When an idea came into America's mind, it was hard for him to focus on anything else. The idea would pervade everything he did. Being the take action kind of guy he was, America would also do whatever it was in his power to go forth with said idea. That had gotten him in a lot of trouble in the past, so much so that his states collectively agreed that whenever America was in their sector of the country, they would have to keep an eye on him from doing anything stupid. America really didn't like it since he felt like he was being babysat; in all honestly, that was all it was.

The newest idea America had, as he spun his globe on his desk in his capital was exploration. The little rover on Mars had recently given out and left to rot on the planet far from home. It was really sad. America loved space travel, and was always on top of any news about things outside the atmosphere. He knew most people didn't care so much about it anymore, because the really fun things about space could only be done through calculations and probes. The adventurous spirit of America would not be sated by that. He wanted to go out and touch things and experience what the universe had to offer.

The globe slowly halted so that the Atlantic Ocean was facing America. The idea shifted. Not much was known about the ocean to a certain extent. Who knew what creatures lurked in the waters below? What sights that have never been viewed by human eyes? How cool would it be to walk the bottom depths of the ocean floor and experience first hand the creatures down there that sound like they came from a horror story?

'Huh, interesting,' Wales' voice came from nowhere, drawing America from his thoughts. He looked up to see a ghostly image of the celtic nation, wearing a calculating face far more expressive than that nation ever was. 'For a nation as powerful as yours, I was expecting a different kind of path.'

America gritted his teeth. For the past five months, America had been dealing with this spirit. It called itself Excalibur and was the spirit inside that magic sword. While America had found the sword in his storage closet and cleaned it up, the spirit was looking for something. Though it certainly didn't tell America what that something was. "Can you stop doing that?" He hated that this thing could read his mind.

'You won't talk to me, so how am I supposed to find out anything about you?'

"You don't? Like normal people who can't read minds?" This whole mind reading thing was ten times worse than what actual Wales did with his whole "I can read body language" deal.

'Haven't you learned by now that I'm not people?'

America ignored Excalibur, spinning the globe again. Even if he wanted to do stuff with the ocean, he had to get it approved by a lot of people. At the current moment, no one really wanted to listen to him or his ideas. It would get shut down, even though it would be really cool.

'And just like that, the great America gives up.'

"Hey!"

'Am I wrong?' Excalibur challenged with a grin.

America grimaced. "…what do you want? You've been watching over my shoulder for months and you still haven't told me what you are looking for."

Excalibur smiled, and it wasn't the friendly sort of smile. It like a customer service smile mixed with a little hidden motive. 'Ah, see, I have already found what I am looking for. This is merely observation.'

"For what?"

Excalibur didn't explain and shifted the conversation. 'For as long as I have heard your name, America, the one fact remains is that you never give up. You persevere until you get what you want. What's holding you back this time?'

America rolled his eyes. "The world," he grumpily joked.

'Hm… interesting. Well, what if you had a little help?'

"And what can you do?"

'I'm magic. I can do a lot of things to help you. Including get this little idea to become a reality. If you wanted.'

As much as America really didn't like magic things, he did want to see this project go somewhere. He wanted to go exploring again. Though… he remembered something England told him a long time ago about things being too good. "What's the catch?"

Excalibur snickered a little. 'Because there always is one. Nothing is for free, it is true. You need to pass a test in order to get my help. A chance to prove yourself worthy of my abilities and maybe learn a little something along the way. A nation as powerful as you are should have no problem passing it, so you really don't have anything to worry about. What do you say?' Excalibur extended a hand.

America looked at it and thought about it. How much did he really want this to happen? But… if it was just a test that apparently would be really easy…? He took the hand. "What do I have to do?"

'Go find your closest allies and bring them somewhere private. I will tell you what you have to do then.'

"Allies?"

'As witnesses. Any test has to have a witness. Don't take too long now.' Excalibur disappeared, leaving America alone.

America flexed his hand absentmindedly. He looked at the globe again, wondering who should bear witness to this test. Most everyone he knew would question why he was going through with this, and he didn't want to explain. They'd tell him off, saying that this was a bad idea.

'Though,' he thought after a while, 'James did mention that Abigale was having a get together for the micronations… surely I can get a few of the states alone in the room without having to tell them the whole story… right?'