Japan was finding it hard to ignore the odd looks they received in the airport. Japan was used to being stared at, throughout history he experienced almost every form of public speaking there was. However, these stares were different, or maybe familiar, he didn't know. It felt like their eyes were prying, examining his every thought. Why didn't America tell you? Their narrowed eyes silently asked. Or maybe he was tired, and over thinking curious citizens wondering why the Russian next to him was wearing a winter coat in July. Either way, the question gnawed on his thoughts.

"Where do you think California is?" Russia asked. He lifted his head from his cellphone, and raised his gaze to the curious passerbyers, causing them to immediately rip their stares away. At least he's useful, Japan thought, cringing at his threatening smile. "I want to see her again."

He wanted to gawk at him, but masked his surprise with a straight face. Russia never admitted it, but Japan suspected he said odd statements in an attempt to throw others off. He didn't want to give Russia that satisfaction,"Again? None of us met them before."

"Isn't it obvious?" Russia glanced at him with his usual empty smile, if he was trying to mock Japan, he wasn't planning on showing it. "The states were at the party, da? Well, I think that California is the 'Golden Girl' who did the dancing with America." He tossed his phone between both hands, "Besides, they were near us for an entire night without us knowing, who knows how many times they've met us under our noses."

Japan slumped his shoulders just an inch, "You're right, you really thought about this, didn't you?" His mind felt like its gears were turning in slow motion, he knew that he should be theorizing just as much as Russia, yet he couldn't get his thoughts anywhere past America keeping this secret from him. Why did he do that?

"We should call her," Russia said, starting to dial the number on his phone.

Japan would have agreed with him, if he didn't catch a large red circle surrounded by white in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw a crowd awaiting for newcomers from the flight. In front was a tall woman wearing a blue sundress who held two large signs in the air, one with the Japanese flag and the other with the Russian flag. Her hair was a rich gold color, her waves and curls looked professionally done. "Kiku! Ivan! Over here!" She shouted with a large grin bordered with red lipstick. She handed the sign to a man next to her and rushed to us in dangerous black heels, the man behind her swiftly followed. "It's so nice to see you again!" She glanced at the man behind her, and pointed at Russia and Japan, "Zack, this is Kiku and Ivan."

The man nodded, "Nice to meet you, you're her boyfriend's college friends, right? What brings you here so early in the summer? It's only July."

Japan paused and looked between the two Americans, it was obvious that the man-Zack didn't know that they were countries, so how did she know him? Zack kept a steady gaze on California with glistening brown eyes, barely glancing at the two nations in front of him. Russia's smile grew wider, "We're staying with him until the semester begins! Going to college overseas is quite the challenge without becoming adjusted to the hot weather. In Russia, it's almost always cold."

Zack nodded to himself, "Great! Well, pleasure meeting you, Callie. Enjoy your stay in Vegas, and don't forget to visit those restaurants I suggested. Now I've got to go, my flight's been delayed for four hours now, I have to see if my plane is actually going to take off before the sun comes up."

"Callie" tilted her head back to laugh, and shook his hand as she took the posters from him, "Thanks! Have fun in New Orleans, if you ever get there!" Once he was out of sight, she turned her head towards the two nations, running a hand through her long golden hair, "Sorry about that. I've been in this airport for quite the while, anyone would meet new people when stuck in a place full of strangers. I'm California, and I'll be showing you around the states!" She held out her hand.

Japan watched her wearily, she seemed friendly enough, Japan bowed while Russia shook her hand. She gave them a flashy white smile that belonged on the cover of a magazine. She had two blue eyes, one was a circular ocean, while the other was darker with a white star in the center- identical to New York's.

"I apologize for arriving so late, this country is very large," Japan said as he returned to a standing position.

California snorted and waved her hand dismissively, "Are you kidding? Five hours and some is actually pretty quick compared to usual flights. We were bound to have the late start, I bet the others all ready collected quite a few states by now."

They walked away from the crowd and toward an escalator, "Is this boyfriend you mentioned the next state we are meeting?" Russia asked.

California crinkled her nose, "Absolutely not, he's not my type. I just had to get Zack off my back, he kept on asking for my number. On the bright side he bought me dinner, and helped me make these signs."

"That was smart of you," Japan commented.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Of course it was! You didn't expect us Americans to be dumb, did you?" Russia opened his mouth, but she continued, eyeing him with a dangerous gleam in her eyes, "because it's not very wise to underestimate our intelligence. You wouldn't want to be caught off guard, after all."

Russia tilted his head to the side, "Quite like we were in New York? I have to give credit to you states, you have to be very cunning to organize such a wide-scale attack against your own leader. It was probably well thought out, why would anyone underestimate your intelligence?"

California scanned the citizens walking below the end of the escalator. Then Japan could have sworn America was standing right in front of them, because her over-confident smile reflected her leader's. "Yeah, whoever's behind this really is cunning. However, I can guarantee you the states that'll team up with us are damn brilliant."

"How do you know which states are on our side?" Japan asked, his curiosity peeked.

