"Telepathy?" France said aloud in disbelief. He was at the end of the dining room table. There were only four states missing from this meeting; Germany, Italy, Spain, and Romano were left to watch the states. France was surprised when England approached him while he and Massachusetts were unloading the groceries to tell him that he was included in the meeting. France was never considered the best decision maker. Maybe it was because he spent his time during UN meetings arguing with England. He meant to show his serious big brother side, but instead he was too thrown off by what New Mexico and Nevada just shared with him. "Is that even possible?"

The two states were the only ones in the room standing. New Mexico stood with her shoulders straight, her sand colored eye narrowly looking down at the laptop balanced on her arm. Her slim fingers stopped dancing over the keyboard for just a moment as she glanced at France in the corner of her eye. "Unfortunately, it is. It's a mutation that developed in the late sixties. We can share a thought with every state at the same time, or at least that's what we believed we were only limited to do."

Nevada nodded. "It's either Capital or one of his followers. They want to learn how to focus the black star to transmit messages to one state at a time. We have no way of telling what their progress is." He had a clipboard in his hand, but for once he didn't have his nose pressed against a pile of paper. Now that France got a good look at him, he could see the bags under his eyes, and every few minutes he would take the time to massage his temple. France thought he heard Russia complain about Nevada stealing some of his vodka, so the behavior wasn't out of the norm. He was just surprised that the state could still think so sharply. The focus in Nevada's star and his silver plated eye was starting to freak him out.

"About that, do you have a list of the states who spent the most time testing this experiment with you?" England asked. He was on France's left, and spent the time the states used recapping their findings by chewing his lip raw. France was just surprised he didn't throw his chair aside to get up and start pacing like a madman.

Nevada slid the clipboard across the table. "There were a lot more, but these are the states that were actually brought into the lab and shown the details of this experiment." France leaned closer to England to read the list.

California

Michigan

Utah

Arizona

Wyoming

Idaho

Louisiana

Texas

Oklahoma

"We were working in New Mexico's lab, so it was easier to test the states closest to us," Nevada said.

"What about Michigan?" Canada said. It was the first time he spoke since the meeting started. "I'm not an expert in geography, but he must have taken a long flight to get to a lab in New Mexico."

New Mexico tilted her head. "He was the one to make the discovery, so we spent a lot of time testing him. The list is in order of who was tested the most."

"That makes California the one you spent the most time testing on," Russia said. He got up from his seat and was now hovering over England's shoulder.

"She's the most experienced sharer," Nevada said with a slight roll of his eyes.

"Wyoming is fifth on the list." France glanced at England. "It could be her."

"That's a very good possibility," Nevada said.

Japan passed a sheet of paper to France. "That might not be the case. Wyoming seemed to have followed Capital's instructions closely in the way she left the clues to spell out his nickname. I don't think Capital would leave a note such as this."

France narrowed his eyes at the paper that would have been blank if not for a single line typed. "I'm trying? What are they trying?"

"Trying to help?" New Mexico guessed. "It's a theory with an unstable foundation, but there's a possibility that New York's predicted weak link in the alliance was the one to break in the lab."

"Or, they're trying to control the black star so that they can secretly message anyone trying to harm America," England muttered.

Nevada crossed his arms, "Well, I don't see why they would tell us that. I'm backing New Mexico's theory."

"I think they should have left a better note," Prussia declared, smacking a hand against the unwrinkled table cloth. "Why didn't they say something like, 'hey, don't get me wrong here, I totally want to be on your side so here's the identity of Capital and everyone following him.' They had enough room on the paper for that message."

"That would be helpful," Canada said, planting his chin in his hand.

"Well, if this note is by the weak link, they'd want to be careful," Nevada muttered. "If Capital came across a note like you described, things could get ugly for them."

"Good!" New Mexico called out. She placed a hand on Nevada's shoulders, and his eyes lit up. "Even more proof that this state is the weak link."

England rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll put a pin in it." He glanced back down at the clipboard. "For now, we have a good list as to where to start questioning wise."

"Are we just basing the order of questioning off of this list?" New Mexico asked critically.

"No." England flipped threw a few sheets of paper underneath the states' list. "I asked for a list of suspicious states from each of you. We're going to interview the states who were listed the most, including insight from this list of tested states."

"And these states are…?" New Mexico placed her laptop down, and studied England in interest.

