Germany has always been a hard-working nation who would always follow the rules, and everything America ever did contradicted his policies. The country was constantly finding ways to make things quicker, easier, and contain less work. The United States always found a way to get what he wanted in the end, whether he had to lie, cheat, brag, or simply use his over-powering military force. It also appeared to Germany that America could be very good at playing others false. What happened today would be a good example; when it was revealed that America has been keeping fifty other personifications within his country, who also just may have kidnapped him.

Germany sighed and neatly folded his clothes into a jet-black suitcase. He didn't even know what to make of this situation, everything about this was complete insanity. How in the world could fifty personifications exist inside a single country? More importantly, how could they have existed for this long without anyone knowing? How could he let something like this slip right past him? He was way too organized to have let this happen!

Germany sat down on the luxurious king-sized bed and thought back to any moment where he could have figured this out earlier, but his mind was blank. New York first introduced himself as Jay Excelsior... was there a Jay on the yacht? He didn't remember meeting anybody named Jay Excelsior during the party, he didn't remember seeing his face either. And then there was the eyes, Germany couldn't believe that he never noticed the eyes! He remembered over-hearing Canada asking America about the guests covering their left eye, America laughed it off and said it was a fad. Looking back on it he shouldn't have brushed off the over-heard conversation. If only he would have noticed something, if only then he would have been able to... do what? Even if he had suspicions, he would have been disregarded by America as easily as Canada was. If he shared his suspicions with any other nation, then they would question why he found such interest in America to notice these details. America probably knew that, and figured that his states would be more than safe showing their faces at his party. Damn that nation, if he wasn't attacked, Germany could only wonder how long America would have been able to keep that secret.

He was almost finished packing when he heard three light knocks on the door, "Come in, Italy." He couldn't think of any other nation it would be.

Italy jingled as he pranced into the hotel room. The Italian was dressed in a black and white striped tee-shirt and powder pink shorts, he must have changed before leaving for the lobby knowing that he was going into warmer weather. Behind him trailed a rolling suitcase covered in stickers and slung over his shoulder was a bright orange backpack with over twenty separate key chains that clanked together with every step he took. "Germany! I'm back from the lobby! It turns out that I did leave my backpack down there. Who would have thought that I would remember at last minute! Are you almost ready to go?"

"Ja, Italy." He wasn't surprised at the sight in front of him at all. He would be an idiot if he didn't expect Italy was going to dress and act as if he were about to go on some cheerful vacation, and he even told himself that he should do the same to ease suspicions from other nations who were not involved, but old habits die hard. Germany found himself wearing dress pants, a blue dress shirt, and a tie.

He zipped his suitcase shut and dug in his pocket to receive his cellphone. In that same pocket, was a folded up index card with seven numbers written on it. "Are we going to call Mary now?" Italy asked.

Germany nodded, "Maryland. Say Italy, what would you do if I told you that Maryland is male?"

Italy's amber eyes lit up in amusement. "That would be funny! That's not true though, anyways I'm excited to meet her!"

Germany shook his head and dialed the number on the card. While he patiently waited for someone to answer, he wondered what this state was like, and where this state was when America was attacked. He and the other nations had a good number of odds against them. One would be the fact that there were fifty completely different suspects. How would he be able to find out who did it before America was seriously harmed when there were so many possibilities?

"Hello?"

Germany paused. He really should have planned out what he was going to say when the state answered the phone. "Ermm, yes hello, is this...?"

"Maryland. Yeah, it's me. I'm going to guess this is Germany, am I correct?"

Germany nodded, then realized that the state couldn't tell he was answering, "Oh, yes. How did you know?"

The state's tone was light, "I didn't, it was a guess."

"Put it on speaker!" Italy shouted. Germany complied and Italy leaped onto the bed and scooted closer until his leg was touching Germany's. He leaned over to the phone to yell, "Hi Mary!"

"Mary?" the clearly male voice asked in confusion.

Italy gasped, "Oh my god, Germany's right! You're really not a pretty lady!"

There was silence on the other line for a moment, "...Ok, honestly I shouldn't even be surprised that New York didn't explain that to you."

Germany decided that if he didn't interrupt, they would never get back on track, "So how exactly are we going to do this?"