She didn't miss a beat, "I can't be completely certain, but what we have so far seems promising! You met New York, right? He's a crafty decision maker. He could've called any other set of states, but he chose us, because we serve the best advantages, and we're the most trustful, of course."

"So where is Las Vegas?" Russia asked after they descended onto the first floor.

California's laugh was melodic, "You mean Nevada? Every year he spends this night drinking and gambling. He always comes to the After-party with a horrible hangover, it's kinda hilarious to see. He's probably passed out in his apartment by now."

"What After-party?" Japan asked, trying to dodge the overwhelming crowd walking passed him.

The golden girl cracked a smirk, "After the 4th of July, we party at America's house on the 6th. It's so that we can celebrate his birthday our own way without having to disguise ourselves."

Japan frowned, "Wait, then what are you doing across the country if you're planning on going to D.C. two days after the party?"

Russia gave her a side glance while she patted Japan on the shoulder. He flinched from her strong hand, "Nice thinking! I'd be surprised if you're the first to ask that question. We know it's impractical, but it's a joke! A decade ago the Isolationists ordered us to leave NYC directly after the party so that we don't run into any of you. Louisiana started it to mock them, she flew all the way back to her state, only flying back for the party. Every Internationalist followed suit, until even the Isolationists were doing it. We may have made this much more difficult you you, but on the bright side, Alaska and Hawaii are staying with Washington, so we don't have to fly overseas."

"Isolationists?"

California groaned, "I forgot that there's so much you don't know. I'll make Nevada tell you 'bout it all, he's good with science and is better at explaining things. He's pretty much the smartest out of all of us, well, besides New Mexico. I say it's because of Area 51, he never lets me go into that place!" She pouted, but then returned her expression into an excited grin, "Anyways, I have a feeling that you're going to like him!"

XXX

Nevada hunched over the toilet heaving, a strangled groan escaped him. He gripped the rim and ducked his head as more vomit shot from his mouth. California leaned against the tiled wall beside him holding a water bottle. Russia watched the two states with a blank expression, while Japan leaned against the bathroom door with his nose tucked into his shirt, trying to avoid the horrid smell. He would have excused himself to look around the apartment, but that would have been rude since he didn't have Nevada's permission.

The apartment building was practically a skyscraper, and he owned a penthouse on the top floor. California used a key hidden in a plant beside the door, and as they crept though the penthouse in the dark, the few things Japan could actually see looked brand new. He noticed that the bathroom they were now in was spacious even with a large Jacuzzi tub in it.

Nevada flushed the toilet with a clammy hand and jabbed a finger behind his back, "Why...are... they...here?!" He choked out between loud pants. Japan wasn't surprised that he was still shocked about their presence. After all, they found him sprawled on his bed snoring, Japan and Russia were the first ones he saw when waking up. Nevada then excused himself to the bathroom and they've been gathered in the luxurious room since.

California uncapped the bottle and handed it to him, "I'll explain later, just have some water. God, exactly how much did you drink tonight?"

Nevada tilted his head back, chugged down half of the bottle, and slurred, "I dunno, I went to one of those roof top parties, and that's the last thing I remember. I'm surprised I didn't come back with a woman... or man... whatever, I don't care."

"With your lack of game, I'm not surprised. Now stop talking before you puke your guts out again, besides, you're so out of it that nothing you say will make much sense." California helped him up by the arm, and let him yank on her clothes trying to keep himself standing. Japan held the door open for them, and waited until they were in the hall to follow. They entered a living room the size of Japan's house, California sat Nevada down on a long curved sectional made of black leather.

"Your city is almost as bright as Moscow," Russia said pointing towards the wall the sofa was facing. Japan followed Russia's gaze to see an entire wall made of windows, through the glass was a world of never ending buildings made of light. The view reminded him of Tokyo, maybe that was why it looked so beautiful to him.

"Yeah right," Nevada muttered, "It's not almost as bright as Moscow, it's brighter."

Russia gave him a dangerous smile, one that Nevada obviously couldn't see since his head was buried in the leather cushion. "Really? Have you ever been there?"

Nevada grunted, "I don't need to, pictures are enough to tell. Besides, there's no way in hell I'd visit there, even if it were physically possible." He gracelessly pushed himself into a sitting position with a hand over his temple, "Why are they in my penthouse?" He asked California. "How the hell did they get past America? He'd never allow us to meet those two without his permission, and he would let me know prior to the meeting. America doesn't know, does he. I can imagine the Internationalists flipping their shit, it's what they've been rooting for forever now, those idiots."

Russia strode forward and sat at the end of the rounded couch, "What are these big American words you keep repeating?" Japan rolled over a black chair from a nearby desk, he didn't want to be anywhere near that creepy nation.

California sat beside Nevada, and the four stared out the large windows at the lit city. She turned her head to him, "You remember the rules of the game, right?"

Nevada flinched, then carefully studied Japan and Russia before answering, "What state would be able to forget the rules?"

She twirled a strand of golden hair around her finger before continuing, "Nevada, one of us killed America, and is holding him captive right now. Ten nations found out, then ran into New York. We have to meet at the house, so that they can help us identify this state, and their allies."

