Vermont:
Jeninne crossed her arms and sighed. Once again her brother was late. She knew why, he was a busy nation after all… but she missed when she was little and he had time for her. She had told her brother/good friend Canada about her plans, hoping he might help America to remember. She looked at her watch and let her gaze wander through the landscape. Oh well, he would get there when he got there. And then, she thought mischievously, I'm going to drag him on a hike through Smuggler's Notch. She understood why he was late, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to get a little revenge. She deflated a little bit, who was she kidding? She adored Alfred, even if he could be dumb at times.

Her mind began to wander as she planned what she was going to make for dinner. Even when he forgot, America was always there by dinner time. Maybe a nice venison roast… she could have a fire built so they could roast marshmallows afterwards… She absentmindedly took out her phone as it beeped with a message.
"Meet me at the cabin" –Matthew
Vermont toyed with the end of one of her two braids thoughtfully. That's weird, it wasn't a number she recognized. It had the right area-code for Canada.. maybe his polar bear had eaten his phone again?
She looked down the road towards the border, hoping to see her blonde-haired sibling. She searched for a moment, then sighed. He wouldn't be coming for a while… might as well go see what Matt wanted and start getting dinner ready.
"Hello?" She asked when she got to the door of her cabin. It was her pride and joy, right on the lake with a perfect fishing spot and a great view of the mountains. She was expecting Canada to be waiting outside. She shrugged, maybe she had got here before him.
Vermont turned the doorknob and stepped over the thresh-hold. Something swung through the air and sounded with a deafening CRACK as it landed on her shoulder. It would have hit her on the head had she not seen movement out of the corner of her eye. She staggered back clutching her arm and spun to see what had hit her.
"Well yer nimble now, eh?" A tall figure strode forward, a hockey stick resting on his red clad shoulder, dark glasses covering his eyes.
Vermont's eyes widened, "2p.." she whispered. Her face hardened. She may be a tiny state, but NO ONE messes with her. "Get out of my house." She growled.
"No problem." He started to walk forward, then tossed something to her. Automatically she caught it. It was one of her coins, but why-? WHAM!
Pain erupted in her head and she was thrown through the air. 2p! Canada had taken advantage of her distraction and struck. "Sorry aboot this," He said, not especially apologetic. He started walking toward Vermont, who was feeling her head dazed, taking her hand away to realize it was covered in blood. "My own Vermont wouldn't stop poisoning the syrup til I dealt with you. She takes after Oliver a bit too much."
Jeninne was shaking, blood loss confusing her. Like HELL I'm going down like this. She struggled, trying to get to her feet.
"Oi, stop your scrambling. Don't make it harder than it has to be, eh?" He took another step toward her. "It'll be over soon, so-" His words were cut off by a loud bang. He grunted in pain and looked at his shoulder where blood was beginning to spread. He looked back at Vermont, who was holding a smoking gun. She always had one on her, though it was concealed. Matthew looked at his wound in disbelief. "You shot me."
Jeninne smirked, "Least gun regulations, least crime." She kept her gun pointed at the nation, wary of what he might do.
His face filled with a dark anger. "You little bitch." He swung the hockey stick down on her wrists. She gasped in pain, her gun sent skittering away. She looked up at Canada with defiance. She was defenseless.
Carefully, methodically, he place one heavy combat boot on her leg. He leaned, adding more and more pressure. Vermont arched her back and hissed in pain, refusing to give him the satisfaction of crying aloud. Soon all his weight was on her leg. She was breathing in gasps, blood from her head was still flowing and began dripping into her eyes. She could hear her bones crunching together.
Matthew smirked and took his weight away. "You're strong." He then stepped back and casually kicked her leg with all his strength.
There was a loud snap. The pain followed seconds after. Agony flooded through her. Vermont couldn't help it, she screamed. She tried to reach her leg with her mangled hands, but before she could sit up a heavy knee landed on her chest, forcing the air out of her lungs. Tears of pain streamed from her eyes.
"Yeh really shouldn't have shot me." He grabbed her face in one rough hand. Vermont flinched slightly as his fingers dug into her cheek bones. Even through her tears she glared at him. "You could have saved yourself the pain." He took off his sunglasses to reveal cold eyes that glinted with amusement.
"Like I'd go down without a fight." She spat.
He pulled out a switch-blade. "It's almost a shame to kill you, you're kinda fun. But you owe me for that shot." He brought the blade down on her cheek. "So, you were the fourteenth state?" Swiftly he cut 14 lines into her face.
She grit her teeth. "Go. To. Hell."
He smirked. "And you've had how many presidents?" He pretended to think. "I can't remember, so I'll guess five." He carved five more marks onto her face. This went on for hours. He would pick a fact with a number and add that many wounds to her already crippled body. Eventually Vermont's mind slipped away. There was nothing but pain.
Finally, Matthew stopped cutting into her flesh. He stood and stretched. Jeninne's face remained blank. "It's been fun, but you're about gone." She barely blinked. "Poor 1p me, better let him know what happened. He's kinda attached to you." He knelt and trailed his hand through a pool of her blood and began writing on the wall. When he was done he grabbed his hockey stick and walked out, "See ya, Jeninne."
As soon as his shadow vanished a whimper escaped her throat. What was death like? She didn't want to know. It hurt. She was afraid. She hoped Al would find her soon, but she couldn't be sure. Desperately she snatched up a piece of paper from the floor. Ignoring that her hair was sticking to the blood on her face she began writing. Don't let him know, she told herself. He can't know about the pain, don't break his heart. She was about to finish signing it when a spasm went through her. She clenched the note in fear. This was it. She had never felt so cold. So alone. A last tear fell from her eye. She didn't want-