"We're going to travel South along the East coast until we reach Florida, then we're going to travel North until we reach West Virginia. It will take a while but we only have two rows of states to take care of. After that we head for D.C."

"Sounds fun!" Italy cheered.

"Fun?" His tone sounded slightly offended, and Germany didn't blame him. After all the state lost his leader, he wouldn't call that fun either.

"Italy," He warned after he muffled the speaker for a moment. "So where are we meeting?"

"Richmond, Virginia. Your flight leaves at four, go find New York, he has your plane tickets printed out."

Germany paused, "What? When did he do that?"

"During the thirty minutes you gave him, you'd be surprised by how fast he can get things done."

"You states really didn't have to pay for our transportation," Germany stated. He had more than enough money for a plane ride to another state, and he knew for a fact that America always threw parties that would drain his pockets for months.

"No, we probably didn't. But you know, when ten whole nations know about a secret that could hurt this country dearly if it was revealed, it's never a bad idea to show a little hospitality." Germany was surprised at how straight forward he was. "So do you have a laptop?"

Germany paused to scan over his suitcases, making sure it was in there, "Yes, why?"

"Good. After you get on the plane and have access to WIFI, video chat me. Then we can go into more detail about what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. But until then, you have a plane to catch. Goodbye Germany, goodbye Italy." Without waiting for a reply, the state hung up.

"Wow! We're going on a plane!?" Italy exclaimed.

"I guess we are, let's go talk to New York." They sat up from the bed and calmly walked out of the door. The Hotel hallways were decorative and empty, as was the elevator. Germany left Italy with the duty to check them both out and exited the fancy Hotel. He found New York and England leaning against a black Toyota. "New York, Arthur," He greeted. Having to use England's name in public, he wondered if New York had a human name that he didn't have to change.

New York didn't correct his using of the state's name, "Germany."

"You can call me Ludwig," he said.

The state disregarded the gesture, "Did you talk to Maryland?"

Germany nodded, "Yes, he's very... direct."

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about that for long. He warms up to people fast." Unlike you, Germany thought with the memory of him calling all nations Monsters in mind.

"So Maryland said that you have tickets printed out?"

England gawked, "Are you trying to tell me that you're paying for everyone's trip? Should I ask how much this is costing you!?"

New York instantly shook his head, "No, you really shouldn't." He opened his car door and pulled out two pieces of paper, "Yours and Italy's, here you go."

Once the pieces of paper were in hand, he turned to England, "Well good luck. I wish you a safe trip." He usually wasn't that polite to the English nation, but given the new situation he would probably find himself working with the rest of these countries for a while, it wouldn't hurt being a little nicer.

England nodded in understanding, then stared back at the hotel in annoyance, "If our trip even begins, France is taking forever in there. I bet you'll reach the house before he comes out of that hotel."

At that moment the hotel doors were opened and England glanced at the entrance in hope. Then rolled his eyes when he saw it was only Italy, "Germany we're all clear! I checked us out!"

"Us?" New York asked out of curiosity. "You shared a hotel room? I didn't know you two are..."

Germany gave him a warning glare, "He gets nightmares and doesn't like to sleep alone."

New York lifted both his hands in passive surrender, "Hey, I'm perfectly fine with whatever the real reason is. Anyway I ordered your taxi to stay, and it's the third one from the corner. I already gave the driver directions and you'll be taken to the airport."

Italy nodded, "Alright! Bye Arthur! Bye Jay! I'll see you again at the house!" Italy raced to the taxi, Germany looked back at them one more time before following the Italian.

XXX

They were thankfully flying in coach. Germany never thought he would think that flying in coach was a good thing, but then again he wasn't paying for their trip. He wasn't comfortable with having these personifications he barely knew paying for such things. He probably would have flipped if these states payed for first class tickets. He unpacked the laptop and placed it on his legs. He turned it on and looked around while waiting for it to load. Most of the plane ride was silent besides a couple of conversations here and there. Each row on the plane seated three. Italy was staring peacefully out the window, Germany was in the middle, and the outer seat was empty. Even so, Germany wasn't sure how they were going to have an entire conversation through video chat without attracting attention, or how he was even going to find this state on the internet to video chat with. Just as he was questioning the efficiency of this plan, his laptop made an obnoxious ringing, causing a couple of passengers to give him a look.

Italy looked up from the window and stared at the laptop, "Well answer it!"

