Late...

Late...

Late, late, late,

late, late, late,

late, late, late,

late, late, late,

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!

Anyway, this is my 9/11 tribute. I'm well aware that the fifteenth anniversary has come and gone. I mean, what day is it? The sixth of October? Eh. Well, better late than never, I guess. Also, I'm still new enough here that I can make it an excuse(I joined on the fourteenth), sooooo, yeah! Enough of said excuses. Let's begin.

Warning: Rated T for gore and sensitive topics. Viewer discretion is advised.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, but I wish I did because just about everything in this show is genius! I do own these state personification OCs, though, so I got that at least. :)

It was around 8:00am when Massachusetts started to feel uneasy. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something definitely felt off. Then again, he had a habit of worrying about the smallest of details, so it couldn't be anything too important. Even if there was something up, he doubted that anyone would listen, or at least without solid proof. Massachusetts wasn't exactly known for having much of a hunch for anything. He went by logic and analysis and he hated guessing.

Even then, while making himself his morning veggie smoothie, he couldn't shake that feeling and he was clueless as to why. The sounds of loud arguing upstairs as his other siblings began to wake up was actually a blessing to him then. He could hear New Jersey and New York going at it, one being violently dragged out of bed by the other, though he couldn't really tell who was who this morning. The roles switched quite often between the two. Despite his personal rivalry with both states(more so with New York), their yells of annoyance and the sounds of fists flying and ensuing crashing were strangely comforting to him. It was a good distraction.

The currently present early risers of his siblings started filing down for their own breakfasts. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont came first. Normally, they woke up before him, but he supposed it was because he was feeling so strangely antsy. They were chatting quietly amongst each other, though Maine wasn't really speaking at all, as per usual. He watched silently as Maine fumbled around one of their many refrigerators for what kind of fish would make a good breakfast for today for her and her sister while Vermont automatically went to making himself some pancakes.

"Make something for Concord." New Hampshire requested as her precious pet squirrel scampered along the nearby windowsill and onto her shoulder. Maine just looked back silently, then after a beat went back to whatever she was doing.

"You should ask more kindly, sis." Vermont said nicely from somewhere beside them. Massachusetts always appreciated Vermont's calm and kind composure. He could use some tips from him, in all honestly.

Next came the disasters that were New York and New Jersey, with Connecticut and Rhode Island keeping a safe distance from behind.

"Sheesh, no wonder dad's always comparing them to England and France." he heard Rhode Island's voice clear over all of the commotion around them. He would never know how such a little midget could talk so loudly. He'd heard a rumor he once managed to speak over America. "Them, and Ohio and Michigan."

Connecticut nodded in agreement, but chose not to say anything. No matter what he tried, he always found himself somehow being in the middle of New York and New Jersey's shenanigans and he'd like to avoid that for once. Meanwhile, Massachusetts was now regretting ever appreciating said two states and returned to blocking them out of his head as he heard more states coming in for breakfast.

By 8:20am, the entire east coast was awake and up to their usual antics. The war over crab cakes and clam cakes had already begun for the day between Maryland and Rhode Island respectively and the Carolinas were both chowing down on some home made biscuits. The Virginias had gone to have breakfast outside, with some of the other states following them, and Georgia and Florida were sharing fruits, mostly peaches and oranges, before Florida chased after her siblings heading out. Michigan and Ohio were awake as well, making their usual, but more "sophisticated" fuss as they seemed to see it, as if they didn't want to be compared to their eastern counterparts who had already all but gone to war with each other for the day. Massachusetts saw it all as the same.

Though in his opinion, Ohio and Michigan acted less like England and France and more like America and Russia.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Massachusetts jerked at the sudden presence of Virginia, whom he'd just seen head out with her sister. He sighed, fumbling with his glasses. "Y-yes, I'm fine. You startled me, though."

"You should be a little more observant, then, bro."

"Apology accepted." he grumbled, though he wasn't sure what he'd been expecting.

