I do not own the rights to Hetalia.

The Canada of the Mid-West

Before leaving, Illinois gave me Chicago's information. She figured that Chicago had 'standards' and would insist upon staying at his place in the city, instead of downstate with the others. Chances were they were still in the state so they could monitor Illinois to ensure that she didn't tell anybody. Like me. Though it was rather brilliant of her to consult on the issue with me rather than say Iowa, or Indiana. We had our history, but she was a bit more buddy buddy with Iowa and Indiana. Especially since it was baseball season and the Cardinals were winning.

I did ponder about going to visit to Texas or Cali to see if what Illinois claimed was true. Then I remembered how much Cali annoyed me and that Texas would go on about how his barbecue was better than what Kansas City had to offer (which was complete bull, pardon the pun) and decided that it might be easier to simply stalk Chicago. Surely if what Illinois claimed was true, then Forgottonia would show up at his place with Little Egypt not far behind. And to make my job easier, Illinois was kind enough to provide me with pictures of what they looked like.

Chicago of course lived at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. Snob. Sure enough, after a couple hours Chicago, Little Egypt, and Forgottonia entered the place. Granted it didn't completely validate Illinois's claim, but it did add some credibility that the three of them were working together. As for what it meant, I had no idea.

But I was about to find out. Sure I could break in and search the place, breaking dozens of laws in the process. While that sounded fun, it was rather risky (given that it was the height of baseball season and the Cardinals were kicking butt), so I went for the easier option. Going after their weakest member, Forgottonia. According to Illinois, Forgottonia was the Canada of the Mid-West. Most of his resident's weren't even aware they were living in the region. Also, during the whole time Illinois was being threatened by the three, Little Egypt and Chicago kept forgetting about Forgottonia's presence, including Illinois at times. Meaning it would be a piece of cake to break him.

All I had to do was wait for Forgottonia was alone and hope that I didn't forget about him in the meanwhile. Nothing too hard.

After a couple hours, the three emerged from the building. I started trailing them, and made sure to 'bump' into Foggy (since his real name is a handful to say). "Sorry," I said, flashing him my best smile. I can be quite the charmer when I want to be.

He murmured, "That's fine." He craned his neck to see how far Windy (Chicago's new nickname which is very appropriate in more ways than one) and L.E. (Little Egypt) had gotten ahead of him, not noticing me bumping into Foggy. Which was good, because out of the three them Windy was the one who would probably recognize me given the rivalry with St. Louis.

Foggy tried to continue on his way, but I was quicker than he was. "Not so fast," I said while grabbing his arm, "Why don't we grab a bite to eat? I'm sure Chicago and Egypt wouldn't miss you. Besides, it'd give us a chance to talk, and get to know each other as new neighbors."

"New neighbors?"

"How silly of me, not introducing myself properly. The name's Missouri, but you can call me Jenny."

Within minutes, me and Foggy were seated in the corner at some Chicago bar. I was channeling Ana, being super flirty and fun, along with the southern accent to boot. Actually it was more of a mix between The Closer and Steel Magnolias, but Foggy didn't know that.

"Why I'm so glad that you'll be movin' right 'cross the river. Elle can be such a pain at times."

Poor Foggy was unsure of how to react. Probably because he wasn't used to being noticed, especially by a girl. Despite the attention, he was still smart enough to suspect something. "Um... how did you find out what we're planning? Illinois wasn't suppose to tell anyone."

Ah ha. So Illinois wasn't crazy as I originally thought. The three were planning something.

I patted his hand trying to comfort him and subdue his suspicions. "Aren' ya jus' the cutest thang. Why Elle didn' say a word. I can feel it, there's a change in the air. Doncha worry, I won' tell ole Windy I know."

"Windy?"

"That's what I call ole Chicago, Windy."

This made him smile. "Yeah, I can see that. More like old windbag."

"I'm so glad we're gettin' along with one another. I can' be seen withcha for long, Elle might notice. But," I said and started writing my number down on a napkin, "I'd appreciate it if ya give me a call one of these days, jus' to let me know what's goin' on the other side of the river."

He nodded. "You know, if all the states were as nice as you, we wouldn't have to threaten them."

I giggled, "You're quite the charmer. So, what did ya mean exactly by 'all'? How many more are there?"

Unfortunately, that's when Windy and L.E. entered the bar. At some point they must have noticed Foggy was missing and went looking for him.

Windy and me exchanged looks of hatred before he said, "What are you doing with her?" Then turning toward Foggy, "Don't you know who she is?"