Germany studied the screen for a split second to see that he was getting a video chat request from an unknown contact. He pressed answer immediately and was soon staring at a man with a star as a left eye. His right eye was a blue just as light as America's and he had dirty blonde hair that fell down his face in layers. He was America without the glasses and the cowlick. While there were differences, there weren't many. The state was a tone tanner and his hair was messier and just a little bit frizzy. His nose was sharper, and his chapped lips curved into a nervous smile, revealing his slightly crooked teeth. Sunglasses hung from a light green tee-shirt and he leaned back into what looked like a train seat.

"You look just like Alfred!" Italy called.

Maryland almost dropped his laptop from the sudden voice booming from the electronic. The screen whipped up and down for a moment until he got it steady again. He glanced over his shoulder before the chat box opened and Germany received a message.

Don't talk, we don't want too many passengers eavesdropping. -MD

Then why did you want to video chat? And how did you find my Skype? -Germany

America is basically the only nation I've ever talked to face to face, and I wanted to see what you looked like up close. I found you through America's contacts. -MD

Italy excitably waved to the state, "Well it's nice to see you too!" Germany was going to tell him not to speak out loud, but since this was only small talk for now, he let it slide. "So what are we going to do?"

Like I said before, we're going to travel down to Florida, then head north to West Virginia. We're traveling by plane and stopping to pick up each state individually, so none of them will have a chance to do anything to America if they have him in their custody. Since this ambush was a team effort, the guilty states will be arguing over what their next actions will be, delaying any harm that will come to America. Once we have everyone at the house, we narrow down suspects, interrogate them, and break them down until we find this infamous "weak link" as New York titled him, which shouldn't be too hard after we find America. -MD

Germany's bright blue eyes moved left and right as he re-read the message over again, paying attention to the details.

I see. But what if America is not found by any of us? These states probably haven't been holding him captive in plain sight. -Germany

That's very possible and might just happen. If none of us find America on our way when picking up every state, we'll continue with the original plan until we have a confession. From there the state can tell us where America is and we'll find him then. -MD

Italy reached over Germany and began to type.

What will happen to America if nobody's there to take care of him? -Italy

Maryland bit his lip before continuing to type.

That depends on how long this takes. Most likely America is being held in a way where it won't be easy for him for him to escape. If he can't escape and nobody is there to watch over him, he might starve or die from thirst. -MD

Italy gasped and Germany covered his face with his hand to hide the frustration etched onto his face.

So that's it? We can't just leave America there! -Italy

Maryland's pierced his lips and shook his head.

Can't leave him where? I really didn't want to be the one to explain this but until we know his location there's nothing we can really do. If we find him that's great, if we can't then we're just going to have to take our chances and hope he's safe. Even if he does die he'll come back to life. -MD

And what happens after that? Germany typed. When a nation died of starvation or thirst, they come back to life, but without nutrition they can't really be healed. There's only a certain amount of time a nation has before their body shuts down and they die again. The cycle continues until the personification is either given food or water, or their body doesn't have enough health to regain consciousness. At that point, the nation would fall into a coma until they receive the nutrition they need. That has only happened a couple times before since most nations are able to feed/hydrate themselves the first couple of times they die, but if America's unable to then...

Maryland shook his head once again.

You know what would happen and so do I, but he won't reach that point. We'll find him before he dies too many times, I'm sure of it. I doubt we won't find him before the first time he dies. -MD

I hope you're right -Italy

Well do you have anymore questions? -MD

No -Germany

Alright. I was told my train reaches Richmond around 6:30, your flight will arrive earlier than that. Call me when you land and we'll decide on a meeting spot. Then we'll pay a visit to Virginia. -MD

I'll see you there -Germany

Same to you -MD

"Goodbye!" Italy said. The video chat ended and Germany soon found himself on Google, "What are you doing, Ludwig?"

"I'm going to do some research on these southern states, hopefully I'll find something important."

Italy bounced in his seat, "Really? I want to help! I can be good at researching too!"

Germany sighed, "Alright, if you insist. It might end up being some hard work though. I'll research Maryland, Virginia..." He forgot how challenging remembering all of these states could be. "I'll research the first row of states, you research the second row of states, from Florida to West Virginia, got it?"

"Si!" Italy pulled out his phone and began typing.

