The screaming, shouting, and pushing all morphed into one sound, which was a ringing in Romano's ears. The only thing he could hear clearly was Germany pacing before the states and yelling at the top of his lungs, "I WANT EVERY STATE OUT OF THIS AREA AND INTO THE DINING ROOM. I WILL BE COUNTING, AND IF A SINGLE STATE IS MISSING THEN THEY WILL BE SEEN AS THE CAUSE OF THIS MESS!" He repeated the order until everyone in the hallway could hear him, and Germany and Italy heard the crowd down the hall. Romano looked after his brother, the Italian was scrubbing his eyes and his shoulders jolted up and down. He'd have to talk to him later, but for now he had to pay attention to what was going on.
France and Prussia rushed forward to the Canadian on the floor, both grabbing him by the arms and hoisting him to his feet. "Matthieu, you can stop screaming," France said gently.
It took Romano a moment to realize that Canada was still screaming. Canada thrashed under their grip and kicked his feet, but the movements eventually died down, and his scream was cut off with a choked sob. "So much... blood," He whispered.
England shook his head, "Prussia, do you know where Michigan's room is? If you do, then please take him there." Prussia slowly walked the stumbling Canadian through the hall, Romano watched them become smaller and smaller until they turned a corner and were out of sight.
A hand was placed on Romano's shoulder, and he jolted when he realized that it wasn't a country. "Romano, let me help you up." He recognized the voice instantly, he whipped his head upwards to see New Mexico looking down at him with an outstretched hand. He grabbed it and she pulled him to his feet, "I'd like to help you access the situation."
England and France jumped, "H-Hey! What are you doing here? Germany's going to have your arse if you're not in the dining room," England called.
New Mexico tilted her head and gave him an innocent stare, "but how will Germany be able to tell if I'm gone if you three are the only nations that know I'm here right now? Sure he'll figure it out when his head count has more states than there should be with Wyoming and Colorado, but until then I want to help."
France shook his head, "You really shouldn't. Since you're a state, your observations may be... clouded with emotion." Romano knew the real reason they didn't want her to help. If she was guilty, then she could hide evidence, and he knew New Mexico could see their through his gentleness.
New Mexico's composure was calm, as if to prove how unemotional she could be, "Really? So tell me, England raised America, and you helped him win his first war. Actually even before then you two fought a war over custody for him, so aren't you more emotionally attached than I? America and I first met much later than that, so if you want to make me leave without saying that you don't trust me, then please think of a more relevant excuse."
France and England glanced at each other, then at Romano, "You should trust her," He finally said. "She probably knows how to handle a crime scene better than we can."
France gave England a glance and the Brit sighed, "Fine, but I'm going to be watching you like a hawk, if you touch anything that you don't need to then you're done."
New Mexico gave him an understanding nod, "In that case, I'd like to be escorted to my lap so that I can get some materials."
She left with France carefully following her, leaving Romano and England alone in the hallway. England's piercing emerald eyes made his skin crawl, "Before we can trust her, I want to know exactly what happened after you separated from Spain." His voice had an accusing tone, and Romano had a bad feeling that England already thought it was New mexico's fault for the failed plan.
Romano took in a breath and explained what happened, there was no point in stalling anymore, if England already didn't like her, then his story would either prove him right or wrong. He hoped it was the latter, if England still believed New Mexico can't be trusted after he told him everything, then Romano would look like an idiot and would most likely be excluded from most of the investigation, which would mean he stayed for nothing. Romano's words were as truthful as he could muster, and he tried to include every detail as if England wouldn't change his mind if he didn't. Only when he finished did he realize he barely breathed throughout most of his explanation.
He stared into England's creepy green eyes, the skeptic Englishman pierced his lips, "So you trust New Mexico?"
"Yes," Romano tried to put all of his certainty into one word.
"Did you stray away from the plan because she wanted to, or did you really feel it was for the best?"
Romano bit his lip, "I don't know if it's for the best, but I do believe that this state already thought of our plan once we came into the picture."
England narrowed his eyes, "Fine, but if she makes on wrong move then I'm going to you."
Romano sighed from relief and nodded his head. He was about to thank him when New Mexico and France came around the corner with a black rolling cart, France stopped helping her and jogged ahead to where Romano and England were standing, "You two won't believe that lab of hers, we must keep an eye on that room at all times, there's too much information that could be damaged."
England scoffed, "It can't be that impressive if it's in a private home, I bet my labs in London are much better. Anyways we'll let her look around and see if she's actually any help."
New Mexico arrived with the cart, "Oh trust me, I believe that I can be of some assistance. Now you'll want to wear these, we wouldn't want to tamper with the evidence." She removed a cardboard box from the cart and put on two rubber gloves, then passed them around. The gloves felt weird, but Romano didn't mind wearing them. "I brought a device to test the blood, but I don't think that what's smeared on the wall is human blood."
"Why not?" France asked.
New Mexico opened the door, and the smell of dried blood made Romano's eyes water, "There's too much blood, it's not America's; they couldn't have transported his body from the front of the house to this bedroom without getting a single drop of blood in the hallway. It's not a state's either; the only states in the house at the time were the ones who killed America, and they wouldn't risk using their own blood, because that would face the investigation in their direction, which is too risky for them."
"Then what kind of blood are we looking at?" England asked.
Romano shook his head, "There's only one way to find out." New Mexico picked up a canon camera and put the strap around her neck, then walked through the door with the nations behind her.
Once they entered the room, Romano felt like his legs would collapse on him. The bedroom would have looked calm and peaceful, the bed was perfectly made, and the balcony doors were open, letting the thin white curtains flow from the breeze. It was a room of tranquility, and Romano was surprised that America would sleep in such a room, he expected superhero posters and comic books everywhere. However, it didn't matter what Romano expected, because the bedroom now had blood smeared on the walls and floors. Big bold letters were painted on the wall above the balcony doors, and blood was blotched together on the floor in thick puddles.
"It looks like they left the room undisturbed besides what they came here for," New Mexico muttered. "They're very precise."
"A little too much," England said with his eyes glued to the writing on the walls, "He was never a hero, what the bloody hell are they trying to accomplish by writing this?"
New Mexico shook her head, "I don't know. It could have been put there to anger us, but that doesn't make sense because this state wants us to eventually support them. There must be a message in here somewhere..." She took a step back and took a picture of the letters.
