"Sorry for making you wait. I'm almost with the paperwork, so give me a few more minutes."

He looked up from the book in his hand to stare at the other man. An apologetic grin was aimed in his direction, a hint of embarrassment mixed in those emerald eyes. Frankly, he wasn't surprised; when he arrived at the office, he had been greeted with unconcealed surprise that changed to shame after a sudden recollection. Needless to say, his promise to visit within a week had been forgotten, though he was correctly identified this time by the flustered man. Shifting his glasses, he ignored the white polar bear nudging his arm.

"Don't worry about me, England. I know you've been busy lately, so go ahead and finish. I have time."

England nodded before plunging back into his work. It was never easy, facing the stack of documents every time he entered this room. Still, as a nation, it was something that had to be done, a task that was expected from each of them. So he continued to shift through the papers, reading about the current statuses of the most impending issues, the populace's opinions of the said circumstances, and possible solutions given by the "experts." As he processed the expected amount of information, he could not help but silently berate himself for forgetting about the younger nation.

He threw a quick, surreptitious glance at Canada, who had returned to his book while absentmindedly scratching the back of Kumajirou's ear. The bear responded by purring softly and resting his head on his owner's lap. Remorse weighed down on England as he remembered how he was startled out of his chair when Canada had been introduced by his secretary, how he failed to hide the fact that he had been completely caught off guard. Of course, he did not admit that the visit had fallen out of his memory, but both nations knew that it was painfully obvious. So he resolved to draw his entire focus to his work, leaving behind an awkward silence in the room. A silence that he knew he had to break at some point.

"How have you been since the last meeting?"

"Getting along the best I can. A few hassles and annoyances, but nothing I can't handle. After all, everybody else is dealing with troubles, so I'm not an exception."

"It's good to know that you're persevering. I can't say that it's been easy for me either."

"I can see that from the monstrous pile. I give you my sympathies."

England scoffed, staring at the document in his hands. "I'd say that this is one of those 'annoyances,' not worth your wait. Let me wrap this up so we can go somewhere to eat. Do you have any place in mind?"

Canada shook his head. "I'll let you decide, since you're familiar with the area."

"I think I know a place that might be suitable to your taste." He threw the papers onto the desk and stretched his arms, feeling the tightened muscles pop after remaining in the same position for too long. "Well, I'm ready to leave. What about you?"

"I've been ready for the past four hours."

England could not help but wince, even though the statement held no malice. With a sheepish laugh, he proceeded to put on his coat while Canada noticed that Kumajirou had fallen asleep.

"If you want, you can leave him here. I have to come back before they lock this place up."

He could see the doubt in Canada's eyes. Understandable, since the nation never traveled without his pet, even going so far as bringing him to the world meetings. So England had to admit that he was slightly surprised when the soft-spoken nation agreed to his suggestion. With a final pat to the furry head, Canada left the sleeping animal and exited the room with England. It was not until they had entered the elevator that another conversation initiated.

"How's your idiotic brother? Has he given you any trouble?"

"Surprisingly, he hasn't caused any problems for me lately. I think he's too busy with his own affairs to be concerned with anything else."

England recalled how America had complained about the current state of his government, how constant division between the two political parties was preventing any attempts to address the issues at hand. He had mentioned it only once, but it was clear that he was under much stress. He shook his head, pitying the young nation, and stepped out of the elevator.

"So he hasn't visited you?"

"Actually, I don't think I've seen him for a while now. He hasn't contacted me either…"

"He's probably spending his free time with those wonderful hamburgers he's so fond of."

Before Canada could agree, their attention was drawn to a man who had burst through the entrance of the building. Disheveled and breathless, panicking eyes showed recognition when they fell onto the two nations. Rushing forward, he quickly closed the distance and attempted to regain his composure before stating his business. After looking over the man, England realized that he had seen him in the intelligence department at the military headquarters. To see him in this state was not exactly encouraging.

"Deep breaths, Mark. Running around like this can't be good for your health."

"Sir, your immediate presence has been requested at Headquarters. An urgent matter has come up…"

"Serious enough to keep me away from a promised meeting?"

"International crisis, sir. I'll provide the details in the designated vehicle waiting for you outside. If you would be so kind as to follow me, we can leave right this second." The man turned towards Canada. "I'm afraid that you…"

"He's coming with us. End of discussion."