Germany barely knew where to begin. Researching their personal information would be impossible since he didn't know any of their human names, and it wasn't very likely that he would find anything even if he did know their names based on how low-key America has been with these personifications. Germany eventually decided to look up their actual state instead of trying to search for their personal information. His fingers danced across the keyboard and he clicked on a link about the state Maryland.

"Let's see what we can find out," He muttered as he began to read.

XXX

They barely found out anything.

Germany searched for any extra information about these states on his phone while in a taxi with Italy. There wasn't much information about these states that could be held against them. There was the Civil War to always think about, but that ended in 1865. There would be no reason to attack America because of a war that ended that long ago.

Italy stared out the window, "I think we're almost there!"

Germany couldn't tell if he was right or not. They were on the highway from the airport, but it was hard to tell they were in the capital of a state. Thick trees were lined up parallel to the road and no buildings were in sight. Germany barely remembered exiting the airport, collecting their luggage, and calling a taxi. It was mostly a blur to him, that wasn't too unusual for him though. Sometimes he could be so focused on a mission that he wouldn't pay attention to much else besides it. He wasn't the biggest fan of having to wait around and having nothing to do. Traveling with the states would be better, then he could actually talk to them and get to know them so that he could eliminate suspects. Which was why he could barely wait to reach Maryland.

From what he learned so far, the state didn't seem like the kind of personification to betray another. He seemed very straight forward and kind, just as New York told Germany. Also from his research Germany knew that this state was a border state during the Civil War; not that what happened back then would have too much significance on the present. For some reason Germany continued to reference to that war.

As the taxi was near to exiting the highway, the trees thinned and Germany could well see the city of Richmond. The buildings were not as tall and narrow as they were in New York, they were wider which made the buildings seem shorter. To their right was a cluster of buildings, and to their left was what looked like the train station. From the highway Germany could see the unnaturally long building with the train tracks running beside it. Beside that, was a red-brick building with a large clock connected to it, informing Germany that it was 6:37 precisely.

"We're here," Germany announced to Italy. The taxi exited the highway and Germany directed him to drop the two off a block from the station. After he payed the driver he helped Italy unload their suit cases.

"Why do you want to walk?" Italy asked after the driver drove away.

Germany started rolling his black suitcase down the sidewalk. "I figured that we should at least give our bodies a small chance to get used to the humidity before entering another enclosed temperature-controlled area." In New York, it wasn't too hot because of the strong wind and the threat of rain, but here there wasn't a single cloud to be spotted and the sun was baking his skin. Maybe he should have worn shorts after all.

"I guess you're right," Italy chimed. "After all, since we're going to travel even more South than this, it can only get hotter!"

The sidewalks were a red brick and there wasn't much interesting scenery since they were walking under a bridge; Italy did point out some strange graffiti though. They crossed under train-tracks and across the street to face the large clock building Germany saw earlier. The building was mostly brick and stone with some aged architecture on top of the red roof. There was a stone set of stairs that led to the entrance; a row of wooden doors lined with stone columns.

The key-chains on Italy's backpack rang as he began to drag his suitcase up the stairs, "So should we call Mary now and let him know we're here?"

Germany shook his head and started following the nation, "Let's not, we can probably find him on our own. Besides, I want to test his patience and see how he reacts."

Italy nodded, "I don't really know how that would help us but good idea!"

It wasn't too hard to locate the state, the man was pacing in circles and checking his phone every ten seconds when the two first saw him. Germany felt his phone in his pocket vibrate at least nine times from both phone calls and texts. When he looked up to see Germany and Italy, he jumped in surprise, "Oh!" He nearly screamed as he bounded towards them, leaving his stuff behind. "Wow, it looks like I didn't notice you two!"

He extended an arm to shake hands, but instead Italy pulled him into a tight embrace like he does to everybody. "Hi Mary! It's always so exciting to meet new personifications!"

Maryland stumbled into the hug and stammered out, "W-Well we're not exactly new personifications but OK, nice to meet you too."

Germany still didn't know how he would describe this state. When New York first talked about this Maryland, he told him he was someone who could always tell what's on your mind and when you're lying, when he first talked on the phone with him he seemed to be cold and business-like, then New York said he was nice, and now he found himself standing in front of this stammering mess.

