I do not own the rights to Hetalia.

I've been wanting to write a Hetalia fic for a while, especially one concerning the states. It wan't until watching the History Channel show, "How the States got Their Shapes", and discovering that I live in a region that actually proposed to become it's own state, did I finally get a decent idea.

All of the 'wanna-be' states, 'lost/forgotten' states, and micro-nations in this fic have existed at one point or another (according to Wiki, which can be wrong). Some actually tried to become states officially, while others were just formed by individuals as a state of mind. It is not my intent to offend anybody living in the states or regions mentioned.

At the end of each chapter in the Author's Note, I'll elaborate a bit more on the history of a region, or an event I mentioned in the chapter.

These United States

Greetings From Madrid

If I had known what was awaiting me in the mail that day, I probably wouldn't have checked the mailbox. But I did check, and found 'it' amid all the bills and catelogues.

Okay, that's a lie. Things would be worse if I hadn't read 'it', so it's probably a good thing I did read 'it'. But that doesn't mean I enjoyed what followed after. Alright, maybe I did. A little.

'It' was a simple postcard from Illinois. 'Greetings from Madrid' was on the front. On the back Illinois had written, "Remember the fun time we had in '11 in Madrid? We should do that again sometime." Underneath she had signed her name: Elle B. Jones.

The postcard was innocuous enough. Just a friendly hello between friends and neighbors. Except for the fact that I had never been to Madrid with Illinois. Or that I had never been in Madrid in a year ending in 11. Or that if Illinois wanted to contact me she would have texted, called, e-mailed. Mailing a postcard just wasn't her style.

Which gave me my first clue that something was going on. Illinois didn't send postcards, so why send this one, talking about Madrid of all places? My second clue was that she had signed using her human name instead of her state one. Human names were only really used when dealing with humans who didn't know our true identities or people we didn't want to know who we were. But when we're together in private, we'll use our state names. They remind us who we really are (not human), and are a bit more intimate or private. So the fact that Illinois was using her human name also raised some red flags in my mind.

There was just one answer to her behavior. She was trying to get my attention that the postcard wasn't as innocent as it appeared. That's when I realized what she was really referring to. She wasn't referring to spending time in Madrid, Spain in '11. She was talking about another Madrid entirely.

The other Madrid, was actually, New Madrid, Missouri. A small city of roughly 3,000 people, located close to my bootheel, next to Arkansas. No reason for Illinois wanting to meet there if it wasn't for the towns proximity to the New Madrid Seismic Zone. For the most part, the Zone is rather quiet as long as I keep my temper. But from 1811-1812 there were a series of massive earthquakes felt as far away as the East Coast. There were no seismographs at the time, but it's estimated that the first one and subsequent ones maybe have been as high as 8 and was actually stronger than the San Francisco 1906 earthquake, or at least the intensity part was (take that California). The only reason why there were few deaths and damage was that the area affected was sparsely populated.

Technically, the epicenter of the first one was in northwest Arkansas. But at the time it was part of the massive territory I was about to cover known as the Missouri Territory. I say about, because it didn't actually happen till 1812, but was still in the works. Anyway, I still control the Zone today, despite what Arkansas might say. I'm older and know how to handle it properly. He's probably just sore over the whole bootheel thing. Not my fault Walker liked me better.

Besides Arkansas, Illinois is also close to the New Madrid Seismic Zone and does feel some of the quakes. Once in 1968, Illinois was the origin of a 5.4 earthquake, which she still hasn't forgiven me for. I do feel a bit sorry for her though. She has the New Madrid fault to the south, and the Wabash Valley one to the east, sharing with Indiana. Something one wouldn't normally associate with a state located in the middle of the country.

That's why the postcard could have only meant one place, New Madrid, Missouri. Illinois was with me for the first one, and some of the many earthquakes that followed after. It was the only Madrid that we were with each other in a year ending in '11.

The time of the first one was 2:16 AM. Illinois didn't actually show up till 2:30.

"You're late," I said as she sat down next to me. We were at Riverside Park, the only place we could really meet in the town at two in the morning.

"Traffic was horrible," she replied, as she pushed back a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear. At least I assumed it was blond, she's not known for changing her hair color that often.

"Since when are there traffic jams at midnight?"

"Since today," she said with a smirk.

I stuck out my tongue at her. "So, what's going on? What's with the coded message?"

Her smirk vanished, and her face took on a more serious look. "Remember, Little Egypt or Forgottonia?"

"Um...not really. But aren't they just wanna-be states?"

Illinois nodded. "They've always been a pain, like how Sealand is with Dad and the others. Except now, they've joined forces and monitoring what I do."

"And..." I motioned for her to continue.

"And they're blackmailing me unless I give them my support to become their own states. Chicago's joined them, and while there's actually a part of me that wouldn't mind him becoming his own state, or going back to Wisconsin at least, I still can't let the three of them succeed."

