Groggily, UN opened his eyes, groaning at the ringing of the clock that felt so distant only seconds before. 06:30, it read. It was early. Too early, especially for an Easter weekend. Still, Union rolled out of bed, switching on his bedside lamp and appreciating the fluffy carpet's warmth against his legs.

Perhaps half an hour longer won't hurt...

Dismissing the comforting thought of slumber, he finally dragged himself out of the comfort of his bedroom into the shower, willing himself to summon the necessary energy to get changed.

07:30, UN noted as his watch ticked onwards. Tying his tie loosely around his neck, he meandered out into the kitchen, grabbing himself a bowl of Cheerios from the vast snacks cupboard beside the kitchen door. He belted down the cereal and a glass of fruit juice, staring mournfully at the stove across the room. He couldn't cook, he had been made aware of that all too often. Still, his mother needed him, so he set to work frying eggs, toasting bread, grilling sausages and everything in between. Sure, the sausages were a little charred and the fire alarm's batteries had to be removed to avoid the noise, but it'd been much worse before. In fact, UN was rather proud of this particular attempt at a Full English Breakfast, seeing as this was the only time he'd ever completed one without having to make a separate meal for an entire country's worth of firefighters afterwards.

Pulling out a blue, dotted tray from one of the vast kitchen cupboards, he placed the large, white plate alongside some cutlery, some fresh apple juice and a few pills of various colours, then carried the ensemble of food items excruciatingly slowly back up the spiral staircase.

Sweat dripping from his brow, Union gently tapped on a wooden door at the end of the vast upstairs corridor, nudging it open with his elbow as he did.

"Hello, Mother," he smiled, his eyes darting to the bed across the room as he switched on the light. "I brought breakfast for you!"

. . .

"Mother?

Mother?! Wake up!" Frantically, UN threw down the tray and shook The League Of Nations' arm, voice crackling uncontrollably. "Mother... Please? Not now, not today..."

In answer to the silence that followed, Union rushed down the hallway, grabbing the family's telephone and punching in a series of numbers, picking up the speaker with trembling hands.

11:00, UN's watch now read. He gazed around the waiting room of the manor shared by the health organisations of a variety of nations, including those of his five closest friends. He'd been here for hours, simply staring at the sky-blue walls and pale, cloth lampshades. Most of the manor seemed very tranquil, but it's calming décor had little effect today. The wait was agony; on and on UN stared, avoiding the inevitable in his mind, fighting the voices that spoke what he knew was the undeniable truth.

How long he was sat alone he had no idea, but after a considerable amount of time, a grim-faced young man with a clipboard and pen emerged from the double doors at the end of the elongated room.

"Hello, Mr. United Nations." his accent wasn't dissimilar to Union's, a general professional drawl with an undeniable New York twang every few words.

"HHS, is she... how is she?" Union gazed hopefully up at the American doctor.

"Sir, I'm sorry... She's gone..."

"No... no... there has to have been a mistake! She can't be de-... gone!"

"No mistake, Sir, I'm sorry. Would you like me to call the five nations requested in her will?" HHS's voice was softer now, sympathetic, almost, but UN barely noticed, let alone cared anymore.

"Yes... that would be great, thank you..." UN's voice was unusually quiet now, empty in a way.

"Alright," HHS nodded, scribbling something onto the clipboard. "Goodbye, Sir... and my condolences to you."