When Italy let go of the state, Maryland coughed into his sleeve and tried to smooth out the wrinkles in his green tee-shirt before stepping forward to shake hands with Germany, "Germany. I heard a lot about you two, it'll be interesting working with you guys."

"I feel the same way," Germany responded curtly. "So when are we meeting this Virginia?"

"Now, hang on let me just-" Maryland bent down to grab his blue suitcase he dropped when he first saw the two nations. "Alright, we're good! Virginia's apartment isn't too far away from the capital building; she likes to stay regional." Maryland and Italy started to walk out of the station.

"So what is Virginia like?" Germany asked as he followed the two personifications down the stairs. "I'm a bit concerned that we know nothing about her."

"We know her gender!" Italy cheered. "I'd say that's a step up!"

Maryland laughed, "I really should have suspected New York was going to mis-gender me again. Do you know how long he's been callin' me Mary? Since he learned my name."

"You don't like being called Mary?" Italy asked worryingly, probably afraid he has been offending him.

Maryland looked over at the Italian, "At first I hated it, but that didn't stop anybody from callin' me Mary, do you know how much effort it takes to hate something for hundreds of years? Eventually I just got used to it, honestly I don't even care anymore, so go ahead." Once they reached the street he pulled his phone from his pocket, "I'll call a taxi."

"No," Germany stated instantly. "I'll do it."

Maryland shifted his gaze on him, "Wow. You really want to do it that bad, or do you just want to keep me from using my phone so that I don't contact any of the states?"

His lips were now a thin line, "I just figured that I should call the taxi. I'm not suspecting you of anything."

The state nodded, then patiently took a seat on the stairs, "Lie," Germany could have swore he heard him passively murmur. Germany shook his head and started to dial a taxi service.

XXX

Reaching this state's apartment took less than five minutes, Maryland wasn't lying when he said she liked to stay regional. They found themselves standing in front of a towering apartment building that Germany estimated to be about twelve stories high. As they walked towards the entrance Germany glanced around, "There are so many young citizens here."

Maryland nodded, "That's because this is a college area, during school years you can't walk down the street without seeing at least five students walking around with backpacks. Even Virginia's apartment building hands out discounts to students."

"Is Virginia a college student?" Italy asked.

The state shook his head, "No, of course not. While we're only states we have responsibilities too. We're too busy to go to college even if we wanted to."

"So what exactly does a state do?" Germany asked. While being a nation is a busy job, not many need help doing it. Sure Germany gives Prussia responsibilities when he feels his brother isn't doing enough, but he couldn't imagine having so many personifications helping him take care of a single country. What exactly were these states doing this whole time?

Maryland almost tripped as he stepped down the stairs of the front entrance, "You know, we do this and that..."

Germany matched the speeding state's pace, "Could you possibly be more vague?"

The American directed his eyes toward the front entrance, "Maybe. If I put enough effort into it, I could give you the vaguest description your heart has never desired." He swooped ahead of the German and swung open the door almost gracefully, "And after all of our journeying we have finally arrived! Two down, eight more to go!"

Germany strode through the entrance without saying a word. This state didn't seem like he wanted to give too much information to Germany and Italy, which Germany wasn't very surprised about. Even though Maryland was nice and seemed too clumsy to successfully bring harm to another, he was still just as much of a suspect compared to any other state.

Italy laughed as he followed Germany past the door, "You're really funny!"

"Really? I'm not really known as the funniest of the group." Maryland stated as he closed the door and walked past the two towards the elevator.

"Then what are you known as?" Italy asked.

The elevator door opened and Maryland stepped inside, "I'm known as something, that's for sure." Germany and Italy followed him and the elevator started to move upwards, "Anyway, enough about me. There's probably something that you should know about all of us... and I'm not sure whether or not you'll be able to believe it."

Germany narrowed his eyes, "What is it?"

Maryland shifted uncomfortably and studied the elevator floor as he spoke, "Well, you know how we all have a star and a stripe?"

"As in the flag, right?" Maryland nodded. "Why do you have those anyway?"

At that moment Germany knew where this was going, "They're there for a reason, aren't they? Are they a strength or a weakness?"

The state knitted his eyebrows together, "Both?"

Germany frowned, "Explain."