"Anyway," she continued, completely ignoring his comment. "I wanted to talk to you about something. I don't know why, but I feel like it's kinda important."

Feeling his stomach drop, Massachusetts took a moment to look over his sister. Her usually perfectly combed hair was a bit disheveled and slightly faded. Though it was never as blindingly bleach-colored as that of the Carolinas, Virginia's hair was usually a pretty bright blonde. Now, it was closer to his own hair, a darker, more dirty blonde color that resembled their father's. Her blue eyes were also strangely dim.

Something was definitely bothering her.

Virginia cleared her throat. "How've you been feeling? Anything weird? You feel...off?"

Massachusetts could tell by the way that Virginia's face fell that she noticed him shifting uncomfortably. This was starting to scare him. At first, he'd pushed it off as nothing because he knew himself. He worried over nothing all the time, and he was a smart guy. He wasn't going to freak out over an unfounded idea. But now he wasn't the only one.

He cleared his own throat. "I...have...actually." he said slowly, his earlier sense of dread intensifying.

"What should we do?" she asked. Massachusetts hated not having the answers, but at this point, his guess was as good as hers. "Let's wait." he finally said. "We don't know if anything is really going on, so let's wait and see."

"Should we call dad?"

That was a good question. Massachusetts hadn't even thought about the fact that he wasn't there. He was in fact at a world conference in London, so if anything did happen, he wouldn't be there. They'd be on their own, and wouldn't that just be fantastic?

"I don't know." he wasn't liking how slow he was being at answering her, nor did he like how hesitant he was acting. "Again,...let's wait and see."

And so they waited. They waited to see if something really was up, and if maybe anyone else got the strange feeling of foreboding that was weighing on them.

And it was 8:42am when they were done waiting.

Massachusetts was in the study reading, trying to keep his mind on other things, when Virginia strode in. The first thing he noticed about her was that she was tense, not a good sign.

"New Jersey, Massachusetts. New Jersey."

"What?"

"The weird sense of dread. New Jersey's getting nervous, too. Call dad, now."

When asked which state out of all fifty of them was most like America, most people might say New York or Texas, while others who knew them a little better might even say Delaware. However, the states themselves knew better. As much as some of them might want to say otherwise, nobody resembled the spitting image of their dad and who he is more than the bombastic and outspoken state of New Jersey. New york may be America's poster boy, but not even he matched their caretaker's personality to such a tee, his loudness, his over confidence, his energy, his fearlessness.

New Jersey's getting nervous, too.

"How can you stand this weather? It's freezing out here!"

"Eh, grow some balls, Florida. It's actually pretty warm today."

New York laughed at Florida's expense. He always found it hilarious how his more southern siblings found any weather below eighty degrees "freezing", and Florida was one of the worst of 'em, pulling out parkas and scarfs for such groundbreaking drops as the sixties. Ooooh... The sixties were shorts and t-shirt weather for him, so he didn't know what in the world she was complaining about.

Shoving the rest of his home made pizza into his mouth, he jumped up to find something else to do other than sit around and chit-chat. You can't waste your time on something for too long, right? You've only got so much of it. His thoughts were interrupted by him tripping over New Jersey's outstretched foot.

"Hey, very funny, you jerk." he immediately spat after regaining his balance. "You would think that you could at least do a decent parking job just by sitting down." He mentally patted himself on the back for getting a couple smirks from some of his siblings for his jab at his brother's infamously terrible driving(not that many of them were much better). New Jersey slowly glanced over before going back to being fascinated by a crack in the table, drumming his fingers impatiently.

"Whatever, you...New Yorker."

New York blinked. It wasn't until just now that he noticed New Jersey's mood. He wouldn't even look up at him, possibly to hide his somewhat glazed eyes. That wasn't his first thought, though. His first thought was that his insult, as he believed it was suppose to be, was kinda...not very...

"New Jersey, that sad excuse of a comeback was one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. What's up?"

