Author's Note- Hey everyone. I know it has been a while, but hopefully the chapter will make up for that. Before we get to the story there are a few shout outs I need to make. First thank you so much to Pruhana for betaing this chapter so quickly. Also thanks to bookwormally and America96 for leaving reviews.

Disclaimer- I light of recent national events some people may find some of the social issues addressed in this chapter, primarily that of guns, disturbing. Please recognize that I tried to approach the subject with humor and sensitive because it is an important debate about American and Alaskan identity. Also, I still don't own Hetalia and probably never will.

Chapter 15- Missing in the Big Apple

Germany had to admit that he had been impressed by how smoothly the meeting had initially gone. America had given a short yet efficient welcome, Italy had rambled, but he had stayed on topic.

…Unfortunately, when Germany had been put in charge as the moderator for the meeting the room dissolved into chaos. This was primarily because everyone could hear America screaming into the phone in the adjacent room.

"What do you mean you misplaced Alaska!?"

All discipline in the room quickly took a break from the normal discussion as most of the nations began to dart near the door to listen in on what America was saying. It didn't take long for France and a half a dozen others to have their ears pressed against the wall.

"Well I don't think that you should have let her out of your sight for a moment!"

"I am sure that there is a logical explanation for all of this." Canada tried to argue but he was quickly drowned out by the other nation's speculations.

"What do you mean you found blood!?"

America's last statement really got the group talking. It was easy to pick out snippets of conversation from around the room. Some argued that state had been kidnapped. Others thought another natural disaster had hit the northern region. Russia argued that Alaska had gotten fed up with capitalism and had decided to become one with the Soviet Union. If things continued down this route, Germany worried that it was possible that the meeting would never get back on track.

"Everyone quiet!" He bellowed. "While I know that everyone likes to know everyone else domestic affairs but we do have international issues to solve and only a few days to do so."

Most of the room ignored Germany's comment and continued their individual conversation. England threatened to bomb Russia if they discovered that he was behind Alaska's apparent kidnapping. Russia was ignoring him by explaining who Alaska was to the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. France and China were at each other's throats about Vietnam. It was clear that any moment some of the nations would move from using words to express their opinion to the use of fists. While these types of fights couldn't permanently damage any of the nation personifications, it was incredibly embarrassing trying to explain the injuries to their various ambassadors.

"Enough!" Germany slammed his fists against the conference table, which immediately got the attention of the other nations. As soon as the room quieted he began to lecture them. "I know that all of you want to stick your nose into America's business right now, but we do not have time for that. We will now sit down at the table like civilized nations, listen to Italy's presentation and then try to come up with solutions for the problem. Italy, you may retake the floor."

Before Italy got the chance to talk again a very sheepish looking America poked his head into the meeting room.

"Um…" The nation chewed on his bottom lip trying to figure out the best way to approach the problem. "So, it looks like I am going to have to duck out of the meeting a bit early."

"But what about the Torre pendent di Pisa?" A crest fallen Italy asked.

"Don't worry, I will totally be a hero and figure out a way to save that tower, but right now I have a few domestic issues to deal with." Without a further word, America left. As soon as the door clicked shut England stood and started stuffing his papers into his brief case.

"And where are you going?" Germany glared at the new distraction.

"To make sure that insufferable twat doesn't do anything too stupid."

Alaska was doing her best not to panic. She tried to reason that because Manhattan wasn't a particularly large island with an area less than 35 square miles, that it shouldn't take America too long to find her. On the other hand, her brain nagged, it also happened to be the most densely populated location on the planet, even more packed Tokyo. The sheer number people and buildings was bound to complicate the search.

As she waited, her watch began to taunt her. Alaska had been at the gates of Central Park for just over three hours. During that time she hadn't see a single familiar person. But all of her training and experience told her that staying in one location would increase the likelihood that a search party would find her.

Then it started to rain. The northern state knew that in her current weakened condition, getting wet was not the best idea. Staying put was no longer an option. Striking out she guided her wheelchair down the road in hopes that she could find a taxi or at least a landmark that could guide her to the UN Headquarters.

"Where exactly did you see her last?"

It had taken over an hour to travel the short distance from the UN headquarters to New York's apartment south of Central Park. When the car had finally dropped them off America had insisted they start searching immediately. These searches were proving fruitless and as time ticked by, America was becoming more and more agitated. Even as he spoke his fingers unconsciously twitched as though he could solve the problem by simply pounding it into the ground. England knew that this wasn't a situation that could be solved by his ally's physical strength. He needed to calm the superpower down so that he didn't make any rash decisions.