Maryland lifted his stare from the floor and locked eyes with the nation, "Both." He stated more confidently. Germany focused on the star in his eye, at this angle the star seemed to be glowing. "We are the United States of America, yet we're divided in almost every way possible. So what keeps us united? There are thousands of answers if you're focusing on our people, but there's only two main reasons if you're focusing on us. The first answer is America; we're nothing without a leader. The second is this," Maryland pointed to his eye and held his red wrist in front of the two personifications. "The flag."

The Elevator came to a stop, but they didn't progress towards anyone's apartment. Germany checked to see if the hallway was empty, then stepped out of the elevator and pointed to Maryland, "What about this flag?"

Maryland stared down both ends of the hallway cautiously as Germany did, then continued, "It unifies us in more ways than one, even though the flag has to be divided to do so. Each state has a star as their left eye, and the original thirteen each have a stripe on their wrist, odd states who ratified first have a red stripe, evens have a white stripe."

Italy pointed to his eye, "Why is it starting to glow?" Germany glanced at Italy in relief, glad he wasn't the only one who noticed it.

"Because I'm closer to another state. They tend to glow and heat up as a sign that we're getting closer to each other. Also..." He hesitated a moment to glance around once again, "We can share memories with them."

Germany paused, "What?"

"We can share memories with then," Maryland repeated with a flat voice.

That had to be that last thing Germany saw coming, "How?" Italy asked.

Maryland started walking down the hallway with both nations trailing at his heels, "We don't know exactly how, it's not like we can go to a scientist to figure this out or anything. We just can. For some reason getting close to each other triggers some kind of energy to form, and we found out that we can use it to share memories with each other." He stopped outside of a wooden door, "We're here."

Germany was so focused on this new information that he didn't notice they stopped and walked straight into Italy, who let out a surprised "Ve." Maryland knocked his fist against the door softly, "Who is it?" A soft southern accent called.

"Mary... and a couple others," He called hesitantly.

"Who else?"

Maryland bit his lip, "It's a surprise! A very, very surprising one too."

"Ha! I'd like to see anything surprise me!"

Maryland pierced his lips together and tilted his head back in unspoken frustration, "Wanna bet?"

The door swung open instantly and a blonde blur popped out into the hallway, "It's a bet!" She shouted in his face. Germany found himself staring face to face with another state. Her light blonde hair went down to her collar bone in perfect cloud-like layers; wavy and soft. She wore no makeup except for a peach lipstick covering her defined lips. Italy jumped backwards with a terrified squeak when he saw her eyes, but being Prussia's little brother, Germany was used to it. Her left eye was solid blue with a white star replacing the pupil, and her right eye was a deep red color. It wasn't exactly a blood-red like Prussia's, actually, it almost matched the exact color of Maryland's stripe. Her eyes that once had a playful gleam to them widened in surprise. She stood there gaping at them for a moment in complete shock.

Maryland let out a low whistle, "So... I won the bet? What do I get?"

The personification of Virginia fixated her shocked stare at him, "How about the disappointment of every state in America?"

Maryland shook his head and lifted his hands in surrender, "Oh no. You're gonna have to believe me when I say that this wasn't me. New York was the one who told the tale to these two nations and the rest of them; which wasn't his fault entirely in case you're planning his murder in your head right now."

Virginia froze to take in the new information, then ran her hands over her face, "New York... what did you do?" Then she paused, and her head whipped upwards, "Wait... the rest!?"

Maryland looked over his shoulder when he heard the elevator door open, "Let's go inside, then I can properly share the whole story with you." Germany caught how he said "share" and not "tell."

Virginia hastily looked over her shoulder, "Fine, come on." She left the door open for them as she stiffly walked through her apartment. Germany shut the door softly after the other two entered the room. The apartment was covered in pastel colors; pink sheets, blue coffee mugs, orange curtains, and yellow cooking supplies. The apartment didn't seem like it was lived in for too long based on the fact that it was absolutely spotless and there were a couple of open boxes in the corner of the living room. The living room led to a balcony and two other rooms.

Besides her red eye, the state of Virginia didn't appear to be frightening at all, even though Italy was shaking by the time he reached the dining room. She wore a white sleeveless blouse tucked into a flowing peach shirt that went down to her knees. She bit her nails and paced around the kitchen frantically, then she turned to Maryland, "Alright now tell me since you can't lie, Is this a joke, or are there real foreign nations in my apartment who recognize us both as actual states?"

