Canada didn't remember much of his trip after that.

However, he remembered the states' morbid looks on the plane to Arkansas, not even Michigan would look him in the eyes. Canada didn't think they realized how much trouble America was in before they saw that picture. Canada didn't really know either, it didn't feel real until that phone call ended. Before then, it almost seemed fun; like meeting new personifications and traveling the country was just a new experience, rather than a plan to get all the states to the house without revealing the news all at once. America was always on his mind, but he pushed him away for a while to try to understand these new states. Looking back he shouldn't have done that; America didn't want him to know about them in the first place, was it really fair to meet his states without his permission? It was because America was captured by some of them, but Canada stilled feared his reaction to his contact with the states upon his return.

He remembered how meeting Arkansas and Mississippi was like no other meeting with the states. There was no arguing, joking, or teasing. The two states knew something was off before they even noticed the nations. Then when Illinois and Iowa blasted them with a beam of light from their stars, the two states joined the others' actions, they reminded Canada of when America was sad. He would always overreact when it came to things like not getting chocolate on Valentines Day, yet when something tragic happened, America bottled it up and became really quiet when it was mentioned. Canada once asked him why he did that, and America said that he didn't want other nations to think he was weak and oversensitive. He wondered if that thought was going through these states' minds right now.

He remembered Prussia's worried expression every time he looked at him. It started to annoy him, but if Prussia were acting the same way, he'd be worried too. Canada knew he was unfocused since Missouri, and so did Prussia. He often had to repeat everything to Canada so he'd catch it a second time, only for him to forget what was said the moment after he murmured a reply.

Canada remembered how relieved he was to reach America's house, it felt like a weight was lifted off of his chest after he first saw Germany greet him at the door. He only went to America's house once, and was told by America that only him and Lithuania knew of it. Canada thought it was ridiculous that America would have a giant house he didn't need, and wouldn't tell anybody. Returning to the house made it seem smaller for some reason, probably because now the giant house had a purpose, and there were so many states that would be here soon.

"Canada!" He whipped his head upwards to see England studying him critically. He didn't have the patience Prussia did to repeat everything, "Were you paying attention?"

"Uh- Yes!" He sputtered out.

Prussia placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump, "Yeah, we'll get on it!" He led the Canadian out of the Kitchen and into a long hallway, "He said that we have to talk to the other states to figure out where we're sleeping. England's sleeping in Pennsylvania's room, France in Massachusetts' room, Germany's in Virginia's room, and Italy is in Maryland's room, so we should probably look at the states in the Mid-West.

Canada nodded along, "Who's room are you going to sleep in?"

Prussia smirked, "Whichever state offers, I bet they're all dying to sleep in the same room as me!"

He shook his head and stared around the hallway they walked down. It was large and wide with windows lining the left wall, there were many paintings and pictures hung on the walls. He'd take the time to look at them all if Prussia didn't pull him through the hallway so fast. He stumbled on polished wooden floors that pronounced the sound of their footsteps loudly. Prussia called the first state they saw to a stop, "Hey!"

The state stared at them with a star and a pitch black eye, "Yes?"

"As a German tourist I must say I'm lost; I've never been to this part of D.C. So can my sexy Canadian friend and I have a tour guide?" Canada rolled his eyes at his exaggerated German accent.

The state laughed, "Anything for a couple of lost tourists, I'm West Virginia and I'll give you the grand tour." His southern accent was light and his untamed gray hair bounced as he walked down the hallway. The two nations followed him as he chattered about the house, "The hallway we're in now is the main hallway, it leads to the front door, but we can't go there because France and England blocked it off. From the front door there's the main living room, dining room, and the Kitchen that leads to the garage, but that doesn't even start with what's on the first floor. There's a bunch of oddball hallways both upstairs and downstairs, storage rooms, entertainment rooms, the work shop, the gym, the laundry rooms, bathrooms, these hallways hold it all. Then there's the bedrooms, which are mostly upstairs. They're separated by when we acquired the land since we had to build on with every amount of new territory gained. This house was a mess every time that happened, we had to practically tear it apart and put it back together again."