For the first time that night, Nevada's eyes heavy from a drunken exhaustion cleared to anger and confusion, "What?! When did this happen?"

"Apparently somewhere around noon, they stormed the house, and shot America. England was on the phone with him at the time, this state even had the nerve to text him afterwards!"

Nevada swore under his breath, then grimaced at the two nations in the room, "You two sticking with us t'il the end?" Once Japan nodded, he stood, "In that case I should apologize for the worst first impression you've probably ever seen."

California rolled her eyes, "Formalities are so boring. Besides, Louisiana, Ohio, Maryland, and I chatted with New York before all of this, and from the sounds of it he didn't give off the best first impression either. Think of the others who've probably done worse by now!"

Thinking of his fellow states failing to act accordingly in front of nations seemed give Nevada a slight smirk, "Who do you think's going to be the worst out of all of us?"

"Let's see, there's New Mexico, Texas, the never-ending fights throughout the Mid-West, the Southern prank war, and New York's party is traveling by car. I'd say the possibilities are endless."

Nevada snorted, "At least one good thing is coming out of this; hilarity." He held his stomach as he walked past Japan, and to the modern glass desk covered in paper and writing utensils. He snatched a pile of blank computer paper before returning to the couch, he seemed to grab a pen from thin air, because Japan didn't notice him grab one before. He crossed his legs and ran a hand through thick black hair, "Start from the beginning, and don't skip a single detail."

California raised an eyebrow, "Y'know, there's a way that I can do that without having to explain everything."

His response was a critical frown, "Not with my alcohol intake there is. I can feel the hangover approaching, do it and I'll kill you. Now talk."

"Wait," Japan cut in before she could explain anything, "I don't think it is a good idea to tell him every detail. All he should know is that America is in danger, and we have to meet at the house."

The two states blinked at him, "Nice theorizing," Nevada said, "but good luck putting it into practice. I can guarantee you that I'm not the only state who wouldn't agree to do anything with you nations before hearing the full story. Sorry, we're not trustful personifications. Besides, I bet every single state that came into contact with a nation already got much more information than you'd want us to have."

Russia giggled at Japan, "Smart thinking, if only these puny states weren't smarter than you!" Anger surged through him, but he repressed it, just like he repressed any emotion.

California snarled at him, "Who are you calling puny?"

"Enough, I don't want any further distractions. Tell me what happened, I have to know if I'm going to help out in every way that I can."

Nevada silently stared at California with watchful eyes until she let out a long sigh, "Fine, but after this we're leaving as soon as possible, our flight leaves in two hours." She glanced at Japan and Russia, 'You might want to grab a seat, this is gonna take a while."

Russia leaned over Nevada, studying his pile of paper, "What are you going to do with that?"

Nevada scribbled a headline in the corner, his handwriting was barely legible. "It helps with my thinking process, I like to map everything out."

"Don't try to understand the nerd," California warned with a teasing smirk, "No one can figure out how his bees' nest of a brain works. Are you ready?" Nevada nodded.

While Japan wasn't sure if he should be told everything, he was curious to hear the situation from a state's point of view. France and England claimed they eavesdropped on New York when he was speaking with these states, but before they could share what they heard, New York split them up. He wondered if New York did that on purpose, what if the five states knew England and France were listening?

"Alright, so I finally made it home from my flight, slept for, like, two hours, and then New York woke me up. He called claiming that there was a serious problem, and I had to video chat him immediately. I did, and apparently Louisiana, Ohio, and Maryland got the same call. New York was in his media room pacing like a madman, and you know the first thing he says to us? He says, 'The nations know about us.'" California waved her arms around frantically, "Who starts out a conversation like that?! He told us which nations, and then I proceeded to completely flip on him, but who wouldn't flip out on him?!"

"The other three states included in the conversation," Nevada said with a flat voice. His pen scratched against the paper as his hand rapidly wrote every word she said.

She pointed a finger at him, "Don't sass me! I woke you up before you could puke all over your pillows. Sure I shocked you with Japan and Russia, but still. So, like, I flipped on him, and then he told us that he told them that we'd have the guts to hurt America, and of course I flipped even more on him. Then we argued over how to handle it all. New York wanted us to meet at the house, and Maryland objected, because that would've been a mess. Ohio questioned New York's trustfulness regarding the nations or something like that, so New York retaliated. Then Louisiana suggested we do what we're doing right now, and we went with that. After that we made fun of New York, and planned out plane tickets and stuff like that."

Nevada nodded along to what she was saying, "Good, but did New York give more detail about what happened to America?"

California's blue eyes lit up, "Oh yeah! He said that England was on the phone with America when it went down. Apparently this state has allies, and they shot America. They sent a text to England, saying they were going to win the game. That's when the nations came to New York, thinking that America was in his apartment. You got all that?"

The piece of paper on top of the stack was covered in his sloppy handwriting, "Yup, copied it down word to word. This will be helpful, despite your poor choice of vocabulary."

"No fair!" She called out, "I'd like to see you spit out perfect word choice after having two hours of sleep!"