Romano stared at them, the writing was painted with a large brush, that was obvious because of the texture, but where did the blood come from? The Italian stared at the blood on the floor, most of it dripped from the wall, but some were smeared as if something was dragged over it. He studied the direction of the smears, which seemed to drag towards the balcony. Romano watched his feet carefully as he stepped over the puddles of blood. The white balcony doors were already open, which was unusual unless it was the wind, as Romano hoped. When he peered outwards, however, his hopes were crushed. The blood in America's room was nothing compared to the balcony. He didn't know what color the floor was before, because now it was stained with a dark red that almost looked black. There were five lumps of blood stained feathers spread throughout the rails, and he could have sworn he saw a bird's leg in one of them. First Romano gasped, then gagged when the fresh air mixed with the aroma of rotting animal and blood. He stumbled backwards and caught himself with a balcony door.
England and France glanced at him for a moment, before they caught sight of the balcony themselves, "What are those things?!" France called out in a disgusted shriek.
New Mexico handed the camera to him and stepped into the blood-covered balcony to examine the lumps of feathers, "I believe they're birds. That explains the blood, but why are there so many? It seems that they have more birds than they actually needed."
Romano's vision was starting to unfocus and the room was slowly spinning, "THAT BASTARD!" He screamed out of rage. Everyone in the room was staring at him, but he focused on New Mexico, "THE GODDAMN PLAN! THERE ARE FIVE BIRDS AND FIVE STATES MADE THE PLAN!"
England's mouth hung open and France glued his eyes to one of the doors, "Are you serious? That twat couldn't have found out about our plan and had time to kill these birds and write words on the walls!"
New Mexico stared at the birds, their feathers were heavy with blood, "Actually, I don't think they found out, I think they already thought of it before us." She lifted a bird by it's leg with a gloved hand, blood and guts poured from it, "and this isn't just a bird, it's a bald eagle. It takes a lot of time to get these, they must have been planning to use it for a different message, but changed their minds once you came into the picture."
"Hey," France called softly, "Look, they left proof." He pointed towards the balcony door opposite of Romano. Five clear finger prints were printed on the glass with blood. The room was silent as they stared at the scene around them. Did this state do all of this just to try to reveal themselves? He doubted it, and he didn't believe anyone thought that either. There were only five states that those finger prints could belong to.
"New York, Maryland, Ohio, Louisiana, and California," New Mexico stated. "It has to be their fingerprints, yet they wouldn't put it on there themselves. So there must be a way where this state somehow got their fingerprints and transported them onto this glass, but how..." She removed her blood covered gloves and retrieved her camera from France. The nations stepped back while she carefully took pictures of every aspect of the room that looked suspicious.
Romano was glad that she helped, because he had no idea what to do, and neither did France or England. If they did, then they would have investigated the front of the house completely instead of simply glancing over it and blocking it off. He knew what they were all silently waiting for; Japan and Russia. While most nations let their scientists do all of the hard work, Russia and America were in the scientific fields all throughout the Cold War. While Japan knows how to work the latest technology the best.
England studied her every move with narrowed eyes, it seemed like he wanted to point out what she was doing wrong, but there wasn't anything. "I hope you're not leaving anything out," He called.
New Mexico turned of the camera and they followed her out into the hallway, "I didn't. I believe that there's more than one message this state is trying to send out. The first one is that our plan is predictable and they thought of it already, but the second is split into parts. Was there anything that stood out in the front of the house that seemed odd and out of place?"
France's eyes lit up, "Yes! On the wall above the front door there was a string of bullets shaped like the letter "C" but I'm not sure if it means anything."
They removed there gloves and placed them in a small garbage bin on the lab cart. Out of the corner of Romano's eye he saw movement and looked up in time to see Prussia approach them, "Canada's resting, I'm not sure if he'll actually sleep, but he's in bed."
The door to America's room was shut and they sat against the wall reviewing the pictures New Mexico took. She went over the eagles and the fingerprints, but saved the wording for last. "HE WAS NEVER A HERO. Tell me, what looks weird about this lettering?"
England growled, "Well obviously the words themselves. If this state really wants to eventually have everyone on their side, they're doing a horrible job at it."
France hummed in thought, "I think they meant it to be an eye catcher, the words are distracting, which means that if they're actually sending a message, then they don't want it to be decoded right away. It's as if they need time to play it out."
"If that's true, then what they're doing can't be something they could do before all of this. Which means while Germany's doing head count and we're investigating, this state's on the move," Romano said. He didn't like the theory, it made him want to run and scream around the house until he found someone roaming around, but they're probably back to the dining room by now. He'd be surprised if the state even missed Germany's role call.
Prussia hesitated before adding, "Also the letters look odd. Why are some bigger than the others?"
"Exactly," New Mexico pointed to him. "As you can see, the smallest letters are the H and the O. They get bigger towards the middle, but it's not symmetrical. The largest letter is the A after NEVER, and I think that's what we should be focusing on."
"So what?" England called out, "Are we just going to sit here while this state plays Scrabble with us?"
New Mexico shook her head, "No I believe they've already spelled it out for us. France and Romano are right, this state is just as busy as we are, so they must have took the opportunity through the chaos to send the rest of their message."
"Where's the rest of it then?" Prussia asked.
She held up her hand, "There are only five other clues this state left for us, and they're the five states that spread you throughout the country. I bet the clues have to do with something relating to them." New Mexico abruptly stood from the floor and placed the camera on the cart, "If the state really hid clues in the five's bedrooms, then we're not supposed to find it, they are. I assume the five were estimated to leave for their rooms much later, so the clues aren't supposed to be found as quickly as we can find it. That means we're ahead!"
Romano pushed himself to his feet, "It's probably because we're not supposed to be here yet. Without your brain we wouldn't have been able to figure any of this out."
"Don't give her a big head," England seethed, "We could have handled the situation just fine without her."
New Mexico didn't reply to any of them, her gaze was hard with determination, "Let's go. We must decode this message, we have to get on our feet and fight back before anything else happens. We are going to beat them, I'll ensure it with everything I got." Romano shook his head, he should have known that she was far too focused on the mission to include herself in their petty arguments.
Prussia and France pushed the cart while England and Romano tailed New Mexico. While the nations only reached America's room because of Canada's screaming, she was the only one who actually knew where they were in the house. As they neared closer to the bedrooms, almost every door was slammed open, and objects such as blankets and slippers were scattered across the hallway, they must have been dropped while everyone rushed to America's bedroom. The abandoned mess from the chaos continued when they reached the Stripes' hallway. When the cart parked in front of New York's room, Romano noticed that the door was tightly closed. "Someone was in here while we were in America's room," he announced.