"Can you lead us to the Mid-West? While we were catching up, Germany left with them to unpack," Prussia said.

West Virginia nodded, "Sure, they're upstairs." After walking past what seemed to be a never ending wall of doors on his right and windows on his left, the hallway opened to reveal a wide staircase leading to the second floor. The staircase ended near the middle, then it split into two staircases, one to the right and one to the left. The steps were of the same wood with a stylish red rug thrown over it. The railing looked hand-carved and a large glass chandelier hung above it, "I'd watch your step around here when everyone settles down a bit, the main hallway and this staircase become a highway with all of us here."

"That busy?" Canada asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, unless you nations actually succeed in keeping us busy during the investigation. To the bedrooms then? I'll point out the different hallways before I drop you off near the Mid-Westerners."

Canada ran his hand along the wooden railway as he followed the state up the stairs, everything about this house was a work of art, from the floors to the lights. "Where does this lead to?" Prussia asked.

Once they reached the middle of the staircase, West Virginia made a left and started walking up more stairs, "The left staircase leads to the bedrooms for states newer to the U.S. States like Hawaii and Alaska have the newest bedrooms. The right staircase is where the first couple of bedrooms were built, the original thirteen are over there, same with the states gained with the Treaty of Paris, and some from the Louisiana Purchase. I'm guessing that you're more interested in the right, but I'll walk you down the left anyways just so you can know what's over here."

"Oh, thanks. So where's your room?" asked Canada. The hallway they were in was very long and dark before West Virginia turned on the lights, they flickered slightly, but that was a given from how old this place looked. Canada felt like he was walking through a museum rather than a house. There were several hallways coming up, and Canada could see that at the end of this hallway there was a giant window where it split into two more directions.

West Virginia glanced at him, "Me? Well technically I would've been on the left since I was born during the Civil War- which wasn't a favorable environment to grow in- but Virginia insisted that the right side had room. My room's right near the stairs, which puts me closest to the bathroom, so I have no complaints."

He pointed down the first hallway they passed, "This one's for the Louisiana Purchase states that couldn't fit in the right wing. There's a bathroom for every hallway, which means states will have to share and half of the fights you'll be settling will be about bathroom times. Texas sets the record for the shortest shower, and Maryland sets the record for the longest. Anyways the rooms are fairly small, but that's not too much for us to complain about with everything else in this house. Moving on." Canada followed him in awe as he continued to describe the rest of the left wing. The hallways looked fairly similar, except for the way the doors were decorated, which usually had a state flag and some kind of other decoration. The bathroom doors were plain, which was a relief since Canada could clearly point them out.

After about fifteen minutes of following him around, Prussia asked, "Can we see the right wing now?" They turned into yet another main hallway, Canada was starting to wonder how many of those were there in this house.

West Virginia smirked, "We are in the right wing." He laughed after seeing their confused expressions, "We walked over the back way."

Prussia gawked, "But this looks exactly like the hallway with the stairs! I thought we were on that one!"

The state shook his head, "Nope, we're a couple hallways from that one, I can have someone draw you a map if you want," Prussia huffed, earning a chuckle from West Virginia. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it eventually."

"So where are we?" Canada asked.

"Right near the Stripes' hallway," He answered easily. They walked down the hallway to find many of the doors shut, he was told that most of the North Eastern states are still sleeping, along with the Southern states. Canada could almost hear their snoring, "The Stripes sure are a lazy bunch today, I'd be the same if I weren't the last state collected in my group." Canada tried to walk lighter to avoid making much noise, but surprisingly found he didn't need to. He expected a house this old to have very creaky floors, but they were in fact more modern. Noticing his gaze, West Virginia said, "We just tore away the old floors and added new ones about ten years ago, they're pretty new for this house."

They stopped at the end of the hallway when West Virginia pointed to one of the doors, "This is my room, the bathroom's right across, and the stairs are right over there, pretty cool location, right?"

"West!" Prussia whipped his head towards the voice. A blonde state wearing a peach skirt and a white blouse approached them, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, hey Virginia. I was just showing them around," West Virginia said lightly. Prussia stared at the two of them at loss for words.