Nevada stood, cradling his temple with one hand, "So far I'm doing much better than you are, I bet you'd be even worse if you had an upcoming hang over." His voice was less slurred together, but Japan could still hear the scratchiness in his throat. His worn tone showed his sudden energy was gained only from distress, and it was quickly fading.

"That's your fault for going out to drink, why do you do this to yourself every year again?"

Nevada only groaned as a response to her question, "I'm getting ready, call one of those yellow car things."

"A taxi?" Russia asked.

He waved a hand dismissively, "Yeah, that." He collected his computer paper, and left the room, bumping into several pieces of furniture in the process.

Once he was gone, California shook her head, "Who's the one with the poor choice of vocabulary now?"

XXX

"Please kill me," Nevada groaned for the tenth time that early morning. He tried sleeping on the plane, but he claimed almost every sound bothered him. He reminded Japan of England after drinking.

California grabbed another water bottle from her purse and uncapped it, "Have some more water."

The taxi driver met Japan's eyes through the car's mirror, "He went drinking?"

"We came from Vegas," California explained. "He's the only one who went overboard."

"No fair, I can hold my liquor. I just can't deal with the hangovers," Nevada leaned his head back and closed his eyes, holding his hand over his ears when the taxi driver laughed.

"Give him some caffeine, it always heals my hangovers!" The taxi driver seemed too happy to be driving around strangers at 3 AM. Japan wondered if he had any of that caffeine earlier. He even smiled at Russia sitting in the passenger's seat, "So how was the fourth? That's when I drank too much, to be honest."

Japan could see Russia's violet eyes glint from amusement, "The fourth was fun, the fifth was... eventful."

The man behind the wheel grinned, "On the bright side once I drop you off, you can sleep as long as you want to. We'll be at Liberty Midtown Apartments in about five minutes." Japan was enjoying the ride so far, the highway was empty, and in the distance large mountains surrounded the city they were driving into.

Nevada shook his head, "Once we get home, I'm sleeping for a week." Japan didn't know if he meant America's house or his penthouse. So far he hinted towards wanting to help with the investigation, he never put away his stack of papers. On the plane it was hard to understand what he was writing, but he drew lines branching from the original notes he took with California, making it look like a diagram. Even now the papers were sitting on his lap.

The rest of the ride consisted of Nevada's complaints and the taxi driver's amused comments. Once they arrived, dim streetlights showed a modern apartment building that stood six floors tall. Japan shivered in his light jacket, but it was still warmer here than in his home. He trudged a thick suitcase behind him, he was one of the nations who stayed the longest in North America every year. He would stay with America a week before Canada's birthday, that week usually consisted of movies, video games, and planning his brother's party. He then stayed a week after America's party, helping him clean up. Japan wondered how long he'd be staying in America's house, he had a sickening feeling that defeating these states was going to take much longer than any of them hoped.

"Arizona is staying with Utah," Nevada explained. "They can't live together, but they spend as much time with each other as possible."

Russia hummed as he closed the door behind him, the lobby smelled of cheap air freshener, and it's emptiness left an eerie feeling for Japan. "Why would they want to live with each other?"

Nevada glanced at California, who gestured to the two as if giving him permission to speak, "I'd prefer not to tell you, but they'll probably be all over each other in the house anyway. They're the only two states who have a romantic relationship with each other, they married about century ago, the day they break up is the day we cease to exist."

Japan furrowed his brows, "Why are they the only two?"

California leaned against the wall waiting for the elevator, "We're more of a family, but our definition of family depends on the state. The East considers us practically related by blood, they would never date another. However, us Westerners didn't grow up all clustered together like them, we were friends before we became family, and in Utah and Arizona's case; more than friends."

They shuffled into the elevator, Japan said, "Is there a great difference between the East and West besides that?"

Nevada rolled his eyes, "There's a great difference in general between us all. You can divide us in a thousand different ways. East, West, North, South, Mid-West, Isolationist, Internationalist, Neutral, Stripes, Blue, Red, the list is long. Sometimes we're so different we can barely function, but we always pull through somehow."

No one spoke until they were standing outside of Utah's apartment door. California pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed a number, it rang five times until a woman's voice answered the phone.

"You're lucky I was already awake. Utah's asleep, what do you want?"

"Arizona! What would you do if I told you Nevada and I are outside of your door? You might want to wake Utah up, it's pretty important." California winked at Japan, "Could you make some tea also?"

"Huh? You better be right, I'm not letting anyone in at this hour if it's not important. Besides, I thought you only drink coffee, and Nevada only drinks beverages that contain alcohol."

"Hey!" Nevada called into the phone, "I take offense to that."

California pushed his face away from the phone, "Just put some water in a kettle, wake up Utah, and let us in." She hung up the phone and leaned against the wall.

Nevada huffed and spoke with a dry tone, "I'm gonna be receiving snide comments about alcohol all week, aren't I?" California nodded her head with a mocking grin. Japan heard some shuffling beyond the door, and gentle murmurs. He played with the ends of his jacket sleeves waiting for the two to open the door.

