing the atmosphere.

Suddenly breaking the calm, his phone began to ring. Heaving a sigh, he irritably whipped the device out of his pocket, hoping desperately that it wasn't his boss calling him into work that day. Luckily, it was America.

"Good morning!" England called, his irritable mood instantly vanishing.

"England." America said, her voice completely flat. The phone went quiet.

"America?!" England asked, immediately alert to the sense of danger in the air. "What's wrong?"

"I…I don't know. Not yet…" America began, her voice shaking slightly. "Something very wrong happened last night."

At this point, England was up and pacing about the room, eyebrows wrinkled together in concern.

"What happened?" He asked, keeping his voice calm for both their sakes.

"I-" Her voice faltered. England's concern grew. America never had troubles speaking. Ever.

"It's all a blur… from what I remember, my ship was attacked somehow…there was a lot of light…and noise…lots of noise…" America said.

England's mind raced. Ship attacked…lots of light and noise…missiles? Was someone trying to attack America? England's thoughts paused. Who was "they"?! He didn't know of anyone who had a grudge against America. Not a severe one at least.

England cringed.

"Where were you?" England asked.

"Off of Avery Island. Close to where that meteor fell a few nights ago. I wanted to check it out…but I couldn't get to it…"

"Hmmm…. America, do you know who attacked your ship?" England said.

There was a pause. "No. I don't. But the thing is, I don't think they were trying to attack me, I think whoever it was, was simply trying to keep me away from the orb."

This wasn't adding up. Why would someone want to keep America away from the meteor orb?

"England." America interrupted his thoughts. "Don't tell Avery about this."

England paused. "America, I don't see the harm in telling her about this. Avery's almost a grown up woman now, she can handle the news. The threat of war is nothing new to her."

"I know," America sighed "but I don't want her to repeat what I just did. If she knew about that weird thing in the ocean, or the threat of war, she'd want to get involved, we both know she would. Actually, I didn't want to get you involved either, but I had to tell someone…"

"Does the news know about this?" England asked "I'm only wondering because it would be rather difficult to hide this from Avery if it's on the news.

"No, the news doesn't know anything about my trip, and I want to keep it that way. It's kind of embarrassing now that I think about it. I mean, come on, I don't even know what happened! Everyone just passed out and we woke up five miles away! What kind of inspirational story that?!"

England chuckled with her. "Well, I can see that happening…I won't tell Avery about this. Don't worry, it's all 'hush hush' on this end. Just stay safe, okay?"

"I will" America called, but England knew that she was hiding something from him. Suddenly, his mood dropped. "You're going to try to see that meteor again, aren't you?"

America was silent on the other end of the phone, but that was enough of an answer for England.

The line went dead.

Stay safe, England thought, please?

A/N: Only now with this air of gloomy despair may I continue... sorry this chapter was sort of depressing, I'll have more action in the next few chapters. Please review if you have any suggestions for this story (spelling, plot, etc.) Just drop a comment and I'll do my best to incorporate it.