"New York-"

Nevada let out a loud snort, but stopped abruptly when he caught England's glare. "Sorry. I just found that amusing." New Mexico's lips also twisted into a smile, but she covered it with a quiet cough into her hand.

England shook his head. "Anyway… we'll be starting off with New York, Texas, California, Virginia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, and… New Mexico and Nevada." Surprise swept both of their amused expressions away. New Mexico opened her mouth, but no words came out. "We'll sort through the rest of the states after we clear through this group."

"I thought we made it clear that you're not immune from this investigation," Russia said, raising an eyebrow at New Mexico and Nevada.

Nevada slammed a fist on the table, and leaned forward with a clenched jaw. "You put me on your list, didn't you!" France lifted his hands off of the table in surprise at the sudden burst of anger.

"I did no such thing," Russia said with a calm voice and a polite smile on his face, "but I considered it after you went through my stash of vodka."

Nevada glanced at Japan, who lifted one shoulder into a shrug. "We have to consider all possibilities."

"It's always the quiet ones," Nevada muttered.

"If the most quiet were always the most devious, Texas wouldn't be on their list," New Mexico said. She reached for Nevada's hand, and intertwined her fingers with his. "You'll be fine. This is a precaution. Every escort and every state rooming with a nation is on that list."

Nevada closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He seemed instantly comforted by her touch. "You're right. We'll be fine."

France smiled gently to himself, then glanced back at England, "So, when do we break the good news to the rest of the states?"

"Depends, how long can we put it off?" Prussia said, earning a stern look from England.

"I was hoping now, actually." England stood from his seat and turned to France. "Germany has the majority of the states gathered in the media room. Would you explain what's happening, and tell Germany to start setting up the room we're questioning everyone in?"

France didn't think he was ready to handle a giant mob of angry states, but from the amount of stress on England's face, he was probably the better one for the job. "I can do that."

"Nevada should go with you," Canada said, twiddling his fingers. "The group Russia and I watched were moved to Germany for this meeting, and everyone's still riled up. There should be a state there to talk them down."

"And I'm the best one for the job?" Nevada asked, not sounding very convinced.

Canada shrugged. "You handled the situation in the gym by getting to the point."

"What happened in the gym?" New Mexico asked, raising an eyebrow at Nevada.

"Nothing." He didn't meet her eyes, and instead glanced at France. "I'm the polite Isolationist, after all. Nothing would make me happier than holding back the states who'll try to kill you."

"I'll talk to the states watching Spain." England glanced down at the clipboard and mumbled. "I have to ask him about his list, anyway. These look like signatures rather than a proper list."

"I can get Romano's states excited," Prussia said, beaming at England. "They'll be begging to be questioned.

Japan stood up and pushed in his chair. "I will talk to Italy."

"Good." England placed a hand on his hip. "Russia, take New Mexico back to the lab. Review some of the evidence we already have to make sure everything is accurate."

"Good call," New Mexico said with the roll of her eyes. "It's not like we haven't already done that a countless amount of times."

"Canada, get a group of states and get them started on making lunch. We're falling behind on schedule." Most of the nations left to perform their duty. France took his time pushing in his chair and smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles in the table cloth. When it was just him, Nevada, and England in the room, England cleared his throat and leaned closer to France. "Meet me in America's hallway. New York is the first state on the list, and I believe we have enough information to properly question him without Germany's help."

"Of course," he said, a charismatic smile growing on him. "These quiet conversations are fun."

"Not for everyone," Nevada said. France glanced up to see him leaned against the wall to his right. "You're not that quiet."

England's face reddened, and he stepped away. "No one asked for your opinion." He stormed out of the dining room, and waved his hand over his shoulder on his way out. "See you later, frog."

"Same to you, black sheep." When England disappeared into the intricate maze of hallways that made up America's house, France waggled his eyebrows at Nevada. "So, you and New Mexico…"

"We're co-workers," Nevada said with a stern tone, but France swore there was a longing twinkle in his eyes.

France bore an excited grin. "But you wish you were more, oui?"

Nevada's ears turned red, and he stiffly turned into the hallway and began to walk toward one of the media rooms. "You shouldn't throw around such assumptions."

"Hon hon hon!" France quickened his pace to catch up with the state. "Is it because of her body?" He was met with a glare, and France tried to suppress a laugh. "You can't shrug this off, and you're upset about it. Big brother France is an expert in all things that are romance."