Click

Japan whipped his head up to see two states standing past the door, he could tell they were states from the way their stars lit the dark hall. The woman's hair was tied back, but there was enough frizz to tell that her hair color was several shades or orange. The man standing beside her had short hair the exact same tone of the sandy eye he was rubbing. "What the hell?" The woman stared at Japan and Russia with bulging eyes, and the man hung his mouth open in shock.

Nevada shrugged, "Better than my reaction. Arizona, what were you doing awake at 3 AM? You're going to regret not taking that time to sleep."

His words seemed to knock Arizona from her frozen state, "I had to go to the bathroom. Your turn, when did they find us, and how did it start?"

California moved the two from the doorway, giving them space to walk through. The dim apartment room was small, and it seemed even more crammed with large comfy furniture and framed pictures on the walls. The door closed, Arizona narrowed her eyes at the nations and glanced at California, "What are Japan and Russia doing in our apartment?"

The man gave Arizona a look, and stood in front of them, "I'm so sorry for the inconvenience you must've experienced on your way here. I'm Utah, do you mind if I ask why you're in Salt Lake City?"

"Once again with the formalities," California said with a sigh. "Utah, you're gonna be standing there for a long while if you're planning on apologizing for their inconveniences, because there's a lot of them."

Utah watched her with wary eyes, "Should I ask who they've met besides us?"

"New York," Nevada muttered as he plopped onto their couch, tossing his paper stack onto a nearby coffee table. "I dunno exactly what happened, but from what California told me," he lazily pointed a finger over the couch's armrest, "It didn't go so well."

Russia smiled, "I say it did. Before I arrived, he threatened Canada with a gun. Then when I was walking to America's apartment he jumped through a window, and I bashed his head in with my metal pipe!" He stated all of this like he was talking about the weather, which sent chills running up Japan's spine.

Utah and Arizona stared at Russia with stunned expressions, "Wait, what?!"

California cringed, and looked at Nevada, "Should I do it?"

Nevada snorted, "You didn't hesitate with me, I bet you just really wanted to put me in more pain. Just share with them, if they're really going to help get America back then I can see our stars coming into crucial play. Besides, if they shouldn't hide information from us, then we shouldn't from them. It's only fair."

"Stars?" Japan asked aloud. "How do your eyes effect the investigation?"

Nevada laid on his side and put a pillow over his face, " The effect depends on this state's goal, but either way it's a central topic. Wake me up when we're ready to leave."

"California," Arizona started with an exasperated voice. "Are you really going to show them what we can do? They're nations, they won't understand."

The golden girl shrugged, "Then we'll explain it to them."

Two electric beams of light blasted from her star, and rocketed toward Utah and Arizona. They absorbed it with their left eyes, then their expressions were blank. Every outlet sparked, and the lights went out. Only a few lit candles flickered throughout the apartment. Dots danced across Japan's vision. She glanced up at Russia and Japan with a slight smirk, her eyes were twitching. "Pretty cool, right?"

"What did you do?" Russia's eyes held the same charged energy Japan felt churning inside his chest. He didn't know what California just did, but he knew it wasn't anything another personification could accomplish excluding the states. Could this somehow help them find America?

"Shhhhhhh," the muffled noise came from under a pillow. "You're so loud. She sent them memories, I'm supposing."

California nodded, disregarding the fact that Nevada couldn't see her. "We're capable of transferring memories with our stars, the stripes have the same function."

Japan was too astonished to respond, he believed that was only possible in an anime, or in America's comic books he always talked about. His mind started racing to reach a conclusion as to how the state used this to their advantage. Russia leaned forward, "How does it happen?"

"It takes a lot of focus to channel exactly what you want to send, some are better at it than others. I happen to be extremely skilled when using it, hence I was able to send the same memory to two at a time," She beamed at her own words.

"Can you do anything else with those stars?" Russia asked, tilting his head slightly.

Nevada opened his mouth, but California spoke before him, "Nope, we can't do anything else."

"What about-" Nevada was interrupted by a panic-stricken gasp that burst out from Arizona.

Utah widened his eyes, "Oh my god!" He covered his mouth with shaking hands, "How long has it been since?"

California checked her phone, "Around fifteen hours, I think."

Arizona shook her head, "America's been gone for that long, and we didn't know about it?!" Her mismatched eyes glossed over with anger, "Damn them! I'll kill them myself!"

Utah's hand clasped around Arizona's wrist, "Calm down. I'm sure we can settle this ordeal without killing anyone."

"I dunno, man," California said with a shrug, "They killed America, why shouldn't we kill them? It's not like they won't come back to life." Hearing her speak of murder so casually rang an alarm in Japan's brain. However, what alarmed him even more was the part of him that silently agreed with her way of thinking. Russia watched the conversation with amusement dancing in his eyes, did he agree with her as well?

"What?!" Utah shook his head, "We can't just run around killing each other!"

California snarled, "Why not? If they're harming America, they don't deserve anyone's mercy. Why are you so sympathetic towards them?"

Utah let go of Arizona, and clenched his fists, "I'm not being sympathetic, I just don't believe that we should kill them. What they're doing isn't right, but they think it is. We have to show them that they're wrong after all this is over, if we don't then they'd want to do it again after they fail."