They left the cart in the hall and creaked the door open. Romano flicked the switch on and he scanned the room. The bedroom was neater than Germany's house. The white carpet was soft to walk on, and the dark blue walls had all kinds of decorations on them. A mural containing the outline of New York City was painted on the wall adjacent to his modish bed-set, a picture of Niagara Falls was hanging above a desk cluttered with black binders, a large clock was above his bed, and several posters of bands and musicals were hung around the room. "How isn't there anything?" England asked. "Ms. Genius over here already said that there should be more clues."
"I don't think it's going to be very obvious," New Mexico said with a small smirk on her face, "It looks like this state was at least expecting a couple more hours before we found out. We're ahead, let's hope it helps. It's not like we were expecting a giant letter to be drawn on their doors."
"Actually, that's exactly what I was expecting," Prussia admitted. "So if it's not on their doors, and not in plain sight, then where would it be?"
France scanned a poster besides a bookshelf, "Who knows, he sure has a lot to do in this room of his. I love the decor, not even Massachusetts has this much on his walls."
"Well we could always check his Broadway musical collection... but then again I doubt he'd go through those after a day like this. It must be where these states would look at when they're stressed." New Mexico started to rummage through the drawers of his dresser.
England pointed to the wall above the well-made bed, "The clock! It's not working!"
New Mexico's eyes lit up, "That's right! He'd check the time! Good eye, England. So if the clock's not working, then he'd try to change the batteries." She jumped onto the bed and ripped the clock from the wall. When the wall beneath it was blank, Romano thought they weren't thinking deep enough, but then she showed the nations the back of the clock, there was a large 'P' made out of red tape. "We found it!" She cheered and bounced off of the bed with glee, Romano watched with amusement, it was amazing how she only showed strong emotion when it came to her work.
"Let's go to Maryland's room," Romano said, but New Mexico was already racing down the hall.
England, France, and Prussia gave him an odd look, but he shrugged and jogged after her. Maryland's room was in the same hallway since both of them had stripes, and his door was also tightly shut. New Mexico whipped it open and went inside, with the nations close behind her. The room was messier than New York's. The blankets were scrunched and there was a pile of pillows on the floor. "This one's going to be harder, when Maryland's nervous he paces, but this state wouldn't put the next letter anywhere obvious." She started pacing to demonstrate, carefully stepping around the pillows on the floor.
"Would Maryland step around those pillows?" Romano asked.
The state brought herself to a stop, "No, he wouldn't." She bent down and picked up the pillows, but nothing was there. "Maybe he wasn't meant to find it a quickly as New York, so what would he do after the pacing?"
Prussia opened the closet door to reel back and shout, "The mirror!" There was a full body mirror on the closet door with a large red 'I' taped on the glass.
England stepped forward and took a picture with his phone, "Got it. Lead us to the next letter." New Mexico placed the clock on the cart and wheeled it behind Prussia. Romano's throat tightened as he followed them, he almost didn't want to know what this state spelled out. The message wasn't going to be anything good, and the word might throw a turn at the investigation, however, it was the only direction they could head in without every nation being here. He didn't like that thought, it meant that they could be herded into a trap without even knowing it. He wanted to say something, but with everyone else's curiosity and determination, they wouldn't listen to him.
Ohio's door wasn't completely shut when they arrived, "That's odd," France said. "Maybe they were crammed on time."
"Germany was pretty strict when he said he'd be counting," England agreed. "They probably didn't want to miss the head count."
New Mexico walked into the room, "We're looking for a book, the letter must be in whatever Ohio's reading." When Romano followed her in, all he saw were books, they were stacked on the nightstand, desk, and a large bookshelf. She walked up to a book thrown on his bed and skimmed through it, "This must be what he's reading, yet there's nothing. What else would he look at?"
Prussia jumped, "The notebook! Throughout the trip he had a notebook with him that he constantly checked, it's probably in there! But where is it..." He paced around the room and dug through a backpack, "He has it here somewhere."
"No he doesn't," France said. "I saw Canada holding a notebook when you two were talking to us. Maybe he confiscated it for information."
New Mexico looked at him, "Why would he do that? Ohio's a higher member of the isolationists, unless something happened, he'd make sure every state knew about it before handing anything over."
It seemed that Prussia knew something, but didn't want to tell a state, "I don't know, but I think the real problem is having to go in Michigan's room while Canada's resting."
Romano didn't want to bug Canada, and neither did any other personification in the room. New Mexico grit her teeth, "We do what we have to, we're cracking this code." She strode out of the room and marched to Michigan's room, with the nations hesitantly following her. She knocked on the door and called out, "Canada, this is New Mexico. I arrived with Wyoming, Colorado, and Romano a while ago, and I'm coming in."
"Go ahead," A voice softly called. "Everyone else can come in also, I heard you in the hallway." She gently opened the door and they walked inside. Canada was sitting on the bed hunched over a small notebook in his hands. "Have you found anything?"
"We can explain everything later," France's voice was gentle, "You should lie down."
Canada's eyes were dark, "No, explain it to me now. The only thing I should be doing is helping you find America."
France started to argue with him, but Romano rolled his eyes, "Fine, then let us see the damn notebook you workaholic bastard." France glanced over at him and he shrugged, "What? You're not going to convince him to sit here while we run around the house."
Canada nodded and passed the book to him, "Maybe you know what this means."
He examined the cover and frowned when he saw no red tape, but once he opened the notebook he found a large 'T' crudely carved deep into the pages. "Why not tape?" He asked.
"To erase whatever Ohio wrote," Prussia muttered.
New Mexico frowned, "Something also might have happened, look at how jagged the carving is. Everything was so pristine before Ohio's letter. Now not only did they leave his door open, but the handy-work is too sloppy. I think they switched states, this can't be the same person."
"What? What's happening?" Canada asked.
"We can explain on the way," She said, walking over and helped him to his feet. "It's nice to meet you, Canada, hopefully our goodbye will take place in a better situation than our hello." He murmured his greeting as the group walked into the hallway. "Louisiana's room is near the stairs next to West Virginia's." They would have sped through the hallway if it weren't for all of the random possessions dropped on the floor, the cart barely made it through. It took a while to make it to Louisiana's room, the hallways were lengthy, and this house was more of a maze than anything.
When they reached Louisiana's room, the door was wide open. Romano leaned forward to see over the other nations, "What the hell is up with this?"
New Mexico glanced at him, her eyes full of confusion, "The next letter is 'A'."
"Huh?" He pushed himself to the front and was able to see the inside of the room. The letter 'A' was taped onto the floor taller and wider than Romano himself. "Why so obvious?"
