Author's Notes: It's finally here! Kyle Jones in da hizzz houze (I am not "gangsta" if you can't tell)! So prepare yourselves.

As per usual, Capt. Hasting beta-ed this chapter wonderfully. He also provided Nevada's and Utah's names. If you can figure out their irony/historical jokes, I'll be impressed (not because I think you're stupid but because I'm easily impressed).

Alexander/Alejandro (Arizona) 99.9% belongs to HippieVampire. I think I changed his looks a little.

New Mexico (José) mostly belongs to Rayne Marie. I changed his looks and name but the personality is all hers (hopefully that's ok…).

Wyoming (Riley) belongs to Snow Wolfie.

Colorado = Kyle

Utah = Christina

Nevada = Phineas Barnum

Montana = Mason

Idaho = Hailey

Pennsylvania = Christopher

Beep. Beep. Beep

The muffled serenade of an alarm clock filled the room as the sun began to rise. Light filtered in through the half closed blinds, illuminating five sleeping forms. They were spread out between the two large beds and a frumpy couch dotted with stains of the past. The room was still aside from the persistent clock trying to fulfill its duty.

A blonde haired boy stirred from his awkward position on the floor, his feet resting on the largest bed as the rest of him slipped down the side. His blue eyes opened and he looked around in confusion before allowing his eyes to slide shut once again. He believed the clock was only part of a dream, one that would explain his odd view point.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The clock was unrelenting and a few moments later the blues eyes popped back open. Hand clumsy with the paralysis of sleep dug through layers of blankets in a blind search for the source of their annoyance. Finally the accursed object was found and his fingers danced over the buttons until the noise stopped. Wyoming let out a sigh of relief as his eyes traveled around the room to see if anyone else had woken up.

From his spot on the floor he could see the outline of Arizona as he sat up in the other bed. He shivered and pulled the sheets up over his bare arms. The room was much too cool for the summer. He glared at the bed Wyoming's feet were on as he tightened the sheets around him. It wasn't difficult for Riley to figure out who was sleeping on the bed.

It had to be Colorado. The snow loving state longed for the harsh days of winter and would adjust the temperature of his room accordingly.

Arizona had moved on from glowering and was now shaking someone next to him. New Mexico sat up, his brown eyes wide. Arizona snickered, earning him a punch in the shoulder from New Mexico. He opened his mouth to protest but was shushed. Neither wanted to be responsible for awakening the beast that was Kyle "Colorado" Jones.

A few feet away a brown haired girl was sprawled out on the old couch, her green eyes just beginning to open. Utah stretched as she sat up and made no attempt to cover her yawning mouth. She blinked tiredly then cocked her head to the side and raised her left eyebrow as she took in Riley's position. He smiled and offered Christina a small wave which she returned before flopping back down onto the couch.

He looked down at the clock still in his hands and groaned. It was 6:30am, far too early to be awake. There was good reason for their premature rousing. Washington DC had sent the mountain states an email explaining the meeting they were to have with Pennsylvania at Montana's house. He and the Four Corners had agreed to stay at Colorado's house and then leave for the airport together the next morning. They would meet Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Nevada at Montana's house. Unfortunately, they had stayed in one of Kyle's mountain homes and had a long drive ahead of them.

They had spent their night yelling at the TV and playing truth or dare. Colorado had been oddly calm, enough so to revoke ownership of his remote and allow the others to choose the channel. The game of truth or dare had been eventful, as truth or dare often is. It had promptly ended after Colorado had dared Arizona to eat a plateful of Rocky Mountain Oysters and the younger state had rushed to the bathroom almost in tears. Wyoming couldn't blame him, Kyle's "delicacy" was not what most people would consider food. After Alexander's sudden departure Colorado had grabbed the plate for himself and licked it clean.

A soft snore came from the only state still asleep. Riley slid his feet off the bed and stood up, sure enough Colorado was spread out over the large bed. Obviously he had pushed Wyoming over the edge sometime during the night. Although, why he needed so much room for himself on what was probably a king size bed Wyoming would never understand. He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease out the stiffness that had settled in over the night spent partially on the floor. He padded out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom to take a shower.