"Hey!" Prussia finally called out, "Your eye, it's red!"

Virginia raised an eyebrow, "Really Sherlock? Got any more interesting deductions you'd like to speak aloud?"

Prussia stared at her with wide eyes, "And you called him West... are you trying to copy me? I mean I know that I'm awesome, but I didn't know I had enough fans to have them cosplay me too." Canada resisted the urge to face palm.

The state placed her hands on her hips, "Your arrogance is over-whelming, and I'd watch your tone if I were you!"

Prussia let out an obnoxious cackle, "And what's a little state like you going to do about it? I can say whatever I want because us nations are superior to you, right Candy?" Canada and West Virginia took a step back from the two, wanting nothing to do with this argument. "I'll take that as a silent agreement!" He declared.

Virginia narrowed her eyes, "How would you know what being superior is when you're not even a country anymore?" Canada bit his lip and paused to wait for Prussia's reaction. Instead of looking hurt like he was expecting, anger was brewing in his blood red eyes, and Canada knew that whatever was going to happen next, it wasn't going to end well.

"At least I was supposed to exist in the first place."

West Virginia had to jump to his neighbor's side to hold her back as she spit curse words at him, Prussia smirked and crossed his arms, taunting her since she couldn't reach him. Canada yanked him by his arm and started walking down the hallway opposite of the two states, "You shouldn't have done that."

"Why not?" Prussia asked, his eyes still lit up with fire.

The Prussian started to walk faster, forcing Canada to stumble forward to keep his grip on his arm. It wasn't until he planted his feet into the carpet and urged him to stop did Prussia look him in the eye, "Just look at Ohio. Isolationists like him are looking for any reason not to trust us, if word gets around that you said that to Virginia, it's over and they'll refuse to cooperate!"

Prussia's spite slowly faded away and he stared at the floor, "I was just playing around at first, but I must have struck a nerve."

"You sure did," Canada looked over his shoulder to see a state leaning against an open door. He wore nothing but a loose tee-shirt and sweatpants, his steel colored eye gleamed in the light and his pitch black hair stuck out of his head from every angle.

Canada stared at him with bulging eyes, "We're so sorry! Did we wake you up?"

The state nodded, "Yeah, I heard the commotion. I'd suggest that you two be more careful with your words, everyone's a bit sensitive after a long trip, right?"

Prussia nodded, Canada pointed to his wrist, "Is that a stripe?"

He glanced down and covered a white stripe with his hand, "I was the first white stripe since I was the second to ratify. I'm Pennsylvania, if there's anything I can do to help out I'd be glad to do it."

His expression was tired, yet welcoming, Canada was starting to like some of the states, "We're looking for the Mid-West."

Pennsylvania closed his door and stepped into the hallway, "Trying to find somewhere to sleep? I volunteered to room with England since not many of the New England states were up for it, so I guess that'll be interesting." as he led the nations through the hallways, Canada noticed him glancing at certain doors, most likely containing sleeping states.

Prussia smirked, "Not up for it? I have to ask, is it because of the Revolutionary War?"

The state chuckled, "Kinda, I know that's New York's reason. Mass offered to room with him, but France wanted to instead."

"So how did Germany end up sleeping in that chick's room?" Prussia obnoxiously asked. He wore an odd expression as he talked of Germany's temporary roommate. Canada didn't know what he had against her, but he hoped it wouldn't get in the way of their investigation.

"Virginia?" Pennsylvania shrugged, "They seem to get along well, and they sort of act the same when it comes to assertiveness."

Prussia shook his head, "I'd congratulate him for finally sleeping with a girl if it weren't that bossy annoying bi-"

"She's really caring after you get to know her," Pennsylvania quickly cut in. Canada was surprised that he wasn't acting too defensive, even after talking to Prussia. He seemed oddly open with the nations, Canada wondered if he was an Internationalist, or if he was just trying to be polite. "Virginia is like a big sister to me and to many other states."