Silence

America:
"Hey, Alfred, do you mind checking in on Vermont? She said you guys had some 'hang out' time planned but she hasn't been responding to my texts. –Matthew"

You read Canada's text for the tenth time, rushing as you pushed a burger in your mouth and pulled on your aviator jacket, the 50 displayed proudly on your back. Although, you wouldn't be surprised if you had 49 by the end of the day.

You can't believe you forgot about your hang out time…again.

"I'll be back later!" you call to the countless secretaries and public relation members rushing around your house.

"But Sir!" one of them called, ludicrous, "We still have countless of forms and-

"I haven't seen my little sister in forever, I'll take care of it when I get back" you call over your shoulder as you run out the door, slamming it behind you in your rush. Feet slam loudly against the cement as you run, scaring away the pigeons. "Excuse me! This is a matter of national security! Out of the way!" you shouted, dodging a few civilians as you run like a madman through the streets. Finally the buildings became smaller and farther apart, the cement giving way to dirt roads and then rolling hills, a slight breeze making the grass wave like an ocean. Then, yep, there's the pungent smell of cow manure, you are definitely in the right place. You slowed down a bit, looking around for your little sister, she was usually waiting for you on the boarder….although she might have given up on you and went to go hunt to try to forget about it. You should probably tread carefully, she might be small but that rifle she carries around isn't anything to sneeze at, she also is pretty handy with an axe….all that winter firewood has to come from somewhere.

Your little sister scares you sometimes when you think about it, no wonder Russia aimed for her during the Cold War, it's amazing that you can forget about such an important state so often.

"Vermont! Hey, Jeninne, it's me! It's Alfred! Where are ya?!" you call, making as much noise as you can, don't want any hunting accidents today. Everything is quiet, except for the occasional small animal, a small knot forms in your chest, Jeninne was usually good at listening, her state wasn't very big, and she should've heard you by now. You shake the thought out of your head, you were being ridiculous, she was more than capable of taking care of herself, plus Canada helped keep an eye on her for you. Still, the knot remained. With a bit more quickness in your step, you head to Jeninne's cabin; it was nothing big or expensive. It was small and quaint, she built it herself when she became a state, you offered to help get her a big mansion like yours, but she refused. She wanted to make it herself so it'd be even more special, it took her most of the summer, but she got it done, and with her own two hands, too. She had to get it renovated a few years ago to accommodate her electrical needs, which she also did herself. She was always so independent; you guess she had to be if her own country didn't pay attention to her.

God, you were a horrible big brother.

After some aimless wandering around you finally find the log cabin, and you feel your heart leap into your throat. The door was wide open; you tried not to notice the long red stain on the inside of it and failed. A second later you were running, a blink of an eye later you were inside, Jeninne was on the floor. Blood roared in your ears, there was so much blood. Oh God her body, her leg was twisted wrong, her hair, usually in neat double braids, was strewn about her face, slick with blood. You could see ugly bruises all over her body.

