A/N: Thanks for all the support guys! Whew! These chapters just keep getting longer and longer!

Chapter 6

1950-1953

The Korean War

It wasn't long before UN forces landed in Korea, helping to reclaim the southern capital of Seoul from the northern invaders. They managed to push them back and, in a few months, they passed the 38th parallel into North Korea. It looked like the conflict would be over soon.

Until China stepped in. With 300,000 soldiers. This forced the UN troops further back from the northern capital. When they tried to retaliate again a month after, China returned with a force 500,000 strong.

America was pissed, to say the least. He really didn't want to be wasting all his time on this petty 'civil war' when he had bigger things to deal with. He was wasting money he could be using to improve his national security or funding his weapons program, which he had grown rather fond of .

Apparently, some of the other countries in the UN felt the same. Alfred was forced to attend a United Nations meeting. It would be his very first one.

At the meeting, the other nations were nervous having the unstable American there. By now, it was a well known fact that he had lost his mind, becoming obsessed with defeating Russia and his communism, even thought Ivan had stayed relatively subdued lately.

The young blond looked around the room as his boss spoke, leading the meeting in his place. He made no eye contact with anyone as he looked at the familiar yet distant faces of his former friends.

'They all hate me.'

Suddenly his eyes fell upon his old father-figure, England. He was concentrating on Truman's speech, his furry eyebrows scrunched together in thought. Alfred didn't take his eyes off of him. Through everything that had happened since the end of the Second World War, Arthur had been right at his side, helping him along. Thought as of late, it had been quite a long time since the two saw each other.

The meeting dragged on. Eventually, it was decided that they would continue to help South Korea even after China intervened. America sighed. He knew it. Did they really need to waste his time deciding a fact?

Afterwards, many of the world leaders went out to lunch. Some of the Nations did the same and Alfred wanted to see if Arthur would join him. He eventually found the Englishman still sitting in the conference room he was looking down in his lap. America was a little nervous about entering the room, but he decided against it.

"Hey England. Haven't see you in a while. How've ya been?"

He looked up. "Oh hello Alfred." His emerald eyes glanced back down before gazing into baby blues. "I'm been fine. How have you been holding up?" He wondered if the younger nation would understand what he had meant by the question.

Alfred gave a puzzled look before sitting down next to the older man. "Well I managed to make it here, didn't I?" Arthur could see signs of his old trademark smile creep up on his lips.

"True, but otherwise how are you? You aren't letting Russia get to you now, are you?"

Any trace of a smile faded from America's face. How did Arthur know that? That Russia was haunting his dreams and plaguing his thoughts? He glared at the older nation. "Who told you? Was it a communist spy that invaded my land? One of my own government officials?" There was a seriousness to America's face that made England feel uneasy.

"No America, not at all. I just assumed-"

"Don't lie to me England! I've had enough of people and there lies."

Arthur blinked. "I'm not lying, Alfred, I'm concerned for your health, for your safety. Don't you think you're taking this whole 'communist paranoia' thing too far? You know just as well as I do that no one can infiltrate your government." He was lying, but he needed to do something to calm the young man down.

Alfred's eyes intensified behind Texas. "I used to think that, until I found those damned soviet spies! God knows how much information they relayed back to Russia!"

They sat in silence.

"Alfred, I need you to know something."

The American gave a questioned look, yet it was easy to tell that he was still upset. This probably wasn't the best time to tell him, but it needed to be done before he found out from someone else.

"Alfred, I'm-"

"England!" Arthur's boss had returned from lunch early. "We must hurry back, Arthur. Something's come up in parliament. Let's go." He nodded and stood up. "Sorry to leave in such a rush, Alfred, but duty calls. Goodbye." The two Englishmen left, leaving behind a confused and angered America.

He sat in the conference just as England had, his eyes drifting to the floor. Whatever England had wanted to tell him couldn't be very important or else he would have told him before he hurried off. Alfred chuckled. It had almost sounded like Arthur was going to tell him that he was now communist. But that wouldn't surprise him. Certainly not anymore.

Alfred continued to sit alone until his boss had returned from lunch a little over half an hour after England had left. During that time, America's mind had managed to be blank. There were no thoughts of Russia, or communists or Arthur. Nothing. It was nice to be able to not feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, even if it was for only thirty minutes.