Arizona watched him with a tender gaze, "Do you really believe we can do that?" Utah nodded, and she let out a soft sigh, "I want justice, but maybe you're right."

California rolled her eyes, "How about we educate them after I kill them? Best of both worlds, right?"

A pillow was hurled at them from across the room, "Shut up, we can talk about what to do with these bastards once we figure out how to catch them in the first place." Nevada pushed himself up from the couch, his movements were slow and lazy, "Go pack, we have a lot to do before we can bring anyone to justice."

Utah and Arizona lingered before reluctantly leaving the room to prepare for the next flight. "Can America be divided by this topic as well?" Russia asked. California crossed her arms.

Nevada gave him a certain nod, "Of course. We're going to be debating this for weeks, and I have a feeling most are going to side with California."

"Who do you agree with?" Japan asked, trying to keep his expression neutral.

The state snatched his stack of paper from the coffee table, "Can't say. I want America's opinion first, then I'll make a decision I'll be satisfied with." He tried to stretch, but stumbled to the side instead, "I'm so dizzy. I'm never drinking ever again."

"You say that every time," California said, her violent tone started to fade away, but Japan could still see some fire endure in her eyes. The kettle started to wail, and California shuffled through their cabinets for some mugs. "Those love birds always think that their opinions are better than mine, those peace loving hippies!"

Nevada smirked, "Remember when you were one as well?" She frowned, but he changed the subject before a fight could start, "Where do you think the other nations are now?"

California scanned the room, distracted by the question, "Do they have a map somewhere?"

"Probably," Nevada opened a drawer of the thick coffee table and pulled out a large crumpled sheet of paper, "That wasn't hard, but then again every state keeps at least one map laying around." He spread it over the wood, and leaned over it with a sharpie in his hand. The moment he uncapped it the nauseating smell spread throughout the apartment. Japan covered his nose, but inched towards the states anyway to read the map. It showed all fifty states divided with small, dotted lines.

California poured steaming water into two cups, placed tea bags in them, then handed them to Japan and Russia. "Black out the ones everyone's met already."

"Alright, list it off."

California pulled her phone out of her purse, "I have the plane times noted on here. I don't know where New York is, they're untraceable right now, but my guess is Connecticut."

The sharpie squeaked against the paper as he rapidly shaded in the states they've been to. Japan furrowed his eyebrows; England and France met six states, Japan only met four. He knew the distance was only going to grow since the Western states were so spaced out. He lost track of time, too mesmerized by all of these states everyone met. Was every state as different as these four were from each other? What were the nations thinking of the states they've met so far? He didn't know, he didn't know what he thought of the states he met.

Japan sipped his tea, it wasn't too bad. Russia hovered over them silently with his hands behind his back while California listed the states the nations went through. Only when the fat sharpie started coloring Utah and Arizona black did he speak, "So we still have to meet 21 states?"

California beamed at him, "Yup! We're more than halfway through, we're making good time!"

Nevada bounced in his seat, "Seeing a visual of our progress is very helpful, I can't wait until this whole map is black!"

"Can't wait until what is black?" Arizona asked. She wore a white backpack and held Utah's hand as they entered the room. Nevada showed them the map, and for the first time, everyone was smiling. Japan even felt his lips tug upward, despite his wish to remain expressionless. He felt the urge to see the map blacked-out as well.

"So ready to color in the map some more?" California asked, gesturing to the door.

Russia's smile was still creepy, but not enough to damage Japan's good mood, "Of course! I want to meet more of America's puny states!"

XXX

Utah repetitively tapped the sharpie against the map on their way to Idaho's house. During the plane ride, they took turns blacking out states. When they handed it to Japan, they decided that since France and England were untraceable, he might as well black out the entire section, so he did. Russia shaded in Tennessee, and Kentucky, because it was apparently common knowledge that they were staying together in one of their states. California colored Kansas and Nebraska, because Spain and Romano were due there eventually. Arizona already shaded in Idaho, and now Utah was waiting to mark off the next state.

There were 13 left, and Japan felt uneasy from the blank states. He wanted to contact the other nations to see how everyone else was doing, but he didn't want to distract any nation from their own group of states. They had to be focus, and he had to be focus. Japan didn't know why his train of thought was wandering so often. Was it because of America's capture? America has been captured plenty of times before. In the past, he told Japan of a few times in which he was captured, and each time he wriggled out of it somehow. However, those were humans almost every time.

One night when Japan stayed over, America shared some experiences he and the Confederacy had. He said he was captured by her before, and it was his hardest escape, not because of the ruthless guards, but because she was a personification. He claimed he felt a connection to her, partially due to her having half of his body, mostly because he got to know her over the years. Killing her must have been one of the hardest things America has ever done, Japan could only assume. Now he was captured by his own states, if America could escape, would he find the will to?

"Hey, when do we get to cross off another state?" Arizona asked, she rested her head on Utah's shoulder and stared at the map.

California studied her phone, "We already crossed out almost everything that we can, but Canada and Prussia are arriving at Missouri in about an hour."