"Jeninne!" you shout, at her side in an instant cradling her broken form, she was so cold. Immediately you take off you jacket and wrap it around her, somewhere deep inside you knowing it wouldn't help, but you still denied it. You brushed the hair out of her face…and then you knew.

She was dead, her face didn't have the light that everything alive has, it was cold and grey, shock took over then. Something in you snapped and nothing seemed real anymore.

Oh God her face.

She had been beaten…her face was swollen and her skull had a dent in it. You looked up then, and that's when you saw it, scrawled messily on the wall in blood:

"She said she wouldn't leave me alone until she was dead -2p!Matthew" you were in shock…you were still reregistering Jeninne's mangled body in your arms and the blood you were kneeling in, too much blood. You saw the note though, in her hand in her neat, fancy script…in her own blood. She clutched it, even as cold as she was, carefully you took it from her, cooing soft assurances to her even though you knew she was…The note was addressed to you.

"Alfred,

Hey big brother, I tried to last till you got back. We had that hang out time planned, but you probably forgot... that's ok, you're busy, I understand. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. He caught me off-guard. But... don't worry... it didn't really hurt much... and besides... It's not like people will miss me... I didn't stand out much before...tell New York and New Hampshire not to fight over my stuff. It's all going to Maine... tell Canada I'm going to miss him... I'm going to miss you too... but you'll be ok, right? You didn't really need me anyways... just... all i ask is... don't forget me.. please..."

Jeninne Dubois Jo-

It all hit you like a truck then… you screamed. You yelled at her, begging her to say something, to get up, to smile at you one more time as your tears mixed with her blood. You have no idea how long you were screaming for, but Canada came, he tried to pull you away from her, you fought viciously against him. If you let go of her then there was no hope. No hero could make her better again if you let her go, ever. How could you be the 'hero' if you couldn't fix her broken form, make her better and smile again? Somehow England got there and the two of them managed to rip you away from the body, that's what it was now and you knew it, it was a body. You couldn't deny it anymore.

Jeninne was dead, and it was all your fault.

You don't remember much after that, only that a lot of people showed up, you have no idea if they were countries or civilians. You just sat on a nearby stump and stared at the note that Jeninne had spent her last moments of life writing. If you had remembered your hang out time then this would never have happened. If you had stopped working for two seconds to call her up this wouldn't have happened.

If you weren't such a God awful brother, you would've been there to protect her. All she wanted to do was hand out with you, and you forgot her. She never complained or fussed, even though she had every right to, she always smiled at you even though you deserve every last bit of her scorn.

She just wanted to be remembered, oh God, she thought you would forget her…Somewhere, in another dimension, you hear someone say that they got 2p!Canada, somewhere in the back of your brain you remembered the message on the wall. Anger boiled in you, quickly turning into a blinding rage brought on by grief. You grabbed the nearest object, an axe, and strode over to where everyone else was.

"Where is he?" You demanded, barley able to keep a forced calm in your voice that fooled no one.

"America, you-

"WHERE IS HE?!" you roared, cutting him off. You felt everyone's eyes on you, but you didn't care, someone had to pay for Jeninne's little body, and it was easier to blame someone else then yourself for not being there. A tussle could be heard a little ways away, you locked onto the sound and followed it, your gaze finding Matthew. His 2p! version that is, his bright red jacket was covered in crimson stains and someone next to him held his hockey stick, it shone with blood, he was bound to a chair. You only took one step toward him before Canada was in front of you, blocking your way.

"America, think about this…" he warned.

"What is there to think about!" You shouted, "He killed her, Matt, you expect me to let that go? Let him go?"

"No. I expect you to act like a country!" Matt shouted back.

"Heh, a country" You said, anger and grief making me sarcastic. "What kind of country am I if I let my sister's killer get away! After she…" You looked down at the note, clutched in your hand, Canada followed your gaze and slowly took it from your hand. After a moment you saw his face pale.

"America…I'm so sorry." His voice was full of pain; he had lost someone today too. He took a steadying breath, being much stronger than you at the moment.

"Yeah…you're not the only one…"

"…I can't let you kill him…" he said quietly

"What?! Why not?! He deserves it! Jeninne would've-" Suddenly, Matthew smacked you across the face, your head snapping to one side from the force.