"Well I'm probably the better older sibling," He muttered immaturely.

Pennsylvania laughed timidly, "I'll have to ask Germany about that one. Which I can do soon since we're here."

Canada heard the states before he saw them, their talking was a small rumble in the house. They turned a corner and entered what appeared to be a very chaotic hallway. Every door was wide open, and Germany hovered over the states' every move as they unpacked their suitcases. Clothes were being thrown across the hallway and the three were stopped in their tracks by a flying shoe.

"Sorry!" Illinois called out from her room, "Indiana wanted to borrow them."

Pennsylvania gave her a friendly wave and continued walking while Prussia and Canada shared a confused look before chasing after him. "Minnesota's apartment looks spotless compared to this," Prussia said. Canada nodded in agreement as he looked over his shoulder just in time to see the other shoe shoot into Indiana's room.

Prussia launched himself at Germany once they approached him, "WEST! You survived the trip! Where's Italy?"

Germany struggled out of the hug, "He's sleeping of course. Do you mind, it's hard to watch these states while you're climbing on me. There's already enough distractions with them throwing everything."

Michigan strutted out of his room wearing white jeans, pink socks, and a purple bra, "Penny! Like the new look?" he stretched his legs and shimmied around the group to exaggerate his appearance.

Germany gawked while Pennsylvania covered his mouth in a poor attempt to hide his amused expression, "It suits you well, I think you can pull it off on a regular basis."

Michigan continued to flex in front of the group. Prussia had to hold himself up on Canada's shoulder because he was laughing so hard. Canada had to admit it was funny, but couldn't find the energy to laugh. Wisconsin marched up to him, her usually calm expression tainted with annoyance, "Michigan, if you value your life then you will give me my bra back." There was a pronounced threat with every word that seethed out of her mouth.

Michigan pouted, refusing to recognize her fierceness, "But it's a perfect fit! A man can't find a nice bra like this every day, where'd you get it?"

Her blush was a deep shade of red when she held out her hand, "You can give me my bra now, or I will be left with no choice other than to remove it from you by force." She was a tall woman who towered over Michigan, Canada was surprised she gave him the option when she could easily overpower him to take it back.

He grinned at her, "You're way too formal sometimes. I was just trying to have a little fun, unpacking is so boring!"

Wisconsin forced him to turn around and unhooked the bra, then she held it by her side and glanced at the nations, her blush deepening, "I apologize for that. So what are you two doing?"

Pennsylvania smiled, "They're here to find somewhere to sleep, speaking of that I did my job, so I'm going back to my room now."

Michigan's eyes lit up after he turned to leave, "Seriously!? I'd die from happiness if I could room with a nation for even the smallest amount of time!" Germany gave him a weird look, which wasn't very surprising since he just met the state. Canada doubted any other nation knew of the Internationalists other than him and Prussia, which he'd forgot to explain to England while catching up with him.

Wisconsin shook her head, "I suppose that I can volunteer to let one of you sleep in my room."

"That'd be great!" Prussia cheered as he jumped to her side. She gave him a careful glance, then nodded. Canada wondered how someone as composed as her was going to live with someone as wild as Prussia, but then when he stared at Michigan he realized that Prussia left him in the same situation.

"Canadaaa, wanna be my rooooommaaaateee?" Michigan sang. Wisconsin gave him a look of sympathy as Canada scanned the hallway for any other state that would volunteer.

"Uh... sure," He finally responded. Michigan squealed like a toddler getting a new toy and shot forward to grab his hand, Canada could only glance at Prussia laughing at him before stumbling after the state.

"This is like, the only awesome thing that happened today!" Michigan yelled over all the states' chattering. He made a sharp turn and dragged Canada through an open doorway, "My room's between Illinois and Arkansas, oddly enough. It doesn't make much sense geography wise, but neither do any of the bedrooms. Anyways Arkansas is pretty quiet, but Illinois likes to blast her music."