New Jersey looked up at him in surprise. He hadn't expected New York to display any form of concern for him, though he should have known better than to assume that he wouldn't say anything at all. He decided that perhaps leaving would be the best option, before others noticed his mood as well, but he quickly discovered that this wasn't the case when New York followed him back into the house.

"Why are you ignoring me? Even at your angriest, you always have a retort to spare. Hey, New Jersey!"

He didn't want to deal with this right now. The dread he was feeling in his gut was driving him crazy as it was. He didn't want to deal with his arch nemesis being too curious on top of everything. In a nervous act, he glanced towards the clock as he passed by. It was 8:44am.

Where he was, it was currently 1:44pm, but the jet lag from yesterday's flight had yet to wear off. That and the meeting had been going on for a few hours now, and what time was it back at home? Eight? Nine? Ugh. So, it was completely understandable that he was almost completely burnt out at this point. They had started late and now they were about to restart after a ten minute break. He just wanted to sleep, but as the hero, he couldn't do that. He had to stay awake and alert and contribute to the meeting, even if most people there would probably appreciate his silence, according to what he'd heard so many people say about him.

It's not like it bothered him that much, the things that people say behind his back. He just kinda wished that they'd respect him enough to say it to his face and not try to hide how much he assumed they disliked him behind their language. Despite their ages, they seemed to forget that the population living in a country can affect their fluency in a language, or at least their capabilities to learn one. So, since America was the melting pot of cultures, he'd become fluent in just about every single major language in the world and could understand everything they said. But he didn't bother saying anything, though. It was actually really fun playing the idiot anyway, though how people were still convinced that a complete idiot could rise to become the world's sole superpower was beyond him. Yes, he was childish in many ways and sometimes did crazy and foolish things and had a blast with it, but that didn't make him stupid. The other countries also seemed to forget that he was responsible for inventing a ton of technology that is commonly used today, such as the light bulb, the microwave, the skyscraper, peanut butter,...the machine gun, the atomic bomb, the freaking airplane...

Oh yeah, and also the atom smasher. Try to wrap your head around that one.

"Are you even listening?"

"Huh?" In all honesty, no. America was not listening. "Oh, yeah, what were you saying?"

England huffed in annoyance. "We were talking about economics, you twit."

"Oh, right." Yes, that was it. He had been talking to England about the differences between their economies and currencies when his mind had wandered off. Of course, England was prattling on about how unfocused he was being, so he just decided to let him be proven right and laugh at him when he started sputtering in anger at being ignored. His surroundings were currently a little more interesting anyway. Also, in case it wasn't already made clear before, he was very tired.

People were starting to file back into the private conference room previously reserved for the meeting. It was a nice room, directly inside their hotel for their convenience. He had to applaud England for such a genius move. It meant that he could easily just go to bed once this was all over by going up a flight of stairs and walking down a couple doors, and that's all that mattered to him at the moment. Germany, Italy, and Romano returned first, probably mostly because of Germany wanting to be back on time. Italy had leaped into the swivel chair(chalk that up as another of America's brilliant inventions) nearest to the podium and started spinning around like a madman as Germany pretended to not find that entertaining while simultaneously ignoring whatever Romano was currently yelling at him about. The Bad Touch Trio followed soon after, Prussia and Spain gravitating towards where Germany and Romano were and making Germany's life even more difficult. America was somewhat tempted to join them in their games, but decided against it. He didn't have as much energy as he normally did since in his time zone, he'd been up and at the meeting by five in the morning and hadn't had any coffee to keep him awake, though to his credit, he was doing pretty good.

"Did you nod off on me again!?" he heard England suddenly yell at him.

"Huh?" England's reaction was priceless. He couldn't help but crack a smile as England started violently sputtering something at him about respect and looked about ready to jump up and strangle him to death. It made France joining in on the conversation even better.

"Mon cher, you sound like a virgin drunkard."

"What does that even mean, frog?!"