"Do not use her as a reason to murder." Matthew said darkly. "She never liked it when family fought, like it or not, in some sick, twisted way…that's family." I followed Matt's pointed hand to his other self. "Do not destroy every belief she had in you, Alfred. Give him due process, just like any other murderer."

"How…" You asked, my voice cracking as new tears streamed down my face, "how do I live up to her beliefs…she thought…Oh God, Matthew, she was waiting for me. She was dying and waiting for her big brother to come save her!" You finally lost, it finally all hit at once, sobs racked your body as Matthew held you up, your tears soaking into his sweater.

"I know, but she'll be back." He said reassuringly.

"It won't be the same! You know what happens when we change bodies! She'll forget everything, only remember the 'important stuff', out history, not our experiences!" You cried, hanging onto him.

"It'll take time…you'll get another chance to show her that you can be there for her…understand?" You nodded, and Matthew took you home and stayed with you, all of the secretaries and other officials gone, leaving the big mansion empty and lonely. Maybe Vermont had something going with that small cabin, it was always warm and welcoming, and this place feels cold and forlorn. It would be a couple weeks before she gets a new body and comes back, you'll have to clean up her cabin for her welcome home.

You aren't going to screw this up twice.

Vermont:
It was blank.

Not cold, not warm. Not light, not dark.

And then there was a noise.

Her heart began to beat.
With a gasp, Vermont sat up. She looked around in the gloom to realize she was in her bed. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. So that was dying.
She took a deep breath, a thought returning to her. Don't let him see the pain.
Vermont stumbled unsteadily from her bedroom to the living room where a figure sat by a crackling fire. Gathering her hair she quickly put it up into one braid instead of her usual two. Taking a moment to fix on a smile she walked in. "Hi Alfred!"

America:
You had spent the last couple weeks at Vermont's house, when she woke up she would have someone there for her. Dozing in front of a fire was awesome, it was really relaxing and you got to forget about what had happened for a while, it let you pretend that it was just another day at Vermont's house.

"Hi Alfred!" You hear from behind you, in an instant you were awake and on your feet.
Jeninne stood in the hall, her hair messily in a single braid, a smile on her face. Your chest tightened. Thinking this moment over in your head for weeks still didn't help prepare you. Without thinking you embrace her in a tight hug, trying to keep the overwhelming amount of emotion down. After a long moment and a slight cough from Jeninne, you released her and took a step back.
"How… How are.. How's things going?" Wow. Smooth. You get your little sister back from beyond the grave and that's what you ask her.

Vermont:
She was unprepared for the bear-hug that greeted her. She wanted nothing more than to stay like in her big brothers arms, safe and warm. But then he would know something was wrong. Vermont coughed slightly. To her relief, and disappointment, he let go. "How's things going?" He asked awkwardly.
Her face stayed calm, but in her mind she was panicking. What do I say? Oh crap, oh crap! Finally she gathered her thoughts. "Pretty good. I'm sorry I over-slept our hang out time! I guess it was my turn to be late." She tried to laugh. Stupid! Why did you say that?!

America:
The pause. There was a definite pause there... and you could have sworn you saw a slight panic creep onto her features. Her laugh… it was wrong. Not light and bubbly like it normally is…it sounded forced. You prayed you were wrong, that you were so completely wrong. Then you looked into her eyes.
You were right, she remembered something. She was always a bad liar.
"…What... What do you remember last?" You asked, keeping eye contact with her, if someone looked away when talking that usually means they're lying. Please don't look away, you pray silently.

Vermont:
She saw him watching her intently. "W-What do you mean?" Her eyes flickered momentarily to the place where she had died, then immediately back to her brother. "I remember you and me on the phone. Talking about today… Why?" she laughed again, nervous this time. He suspected. It wasn't supposed to happen like this! "Did you forget something?"

America:
You felt your heart shatter, the crashing noise it made echoing inside you. She remembered, even looked at the spot she died… the spot you held her and screamed for hours. Why? The reoccurring thought kept coming. She could tell you anything and you could tell her anything, why would she lie now?
"I didn't forget a thing," You say quietly, feeling hollow. "But I hoped you had…" Tears stung your eyes, but you pushed them away. You had to be strong. "Please Jeninne; tell me what's going on."