Foggy turned quite pale at that, but I just smiled sweetly at Windy. "I was jus' in the neighborhood when I ran into Foggy here, who was kind enough to invite me out for some soda," I smiled inside as Windy's forehead contorted at my southern accent and use of the word 'soda' instead of 'pop'. I knew how much both irked him. Pretending not to notice I continued. "I jus' wanted to meet my new neighbor since we have so much in common. We both like my redbirds," another wrinkle appeared, "have the Mississippi River as a border, and both like soda. And for the record, pop is a noise, soda is a noun."

Chicago narrowed his eyes at me. "Well it's over now. Come on Fogontona, we're leaving now," he said as he grabbed Foggy.

"It's Forgot-" Foggy tried to say. Tried because L.E. cut him off.

"We're going to be late for the meeting."

Meeting? That sounded promising. Perhaps seeing my eyes light up, or just him not trusting me, Windy said, "You have five minutes to leave this place after which you will go to the airport to board a flight home. To ensure that you do so, they'll," he said and indicated some buff guys in the background who growled menacingly, "will escort you."

I smirked. "Please, you and I both know they won't stand a chance against me." I'm a frickin' state. Maybe not as strong as a nation, but still stronger than some measly little human thugs.

"What happened to your accent?" Windy demanded.

"The same thing that happened to the idea that you went legit. Come on, selling Obama's seat before he's even in office? That's a bit low, even for you," I said with a snicker.

That didn't sit well with him. He looked like he was about to strangle me, before realizing attempting to kill a state would be bad. Granted, states were hard to kill in the typical sense, but still, trying would make him look bad and might call attention to whatever plans he was trying to hide. Instead he simply turned around and stomped out the door, dragging Foggy behind him, followed by L.E. Not before Foggy managed to sneak one last glance behind at me.

I whispered, "Call me," while holding my left hand to my ear in the gesture of a phone.

As they left, and Windy's goons escorted me from the building, I suddenly realized that Illinois had been right. Something was going on if this supposed 'meeting' was any indication and other states were most likely involved. Maybe I wasn't going to go straight to St. Louis. Perhaps a slight detour was in order first.

**Author's Note**

Let me begin by saying that I cannot write accents. I can hear it in my head and say it out loud, but actually writing it down is another thing entirely. I agonized over those parts, and edited them greatly. I would have gotten rid of them, if it wasn't for the fact that I believed it would be true to Missouri's character to pull out the stops, being her charming and southern self. So please don't take offense, and feel free to offer any advice.

Speaking of advice, how about some reviews? I mean, I guess the story isn't terrible since I didn't receive any flames, but it would still be nice to get some actual input and know if anybody is enjoying the story. Please? How about as an early birthday present (this Saturday)? What about some cookies (you can even pick the kind)?

And moving on to the reference section...

Ana/Jenny: Next chapter will explain more of Missouri's background. Ana is another state (feel free to guess in reviews), and Missouri's human name, Jenny, does have a historic source.

Cardinals Winning: I first started writing this story before the Cardinals won the series, so it was merely a guess they were doing well. A guess that turned out to be right.

Texas/Kansas City barbecue: Kansas City claims to have the best barbecue, while Texans claim they have the best barbecue, and both sides can be rather passionate about it. Like the Cubs vs. Cardinals, rivalry, except with food.

Canada of the Mid-West: This mainly started because I kept spelling Forgottonia's name wrong. Then I noticed how the first part was 'forgot' and I was suddenly reminded of Canada, and how he's always forgotten. So I just thought it'd be a fun little thing to add to the story, and it worked out nicely with Chicago's attitude, since it'd seem like he would forget Forgottonia anyway.

Pop/Soda: I didn't realize how big of a deal this was until I went to college and I heard people refer to soda as 'pop'. There are actually maps you can look up that detail what people say where. In the south United States, people say 'coke'. In the northeast and even the southwest, people say 'soda', while predominately in the Mid-West people say 'pop'. However, due to St. Louis and it's influence, there are areas of the Mid-West that say 'soda', including parts of Illinois that are closer to St. Louis than Chicago.

Selling Obama's seat: On December 9, 2008, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested for several different charges, including selling the Barack Obama's United States Senate seat after he won the presidential election. Considering that it wasn't the first time he had faced a federal investigation, plus his connection to Chicago politics, no wonder Chicago isn't exactly thrilled when Missouri mentions him.

That's all for this chapter, next one will be longer. Don't forget to read, enjoy, and REVIEW!