Ten minutes later he reemerged, blonde hair dripping wet. He had thrown on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt he had found in what he hoped was Colorado's clean laundry basket. Looking over the occupants of the room he saw that Arizona had changed into a dress shirt and black slacks (always the professional one). New Mexico was still in his pajamas, while Utah had pulled on a pair of jeans and simple shirt. The three were crowded around Kyle's bed and appeared to be contemplating how to go about waking their slumbering brother.

"He needs to wake up now or we're going to be late." Arizona argued while keeping his voice at a whisper.

"Well then why don't you do it then?" asked New Mexico not wanting to have to deal with Colorado's wrath. Arizona stared at the figure under the blankets and shook his head.

"Isn't there a saying about leaving sleeping bears alone or something?" asked Utah.

"I thought it was dogs, not bears." said New Mexico with a big smile. His statement earned him a whack across the back of his head courtesy of Arizona.

"Oww," hissed José, "what was that for?"

"Because you're an idiot. The saying is "you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Kind of applies to you."

Riley stopped listening, this was taking too long and there wasn't enough time for them to draw straws. Riley bent down and picked up the cordless clock from its spot amongst the blankets. As he stepped around his nervously whispering siblings he set the alarm on the clock. Quickly, he turned up the volume and launched it at Colorado's sleeping form. It hit him right in the stomach. The brunet let out a growl and his dark brown eyes popped open. Riley had already started walking away from what would only become a crime scene as Kyle woke up.

"What the fuck? Who threw this at me?"

Time to start the countdown. 10…9…8

"Damn it you guys! Which one of you did this?"

7…6…5…4

"You've really pissed me off."

3…

"I bet it was you, Arizona!"

The accused state looked around with wide eyes. He attempted to point in Riley's direction but Colorado wasn't paying attention.

"You need to respect your elders. Hooligan."

2…

"I'm not fucking around. Which one of y—

And 1…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Holy shit!"

The loud noise startled Kyle and he toppled heels over head off the bead in a wave of blankets. The look on his face was priceless. Riley tried to hold in his laughter but it bubbled up and he fell to his knees. He beat the floor with his fist and tried to catch his breath. Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico exchanged awkward glances, unsure of whether it was safe for them to laugh at Colorado's misfortune. They were still close enough for Kyle to tackle them if he felt the need.

"Riley, you asshole!"

Wyoming could only continue to laugh. It didn't really matter what Colorado did to him now, it had been worth it. Kyle was notorious for his pranks and it seemed like he was immune to the revenge many sought on him. It was a small victory but a victory nonetheless.

Kyle lunged toward Riley, pinning him to the ground. Despite all this he still couldn't stop his laughter. Making Colorado mad was always hilarious.

"Stop laughing, damn it!"

"I can't!"

"I'm the oldest here! You have to fucking do what I say!" The first part of that statement was true, Colorado was the oldest by about fourteen years; however, based solely on behavior, he could have been the youngest. Few of the states actually saw him as an older brother. Not even Alaska, who seemed to have undying respect for everyone, looked up to Kyle. Riley managed to control his laughter before responding.

"Don't tell me what to do." Like most of his siblings, he didn't like being ordered around, especially not by someone like Kyle. He and Colorado were equals, neither was on a higher playing field than the other in Wyoming's opinion.

"Fine. I need a Red Bull anyway." Colorado stood up and ambled toward the door.

"Hell no. I'm not gonna be stuck in a car with you for who knows how long after you've had a red bull." declared Utah, stopping Kyle in his tracks.

"Course you wouldn't 'cause I'll be having more then one." he snickered

"Not on my watch you won't."

"Too bad they're in my refrigerator!" Colorado bolted out the door with Utah hot on his heels, leaving Wyoming, New Mexico, and Arizona still in the room.

"Hey Alejandro—" began New Mexico.

"What have I told you? It's Alexander now, not Alejandro. Got it?"

"Oh right sorry, Anyway, I think I should try a red bull."

Alex rolled his eyes and steered the older state toward the door.

"You don't want to, trust me. Just look at Kyle."

As the two left the room Riley walked over to the mirror near Colorado's dresser. He pushed his damp blonde hair around before finally giving up and letting it do whatever if felt like. He ran his fingers over the mirror, wishing he could show some of his native history like several of his siblings. Even though many of the coastal states shared his fair European features but he always envied the states that lay between the extremes. They had held onto the features of their native peoples while the others had let them slip from their fingers.