Maryland leaned against the dining room table, "I really wish I could tell you it's a joke."

Virginia groaned, "This is a mess!"

"Oh it gets worse."

The female state crossed her arms and glared at him, "How could this get worse!? Exactly what kind of situation are we in and how did we get here? You know I hate being left in the dark. Just do it already!"

Maryland stole a side-glance at the two nations before sighing, "Alright fine, I already explained it to them anyway so they shouldn't find this too surprising." Virginia opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off, "Oh come on! I know what you're thinking but you can't possibly tell me that you thought we could get away with keeping that secret. As if they wouldn't notice our eyes glowing?" Virginia closed her mouth, silencing any argument she was about to voice. Maryland started to unplug electronics and remove light bulbs from their lamp shade.

"You don't have to unplug my entire apartment, you know."

Maryland shrugged, "Consider it a favor. Since you won't be returning here for a good while you won't be needing electricity anyways. When you receive a low energy bill you'll thank me."

Virginia rolled her eyes, "What are you talking about? Where am I going? Besides, we could just do it on the balcony."

Maryland ignored her questions with a snort, "Yeah. Can't wait til I reach the house with the others so that I can explain to them that you couldn't come because I flung you off a building."

Italy gave Germany a confused look, who had just as much of an idea of what they were planning as he did. "Is this dangerous?" Italy asked taking a step forward.

Virginia shrugged, "Only partially. The energy we emulate is too strong for any normal form of electricity to handle, so we tend to cause certain machines to blow out or on rare occasions explode. Also it gives off such a headache!"

"I wonder how the other states are handling it," Maryland murmured as he ripped plugs out of outlets.

Virginia shook her head, "I think the better question is how many things have they broken because of it."

"I don't think they'd be able to count that high," Maryland jumped into a reading chair in the far corner of the living room, landing cross-legged, "Alright! I think we're good."

While Virginia took her time finding a comfortable place to sit on the white couch across from the chair, Germany watched Italy slide his phone partially out of his pocket until the camera lens was peaking out. Aiming the lens at the two states he called out, "be careful!"

Neither state paid much attention to him. For a whole second, the air was still. The two gazed through each other's eyes with so much emotion, that Germany could practically feel it in the air. Then the second was over, time unfroze, and sped up with an intangible amount of intensity. Germany tried to grasp every detail that he could, but it all happened so fast. Light and heat seemed to charge into their eyes and stripes as one single energy source. Then it happened. A flash of light made of a thin bright line jolted from Maryland's left eye and stripe and was absorbed in Virginia's. Germany tensed up, feeling the warning of a bomb out of habit, but the most aberrant detail was that there was no noise. The entire process was completely muted except for the sound of a small crack, but Germany inferred that was something braking.

Then it was over, and the formally ignited apartment returned to an atmosphere of simplicity. Both states sat there silently for a moment, blinking rapidly. Then Virginia groggily placed her hand on her temple and rubbed in a poor attempt to ease her headache, giving Germany a good view of the white stripe that wrapped around her wrist. "I always hate doing this! Why didn't you just tell me it all!"

Maryland stood with ease, completely unaffected by what happened, "Well you asked me to do it, the other way would have took longer, and this is easier."

"For you!" she whined, "You don't have to deal with the headaches!" Then her eyes became wide saucers and she abruptly whipped upwards from the couch, "Wait a damn minute! America was kidnapped!? By one of us!? What!? Why!?"

"S-Some," Germany coughed into his elbow to clear his cracking voice, "Those are some good questions. Hopefully we'll have answers very soon."

Virginia ran her fingers through her blonde hair then turned her back on them, suddenly tense, "I wouldn't be too hopeful in these circumstances, us states can be quite... ruthless. I out of all of them would know."

Maryland placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey. I can't promise you we'll be OK in the end, but while the circumstances are out of control, what about our conduct? Whatever they throw at us we can contradict. As long as we keep out heads intact we can figure this out. Besides, as New York said, they made an alliance."

She looked back at Maryland, her voice was barely above a whisper, "I just don't want everything to fall apart again."

Maryland's deep eyes met her's, "It won't, I'm sure of it." Virginia closed her eyes and let out a reassured sigh before continuing to walk away.