"Asking her for a third time isn't going to magically make her change her answer.

"But…" America tried to protest, but his shoulders fell as he spoke.

"It will be alright lad, Samantha is a resourceful…" The British nation tried to soothe, but then a limp figure in an alleyway caught his eye. He quickly approached the lump. On further inspection, it was clear that the victim was alive, human, and bore injuries cause by practiced, military precision. This was not a person harmed by gang violence. This was done by a person who knew how to incapacitate someone using the fewest moves possible, someone like an assassin. "Have you called the police yet?"

"No." The Commonwealth of Virginia said, shock in her voice.

"It may be time."

"Why?" The female state finally caught up and focused her eyes got a good look at the cut glove laying next to the bleeding human. It matched to leather glove that she had picked up on the sidewalk in front of New York's apartment…it was also cover in its owner's blood. Virginia paled. "Oh…"

"It looks like your suspicion that Samantha did not leave willingly is probably correct."

Hailing a cab was significantly more challenging that Alaska had initially suspected. This was most likely because after an hour and a half in the rain, she was starting to look like a drowned cat. The only advantage to her current appearance was the fact the water helped to hide the dark stain of blood on her clothing.

"May I help you ma'am?"

She glanced up to see a cab pulled off to the side of the road, window rolled down, and the man looking at her in concern. Alaska could was immensely relieved, but she knew that she was going to have to make a good impression to convince the cabby to accept her into his vehicle.

"I need to be transported to the UN Headquarters. Can you get me there?"

"That is some distance from here." The cabby said scratching at the stubble on his chin.

"Do you have a problem with my selected destination?" She said hotly, trying to imitate the nobles that she had rubbed shoulders with in the past.

"No." The man said eyeing her appearance. "But, are you sure you have enough money for the trip?"

"I think the better question is if you have enough change for a hundred dollar bill?"

Alaska said plucking a Benjamin Franklin from her wallet and waving in the man's line of vision. As the man stared, the state could see his opinion of her rapidly changing. His brows lifted in curiosity. He got out and opened the passenger door for her.

"What brings you to New York City?"

"A combination of diplomatic mission and pleasure." Alaska replied simply, attempting to mimic the way that her former empresses controlled a court as she transferred herself from the wheelchair into the seat of the cab. "I don't get the opportunity to visit the western coast of the United States of America often. So I decided to take a look at a few of your landmarks."

"This isn't a particularly safe place to go sightseeing alone." The cabby commented as he tucked the wheelchair into the trunk of the car.

"So I have been told." She replied as the man got back into the driver's seat. "And I was not alone to begin with. I somehow managed to misplace my escort, which is why I am heading to the United Nations. I will be able to meet up with the rest of my party there. Shall we depart?"

The drive to the UN was relatively uneventful. The cabby tried to chat for the first few miles, but Alaska only gave one or two word replies. After that the taxi lapsed into silence and the state could relish the fact she was no longer in the rain. Even in her wet clothes the cab was warm and comfortable. Slowly she let her eyes drift closed until the car stopped and the cabby turned off the engines.

"That would come to thirty-four dollars and seventy-five cents, ma'am."

"Keep the change." Alaska said handing him the one hundred dollar bill and allowing him to help into her wheelchair. As she rolled towards the front doors, cabby asked one final question.

"I don't think you told me where you are from?"

"Some place you have never heard of." She smiled sadly then she didn't even look back to see his reaction as she wheeled herself through the grand double doors of the building.

The UN atrium was a huge airy space made of glass and metal. It was large enough that it could have easily housed the office building that served as Alaska's state capital. Alaska couldn't help but feel incredibly small. In such a large place where so many nations meet, how could she possibly find America, Canada, or any of the other allied nations? Luckily, the security guard noticed her apparent confusion and came to see if he could be assistance.

"Hello sir, I am her to see either Alfred F. Jones or Mathew Williams." Alaska asked politely, the feeling her gun against her ribs reminded her that she was usually required to declare and surrender any firearm when she entered a government building. She didn't know if this applied to the U.N. but one should always be cautious. "Also, I am currently carrying a firearm. What would you like me to do with it?"

As much as Canada hated to admit it sometimes it was easier to hold international meeting without America and England present. It meant that France and Russia that the Soviet Union was the only true nuclear power in the room. France wasn't a real threat and no one in the room really cared to hear Russia brag about his nuclear arsenal. This had forced the Soviet nation to gain brownie points by being a productive member of the international community. He did this by promptly promising Italy significant engineering and scientific aid in dealing with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Satisfied, Italy allowed the meeting to move on to other pressing issues.