Even Riley was guilty of letting go. He had been fascinated by European trappers and traders who had settled into his land, eagerly he adopted their customs and ideologies. He was desperate for a larger population, desperate to be noticed.

Always the subject of a small populace, he had been willing to do anything. There had bloody clashes between the natives and the new settlers. Still young, he negotiated treaties to try and keep the peace but the demand for passage through his land had eventually resulted in broken promises and massacres unlike any he had seen in the past.

Every state shared a past similar to his. Some had been older but they had all gone through it. He was just glad his hadn't been involved in some of the larger wars.

"Hey, Wind Tunnel." Colorado called out, snapping Wyoming out of his thoughts, "Arizona says you gotta get your A into G."

Kyle strolled into the room wearing clean clothes and holding an energy drink in one hand. Apparently he had won his fight with Utah over whether he could have the caffeinated drink or not.

"My what into what?"

"Your ass into gear. Duh. What you lookin' at anyway?" Kyle joined him at the mirror and peered at it in interest through his glasses.

"I'm looking pretty damn sexy today." Kyle offered his reflection a confident smile. Riley looked at his brother's appearance with suspicion.

"Did you even bother to do anything with your hair today?"

"No. It's already perfect."

"It's a mess. You look like that sparkly guy...what's his name...from the movie..."

"Dude, do not! I'm way more awesome." He tugged at his fly away brown hair and continued to smile. Colorado was never lacking in confidence.

Wyoming only maintained his somber gaze at their reflections. He watched as Kyle's face contorted in confusion.

"Why the long face, dude?"

"Just remembering the past."

"That's stupid." The line came out between gritted teeth. Colorado had seen his fair share of conflicts and never liked to talk about them.

Suddenly the intense look vanished from Colorado's face and he broke into a smile.

"Now let's go or Arizona's gonna pop a cap in both of our asses."

Kyle grabbed Riley's wrist and dragged him out of the room. He wondered what went on behind those dark eyes when Colorado recalled the past and decided it was better not to know.

Montana chewed on his lip nervously and glanced around the meeting room. Everyone was here except Nevada. Usually this wouldn't worry Mason but it had been his responsibility to make sure all the Mountain States were at his house for the meeting with Pennsylvania and he wasn't going to let Nevada mess it up.

Nevada, who never went by his full name, Phineas Barnum Jones, had a habit of never really arriving on time, no matter how important the occasion may be. His name had earned him the nickname "PB&J" which, at first, he had hated. Now, it was all anyone every called him by. He was also an infamous party animal who spent more time with Southern California than anyone else. The two would go out every night to "live it up".

The southwestern states had all arrived together along with Wyoming. They were currently taking up residence on his worn couch. New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona were all comparing tans while Colorado and Wyoming poured over one of his hunting magazines.

Pennsylvania was frowning as he read through some documents in a nearby armchair. Idaho sat next to Montana and patted his shoulder with a reassuring smile. Hailey had was one of his closest friends, always remaining positive when he couldn't. Her long black hair was pulled into a low ponytail, with only a few stray hairs falling into her hazel eyes. Her skin was tanned, much like Montana's. That was as far as their similarities went. Mason had disheveled brown hair that never stayed in place and clear green eyes.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be here soon." Hailey was the only state he had told about his excitement over having a meeting at his house. He wasn't usually a popular state like New York or Texas and had been overjoyed when Washington DC had told him he was to host a meeting at his house.

"You better hope so." Pennsylvania retorted without looking up from his documents. "I don't want to wait around forever."

"We could just start now." Utah suggested.

"No, we can't. I need everyone to be here."

Ten minutes passed before the door burst open and Nevada barged in. His dirty blonde hair and rumpled clothes were spotted with what appeared to be glitter and he was wearing mismatched shoes.

"Finally. Phineas, where the hell have you been?" Pennsylvania inquired.

"Well…there was this party, you see and I sorta…well…I mean…" he trailed off.

"On second thought, I don't want to know. Just sit down, I have something important to tell you."

Nevada sat down next to Utah and turned his attention to Christopher. The southwestern states gave up their respective activities and were now sitting forward in interest.

"Ok then, I'm sure you—ow. I'm sure you got the— ow. Kyle, stop firing rubber bands at me and pay attention! I'm not in the mood for your shit today."