"...I don't know," The state admitted. "Something changed... but I'm not sure if it's the state anymore." She stared at him with concern, "I don't know what's happening, but the only way to find out is to go to California's room."
Once again Romano's throat tightened to the point where he could only nod in response. Something happened after Ohio, but what? Maybe they made it obvious since Louisiana and California weren't here yet, but he had doubt that they'd be so careless to tape it on the floor because of that. He felt a pang in his stomach as they passed the stairs and entered another section of the upper level. It felt like they were walking too fast, and the hallways were shorter, when in reality he just didn't want to arrive, so of course every damn thing had to seem sped up, he silently cursed his bastard of a conscience.
They stopped in their tracks when California's room came into view; he would have mistaken it for any other room if it weren't wide open. The other rooms were neatly shut since another state apparently hasn't touched this side of the house. "I'll keep watch," Romano called on gut feeling. The others rushed in the room while he stood by the cart, carefully scanning the hallway.
"Nothing's in plain sight," he heard England mutter.
"That's odd," Canada said. Romano blocked out most of New Mexico's explanation to him on the way, but it seemed like he got the gist of it. New Mexico started rambling theories, and Romano stared ahead. He couldn't believe that he got himself into this, but then again he wouldn't leave without Italy and Spain. He frowned at the thought, even with Italy in the same house, he barely saw him yet. Meanwhile Spain was due here any minute now, what a mess he was walking in.
A door creaked open, and Romano could have sworn it was a nation, but then realized that the noise didn't come from her room. In the corner of his eye he saw a dark blur move. He whipped his head towards the noise and called out, "HEY!"
He didn't know exactly what happened next. That was the last thing he remembered before the light came. He crashed to the ground in a daze. He couldn't see anything.. Then the pain came. It felt like burning knives were lodged in his eyeballs. He clawed at his eyes with shaky hands. he felt tears and blood and burning and pain and pain and PAIN.
"What," he whispered the with a hopeless voice. The shock melted away, but he could no longer make sense of his surroundings or actions. He thought his eyes were going to fall out of its sockets. He groaned and screamed, he sounded like a dead animal, and he didn't feel far off from one. He could have sworn the nations were out of California's room, but he couldn't tell. He could only sense intensifying pain and the shock of his entire vision lighting aflame with white light. Eventually the pain numbed, and he could make out a blackness in the corner of his vision that started to bleed into the white. He watched as the dark invaded the white, and centered the color in the middle, which eventually formed a blotchy 'L' in his vision. He'd laugh at the irony of seeing a letter out of everything if he wasn't hurting so badly.
As the light started to fade away he thought he heard New Mexico's voice saying, We have to stray away from the plan when it seems necessary, or else we'll never get the upper-hand. It was the last thing that popped in his head before the darkness consumed him.
XXX
He awoke to darkness and a stinging pain in his eyes. Romano groggily pushed away thick covers and tried to bring himself to a sitting position. "What the hell happened?" He muttered.
"You're awake?" He heard a German voice asked.
Romano blinked and looked around, but there was still nothing to see, "Bastard! What, are you watching me sleep like the potato loving creep that you are? I don't understand what you're doing here, but leave right now or so help me I will kick your ass so hard Prussia will have to take over for you!" He growled as he felt the wall for a light switch. It felt like he was sitting in a bed, so there had to be one around here somewhere. "Why are all the lights off?"
The German bastard sighed, "Any nation who's currently unoccupied will be up here soon. Also this room is almost too bright from these windows."
He had no idea what Macho Potato was talking about, he swung his legs from the floor and stood. His leg's were wobbly and he didn't know where anything was, but he didn't let Germany know that. He unsteadily ran his hand against the wall as he walked, "Liar! I can't see a damn thing, where's Spain and Italy?" He was almost shaking with anger when the bastard didn't answer. He eventually found a light switch and flicked it on, but nothing changed, "What the crapola is wrong with this light?"
"Romano," Germany started slowly, making him angrier, "you can't see anything right now?"
He would have screamed at him if he didn't hear a series of footsteps rapidly getting closer, "Big Brother!" He heard Italy cry, "Are you alright?!" A pair of arms squeezed around him.
"F-Feliciano?" He tried to stop himself from sounding so shocked. "Where were you? Why is it so dark?"
"You can't see?!" He said with a shrill voice. "New Mexico said that this might happen, but I didn't believe her!"
The name set his memory back like a tsunami, Italy had to hold him up, and he cursed himself for acting so weak. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED BACK THERE?" Italy grabbed him and brought him back to the bed despite his protests.
"Finally, you're here," Germany said when two people entered the room.
"Romano," New Mexico's voice called. "This is New Mexico and Canada, do you remember what happened before you woke up in this room?" Her tone would have seemed calming if he didn't hear her use the same tone on Canada earlier. She wasn't here to comfort, she was here for answers.
He faced the direction of the noise, "Yes, up until the point where I was screaming in the hallway if you have any explanation what-so-ever for that."
"Romano, a state blasted you with their star," Canada explained quietly. "We weren't able to tell who. They got away and Germany's head count was exact, not a single state missing besides New Mexico, who was with us."
He paused at his explanation and slowly waved a hand in front of his eyes, but wasn't able to even make up the shape. No wonder why they were so confused, he was the only one who thought it was dark because he couldn't see. He took a deep breath, his eyes would eventually heal themselves; the only thought that kept him from insanity. He had to focus on Canada and Mexico, because they obviously weren't here just to see if he's ok. "What's the word?"
"We didn't receive the last letter, but I think I know what it spells. We need confirmation with you, since you're a nation who a state shared with. Us states can transport memories, but it works a little different when only one of the sharers have a star. Humans are blinded and sometimes killed by our stars, but nations can sometimes receive some sort of message from us. Is there anything that you noticed before you lost consciousness?"
"How did you gain this information?" Germany dared to ask.
He was never given an answer, the room fell silent as Romano racked his memory for anything that stood out, "I wasn't able to see the state; the second I turned my head I was hit. Then there was a white light, but it soon faded to black. It was weird though, for a moment I thought I saw an 'L'..."
"That's it," New Mexico said, her voice was suddenly certain. "The last letter to the word, thank you for the clarification." She started walking to the door, but stopped, "Louisiana and the others just arrived, do you want to talk to Spain?"
Romano shook his head, he didn't want Spain to see him like this. "I'll find him when my eyes are healed."
"Alright, you're in my room by the way. You are free to room with me if you prefer. Canada, please escort me to my lab." Their footsteps echoed down the hallway after they left the room.