Vermont:
Her eyes widen momentarily. Oh God, he had been the first to find her. Instantly she masked it with a blank face. She took a step away from him. It almost ripped out her heart to do it, but she couldn't let him see her pain. "I don't know what you're talking about," She refused to meet his eyes. "I'm fine."

America:
You had to resist the urge to step closer to her when she moved away. It felt like a slap to the face when she wouldn't look at you. Finally the first tear escaped you, but you refused to break down. Not now. That didn't stop your voice from cracking though.
"Please… out of everyone, please… don't lie to me."

Vermont:
His voice crushed her heart. She couldn't do it. She couldn't lie to her brother.. yet neither could she tell him the truth.. maybe not all the truth. Slowly she met his eyes. "I'm sorry.. I-I do remember." She saw the question in his eyes. "All of it.. but-!" her voice became almost happy, "it wasn't that bad! It barely hurt!" her heart sank.. he would see right through it.. but she had to be strong for him. He felt the pain of others too keenly, and she didn't want to burden him with what he couldn't change

America:
The tears were flowing freely now as much as you hated it. You saw her after… you were the first to see her. There were fatal injuries alright… but only if left untreated… it would have taken hours for her to finally… go. She would've felt everything, the broken leg, the broken skull, the broken clavicle, all of it. It had to take her hours… all that blood…"Why do you keep doing this?" you ask, suddenly feeling so very weak. "Why won't you come out with it? I-" you choked back a sob before continuing, "I held you, I saw.. please Jeninne, don't lie to me, you can hate me or even kill me if you want, but please…don't lie to me."

Vermont:
Her throat clenched up. Even in trying to keep her brother from pain she was harming him. She didn't know what to do. "I could never hate you." She looked deep into his eyes. Tears were falling down his face. some of her own threatened to fall, but she already had hurt him enough. He had seen her. Oh how she had hoped that it would have been someone else to find her body. So all he would have done would be reading the note.

"It-" She swallowed. "Alright, it hurt. But it's nothing I can't handle" She said shakily. "You don't need to worry about me, it's over. I'm-" She couldn't bring herself to say fine. "I'll be ok.." ok... flashes of "that time" played through her head. She hoped she would end up ok...

America:
"You were always so independent..." he muttered quietly, "I'm here you know. So are the other 49, we all want to be there for you..." your voice trailed off as you tried to think of something else to say, something that would make her all better so you could see that smile one more time. Just then there was a knock at the door, the sounds of a key in a lock followed by the door opening. It was Canada, your Canada, he said that he might drop by with a few things in case you got hungry, that explains why he carried multiple bags of McDonald's, you hadn't been eating recently and Matt was worried sick. You felt terrible; he didn't need to have something else to worry about, not now.

Vermont:
When she looked up all Vermont saw was a man in red with blonde hair. All she saw was 2p! Canada, come back again. She fell to her knees in terror. "No! Please no!" She sobbed, eyes wide with horror. She tried to scramble back only to slip."Not again! Please! Oh God, never again! Just-! Just finish me this time! Don't make me suffer your cruel games!" Her voice hitched with despair, all the injuries she had sustained seemed to return to her, along with their pain. She knew she wouldn't be strong enough to suffer like that. "Please!" She begged, sobbing. "Oh please, not again. Not again.."

America:
You run to Jeninne, finally realizing how much pain she was in, how hurt she was.

"Jeninne! Don't worry, it's just me and Canada, remember? Your friend, not the other one!" you held her close to your body, cooing softly to her. "It'll be alright...I'm here for you..." You look at Matt, worried and apologetic, he looked pained and that made your chest knot. He nodded, though, and left the food on the counter and left, locking the door.

Vermont:
She felt someone strong grab her, but didn't register who it was. At first she writhed, trying to fight them off. She didn't want to die again! Not so soon! Then she recognized the voice. Alfred. She let all the tension leave her muscles and she melded into his arms, her hands covering her face. "not again," She whispered. "please never again." Her body continued to shake, wracked by sobs.

America:
"It's okay" you keep whispering to her, "It was just Matt, our Matt, the other one...he was sentenced to death then a hundred years in imprisonment, he got off light if you ask me" She didn't seem to hear you or really register what you were saying, but she seemed to calm down a little.