Canada looked around the room after he slightly composed himself, it was oddly organized. The twin bed was perfectly made with an open suitcase stacked on it. The desk by the window was busy, yet still seemed clean. There was only a laptop, a couple of notebooks, and a container full of writing utensils, but Canada guessed the drawers were completely full. His dresser and closet were wide open since he was unpacking, letting Canada see the books neatly stacked atop the shelf in the closet. When Canada shut the door, he noticed that there was an empty hamper dangling on a hook, "This room is very clean," Canada said.

Michigan grinned, "Yeah, America always makes sure the bedrooms are spotless when we're not staying in them. I can't say the cleanliness is going to last long, however."

Canada stared at the bed, "So where am I sleeping?"

"Wherever you want to sleep!" He bent down and started to dig in his closet, "You could have the bed, the floor, we could alternate, whichever you prefer. I have a sleeping bag in here somewhere..."

"We can alternate." Canada moved the suitcase aside and sat on the bed. The comforter was black along with his pillow cases, but the plain colors went well with the modern art on the wall.

"OW!" Canada examined the contents of his nightstand as he listened to Michigan throw a riot in his closet when a book dropped on his head. There was his phone that was being charged, a lamp, some lose change, and a container covered with a red rag. "This room may be clean, but I haven't sorted through this closet in a while."

"You should consider cleaning it out," He mumbled as a response. Canada peeked under what little of the glass container was showing, it seemed to be a glass jar filled with water. Curiously driven, the nation slowly lifted the rag from the jar to get a better look.

"I found it! So do you want the first night on the bed or wha-" Michigan stopped mid-sentence, but Canada barely paid attention to him. What he was looking at was much more interesting.

It was an eye.

Canada stared at the round object with his mouth gaping open in shock. Bobbing in the water of the glass jar, was a human eye. It stared back at the Canadian with no emotion, sending chills shooting through him. The iris of the eye was split in half; the left side being indigo and the right having an electric blue color. He was frozen in place as he watched the eye, until he realized that the iris was shifting back and forth. Canada called out and scooted backward until his back roughly slammed against the wall. "W-What is that!?" He could only yell.

Michigan glanced at him, causing that thing to move even more, "It's an eye," He answered as if this were the most normal thing to ever happen to him.

Canada pointed at it frantically, "It moved! It's not even connected to your face!"

The iris moved down as Michigan stared at the floor, "Yeah, it does that. I thought you Canadians weren't as blunt and knew what personal space was."

Canada glared at him, "There's personal space, and then there's keeping your active eye in a jar without telling any of the nations you're going to be living with!"

The state visible flinched, "During what part of the day was it an appropriate time to bring up that my other eye was in a jar I kept in my bedroom?"

Canada leaned forward to inspect the eye, it moved with every motion Michigan's star made. "Why is it moving?"

Michigan shrugged, then reached for the red rag, "I have no idea. It regenerates every time I do something to it, and it won't reconnect with my eye socket."

"Can you see with it?" He asked with wide eyes.

The state sighed, "No, that would be weird if I could though." He threw the rag over the jar and picked up the sleeping bag he found. "Anyway, I'll take the floor for tonight, you can have the bed."

He glanced at the jar, "Y-Yeah." He had many more questions, but Michigan obviously didn't want to talk about it.

"So one more question, what the hell are we doing with that bear?" Michigan looked around his room, "There isn't too much space for a bear to live in here."

Canada looked up, "Kumijiro? Ah, he mostly stays with me all day, and he sleeps with me. So don't worry, he won't be too much of a problem." Canada paused, he was so distracted by America's house that he left his luggage and Kumojiro in the kitchen while talking to England. He stood from the bed, "Actually, I should really get my luggage so that I can unpack."

Michigan nodded, "I have to have Germany search my room anyway, I think he should be done with Ohio by now. If you get lost, just scream and a state might hear you!" Suddenly there was a light knock on the door, "Germany, you have perfect timing!" He called.

Germany opened the doorway and walked in, "Michigan, I need to search your room."

"Yeah sure, go ahead," he shook his head as he stared at the glass jar, Canada wondered if he would give Germany a more detailed explanation about his eye, but for now he had another state to ask him about.

"Which room is Ohio's room?" He asked the German.