America took this opportunity to return to his thoughts. The Asian countries were coming in, Japan also making his way over to where Italy and Germany were while China was left with South Korea. While this was going on, Russia returned as well, closely followed by his stalker sister, Belarus. He was doing his best to ignore her, but being stalked by Belarus might actually be scarier than ghosts, so he was sure that Russia was gonna run some point soon. As much as he hated to admit it, you gotta give credit where credit is due. Russia was being admirably brave in his situation. Not far behind the two was Ukraine, who was happily chatting with Liechtenstein and Hungary with Switzerland and Austria being nearby. As he watched them start to take their seats, he actually noticed Canada for once, having already arrived and was seated. Funny, he never saw him come in. He was looking through some documents when he looked up and noticed that his brother was looking at him. Excited by the idea of being noticed, Canada waved to him, earning a casual salute in return.

"Alright," Germany announced, "We will be resuming the meeting now."

France briskly walked back to his seat while England was in mid-sentence, earning even more yelling from the irate Brit. While the volume continued to rise, America took the opportunity to search through his stuff to find his own supplies. It took him only a couple seconds to realize that he'd made a mistake. England heard him curse under his breath.

"What now?"

"I grabbed the wrong case." America sighed. "The one I need is in my room. I think I left my phone there, too."

"Is it important?"

"Yeah, it's got all my charts and documents and stuff."

England thought for a long moment, glancing between him and the door, before he motioned to it. "If that's truly what it is, then I will get you excused for being late. Just don't take too long."

America blinked for a moment before letting a grin brighten his face. "You mean that Iggy? Wow, thanks a lot! I own you one!"

"Don't call me that!" England hissed as America shot up from his seat and quickly raced out the door towards his room. He let out a sigh as he heard Germany start the roll call and absent-mindedly glanced up at the clock as it struck 1:46pm.

None of them were prepared for what would happen within the next thirty seconds.

Virginia let out a loud curse and threw the phone across the room in frustration when it went to voice mail for the fifth time. "Why won't he answer!?" she screamed.

She and Massachusetts felt so sick to their stomachs with worry that they were nauseous. Massachusetts had even been heaving a moment ago. When they had finally acted on their idea to call America, he wouldn't pick up. By the third time the voice mail played, she was ready to cry. She wasn't just worried for them, but also for her caretaker. She knew how it worked between nations and states. If something happened to his territories, it would hurt him, too. He was also vulnerable, and he needed to know what was going on, but now they couldn't reach him.

"So what do we do now?" she asked Massachusetts. She didn't expect him to know, but she had to ask.

He didn't get a chance to answer, though. 8:46am.

There was a loud crash from upstairs, followed by someone shouting. Virginia and Massachusetts gave each other wide eyed looks before running out of the study towards the commotion. Maine was ahead of them, having responded to the noise at record speed. Several of their siblings were behind them as the shouting grew in volume and urgency. Upstairs, the noise of waking up the Midwest and western states that were there at the mansion and not in their own private homes across the country. Several of them were peeking out of their rooms with interest and concern.

"What's with all the noise? I'm trying to sleep." Nevada mumbled, insensitive as ever.

"Is everything okay?" Idaho asked in the commotion, but his question was lost in the excitement.

"Why are y'all so noisy?" Texas slurred drowsily.

"Should we be concerned?" Alaska called out.

"What's going on?" Louisiana whined, still half asleep.

They were ignored, however, as their answers came from New Jersey appearing at the end of the hallway, breathing heavily with wide eyes, unfallen tears, and blood on his clothes.

Massachusetts called out first. "New Jersey, what-"

"New York!" he screamed. "Something's happening to New York! Help him NOW!"

For those of you who care, I will, for sure, post a new chapter of How Hard can it Be? some time next week, as I am trying my hardest to post at least something for you guys every week and I haven't finished said chapter yet(stupid midterms .-.). So, stay tuned and I shall deliver! ...Eventually! ...'Cause I refuse to be that person who writes a story with an interesting idea and then let's it die! ...I hate when that happens. So depressing. :(

'Kay, so with that, I will see you next time!

~AnonymousTwit