Germany cleared his throat, "Prussia and England are watching the states, I should check on them."
"Romano," Italy's voice was slightly more cheerful than before, "France is in the kitchen with a couple states, they're making sandwiches! Do you want one?"
Before Italy mentioned it, Romano hasn't thought of food since entering the house. His words sent a deep grumble to his stomach, "I'd do anything for a sandwich right now."
Italy laughed and promised to bring one up ASAP. Him and Germany left the room, leaving Romano to blindly sit on the bed alone. He passed time by walking around the room and trying to figure out the layout of New Mexico's room. The bed was against the wall with the door, the desk was in front of three large windows, and a dresser with a large mirror attached was right next to the closet. Romano then grabbed random objects and guessed what they were. He was sure he found two jackets, three laptops, a bundle of paper, a make-up kit, a book, and a dozen of pencils before he heard someone enter the room, "Big brother, I'm back!" Romano returned to the bed was handed a plate, the smell of fresh bread, meat, and lettuce was almost too heavenly. Italy sat besides him with his own plate, and they both ate like hungry wolves.
"So, how was the trip down south?" He asked. He never actually got to share his story or hear any others. Italy rambled about his experience, and Romano was glad he didn't experience anything too odd besides the paintball story. In fact, picturing that German bastard running through a yard covered in mud and paint-balls while wearing a suit pulled his lips into a smile. The states he described didn't seem too bad, but then again it was Italy telling the story, so who knew. When it was Romano's turn, Italy was shocked to hear how messed up his trip went.
"So that's what happened," Italy said. "Germany was freaking out when there were more states than there were supposed to be. He counted three times!"
"Were the numbers the same?"
"No," Italy answered. "At first there were 30 like there was supposed to be, then 31, then 32. It was very confusing!"
Romano paused, "Wait, there were 30 at first?"
"Yeah!"
"With the states I came with the number should be added up to 33, but New Mexico was upstairs..."
"So two states were missing?" Italy asked.
"Yes," Romano growled, "And since it wasn't noticed right away, at least one of them is either Wyoming or Colorado."
A loud gasp escaped Italy, "Did we just figure out one of the states on the other side?"
Romano shook his head, "No, we figured out suspects. Who knew that we out of all nations would figure out the first couple of suspects. We should tell the other nations about this, who's not busy?"
Italy hummed, "Well Germany is only checking on England and Prussia, Canada's with New Mexico, and Spain's unpacking. Are you sure that you want to go? Maybe you should take a siesta before getting involved again."
Romano brought himself to his feet, "I'm fine if you can lead me where we need to go. I hate blindness, it takes forever to heal by itself."
"Really?" He sensed Italy leaning closer to him, "Actually, they look practically healed. Your eyes are moving and everything when before they were just blank. You'll be able to see in no time!"
"Huh, that's weird. I don't know how it's healing so fast." Then again, he didn't know how he went blind in the first place, or how he knew the next letter was an 'L'. He wondered if New Mexico could give him a more in depth explanation on how these stars worked. So far what the other states have told him have been basic and simple, but he believed there was more to their eyes if just their light could blind a nation and give him a brief message. "Let's go, we should head for the lab."
"Ok!" Italy grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. Their feet stomped onto the wooden floors loudly, Romano would be surprised if the entire house couldn't hear them. He was clumsy and disorientated, and just when he was starting to get used to the hallway they were running in, Italy would pull him into a sharp turn, almost forcing him to fall on his face. "We're almost there! The lab's downstairs."
Getting down the stairs was slow and annoying, and he was close to falling several times. After they passed the platform separating the left and right stairs, he was able to hear some of the states' voices. He had no idea what England and Prussia were doing to keep them busy, but the tone sounded angry and confused, "What's going on?"
Italy sighed, "We had to get finger prints from New York, Maryland, Ohio, and Louisiana to compare the marks on the balcony. I didn't know that there was this whole division thing going on until the arguing began."
Romano breathed heavily from the trip downstairs, "You didn't know about the Isolationists and Internationalists?"
"No! Apparently only you, Spain, Prussia, and Canada knew about it. I don't know why the states along the East coast didn't explain any of this, it would have been nice to know." Italy wrapped his hand around Romano's wrist and helped him down the bottom steps. When Romano felt his feet touch a flat floor, he almost cried from relief. He let Italy show him the way to the damn lab. While the layout of the top floor was vast, it was still basic and repetitive. The bottom floor, however, was much more complicated. There were many more turns, and some hallways were longer than others. He wouldn't be able to retrace his steps even if he could see.
He could tell they were nearing the lab when he could hear New Mexico's voice, "The finger prints are somehow an exact match..." Italy pushed open the door, and he followed his brother inside the room. Instead of wood floors, he stepped on hard tile. He could hear machines humming and an occasional beeping. "Italy brothers, what are you doing here?"
Italy started to say something, but Romano covered his mouth, "You can join the other states now, you did all that you can do. On your way tell England and Germany to come here. Italy, I want you to take England's place and watch the states."
Both Italy and New Mexico started to protest at once, Italy pushed Romano's hand from his mouth. "Why do I always have to be the one that's left out of the planning?"
"I can do much more than you'll ever know, don't underestimate me!"
"Just do it, ok?" Romano tried to give them a stern look, but he didn't even know if he was staring in the right direction. "Italy, we both know what to say, so instead of both of us babbling our heads off, one of us should take the place of another nation so I don't have to repeat myself so many times. And New Mexico, I didn't mean to underestimate you. Remember how you said we're more emotionally connected to America? Well now we're dealing with states, and don't say it won't effect you, because they're too close to you."
As he waited for their response, the blackness started to fade to white light. He didn't know when he'd actually be able to see, but it was a start. Italy quietly agreed and hugged him with soft arms. "I hope this gets us somewhere," he murmured before he left the room. New Mexico walked out without a word, he knew she responded to logical explanations so she wouldn't be upset for long, but he still jumped when she slammed the door behind her.
"How's your vision?" Canada asked quietly once the room was engulfed in silence.
"How's your voice?" He growled from annoyance.
He could almost feel the awkwardness in the air. If he wasn't waiting for anyone, he would have left. "That was cool with how you talked to Italy and New Mexico. You know about the opposing sides in the states, right? Which one do you think she belongs to?"
"Just because we were both duped by states we don't know, doesn't mean I'm going to sympathize you. We're here for completely different reasons, I don't care about your brother and his states, I just want to get out of here in one piece." He crossed his arms and turned his head from Canada's voice. The whiteness was starting to make his head throb.