"The right door at the very beginning of the hallway," Germany replied as he turned on a flashlight and pointed it at the closet.

Canada stepped out of Michigan's room and started walking down the hallway. The atmosphere was slightly less chaotic than before, most likely because Germany started searching rooms. There was the occasional screaming, and the talking never died, but he could walk down the hallway without being hit with a shoe, so that was good enough. When he reached the first room in the hallway he opened it to see Ohio sitting on his bed hunched over a book. He glanced upwards when he heard him walk in, "Canada, what do you want?" He put the book down and planted his feet on the soft carpet.

Canada stared at the nightstand, there was a clutter of books, but sitting on top of the clutter was the object he came for, "I want your notebook."

Ohio blinked in confusion, "Wait, what?"

"How did you and Michigan plan to 'race' in the stairway without talking to each other? We would have known if you were using your phone, and you certainly didn't say it out loud, so using your notebook is the only logical explanation." Canada eyed him, the state glanced at the notebook with panic in his eyes, "I would like to confiscate your notebook, just to be sure there aren't any other plans written down."

Ohio crossed his arms and gave him a pointed look, Canada could almost feel the defensive irritation radiating off of him. "You're violating my privacy, and I didn't even give you permission to enter my room. It's bad enough that Germany just searched it, I suggest you leave before the other isolationists hear of this."

Canada smiled, he expected the state to say something like that, "There shouldn't be any privacy regarding the investigation. I'll violate every aspect of privacy if it means getting America back, and you should agree with me. Besides, what would the other isolationists think about you and Michigan cornering a nation in an empty stairway to ask questions that satisfy your own personal curiosity?"

Ohio opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, "Fine," He growled, "but you're not gonna find anything interesting." He turned around, snatched the notebook, and practically shoved it into his hands.

Canada gave him a polite smile, "Thank you. Now don't stay up for too long reading that book, you should get some sleep." Ohio grumbled something in response, but Canada was already into the hallway.

Prussia slammed open Wisconsin's door and swaggered into the hallway, "Hey Candy, are you getting your stuff too?"

Canada nodded, "Yes, so how's Wisconsin?"

The albino smirked, "She's so hot, yet so cool. Would it be so bad if I asked her out?"

"Yes, it would probably be the worst thing you could possibly do."

He shrugged, "So do you remember the way back?" They both jumped when their conversation was interrupted by a faint scream coming from Michigan's room, "Is Germany being tortured in there?"

Looks like he found the eye, "Don't worry about it. I remember the way back," Canada led Prussia through the hallway as he tried to peak through Michigan's door with the X-ray vision he didn't have. They turned a couple corners and walked a while before they found the hallway holding the striped states. Just as they turned into the hallway, they caught Italy slowly closing a state's door.

Once the door was shut, Italy yawned and adjusted his pajamas before noticing the two nations, "ITALY!" Prussia called.

Italy jumped and rapidly waved his hands in the air, "Shhhhhh! Everybody's sleeping!"

Prussia looked at him, "And you're being quiet? That's unlike you!"

The Italian smiled, "Yeah, these states are really robust when they're tired, Vermont almost chewed my head off when I woke her up!"

"How can anyone be mean to a cutie like you!"

Canada stepped forward, "In that case we should really get downstairs before we wake up anyone else." Italy followed the two down the stairs, and by some miracle, they found their way back to the kitchen.

England was now leaning against the counter, arguing with France, who must have entered the kitchen after Canada and Prussia left. "All I know is that no matter how we do this, you're not cooking anything. We want to learn more about these states, not kill them with your cooking!"

"Listen here you bloody frog! My cooking is much better tha-" He stopped once he noticed the three nations. "There you are, you sure took your time sorting out your sleeping arrangements.

Prussia smirked, "Sorry, I was talking up the ladies."

France snorted and punched his shoulder, "More like talking down, I heard you and Virginia arguing."

"Did the whole house hear that one?" He asked.

Canada shook his head, "No, but they will soon once the word gets spread around."

England narrowed his eyes, "Prussia, what did you do? Actually, it probably would be better not to ask, we have more important matters to discuss."