As the morning drew on, Russia volunteered the Soviet Union for everything from food aid in Africa to building schools in Asia. By lunch-time the Soviets had indicated that they were willing to solve every problem that had been brought to the attention of the UN. This caused an unexpected problem…There was nothing left to discussed when everyone returned from lunch.

"Are there any other nations with issues that need to be brought to the attention of the UN?" Germany said as he scanned through the day's agenda.

"Um…" Canada cleared his throat and stood. Once all eyes were on him he continued. "In light on the recent Alaskan earthquake and tsunami I would like to suggest that we might want to improve our tsunami warning systems."

"Isn't that a North American issue?" Finland asked head cocked to one side.

"Sort of…"

"The why are you bringing it up here?" China said rolling his eyes.

"Because the U.S. and I are not the only countries in the Northern Pacific." He wave towards the map. "Just look. Russia, Korea, Japan, all of these countries have been have also been affected by earthquakes and tsunamis spawned in the Aleutian and Commander Islands."

"It seems like Alaska is the source for most of these earthquakes, which gives America a responsibility to create such a center. Why should other nations have to pay for that kind of a program?" China pushed.

"Because there is more to creating a joint agency than money. The earthquake that shook North America on Good Friday may have been massively destructive, but it has also permanently changed the field of geology. If we can share this type of data, the whole world will be better for it. There is also another reason we should work together…I know that it would be easy to blame all of the death and destruction on Alaskan earthquakes, but is strong evidence that the tsunamis that have been spawned in Russian territory have been just as deadly, maybe even more so…"

"I don't have any idea what you are talking about comrade." Russia said with a smug smile pulling on the edges of his lips. It made Canada want to throttle the older nation.

"Just because you won't admit to the outside world that you have experienced a natural disaster doesn't mean that they don't occur. The Soviet Union is massive. Statistical earthquakes, storms, famines, and floods occur somewhere within the communist nations on a regular basis. And you can't simply say that you are overwhelmingly lucky. There is simply too much evidence indicating that you are just as heavily hit as the rest of us."

"Evidence such as?" Germany tried to moderate.

"The earthquake that hit Kamchatka twelve years ago may have caused significant loss of life and property in Russia."

"And how would you know this?" Russia prompted, nonchalantly leaning back in his chair.

"Look how much damage that that particular tsunami did in Alaska and Hawaii. Even though Alaska deflected the majority of the energy, a small wave managed to hit the British Columbia, California, and the rest of the western coast of North America. Aerial photos showed that the streets were flooded, and harbors were destroyed in Russian cities such as…"

"That would be spying on another country's private affairs."

"That would be called being a reasonable neighbor. When disaster strikes, all of you communist countries clam up. Your act is driving me insa…" Before Canada could finish his statement there was a loud bang at the door and two UN security personnel burst into the room.

"Excuse us sirs. I am very sorry to interrupt your meeting, but we have an armed gunman in the building. We have orders to evacuate you to a safe location."

Historical Note- At the time of this story only four nations officially had nuclear weapons. The United States was the first country to develop nuclear weapons. Trinity was the first successful nuclear bomb test in 1945. The Soviet Union quickly followed with RDS-1 in 1949. With the Cold War heating up the U.S. gave the United Kingdom all the data that they had collected in their nuclear development program allowing England to build and launch Hurricane in 1952. France became the third NATO country to develop nuclear weapons with the bomb Gerboise Bleue in 1960. China would become fifth and final country with a nuclear weapon state status under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. They will be droping there first bomb 596 in a later chapter.

Durring this type period there are also two countries that didn't officially have nuclear weapons but for whom nuclear research played a major role. The first is Sweden. At this time Sweden was looking at the possibility of creating a nuclear arsenal in order to insure their neutrality if there was a WWIII. The other country is Canada. Even though Canada did not have its own nuclear arsenal, the U.S. gave them a large amount of nuclear weapons to use if Canada was ever attacked by the Soviet Union.

End Note- If you have the time I would love to hear from you. Send a pm or write a review. I will try to get back to you promptly.

Next Chapter- Trouble with Firearms- While carrying a gun is considered to be perfectly normal in Alaska, she is rapidly discovering that practices is not common in the rest of the United States. Now she is on the run for the UN Security Forces and a New York City Police SWAT team is on their way. Luckily Russia may have a plan to rescue her…if he can get the other nations on board that is.