Utah's eyes lit up, "Great! I'll shade it in now, 12 to go!"

Before he could uncap the sharpie, Russia placed his hand over his, "Shouldn't you wait until they actually arrive at the state?"

Utah surprisingly didn't flinch when Russia touched him. Were all states immune to Russia's creepy aura? "Why not? I have to cross them off eventually."

"You don't want to cross them off too early, then it won't be as accurate," Russia countered. Utah didn't respond, choosing to stare out the window instead.

"Who cares?" Nevada asked, not looking up from what he was scribbling on some paper. While he wasn't complaining every five minutes anymore, he was still irritated by his surroundings. "I just want that map as black as my soul feels after drinking too much."

Utah shook his head, "If I weren't a Mormon, I still wouldn't drink, look at what it does!" He gestured to Nevada to make his point. Japan gave him a questioning glance, "And before you ask, the answer is no; I do not have more than one wife."

California looked up from her phone, "We're here!" They shuffled out of the taxi to be surrounded by a forest of identical houses. The day was barely beginning, the sun wasn't nearly out yet, but the sky lightened to a shade of blue that allowed Japan to see past his fingertips. Down the hill the road paved over, he saw a large wall of tan mountains in the distance. Rows of the same house lined the street, making Japan feel slightly dizzy.

"Welcome to American suburbs," Nevada stated dryly.

"Why are we here?" Japan couldn't help but ask. "I figured most states don't own their own property."

California shrugged, "We're in the suburban part of Boise. Also you're right, some break the pattern, but there aren't many. The only states who own property are Idaho, Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, the Dakota sisters, Kentucky, Alabama, the Carolina siblings, New York, and New Hampshire. That's not many compared to our quantity."

Nevada pointed a pen in her direction, "That's another aspect to consider, I wonder if ownership to property is somehow related to this investigation." He shuffled through his stack of paper until he found a blank sheet, Japan was surprised he still had a few sheets unwritten on. Now the pile he held was almost completely covered in black ink.

Arizona groaned, "How long are you going to be doing this? Someone has to put an end to this before you get too carried away." She stared at the two nations, "Once he spent five days mapping out possible endings to that Supernatural show."

He narrowed his eyes at what he was writing, "Supernatural is a serious topic, do you know how many details I had to gather just to determine which series of hypothesizes to branch out from? There are nine finished seasons. Nine. Off that topic, I won't stop until America is found."

Arizona snorted, "Yeah, so serious."

California rolled her eyes as she tugged the last suitcase from the taxi's trunk, "Thanks for all the help unloading, guys. Are we done bickering about whatever? Because I kinda wanna go to the bathroom, and Idaho has some really fancy soap in her bathroom. Come on, who doesn't like relieving their bladder in a room full of fancy soap? Let's go!"

Utah furrowed his brows as she handed him his suitcase, "Thank you for getting our luggage. Why are our conversations so weird?"

"I think that it's amusing!" Russia said with an unblinking stare.

The taxi drove away, and they approached the cookie-cutter house. The two story house was the same as every house on the block. There was a large green front yard, and a white paneled garage that matched the home. The roof was gray, the shutters were blue, and there was a wooden mailbox standing at the end of the driveway.

California knocked on the red painted door, "In a minute!" Someone called from inside the house.

"You might want to move out of view," Utah whispered to Japan, "You wouldn't want to shock any more states, would you?"

The door softly opened before Japan could respond, "Ashley, remember to water my plants only twice a day since-" The woman at the door cut herself off, realizing that they were obviously not who she thought was at the door."

Arizona glanced around, "Ashley's coming over? Where is that little neighbor of yours? She so cute, and growing so fast!"

Utah waved to her with a strained smile, "Good morning, Idaho. Sorry to come over without warning, but... well our reasons are standing in front of you, so no explanation needed."

Idaho paused to study Japan and Russia. Once it clicked in her mind what was wrong, she leaped back with a startled screech, "What?! A-An explanation is certainty needed! Why wasn't I warned about this?"

"Mhmm, hey can I use your bathroom?" Utah glared at California, "What? I've seen enough of these 'state is shocked after seeing a nation, and starts asking stupid questions' scenes. I have to pee so bad, I'll be back." She stopped to place her suitcase down, then she stared at Idaho for a moment, a line of white light shot into her eye. Once the state collapsed onto the floor, California stepped over her body, and went into a room Japan could only assume was a bathroom.

Utah gaped at the stunned state before them, "I-I can't believe she just did that."

Nevada bent over to put his paper down, promptly attempting to hide his silent laugh, "Yeah, that was... uncalled for. Although now that I think about it, I really have to go to the bathroom as well."

Arizona elbowed him, "Of course you find this amusing. You two can be so immature." She and Utah picked up Idaho by the arms, she started to stir back into consciousness as they laid her on a white couch.

She had light brown hair layered down her back, and a garnet eye. She fixed round metal glasses onto her pointed nose and stared at Arizona, "And we don't have any clue of who did this?" Japan almost forgot that after a state shared with another, they knew exactly what happened. He wondered if there were limits to what memories they could share.