After the re-invasion of South Korea, the UN forces managed to reclaim Seoul again, this time from the Chinese. Fighting continued between the two sides and men continued to lose their lives, all in the fight against the spread of communism.

It took over a year and a half for reality to strike America. China's aid to the north was unforeseen and therefore threw the UN off of its original plans. However, it hadn't really occurred to Alfred just why Yao decided to get involved. He beat himself for not have noticing it earlier.

Russia had ordered his to.

China was now communist and had a mutual agreement with Russia; a 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' kind of treaty. Though China had been doing all the dirty work and was risking his men out of the battlefield, Russia was the one pulling the strings. Ivan obviously had something to gain out of this conflict, and it bothered the hell out of America as to what it could be. Russia had been supplying North Korea with weapons long before the invasion, just how long ago was unknown.

It pissed him off that Russia thought it could control another country like that, even thought now China was his enemy. China had a right to do what he wanted. If he needed help rebuilding after his civil war why didn't he ask him? He could have given him freedom. It didn't matter now though. He didn't give a rat's ass anymore. Once he took our Russia, China would soon fall after. Alfred smiled at the thought of the taller man kneeling before him in defeat and pain. It pleased him.

---

A few months later, Alfred's boss declared to the world (though many knew it really only applied to the communist powers) that the United States was prepared to defend 'free peoples'. This was a daunting task that Alfred was willing to take to further eliminate Russia's looming threat. He knew it was risking the lives of his children in uniform, but it was a necessary part of this undeclared war.

So far there hadn't been any official name to the feud between the two superpowers. Alfred had always just referred to it as just that; a feud. But it had grown to be so much more. After great deliberation, a name popped into his mind.

"The Cold War." He said it to himself. The name held more meaning to him than anyone could imagine.

He had changed so much in only a few years. It was like he was an entirely different person. He no longer was the fun-loving, adventuring-seeking 'hero' he had always claimed to be. No. Now, Alfred had been scared by the after effects of war. He saw the world as a much darker and twisted world, a world that only he could fix. Russia was the darkness that went against everything the American stood for.

He vowed to obliterate Russia off the maps and eliminate his name from the histories. He would destroy any man who dared utter the very name of Russia.

Oh yes, this 'cold war' had removed many emotions from Alfred. He had become heartless towards the larger nation. They next time the two superpowers met would be the last time either would see the light of day, for a nuclear war was practically guaranteed. It hovered just over the horizon and took the breath of the world away.

---

The war in Korea continued. It was nothing more than an annoying fly to Alfred. Every time he would try to focus on another issue, the fly would buzz about until he was forced to do something about it.

The fighting was pointless and stupid. Brothers were killing brothers. North Korea wanted to unite the entire peninsula under communism, but there would be nothing left to unite if this continued.

It didn't take long for the opposing side to come to this realization as well. A year later, in 1953, an armistice was signed by both parties, effectively ending the war. Though there was no celebration in the White House as many events prior to the war's end further drove America to the edge of sheer madness.

Alfred had received an unexpected visit from Arthur. He had asked if their bosses were having a meeting, but discovered that his boss hadn't made the trip 'across the pond.' "We need to talk, America." A little surprised by Arthur's seriousness, Alfred led then down the main wing of his house and to the very last room. The two sat down, across from each other, in a private conference room.

"So what do you need to talk about, Arthur?"

The older nation looked his former colony straight in the eye. "I need to tell you something."

Alfred laughed. He always tried to act like his old self around others, especially the other nations. He wouldn't dare show them how mentally weak he had recently become. "That again? Good, maybe this time we won't be interrupted."

"This is serious America. And please, don't be angry at me when I tell you. If it was up to me, it would have never happened."

Oh god, he really had turned to communism. Alfred had always prepared for it, but now that it was happening he didn't know if he could handle fighting Arthur yet again.

England took in a deep breath before speaking. His palms were cold and clammy. He didn't know what to expect from the America. He couldn't read him like he used to and that scared him. "My people have successfully tested our own atomic bomb."

Alfred blinked. He would have much rather preferred to hear that Arthur was a communist.

Silence.

Utter silence.

It unnerved England. Just as when he was going to tell him before, he knew that America was mentally unstable. He wished that the blonde would do something, anything, to signal that he understood.

America slowly reached up for his glasses and, with a shaking hand, placed them on the table. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and exhaled. He still had not said a word.

"America?"

Nothing.

"Alfred, please. Say something."