Without elaborating further, England headed for the door, his steps quick but controlled. The messenger simply shrugged and allowed Canada to go before following. A black Rolls Royce was idling in front of the building, the driver ready to leave at any given moment. As soon as the three entered the car, it raced down the streets at a frightening speed, disregarding the other vehicles that got in their way. England frowned with disapproval as they swerved through traffic a little too recklessly for his liking. The expression did not escape Mark's notice.

"My apologies, sir. But the immensity of the situation bypasses the breaking of a few traffic laws."

"Then would you mind explaining this situation instead of keeping us in the dark?" He watched as the man stared warily at Canada. "There is no reason to be suspicious of my guest."

"I suppose it won't make much difference anyway, sir." Mark sighed wearily, the adrenaline from the initial panic no longer having a profound effect on his nerves. "I have to warn you that the information I'm about to relay is very recent. Things might have changed in the time I spent coming to get you."

England's temper finally gave way, his eyes flaring with impatience. "Stop beating around the bush and give us the damn news!"

"Sir, our satellites have detected the movement, and the possible firing, of nuclear weapons."

Emerald eyes widened while Canada's face paled considerably. His prior anger forgotten, a sense of panic entered his voice. "Which country fired them? Iran? Pakistan? Russia?"

"None of them, sir."

"Then which one? Who was desperate enough to make such a rash decision?"

Any energy that was left in Mark completely disappeared. "Sir, the nuclear weapons have been activated by the U.S."

The revelation put both nations in such a shock that they failed to realize that the car lurched to a stop. Without another word, Mark helped them get out before motioning towards the building, leading the nations towards their destination. Down the halls, they passed a number of workers who were running in every direction, entering and leaving rooms, relaying messages. They were basically walking through chaos before they arrived at the operation room. Not that it was any calmer. When they walked through the doors, they were bombarded by frantic shouts coming from a large group of people, most likely crowding around the main computers, completely oblivious to their entrance.

Without hesitation, Mark went over and pulled the closest person away from the group. "What the bloody hell is going on?"

"We just got new information from the satellites. It looks like the bastards fired two missiles in two different directions."

England pushed Mark out of the way and grabbed the speaker's collar. "Where are they heading? What is their target?"

"We…we don't know yet. We're trying to predict the pathways, but we didn't have the time…"

He threw the man to the ground and pushed into the group until he could see the screens. He watched as the two lights moved across the digital map of America; one missile heading North-Northwest, the other heading South-Southwest. His eyes followed the movements, but his brain failed to register the information. Had America finally snapped? It couldn't been an act of terrorism. The weapons could only be fired when the command is given simultaneously at three different locations. A simple push of the button was not sufficient to launch a nuke. Yet, there were two of them, heading towards…hell, he had no idea where they were heading. He was suspicious about the one flying to the north, but he prayed that his prediction would be wrong. The one flying south, however, completely baffled him.

He felt a hand fall onto his shoulder and tighten. England looked up to see Canada staring intensely at the screens, fear and confusion present in those violet eyes. Despite the turmoil of emotions in his mind, England could not help but feel pity for the younger nation. A weapon capable of killing millions on the spot and poisoning the survivors was currently traveling across Canada's lands. The missile had been quick, already leaving the home ground in a matter of minutes. But the fear was most likely unneeded. There was no reason for America to attack his brother in such a matter.

England turned his attention back to the screens, and thus to the questions that continued to spin around his head. Was America aiming for Russia? The Cold War had definitely left a bitter aftertaste in the young nation's mouth, but did America hold such a large grudge that he would randomly attack his former enemy? Did he not realize that his decisions could ultimately destroy the Earth? Nothing made sense anymore. He could not think of a reasonable explanation. However, he knew that there was a possibility of another World War, along with the end of life as they knew it.

The grip on his shoulder tightened further, bringing him out of his thoughts and back to the room. A still silence hung over every person present as the lights finally stopped moving, indicating that they reached their destinations. England felt his mouth go dry, felt the cold sweat run down his body. The entire situation was unexpected, but what he was looking at now was too much. His brain became numb as his eyes registered the locations of the missiles, the places that would face the full destruction of the weapons.

One had stopped in the middle of Alaska.

One had stopped over Hawaii.