"If that were true, you would have left before you reached the house," He said with an aggravating amount of certainty. "Anyways, I just wanted to thank you for helping us. I'm sure America will be grateful once he returns."
Romano massaged his temple, "I don't need anyone's gratitude."
The door opened and several footsteps entered the room, "Romano, this better be good." England sounded strained, "I have to get back there soon or those states will tear Italy apart."
"How's Prussia doing?" Germany asked.
"I don't know, I've been too busy arguing with states left and right to find out."
Romano cleared his throat, "Anyways, I'll try to make this quick so we can figure out what to do, because Italy and I might have figured something out." He described their discussion and how they figured it was either Colorado or Wyoming.
"So if you think it's either one or the other, why were two states missing at first?" Germany asked.
"Think about it, Idiot." Oh how he loved knowing more than that potato did, "We weren't supposed to be here, so the same state who painted those words with blood planned to tape the letters in their bedrooms. After you left with your threats, New Mexico saw our early arrival as an opportunity to tag along with us. Well on the way to the dining room, the ring leader probably noticed our presence and used it to their own advantage as well. I bet they took either Colorado or Wyoming aside, explained the plan, and then left for the dining room so they didn't miss role call. They must have missed the first one though, because next time you got one more state, and then eventually the 32 you were supposed to get."
There was a shocked silence after his explanation that filled him with an almost smug attitude. "That's... full proof." Canada finally said.
England grumbled, "This state can act fast, but this doesn't explain how you became blind. If they didn't change places as the taping went on, then what changed? How did this state know we would figure it out and attack us?"
"We can figure that out later," Germany said. "We should focus on the mission at hand. I think we should take them both into questioning until we can figure out who's responsible. Any objections?"
"No, but we haven't even figured out where we're going to be holding the interrogations."
"America's office?" Canada suggested to England. "From what I remember it's on the second floor near his room. It's far from the other states' bedrooms and there aren't too many ways to escape."
Romano nodded, "Sounds good, let's see how this will work. Where are they?"
"In the kitchen with France," Germany answered. He was starting to recognize their forms, but everything was too blurry for him to really see. The nations exited the room together. Since he was now able to see if only the bare minimum, he could walk on his own without falling on his face. The hallways and the nations started to change as his vision improved. He started to notice squares and rectangles as decorations on the walls, and he could slowly make out legs and arms on the nations instead of seeing them as floating blobs.
At a certain point in one of the hallways, England stopped and stared at the group. Romano couldn't make out his face yet but he could hear the confusion in his voice, "What the bloody- why isn't there any arguing?"
"Where are we?" Romano asked.
"We're outside the media room where my group of states are being held, but it's quiet!" Without any further explanation, he whipped open the door and stormed inside.
When Romano followed him in, he saw a very spacious room with rows of theater-like chairs on the right, and a large screen on the left that almost took up the whole wall. There were a group of blobs sitting in the seats, they were moving their arms in a weird way, as if they were concentrating on something. Before the screen was a platform only a foot higher than the floor, standing on the platform was Italy. He held something up for the states to see, "Who needs to see step seven again?" He voice was loud and cheerful.
"What do we do after we fold the corner again?" The southern voice sounded intrigued with whatever Italy was talking about.
"You fold the flap, and then you have one of the ears!" He glanced over at the nations, then looked back at the seats, "Just keep trying! I'll come around to help everyone once I talk to my fratello." He jumped off of the platform and bounded up to Romano, "Did you tell them?"
Romano nodded, and England stared around in disbelief, "What did you do to stop everyone from screaming?"
Italy's smile beamed at him, "Well at first it was rough, but then I decided to show everyone how to make a kitty with folded paper!"
"Are you telling me that they shut up after you showed them some basic origami?! Twenty minutes ago they were threatening to drag me into the depths of hell!" Romano's laugh was a loud bark, he'd be afraid of England's glare if he could actually see it.
Italy was bouncing on his heels, "Actually, it's much more complicated than you'd think. For example, everyone's messing up the head. You can sit in on a lesson if you'd like!"
Germany sighed, "Good job, Italy. It's nice to know that at least one of us can get along with them." He lowered his voice as he continued, "We listened to Romano's explanation, and we're taking them both into questioning."
Italy nodded his head, causing his curl to bounce up and down- hey Romano could see his hair curl, looks like his vision was getting even better. "Ok," He turned around and walked back to the front of the room, "Now raise your hand if you don't have it. I want to make sure everyone's on track before moving on to step number eight!"
They shut the door and Romano walked ahead. Now that he knew Italy was doing alright, he wanted to reach Colorado and Wyoming as soon as he could. He didn't need to know exactly where the kitchen was, he just listened to the sound of chatting and silverware clanking together. He entered the kitchen to see the area fairly busy. He counted eight personifications working in the kitchen including France. Loaves of bread and packages of meat were opened and spread everywhere, and everyone in the kitchen was at a counter speed-making sandwiches. Romano stayed near the wall and watched them with Germany and Canada as England pulled France aside to whisper in his ear.
They walked into the hallway, and Romano started to tiredly watch the states. He would have zoned out if a blue shirt didn't catch his eye. He approached the state slowly with squinting eyes until he was sure of who it was, "Romano, I see that your eyesight is improving."
A couple states gave him a weird look, but went back to work eventually and ignored him. "And I see that you didn't join the group that Italy's watching, New Mexico."
She shrugged and whispered, "I had Italy escort me to the kitchen before getting England and Germany, I didn't break any rules. Besides, I figured out why you wanted me to leave in the first place." She glanced at two blurry states, one with blueish hair, and the other with black hair.
Romano sighed, "You're lucky you didn't get in our way yet. I know that you're smart, but it's going to take more than knowledge for us to work together. We need you to trust us. If you keep on making decisions on your own like this then you're going to get into much more trouble than one of us yelling at you."
"I can handle my own family, and I can handle dealing with whoever is behind this. I made it quite clear that I'm not letting emotions get in the way of this investigation."
He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the counters, "You're not a robot, so stop trying to act like one. Just because you can handle it doesn't mean you don't care. Now let me make this clear, we're fighting your neighbors, friends, and family. Yes, it's for a cause, but it's not going to hurt any less. So stop under-reacting before it turns you into a monster."
His rant would have continued if England and France didn't come back. They gave a nod to Germany, Romano was sure they all silently agreed to let him be in charge of taking the states away. Germany stepped passed the kitchen island to where the two girls were making sandwiches. "Colorado and Wyoming, it appears that I am left with no choice other than to bring you in for questioning."