Nevada composed himself, and gestured to the stack of papers, "I'm working on it. I'm making a diagram of any possible element that could lead up to this situation. How they could plan it, what kind of states they could go to, possible traits that could've triggered this desire, stuff like that. I need to know exactly how this happened and why."

Idaho placed her hand on her chin, "That sounds helpful, but shouldn't you focus on the states individually?"

He shook his head, "I don't need to. New Mexico's doing that already."

"You talked to her?" Japan asked with widened eyes. He couldn't recall leaving anyone alone with enough time to call someone. The most amount of time the states have spent alone was during bathroom breaks, and those were only for the girls, since Japan and Russia couldn't go into a girl's bathroom.

"Nope," He smiled, "We worked on thousands upon thousands of projects over the years, I don't need to talk to her to know how she's going to handle this. She's taking the more personal approach; examining every single state."

Idaho cracked a teasing smirk, "You two sure are a couple, aren't you?"

Nevada let out a choked cough, "Stop that! We're scientists who've worked together for centuries, of course we know how we think!"

Idaho's laugh was loud enough to match America's, "Calm down, I was kidding! Anyways I'm glad we have a double threat against these assholes. The lab at the house is gonna be quite busy, isn't it? I hope the kitchen's gonna be busy too, how are we going to feed everyone? Then again, we don't have to feed the states working against America, you know, once we figure out who they are." Utah showed a disappointed frown at her words.

A door creaked open, and California stretched her arm while entering the living room, "Hey, you awake? You seemed to like, fall, or something like that when you answered the door."

Nevada left for the bathroom next, while Idaho jabbed a finger at her, "Really? I just fell? That's a surprise, I could've sworn you just shared with me without my permission, which we all agreed you're not allowed to do! You drop that grin right now before I knock your teeth out!" She shook her fist at the Golden Girl, but the anger didn't reach her eyes, and she was grinning herself.

California snickered, "Watchya gonna do 'bout it?"

"THIS!"

"Wha- ommph," A couch pillow flew over the couch and plopped into her face. California blinked, then gave her a smug look. She clutched the pillow and held it over her head, "Alright, wanna play that way? I'll knock your stupid glasses off your face a second time!" Her heels clacked against the wooden floor rapidly when she jumped over the couch and hurled it into Idaho's stomach.

"That's it!" Idaho armed herself with a second pillow while California snatched a couch cushion as a shield. Utah and Arizona met each other's eyes for a moment, and silently decided they were enemies in this match. Arizona snatched the other couch cushion, and Utah grabbed a pillow from a nearby armchair.

"Should we do something?" Japan asked, wincing as one of the girls let out a triumphed cry. The states were now in the dining room, Arizona and California teamed up, and were standing on the dining room table blocking and dodging whatever Utah and Idaho threw at them. He jolted when a metal vase bounced off a couch cushion shield, and clattered to the floor. He wondered if they'd throw knives next, but instead the next item was a large wooden chair. "They're going to break something."

Nevada came from the bathroom, the second someone noticed him a spoon was fired in his direction, "Hey! What the actual hell?!" He ran to the kitchen, and set his fort behind the counters, throwing condiments and cooking supplies at the four states.

Russia took a seat at the arm chair and crossed his legs, "As long as they're not breaking us, then I don't see the problem."

Japan remained near the door watching these states throw dangerous and heavy objects at each other like they were having an innocent snowball fight. Despite the arguments and incidents similar to the one in front of Japan right now, this trip was without many issues. Leaving the hotel in New York City, he initially expected there to be more problems. New York's plan was smart, because they could keep an eye on these states and already form suspects before arriving at the house, but the plan also had its weakness.

The nations were going along with this plan outnumbered, while they were from the start, it would be much easier to watch all fifty of them collectively. Of course, that would be a train wreak, but from Japan's calculations, it was most likely states supporting America and helping the nations were the majority. In smaller groups, there was a possible chance that if a guilty state acted against the nations, there wouldn't be too much they could do about it before they reached the house.

Japan could only hope that the other nations didn't run into too much trouble, and the other states didn't realize their advantage.

XXX

Author's Note: Yes! Another chapter has been finished! Sorry I took so long to update! I was slowed down a bit from my Creative Writing class, which I absolutely love. For one story I was writing for 13 hours straight... Worst. Idea. Ever. I went to school right after and I was so out of it, looking back it's pretty funny. But I'll make sure to save more time for this story! We are finally in the West! For those who wanted this told from Russia's POV, don't worry, he'll get his chapter. Alright, I know most of you are waiting for Alaska and Hawaii, and I'm happy to tell you that they'll be introduced next chapter! Let's just say that Japan's trip won't be running as smoothly as it has been for much longer. So far who do you trust out of this group?

Ok, so if you like Revolutionary AUs, you have to read Farewells May Come One Day by Upside-DownLemur because there is so much detail and emotion tied into it. And the history is so accurate I'm going to cry, I may or may not have already cried though, because of the plot. Seriously you have to check it out, this story deserves much more attention! :D

I'll update as soon as possible, so until then I hope you enjoyed the chapter! After the West we really go into the house, and I'm so pumped for that!