"Blackmailing you with what exactly?" I asked, my curiosity peaked.

"Lincoln's body," she dead-panned.

I started snickering. "Again? I thought you had it buried in concrete after last time."

"It was. But now, the three of them are threatening to blow it up."

"Uh-huh. I'm pretty sure that counts as terrorism. Why don't you just tell the FBI, Homeland Security, or Dad, and let them handle the situation?"

"I would, except... I have a feeling that I'm not the only one, and nobody else is actually admitting anything."

I stood up from the bench and met her blues with mine, starring at her in disbelief. "Let me get this straight. All of your wanna-be states, and possibly more, are blackmailing you, and maybe others, into supporting them to become official? That's the stupidest thing I've heard of."

Illinois rolled her eyes at me. "Why are you such a doubter all the time?"

Crossing my arms, I answered, "Well, it's kind of my nickname, 'The show me state', as in, show me proof. And this honestly sounds like the stupidest thing ever. It even beats Dad's Star Wars plan during the Cold War."

"Which worked by the way. The Soviets believed in it and went broke trying to design the technology to compete. Look, if you want proof go see Cali, or Texas. They have some of the most active wanna-bes running around."

I raised an eyebrow. "And why should I do all of this exactly?"

"Do you want 20 plus new states? Think of all the money that would have to be spent correcting road signs, maps, building state capitals, expanding the US Senate and House of Representatives. You think family get togethers suck now, just think how bad they'll be then."

Frowning, I realized that Illinois was right. If this was real, it would suck big time if all the wanna-bes became states in their own right.

"Fine," I conceded. "I'll do it. But you owe me. No more bitchin' about any past or future earthquakes because of the New Madrid Fault. And you have to admit the Cubs suck."

"I agree to the first, but you're out of mind for the second one. I do have some state pride after all."

"You're no fun. So where do I start?"

**Author's Note**

And so the first chapter ends. I plan on updating every other Thursday. So far the next three chapters are written, with more planned out, it's just writing all the reference information takes a while.

So thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and if possible, leave a review to let me know what you think.

Elle B. Jones: Illinois's human name. 'Elle' taken by the first syllable of Illinois, as Ill. B for Bonnefoy, since Illinois was under France's rule for a long time before joining the United States. And Jones should be obvious.

Dad: Alfred F. Jones, aka the United States of America, who is an adopted father.

One of my biggest pet peeves about Hetalia fics, is that the states are sometimes portrayed as America's and England's children. While England did have some influence on the original colonies and eastern part of the country, the further in the country you go, the less influence England had. Not only that, but there are a large number of states that were bought/annexed/ other from other countries such as Russia, Spain, and France. So saying that the states are America's and England's love children is just ridiculous in my mind.

Also, Hetalia has always been a bit vague about how the states came into being. In chapter 3, I'll go into more detail about Missouri's past, but for now just know she considers America as an adopted father. I did consider making Alfred an older brother, but realized that states are different than countries. Countries are made up of states or provinces, so it would make more sense for Alfred to have more control as a father, rather than be on equal terms with them as an older sibling.

New Madrid Seismic Zone: Everything mentioned about the Fault Zone, and 1811-1812 earthquakes is true. The first one occurred at 2:16 AM on December 16, 1811. There were four other major earthquakes that followed, with dozens of aftershocks that followed. The Mississippi appeared to flow backwards, and sand blows would appear.

At the time, there was no way to measure magnitude. Scientists can only estimate it based on the damage done, and place the series of earthquakes between a magnitude 7.0 and 8.0. It's estimated that the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was a magnitude 7.9.

Now, the intensity of the 1811-1812 earthquakes were greater than the 1906 one. Magnitude measures how strong an earthquake was, while intensity is measured by the human experience and how many felt it. In the case for the 1811-1812 earthquakes, they were felt as far away as Washington D.C. and Boston, over 50,000 square miles. The 1906 earthquake was only felt over 6,200 square miles. So while the 1906 might have had a larger magnitude, the 1811-1812 ones had a larger intensity.

Wabash Valley Seismic Zone: On the southwest border between Illinois and Indiana. Caused a 5.4 earthquake in April 2008. Some speculate that activity in the New Madrid area is decreasing, while the Wabash Zone is increasing.

Walker/bootheel: There are a couple different stories for Missouri's bootheel, but there is one that is regarded as the truth. John Hardeman Walker was a farmer with land in the bootheel, and didn't like the idea of having land in the Arkansas territory with the proposed border for Missouri. So he went to Congress, made his case, and the proposed Missouri border was redrawn to include the 'bootheel'.