Colorado giggled but stopped his entertaining joke.

"As I was saying, I'm sure you all got that email from Casey asking about Dad. Truth is, no one has seen him since that email. It's been a little over two months since Dad went missing. It's important that you knew what was going on but don't worry, we'll find him. After all, we're all pretty heroic."

Silence hung in the room after Pennsylvania finished his short speech. Mason looked at Idaho and wrapped an arm around her shoulders when he saw her teary eyes. Nevada was unmoving, a curiously somber look on his face. Across from him Utah was biting her lip in an attempt to keep back her tears.

New Mexico and Arizona wore similarly shocked looks as they stared at nothing in particular. What surprised him the most was the lost look on Colorado's face as Wyoming gripped his wrist.

"Guys, I said don't worry. Things look bad now but we'll fix this. Everything is going to be ok." Chris tried to assure them but concern was evident on his face.

"How long have you known about this?" Arizona's voice cracked slightly as he asked his question.

"Since the very beginning. Casey wanted only the first thirteen states to know. She didn't want to worry you guys."

"I see."

"Do you…have any questions?"

No one said anything and Christopher let out a sigh. Pennsylvania looked at the glum faces but didn't see anything he didn't expect, a few more minutes of silence passed until Christopher began to get his papers together.

"You're all free to go. If you need to talk you can call me or Casey. Try and stay positive guys."

With that Pennsylvania stood up from his arm chair and left the room. Slowly everyone aside from Idaho filed out of the room, all going back to their homes. They reminded Mason of zombies.

"Are you ok?" he asked Hailey.

"I'll be alright. It's just a little stressful, you know?" She was still staying positive, just as he expected.

Mason nodded, unsure of what this new disclosure would lead to.

Wyoming's hands were turning white on the rented car's steering wheel. Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada had all called a cab and headed to the airport while Riley had decided to use the rented car to drive home with Colorado. Next to him Kyle was staring forward, he had remained mute since they had left Montana's house. There had been no need for either of them to agree to go to Wyoming's house, it was had been a silent and mutual decision.

Riley glanced over at Kyle in concern. Not many states knew Kyle quite like he did. Thus, few realized just how attached the obnoxious sate was to their father. Colorado adored Alfred. He looked up to his father with shining admiration and always brought up being the Centennial State, a namesake he had earned from attaining statehood one hundred years after Alfred had become a country.

Any way he could make himself seem more similar to Alfred he would take advantage of. He would spend almost the whole summer at their father's house and frequently visit during the winter months. This new revelation explained why Casey had forced Kyle to return home early after Alfred had left on a "business trip".

Unfortunately, that wasn't what concerned Riley the most. Kyle, in spite of his arrogant and confident attitude, was afraid to be separated from his father for long periods of time. The past month had been hard for him, even if he didn't let it show around the other states. When it had just been the two of them, it was obvious. Kyle would fidget and have trouble staying calm. It had resulted in Wyoming forcing his brother to go hiking or rock climbing with him just to get the antsy state's mind off the stress.

Now he was presented with a difficult situation, to say the least. Kyle would have been fine if he had been able to see Alfred for a few days but that wasn't an option anymore.

Wyoming pulled over to the side of the road and placed a hand on Colorado's shoulder, causing the older state to flinch.

"What?"

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Of course I am." The defiant tone didn't match the soft volume of Kyle's voice.

Riley didn't believe it but started the car once again. They'd make it through this, they had to.

AN: So you guys are pretty much amazing. Your reviews are really nice and funny. :D THANK YOU SO MUCH! And thanks for favoriting/alerting. I'll be trying to respond to everyone's reviews a little more consistently from now on…unless you don't want me to. Which is cool…I guess…it doesn't make me cry or anything. No siree.

Happy Labor Day! It's been a long weekend but a good one. Actually, it's been natural disaster central. Earthquake in Christchurch, Hurricane Earl, and now a raging wildfire in good ole' Colorado. Hopefully everyone survived the weekend. XP

Also, I plan on doing a chapter like this for all fifty states. There's a few more groups to get through and then every state will know what's going on. I'm sorry if it's a little on the boring side, I just really want to introduce all the states and their personalities. After we get through all this the real story starts. :D Prepare yourselves!