The reaction was instant. Every other state in the kitchen froze, eyes immediately glued to the scene before them. Wyoming's smile instantly dropped, while Colorado burst out every objection she could mouth before yelling, "What are we even being accused of?!"
Romano crossed his arms, "Terrorism against your leader, conspiring against him and your fellow states, threatening foreign nations, and should I even mention blinding one of them? Because I'm sure one of you remember that one clearly, I can't say the same for myself, however."
"What?!" She glared at him with all the offense she could muster in one look, "We would never join them! Right?" She whipped her head to Wyoming.
Wyoming covered her stomach as if suddenly sick, "Actually," Her voice shook uncontrollably a tear ran down her cheek, she stared at Germany with a wavering smile, "I-I don't think I'll be able to finish making these sandwiches, can you send another state here to take over?"
Colorado stared at her with bulging eyes, "Wyoming..."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a circular object, then placed it in Germany's hands. Romano knew then that it was red tape, "Is this enough proof?"
Colorado strode forward and punched her square in the eye, "YOU DON'T DESERVE THAT STAR!" Wyoming was thrown back against the fridge, and curled into herself holding her eye with both hands. Romano would feel sorry for her if she was innocent, but at the moment he was glad they discovered who she was. England had to sprint to Colorado to prevent any more harm to Wyoming. Canada and France also had to stop a few more states from inflicting violence. Most in the room watched her with stunned looks, as if they didn't truly believe one of them did it until this moment. He stared at New Mexico, who watched Wyoming with a clenched jaw and glossy eyes.
"ENOUGH!" Germany commanded. Colorado and every other state in the room silenced themselves, he stared at Wyoming, "You're coming with me, Colorado I want you to come also just in case."
Colorado sent Wyoming a disgusted scowl, "Yeah, apparently anyone can get involved in treason." Germany helped Wyoming up, while England held Colorado by the arm.
Even when they both left the room, no one moved. France sighed and stared at the states, "Let's get back to work. We can't stop doing what we have to because we got caught up in some shocking news. Everyone has to eat." His voice soothed the states out of their shock, and they continued to make their food between conversations made of harsh whispers.
Canada left momentarily, and returned with two states to do the work for Colorado and Wyoming. "Italy taught the states ten more paper animals while Prussia just finished a movie with them. Once these states finish making the food and they eat, they'll want to go to their rooms. There's only so much these states can handle in one day, we have to figure out how we'll divide guarding the hallways before they finish their meal."
Romano sighed, "Fine. First we should check up on England and Germany to see how they're doing this whole questioning thing."
"I want to help," New Mexico said as she approached them. Romano was about to deny her before she said, "I know I'm not a robot. I know my limits, but I also know what I have to do, and how I can contribute for America. I care about my neighbors, friends, and family, but I also care about America. Without him, we will fall apart. I'd much rather see some states fall now, than have us all fall later."
"Come on then," Romano grumbled. He didn't agree with her self-righteous bullshit, but he still wanted her outlook. She proved herself helpful when she threw away the states' plan and decoded a word, he wasn't going to leave her to make sandwiches. No one spoke again until they were far from the kitchen and couldn't hear another state, "Hey, you never told me the word this state spelt."
New Mexico glanced at him, "I didn't want to tell you when you first woke up. Besides, it would've gotten in the way of your genius theorizing with North Italy, so it's a good thing I didn't say." He didn't respond and waited with a raised eyebrow. She sighed, "C-A-P-I-T-A-L. It spells 'CAPITAL'."
"CAPITAL?" Romano blinked, "Why would they go through the trouble just to spell that?"
"Several reasons, I think it's meant to have a lot of symbolism to it, but for the most part I think it's also a name."
"A name?" Romano asked.
New Mexico looked at him, "What have we been calling this state so far? 'This state, the ring leader, the one behind this mess, the guilty state,' we don't have a name, nor a gender. Even the state only called themself by, 'the winner of the game.' They're done with labels, they want a name, and since they obviously can't give us their real name, a code name will have to do. So yes, Capital is a name, as well as a series of messages."
"Are they giving us their gender too? That'd be very helpful of them," Canada joked.
"Maybe we should ask Wyoming about it," Romano muttered.
They rushed up the stairs and followed New Mexico to America's office. As they passed his bedroom, he noticed that England and France got busy with taping the doors off. "The rooms of the five states were also blocked off," Canada told Romano, "another reason for them to yell at us."
Romano saw England pacing outside of a large wooden door. He stopped once he noticed the group and glanced at them, "Germany's in there with them, so far Colorado hasn't stopped talking and Wyoming's gone mute on us."
New Mexico sighed, "I'd expect such from her, I don't think she'll say much right away. We have to show her we're not giving up until she gives us some more information. We have to know who helped her plan this, it couldn't have been just her." Romano was ready to repeat his theory to her about how the other state isn't Colorado, but she probably already figured that out with the way she thinks.
"We should install live video cameras and bugs in that room," Canada suggested. "That way we all know what's happening and we can replay footage to if we need to."
England nodded, "We'll have to do that right away. I'll give you the keys to the rental so you can get them."
An idea slammed into Romano's head like a freight train, and he almost jumped from the sudden realization. His heartbeat sped and his eyes became unfocused, "Bugs..." England, Canada, and New Mexico gave him a look. He was almost too shocked that none of them thought it before. He whipped his head to England, "bugs! That's how the state knew where France was, and why the clues started to change! You and France are bugged!"
Canada gasped while England stared at him with bulging eyes, "No way!"
New Mexico stepped forward to pat England's shirt, she then pulled back with a black circle the size of a penny, "He's right, it all makes sense. They described exactly where France was and what happened because they were listening the whole time." She looked away, "That also explains why the delivery of the clues changed, they heard our plans and decided to have Wyoming attack one of us."
Romano shivered, knowing that this state heard him telling England how they stayed away from the plan made him want to puke. England was taking it worse than him, he was fuming with a red face and shaking hands, "How dare they bug me! They think they can trick a spy? Who would do this?"
"The same state that can put water in a gas tank," Canada said quietly. "Are we all bugged?" New Mexico patted Canada's shirt, then shook her head. She turned to Romano and placed her hands on his shirt. He felt his face heating up as she checked over him with narrowed eyes. She gave him the clear and Canada looked at England, "What about France?"
"He took a shower, that means his bug should be in Massachusetts' room." He crossed his arms defensibly and sighed. Romano couldn't imagine how much this state heard since England and France came to the house first.