Little Egypt: The southern third of Illinois. The culture is more similar to that of southeast Missouri, north Kentucky, and southwest Indiana. There are a couple different stories for the nickname. One is from the 1830's when north Illinois had a bad harvest and went to southern Illinois for grain. Another story is that the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys looked like Egypt's river delta to settlers. And yet another story dates to 1818 when Cario was founded where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi. Cairo still exists today, and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has the saluki, an Egyptian hunting dog, as it's mascot.

In 1861 at the beginning of the Civil War, the area proposed seceding from Illinois since residents supported slavery, and were more sympathetic politically and culturally to the South than to the North. It didn't happen, but the name is still around.

Forgottonia (also spelled Forgotonia): An area made of 14 counties in West Central Illinois. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, all of the federal highways that were developed and bi-passed the region. Feeling forgotten by the government and developers, residents of McDonough County came up with Forgottonia. Although there was no formal movement to become it's own state, a governor was named along with a capital. The movement did have some success though and eventually Amtrak added some service to the area, and several interstates have been completed since the 1980's.

Chicago: Originally, Chicago wasn't suppose to be part of Illinois, and was suppose to go to Wisconsin. But settlers in the area wanted part of the Great Lakes for trade, and so the original boundary was extended north. Eventually a canal was dug between the lakes and the Illinois River, which made it possible for goods from New York and the east, to reach further in the country since the Illinois eventually joins the Mississippi.

It's a common joke among people downstate of Chicago, that it should just succeed and become it's own state/country. This is due to the cultural differences between northern Illinois, and Central/Southern Illinois. And Chicago's history of being corrupt hasn't helped relations.

I'm normally not one for cities having their own representatives in Hetalia. It just makes things complicated. If cities, what about counties? But then I started researching this fic and discovered that in 1925, Cook County proposed succeeding from Illinois, and forming it's own state, Chicago. Once I read that I just couldn't resist adding Chicago to the story. I have nothing against Chicagoans, but I have to admit, I get tired of people asking how far I am from Chicago when I tell them I'm from Illinois. Chicago might have the largest population in the state, but size wise it's small compared with the rest of the state.

Lincoln's Body: In 1876, countfeiters from Chicago came up with the idea to kidnap Lincoln's body and ransom it back to the state of Illinois in exchange for $200,000.00 and a full pardon for one of their buddies who had just gotten caught. They decided to do it on election day since most people would be at the polls. The amazing thing is, due to the lack of security, they could have gotten away with. If they didn't hire a supposed grave robber who was actually an informant for the Secret Service. Once the plot was foiled, the custodian of the tomb was worried that it could happen again. So Lincoln's body was then buried in the basement. In 1901, Robert Lincoln instructed them to put the body in a steel cage, in a 10 foot vault, and then fill it with concrete, which is where Lincoln resides today.

Appearances: Please forgive me for lack of descriptions. A lot of times I'll get to caught up with the plot and forget to spend time on what the characters look like. I base Missouri's and Illinois's appearance on France's. The French were among the first Europeans to explore Illinois, and Missouri was part of the Louisiana Purchase. So in my mind, they probably take after him a lot. Same blue eyes, long blond hair, just with Missouri's being more of a dirty blond to separate them.

Show Me State: There is no official state nickname for Missouri. Various ones include The Cave State, The Lead State, The Bullion State, The Ozark State, Mother of the West, The Iron Mountain State, Pennsylvania of the West, and the more well known, The Show Me State. 'Show Me' means being skeptical, and one has to see how to do something/proof in order to do it/believe it.

There are several different origins of 'Show Me'. One is in 1899 Congressman Willard Vandiver said,"I come from a country that raises corn and cotton, cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri, and you have got to show me." There's evidence that the saying was around before then, but that's the most common story.

Star Wars Program: Actually the Strategic Defense Initiative proposed by then President, Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983. It was basically the idea of a huge defensive shield to protect the US during the Cold War. It was nicknamed, 'Star Wars', since many said it was unfeasible and couldn't be built since it was such a fanatical idea, much like the technology proposed in Star Wars. That didn't stop the Soviets from taking it seriously and trying to duplicate the technology. The shield was never created, and while the Initiative did have other projects, it's mainly known for being such a ridiculous idea, but yet, the Soviets believed it was possibly and spent more money than they should to compete with the US. It's rumored that since so much money was being spent, it helped with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Who else besides, Alfred could have come up with such a crazy plan?

Cardinals vs. Cubs: It's speculated that it started with the economic trade rivalry between St. Louis and Chicago during the late 1800's. Whatever the reason, it's one of the most well known rivalries between baseball teams.

As you can tell I'm a bit of a history and science nerd. I apologize if your brain just got fried for reading all the information above, but I thought it be best to include information about things mentioned that some might not know. I know I appreciate it when others authors do it, so I figured I'd do the same. Let me know in a review if you appreciate the extra information, or don't bother reading. That way I won't have to spend three hours doing it, only for nobody to read it.

Don't forget to read, enjoy, and review!