"Such as?"

"There are six of us and there are thirty states in this house," He stated flatly. "We need some sort of a plan before all fifty of them get here, these states aren't going to sleep forever, some of them are already wide awake. We need a method to keep an eye on them while still being able to continue with the investigation."

"We also need to figure out how to keep up with the house," France added. "We need to feed everybody, and we'll eventually run out of food, and other supplies such as laundry detergent, bathroom materials, and cleaning supplies."

"We could do periodic runs to a department store or something," Canada suggested. "A state should also go to help out."

France nodded, "That sounds like a good idea, we can do that every other day since there's going to be so many of us. What should we do about the meals?"

Italy perked up, "I know! We could ask for volunteers from the states to help in the kitchen. As long as a nation's with them there's no problem, right?" He smiled, "About six states can work comfortably in here, and the kitchen will probably be busy all day, which makes it easier to keep an eye on some of them!"

"We should have a nation in the kitchen at all times during the day, we can create shifts for that while everyone's investigating" England said, writing it down on a piece of paper.

"With the other states," Prussia began, "If we separate them into groups and do different activities with them, then we might be able to keep them busy. That's only two or three nations!"

Italy laughed, "Doing activities with states sounds fun!"

"Except for the fact that some of them are responsible for hurting America," England grumbled. Canada tightened his grip on the notebook. "This sounds like it could work for now. The number of states we'll have to handle will be reduced once they start cooking and we start bringing them in for questioning, but we'll go into more details about the investigation once more nations arrive. For now we should prepare for when the states that are here wake up. Prussia and Canada, you're dismissed to settle and get some rest. France and I will keep watch for when Romano and Spain arrive, we will wake you up then."

"Does that mean that Germany and I don't have to keep watch anymore?" Italy asked.

England eyed him accusingly, "Yes, not that it makes a difference to you since you were sleeping in Maryland's room." Italy watched the floor with a sheepish smile.

"Speaking of that, where are you sleeping?" France asked.

"Well I get to room with the gorgeous Wisconsin, while Candy sleeps with the insane Michigan!" Prussia declared with a laugh. Canada sighed, he knew Prussia was going to be bragging about that for the rest of the night.

"It's Canada," He muttered.

"Who?" Canada glanced over to Kumagiro, who was still snuggled into the backpack Canada placed on the counter when he entered the house. He walked over and unstrapped the bear, then held him in his arms.

"Please take that animal with you," England muttered. "It wouldn't stop talking to me and it was rather annoying."

"Coming from the nation who talks to his imaginary friends," France pointed out. Prussia laughed loudly and England glared at him, Canada hoped that he wouldn't be able to hear their bickering while he was trying to sleep. He heard enough bickering from Michigan and Ohio.

"I'm sorry that Kumajira was bothering you," Canada apologized.

"Yeah, well just take him with you, now go get some sleep," With that Prussia, Canada, and Italy left the kitchen for France and England to argue about who's watching what.

"That's so cool how you're sleeping with a pretty lady!" Italy told Prussia. Canada shook his head, that Prussian didn't need an ego boost in his opinion.

He smirked, "Yeah, you should see her."

"If you pull anything on Wisconsin, not only will I let her destroy you, but I'll tell Hungary," Canada warned quietly.

Prussia subconsciously rubbed his head as if he were hit by a frying pan, "I don't like dating anyone outside my timezone anyway..."

"So how's your roommate?" Italy asked Canada.

Canada shrugged, "He's alright, a little too energetic, but he's fine. How's Maryland?"

Italy smiled, "Buono! He's letting me have the bed for the entire time that I'm here!"

Prussia gaped, "Seriously!? Wisconsin's not letting me anywhere near her bed!"

"Michigan and I are taking turns," Canada said. At first he was a little upset that he was stuck with Michigan, but at least he got to sleep on the bed every other night. Imagining Prussia tossing and turning on a hard floor somehow made him feel a bit better about the situation.