New Mexico held the bug out in her palms and spoke, "Capital, this is New Mexico. You shouldn't have dragged Wyoming into this, even if she volunteered it was your fault for causing this mess in the first place. Return America, we don't need just any leader. It's either Alfred. F. Jones or nobody at all, because no one else can lead this country. Surrender before you start a civil war. It's never too late to switch sides, I'll be looking forward to the moment you change your mind." She then dropped the bug, and crushed it with her shoe.
They stared at the broken technology in silence as if grieving for the information that state gained. Then the moment was over, and England looked up at them, "Canada, before you go to the store I need you to go to Massachusetts room, fine France's bug, and destroy it. New Mexico and Romano, you two are free to rest. We'll get you when we need you. I'll stay here with Germany."
Romano was pissed, they only had the upper hand after New Mexico and himself ruined the plan. Everything else was Capital's to learn from listening to England and France. If only he didn't blurt out everything that happened to them to England earlier, they'd still be ahead. He guessed it didn't really matter. After all, the nations weren't the only ones to take advantage of the early arrival. If Wyoming wasn't with him then they might have figured out who was missing at Germany's role call.
They left England and walked back to where they came from. Canada departed from the group after they reached the Stripes' hallway, leaving New Mexico with him to the left side of the house. They walked together quietly, the only sound was their footsteps. Romano assumed that New Mexico was probably more bummed out than he was since her thinking backfired on them. He couldn't be mad at her, if it weren't for her they wouldn't have spelled 'CAPITAL' for a very long time.
As they neared New Mexico's bedroom, he heard a low murmur of several voices. They turned around a corner and entered a hallway with states sitting on the floor in a long oval. Spain was sitting on the floor with them. He recognized Louisiana first, then Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. There were a few he also didn't recognize; two women with black hair and brown eyes. They looked very similar to each other, and Romano knew that they couldn't be anyone but North Dakota and South Dakota.
They paused and glanced at the two, then started greeting them at the same time. Spain leaped to his feet and launched himself at Romano, "ROMA! YOU'RE SAFE!" He tightly wrapped his arms around him to the point where he had trouble breathing.
"Of c-couse I am!" Romano coughed out.
"I was so worried about you! You didn't answer your phone and then when we arrive I'm told that you were blinded!" He gasped and held Romano by his shoulders to examine his eyes, "Can you see me?!"
"Yes," He growled. He was expecting Spain to be angry, but a worried Spain was even worse than an angered Spain. "Seriously, I'm alright now."
Spain continued to fret over him while Louisiana glared at New Mexico, "We had a deal. You were supposed to meet us in North Dakota, I thought you couldn't get a ticket or ran out of money or something. Instead I find out that you did it on purpose in a shitty attempt to spite this state, and decided not to tell any of us! What the hell?!"
New Mexico's gaze was steady, "I did what I felt was right."
"Well thanks to you, most of our trip consisted of us worrying over nothing." She scowled and glanced away, "Whatever, now I have to worry about more important things. For example my room being blocked off!"
"I don't care, it's for precaution. They were in your room, we have to check for evidence. Certainly you can room with someone else."
The building tension in the hall was almost unbearable. New Mexico and Louisiana stared each other down for a moment, then Louisiana cracked a smile, "You're so insanely rude sometimes."
New Mexico laughed, "On the bright side, you're only stuck living under the same roof as me until we find America."
Louisiana's snort was obnoxiously loud, "You're such an optimistic, yet you're so logical. I always thought optimism and logic clashed, and one day you'd just implode from your own contradiction."
"Implode? Last time I checked emotions don't cause a body to physically cave in on itself."
"Well I wasn't thinking of your entire body, just your head."
"What a great mental picture you've painted for me."
Romano and Spain watched in confusion as the two states went from chewing their heads off to laughing with each other. None of the states seemed surprised, they were probably used to it. Spain turned back to Romano, tears making his eyes sparkle, "I'm just so glad that you're alright." His smile was relieved.
Romano sighed, "I know, these states tried to kill me."
Spain laughed and patted him on the back, "You should sleep, I'll take everybody downstairs to eat. It was funny how you showed up just when we were talking about you! I was just telling the states about the time when you first moved into my house. They love the story of how you peed on the floor because you couldn't find the bathroom."
"YOU WHAT!?" Romano yelled, his cheeks were burning when New Mexico and any other state in hearing range burst out laughing.
"Awww, you look like a tomato! Have a nice nap!" He sang, then he practically ran away with the other states down the hall.
Romano crossed his arms and huffed as New Mexico tried to stifle her laughter, "Alright, I think you deserved the bed for that level of embarrassment. Next time don't expect to get that lucky." They entered her room and she dragged a couple pillows and a blanket onto the floor for herself. Romano didn't notice exactly how tired she must have been before she practically crashed on the ground and fell asleep.
Romano laid in her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her room looked a lot nicer now that he could see. Her room was bright from the large windows, and colorful with a lot of reds and yellows, it reminded him of Spain's house. Thinking of the Spanish bastard brought a small smile to his face. He rolled over and snuggled his face into a soft pillow with his eyes closed, "I'm glad you're alright too," he whispered before drifting into a dreamless sleep.
XXX
Author's Note: First update for 2015! Wow, everything changes this year for me since I'm going to college in August. My choice college is in Vermont and I really hope I get in. It's in the perfect location right near the town that I always visit with the moose statues, the bookstore, and the fudge! I hope everyone had a great holiday break and celebrated the New Years safely!
Yay! We finished Romano's POV, writing Romano is always fun. Sorry if there are too many grammar mistakes, my spell check and grammar corrector disappeared, so I tried to catch everything myself. A lot happened in this chapter, and they discovered a lot. Too bad they couldn't keep up with Capital, but they did find out who taped the letters and blinded Romano. I need to know, who do you think helped Wyoming? Do you think Colorado's innocent? Who do you think ruined New York's gas tank and bugged England? Who do you trust? Who do you hate? Who do you love? Idk an entire analysis on each character would be nice, follow New Mexico's lead, she knows what she's doing, or does she?
Alright so anyways before going into Russia and Japan I think I might write a short snippet told from Capital's POV. It will be told in 1st person narrative because I don't plan on giving away their gender yet. It might be shorter than usual chapters, but who knows with the way I write. I might bump this story's word count up a bit with this additional chapter. I'd just really like to thank my readers for reading this story. I'd never imagine that a story this long with so many OCs would become so popular, especially since it's a state story. And an additional thank you to all of my beautiful reviewers and anyone who took the patience to read my unnecessary long author notes. I'll try to update soon, until then try to be patient!