When she left the room, Maryland turned to the two nations, "Are you two alright? I think I heard a crack, which is weird since I was sure I took care of everything. You didn't get cut on any glass, did you?"

Italy let out a disappointing moan and picked his phone from his pocket, "That noise was my phone." The blank screen was cracked in several different directions.

Maryland hesitantly patted his shoulder with no idea on how to comfort him, "...Sorry. So besides that are you alright?"

Italy sighed, "I guess so, I think I need some air though, that was really shocking!"

"Same here," Germany stated. He followed Italy out onto the balcony and looked over the city, "That was..."

"Pazzo?" Italy suggested.

"Yeah. The weirdest thing about it though was how Maryland acted towards Virginia; it seemed as if he dropped all of his nerves and then picked them up right after she left," When Italy didn't respond, Germany sighed, "I don't know, maybe it's just me. Being around personifications I never met before is very trying. By the way, taping them was a great idea."

Italy's eyes lit up, "Really? I didn't really know what I was doing, I just thought that whatever they were planning to do it was probably going to look epic! So I figured that I could use the video for an art project or something, but it looks like that's out of the picture."

"Not really, the video might have saved before your phone broke," Germany reassured. "I would keep your phone in a safe place just in case."

Italy grinned excitedly, "Really? Alrighty then! I can't wait to see if it works or not!" He ecstatically shoved his phone into his pocket and pranced back into the apartment. Germany glanced back at the wide buildings before shutting the balcony door behind him.

Maryland was sitting cross-legged at the dining room table toying with the key chains that were on Italy's orange backpack, "Where did you get all of these?"

"Oh!" Italy called out excitedly. He leaped into the chair next to the state and pointed to the key chain in his hand, "That one I got from Spain after I toured the capital with him and Romano! That one is from D.C. when-" Germany zoned out as he continued to explain every key chain; he knew them all already. Instead he found himself staring after the bed room where Virginia was in. So far she seemed like an overly gentle person, but her red eye still threw him off. Prussia had red eyes, and he was a fighter at heart, was Virginia the same?

As he found himself glancing towards the bedroom door, it opened fiercely and Virginia rolled a white suitcase into the room. "I'm ready!" Italy paused in the middle of describing his Austrian key chain, and Maryland stood from his seat immediately, "Now Maryland, give me a status report!" Her voice was big and commanding.

"61 current personifications who will know of this; 50 states, 10 nations, 1 missing. Nations: America, Germany, Italy, England, Japan, Prussia, Canada, Russia, Spain, France, Romano. States with them: New York, California, Ohio, Louisiana, and I. The rest of the nations are in New York or have already left to their homes. The mission is separated into five sections. Two nations and Ten states per section. Destination; America's house, Washington D.C. Objectives; find America, find those responsible for kidnapping, and keep mission secret to other personifications not involved," Maryland announced as if he were reporting to a war general, which Germany wouldn't be that surprised if she were one.

"That was great!" Italy called out.

Virginia curtsied with a proud smile, "Thank you, Italy. I used to be a commander, that trait never really leaves."

Maryland shook his head, "If you didn't have that trait, then I don't know who else would be able to keep all the southern states out of trouble."

"So you have a lot of influence on these other states?" Germany questioned.

Virginia nodded, "I do. I was usually the one who raised these states when they were just forming, so it can't really be helped."

"She's basically a big sister to us all," Maryland stated.

Italy nodded, "Us nations usually have bigger siblings too!"

"We know, just because we never talked to you doesn't mean we know nothing about you."

Italy paused, "Wait, what do you know about us?"

"A lot," Virginia admitted, "America doesn't keep us in the dark. So which way are we going?"

"South, we'll be heading to North Carolina next," Italy's orange backpack jingled as he slipped it on his back, "So are we ready to go?"

"Last one that reaches the lobby buys everyone dinner at the airport!" Maryland then threw open the apartment door and sprinted down the hallway.

"Hey! First one there gets to pick where we eat!" Virginia called. She hastily locked the door, but left it open for the two nations, and bounded after him.

Germany and Italy exchanged glances with one another before rushing out of the apartment also, Germany almost slammed the door on his suitcase when he yanked it closed.

XXX

Author's Note: 1/? For Germany's and Italy's adventure.