The three walked together up the stairs for a little bit, but Italy separated from the group once they reached the Stripes' hallway. Canada barely paid attention to Prussia's blabbering for the rest of the walk. Once he found Michigan's room again, he shuffled in with his backpack, a bulky suitcase, and Kumajako in his arms. The lights were off, and Michigan was snuggled into his sleeping bag on the floor.

He slowly lifted his head, "Hey, that thing's not going to eat me in my sleep, is he?"

Canada placed the bear on the bed, and his luggage on the floor, "His name is Kumajacko, and no."

The state squinted his eye at the light emitting from the hallway, "That's good to hear... and I thought his name's Kumajiro."

Canada hesitated, "You might just be right." He stared towards the hallway, "I'll be back, go to sleep." Michigan murmured a quiet "ok" before burying his head in his pillow.

He studied the soft bed, at the moment all he wanted to do was hide himself under the covers and sleep, but there was something he wanted to do first. He slipped out of the room and scanned the hallway, Germany must be talking with Italy now, and France wouldn't be up for another couple of minutes, so he had a small amount of time. On light feet he crept down the hallway and turned the corner, he'd have to find it the back way since the staircase was nowhere near the balcony. This room did have the balcony if he remembered right, which meant he should be heading towards the front door while staying on the second floor. He believed he was the first one to head in this direction; while this room held much significance, most personifications were probably way to tired to venture past the states' bedrooms. He tried to look for landmarks so that he could find his way back, but all the hallways looked the same to the quiet Canadian.

He almost gave up before he saw the wide double doors. America always liked to be dramatic, what's more dramatic than giving the master bedroom double doors and a balcony? Canada smiled at the memory of America giving him a grand tour years ago, he was so excited to show him this house. If he knew the house's importance then, he would have met his enthusiasm. Maybe he could ask America for another tour after he came back, he doubted he would learn his way around the house before then.

Canada took a deep breath and pushed both the doors open, he just wanted to see his brother's bedroom. He wondered if seeing the same thing that his brother did every night would allow him to sleep for a while. Maybe just doing something as simple as smelling the same air America did would provide some temporary comfort.

Instead, when he opened those doors, the air he walked into seemed odd. It was warm, sticky, and there was an odd smell, but it smelled familiar. Canada's eyes widened and he gagged when he realized why that was.

It was the smell of blood.

Canada's chest tightened to the point where he thought he was having a heart attack. He gasped for air, but there was no air, it was all blood. The putrid smell went into his throat and up his nose. Gravity slammed him onto the hard wood and vomit poured out of him. He couldn't hear himself scream, but could feel the rawness in his throat afterwards. Tears poured down his face and his mouth eternally hung open, he wanted to stop screaming, but he didn't have the ability.

When Canada heard feet stampeding towards him, he knew that whoever was coming came too late. He already slammed the double doors open, he already smelled the blood, but worst of all, he already read the five words that were smeared onto the walls with the thick liquid.

HE WAS NEVER A HERO

xxx

Author's Note: Did you hear that? Did anybody hear that? I believe it's the sound of me COMPLETING MY GOALS! Or could you not hear anything over Canada's screaming...? Sorry. Anyways my goal was to post this before the first day of school, which for me is the 4th. I can almost feel the Senioritis and the anxiety of trying to find a good collage seep into my skin. Anyways I'll make sure to keep up on the updates no matter what, school's not gonna slow me down. I'm kinda looking forward to this school year actually, I get to take a bunch of fun English classes and wood technology!

Yay! You guys finally got to see more of the house! Maybe you saw a bit too much... poor Canada. So what do you think of the chapter? We're done with Canada and Prussia for now, and switching to Spain and Romano! So what did you think of the chapter? I brought back some states that I wanted to add more detail before, but couldn't fit it in, such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia. If you want more of your favorite state then just say so in the reviews and I'll get on it. Seriously most of the states that have the spotlight are that states that you beautiful reviewers have mentioned. If you mentioned a state and I haven't said much about them... wait. Speaking of that you guys sure have a bone to pick with Texas, and you can look more into your suspicions next chapter because that's exactly where we're going.

At this pace I'll update soon!