"You know...you don't have to be alone, not ever. You can always count on me, and everyone else." your voice cracked again, every time you tried to be strong for her, you seem to just break down. "I don't want you to suffer alone, I know it's going to be hard but I'm going to be here for you from now on. If I had been there like I said I would then maybe...Oh God Jeninne, I am so sorry, this is all my fault..." You held her tight, not wanting to let go, the pain suddenly too real and fresh, "I am so sorry"

Vermont:
It finally got through to Vermont what her brother was saying. He wasn't there. He wasn't going to get her. "Just Mattie," She said in a hushed tone. But the dam of her emotions was already cracked, there was no stopping the flood. She continued to shake in his arms, tears flowing even stronger.

"I was- s-so afraid." She whispered, clutching to his arm, eyes squeezed shut. "It hurt- oh God it hurt so much!" She was choking on her own words. "He had all these numbers.." She cringed to remember. "Every time he would pick one and add that many wounds to me.." Her eyes snapped open. she was terrified that speaking of it would make it happen again, but now that she had started she couldn't stop. "A-at one time he hit me.." Her eyes were haunted, staring at the place where all this had occurred, "One blow for every citizen. then-" she swallowed and gasped out her breath, "One cut for every sugar maple.. two for every farm. He-he-" She began to hyperventilate. It was happening! Again! It wasn't over! She was back on the floor, those cruel eyes burning into her soul as over and over again the cold steel sliced her, the weight of his body on her chest the only thing keeping her from screaming in agony.

America:
You held her tight and wouldn't let go, fresh tears starting down your face and landing in her hair. How on earth can you let that monster live? How can you let him keep on existing when you know what he did to your little sister?

"Jeninne, remember when we went and climbed up a maple tree and fell down? I had to hold you like this while the doctor looked at your arm and got you all fixed up." Yes, try to distract her, distract her from the pain and fear and let her focus on the good times you've shared together. "I will not let it happen again, over my dead body and any other body of mine. I. Will. Not. Let. It. Happen. Even if I have to stay here with you forever, I will not let you go through that again"

Vermont:
She heard a voice. Vermont was still trapped in her memories, but a voice reached her. She held out a shaking hand, realizing her mind was afield. "Help me." She gasped as the memory of when her other shoulder was crushed flooded her senses. "Help me." Her voice was small, like a child's. "Get me out of here.."

America:
Without a second thought you wrapped her up in your arms and picked her up, kicking the door open and running out, carrying her the whole way, not paying attention where you were going. You just wanted your little sister not to be scared anymore; you finally stopped after God knows how much running, sitting down under a tree gasping for breath.

"Better...now...?" you asked between breaths, her tiny body still in your lap.

Vermont:
Jeninne is silent for a moment, not moving. Then her eyes widen as she realizes she is outside. It's over. The pain is over. Her wide eyes gaze up into the deep blue sky. She stares at it. It was so calm, so peaceful. Could it be? Slowly she turned her head to look at America. She placed one shaky hand on his cheek, to be certain he was real. "...Brother..?" she managed to croak.

America:
"Yeah...it's me" you said, relief flooding over you, an idiotic smile spreading across your face. "It's all over now, no one is ever going to hurt you ever again, not unless they want to take me on first" Her hand was warm on your cheek, filling you with joy, she wasn't cold, not anymore. She was going to be fine. You felt her brush away some of the tears on your face, she still seemed to be coming to, but she didn't look quite as scared anymore.

Vermont:
A tiny giggle started in Vermont. "They'll have to go through you first?" She continued to laugh weakly, but she didn't know why. Then she noticed a small cut under his eye. She gently put a finger to it. "Guess I must be in bad shape for this to happen.." She said somberly. "Never thought I would cause you physical pain.." She sadly looked at her brother. "I'm sorry I lied.. I thought it would be easier for you but..." She shuddered, trying to keep away the memories. "In the end it just hurt both of us more.."

America:
You rub the small scratch, noticing it only then.

"Don't blame yourself. You did it out of love, you were trying to protect me...just remember that I'm the big brother and I should be the one protecting you." You smile at her again, tussling her hair like you did when she was little, happy to hear laugh, even if it was weak. "We all have our painful times, just remember that you have someone to lean on when you are in pain, it is a beautiful world after all"