2008
America seemed… different. He had for a while, ever since his economy began to dip. Up until now, it had been pretty subtle; faint circles under his eyes, blond hair unkempt, occasionally losing his train of thought. Britain thought nothing of it.
Alfred's probably just tired, Britain mused at the last World Meeting. He's been pretty busy.
In April, however, the changes began to be more noticeable. Alfred stopped going out, opting to stay at home in his leisure time. When he did venture out, though, he seemed exhausted and lethargic - not at all like the boisterous America that Britain had always known. Furthermore, Alfred developed chronic headaches. He didn't admit to it, of course, but Britain could tell when his little brother was in pain.
America didn't think of England as his brother anymore, not since that day. Arthur wondered if America even thought of him as a friend these days. Nevertheless, it was England who had raised America from the earliest days of his childhood, and old habits die hard. He couldn't help but worry the slightest bit about his former charge. In spite of this, England kept his anxiety to himself out of respect for the world power.
Soon enough, it was time for the next World Meeting, hosted in Washington. Arthur was nervous, if only to see how America was doing. Unfortunately, he never got that chance.
"Où est Amérique?" France murmured as he settled next to England at the large table. England was wondering the same thing.
"I don't know, frog. I just don't know." Usually England would yell at France for speaking to him in French, but the situation didn't allow for that.
"Surely, he would not miss a World Meeting, especially chez lui!"
"I agree, he has never been absent before. Maybe he's just running late," Arthur suggested hopefully, though the look on his face betrayed other emotions.
"Oui, j'espère, mon cher Angleterre," France said. Realizing his unintentional rhyme, he chuckled.
"Francis, this isn't the time," growled Germany from his other side.
Besides a brief buzz about America's absence, the meeting went pretty uneventfully. Quietly, even, without the nation's ambitious (yet ineffective) schemes to end the world's problems.
After the meeting concluded, Arthur called Alfred.
"Hey, this is the Hero! I can't come to the phone right now, I'm probably saving the entire world from aliens or something, but leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!"
Britain took a deep breath before starting. "America, are you alright? You weren't at the meeting. Please call me back."
An hour later, he tried again after receiving no answer from Alfred. America always returned phone calls promptly.
"Hey, this is the Hero! I can't -" England hung up. Something was wrong. Worse than he originally thought. Arthur flagged the nearest taxi cab as fast as he could, and almost tripped in his hurry to get in.
When England arrived at America's house, he noticed that all of the lights were off. How strange, England thought, He's usually up all night. He's never asleep at this hour! It was 6:00 pm.
England cautiously approached the door. Locked, he realized. America had been paranoid about the security of his house after the terrorist attack in 2001. Fortunately, England knew where Alfred kept the spare key. He lifted the loose shingle from the wall of the house, took the keys off of the mounted hook, and opened the door.
"America? Are you home?" No answer.
At first it seemed quiet in America's house, but as Arthur listened closer, he heard a soft noise coming from upstairs.
England ascended the stairs as quietly as possible (the eighth one squeaked, it always had), and turned towards America's room. He inhaled and eased open the door.
"America?"