Before anyone could blink, the younger nation rose from his seat and leapt over the table at England. He punched the other man square in the jaw and effectively knocked them down to the ground. When Arthur gathered himself, Alfred was on top of him; his eyes fuming. He swore that the American was burning a hole in his head.

Arthur grabbed his jaw and called out in pain. "Jesus America, what the hell was that for?!"

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Alfred's vision was blurred without Texas, but he could clearly see England's eyes widen beneath him.

"How could you even think of building such a destructive weapon?! Do you not see all of the pain it's caused? Not just for me and Russia, but for everyone?! Are you so selfish that you thought you needed to build one just to feel safe? How dare you! How fucking dare you!" By this time, the few tears that had welted in the corner of America's baby blues dropped down to land of England's cheeks. He was just so fed up with everything, and now England was getting involved in the arms race? He felt as though he had been stabbed in the back.

America didn't even attempt to move off of the older nation, nor wipe the tears from his eyes that continued to roll down his cheeks and down to the pinned man below. "You'll go mad, Arthur. You'll wish that you'd have never created them. I hope you can take all the shit that you're gonna be dealt, cause nothing's gonna be pretty now. Not anymore. You wanna be a superpower? Fine. Have fun, 'cause I sure as hell aren't." He sniffed and finally wiped his pain away.

Arthur was stunned. Absolutely stunned. He knew that America had changed since the war ended, but never to this extent. He had no idea just how much the younger nation was hurting and it truly pained him to see him like this. He continued to lay down on the ground as America slowly rose to his feet and stumbled back to his chair. He rubbed his eyes once more before replacing Texas. Only then did Arthur sit up. He felt his jaw and hissed at the pain. His America was still strong, all right.

Again, they sat in silence. It was something they had grown accustomed too.

Shortly after, a few Secret Service men stormed into the room to see what the cause of all the noise was. Even though they were in the very last room in the hallways, the sound of Alfred's yelling echoed down towards the Oval Office. Arthur stood, trying his best to hide his now red face. "I'm sorry to have disrupted you gentlemen, but we were just having a heated discussion over the war in Korea. Now, if you wouldn't mind leaving us…" The men looked suspiciously at the two personified nations before leaving.

"You should leave too, England." Alfred held his face in his hands, somewhat muffling his words.

Arthur nodded, even though he knew it wasn't seen. He made his way towards the door, and then stopped with his hand of the doorknob.

"I'm not joining your 'arms race', nor do I have any desire to be a superpower. There's only enough room in this world for one hero. Goodbye, Alfred." And with that, Arthur left for his own home, wanting to get some ice of his jaw as soon as possible.

Hero…what a funny word. He wondered who that hero was.

Alfred continued to sit with his head in his hands. His hair draped around the edges, some pieces lightly brushing against the wet part of his face. He remained in this position even as all of his build up anger rushed to escape through his tear ducts. He never cried. Never saw reason to, but now he finally knew that he was alone.

He trusted no one and no one liked what he had become.

He screamed into his gloved palms as he cried. He wanted all of his anguish to leave him. He never asked for any of this. He never saw it coming and now reality was crashing down on him and couldn't breathe anymore. He yelled at nothing as the tears rolled down his arms and puddle onto the table below. God, he had hated what he had become. A heartless monster.

He had become Russia.

This new found information only made him hate Russia more. He stood up and cursed Ivan as he flipped over the large oak table. It knocked over the chairs on the other side and crushed the chair that Arthur had been in. He breathed heavily as he continued to kick the table. It wasn't long before a crack appeared down the middle, effectively splitting it in two. Alfred was more determined than ever to eliminate Ivan's threat and forever kill the deranged man, wiping him off the face of the earth. A sly smile crept across his thinned lips at the thought. Maybe he would use one of Russia's own weapons to kill him. Maybe he'd used the weapon that started all this in the first place.

As he began to calm down, he wondered what he would do with all of Russia's land after he killed the larger nation. Maybe he could build a winter wonderland theme park with all the new land he would acquire. He liked the idea very much.

---

Before the war's end in 1953, the two superpowers faced a shift in power. America had just elected a new boss and Russia's had just passed away. Alfred saw this as the perfect opportunity to strike. Ivan was weak without a leader and the power struggle to replace Stalin could tear the man apart. For the first time, Alfred saw hope in effectively ending this Cold War.