"Hmm," Nevada tapped his finger against his lip. "I swore we had more important things to talk about." He snapped his fingers together. "That's right! Because we do. There's kind of this whole leader kidnapping murder mystery we have to solve."

France nodded solemnly, but the smirk didn't leave his face. "You're right, we should talk about that. So, are you waiting for before or after we save America to confess your undying love to her."

"Neither." He glanced at France in the corner of his eye. "That's if I did have an undying love for New Mexico, which I don't, since we're just co-workers. There'd never be a right time for us to date. Not to mention half of us are convinced that we're family, and that dating each other is morally wrong."

"If two of you can marry each other, I don't see why you can't date New Mexico." France placed his hand on the state's arm as a comforting gesture. "Doesn't she deserve to know how you feel?"

Nevada jerked his arm away and held onto his forearm. "She deserves to have a lab partner who doesn't have some pathetic crush on her. Are we done with this conversation now?"

France frowned, but let the rest of their walk be spent in a tense silence. Nevada didn't bother to knock once they came across the media room. "Hey, Nevada!" France heard New Jersey call as he entered the room. "You missed the rest of the game."

"How'd it go?" Nevada asked.

France saw Germany first. He stood with his arms crossed in front of the blank theater screen. The lights were on in the room, and a large group of states were lounging in the first few rows of the theater. New Jersey shook his head from the front row, while Michigan from behind burst from his seat and threw a fist in the air. "We won!"

"Only because Kentucky tried to cut my nose off with a hockey stick," New York muttered from the last seat on the right.

"I didn't mean to!" Kentucky's southern accent shouted from across the room.

Nevada crossed the room to talk to the states, while France walked up to Germany. "Have they given you any trouble?"

Germany rubbed his temple. "No, but they have given me a headache. They haven't stopped talking about whatever they were doing since Canada dropped them off for me to watch." There was always a serious note in his crystal blue eyes. "What happened at the meeting?"

France stepped closer to him so that he could talk at a lower volume. "We're ready to start questioning the states. We need you to prepare the room we're questioning them in."

"Who am I questioning?"

"No one, yet. New York is first, and England thinks that we can handle it ourselves."

"Can you?"

France folded his hands together. "I'm not sure. We'll have to see how this plays out. We can always call him in for questioning again if we mess up."

"Okay. Come find me if there's a problem." Germany left, leaving France with the realization that he was the one left to break the news to these states.

Michigan watched Germany disappear into the hall, then tilted his head at France. "Aight, so, Mr. Lab Scientist State is here, Germany left, and you look like you want to say something." He leaned on the back of New Jersey's seat with an eyebrow raised. "What's up?"

"Wait, what did you just call me?" Nevada asked.

"Vous etes raison," France muttered. He took a step forward so that he could focus on every state in the room. "There is something you all should know. I came here to share that we're taking a step forward in this investigation that requires everyone's participation."

The states took a moment to mutter among themselves. Vermont had her eyebrows knit together. "What is it?" She asked with a sharp voice.

France knew that he wouldn't get a pleasant reaction no matter how he worded it, so he let the announcement burst from his lips. "We're going to start questioning you. We're starting now."

"What?!" Protests erupted from the group of states. A few stood up and started yelling, but France couldn't hear what they said over the chorus of voices.

Nevada slowly walked backwards until he was next to France. "Now what?"

"Canada chose you to calm them down."

He rolled his eyes and held up a hand. "Hey, guys." He was ignored up until New York caught his eye.

New York shot up from his chair and glared Nevada down. "You knew about this?! You never wanted anything to do with a nation before this, and now you're plotting against us with them."

Michigan crossed his arms loosely over his chest and bore an entertained grin. "Ay, you switching over to Internationalist? We could always use more states."

"I am not switching over," Nevada said sharply over the others' protests. "I'm sorry, but there's no other way. The nations are here to help us get our leader back. Why wouldn't you help them?"

"Because they're not trustworthy," Ohio called out with a scowl. "I think you're helping them because they let you work in the lab as long as you want so that you don't have to wait around in the media rooms like we do. Either that or your girlfriend actually convinced you that you're doing the right thing by helping these nations."

"We're lab partners, and that is not true." Some of the extra noise died down now that most were focused on this conflict.

"Wait." Minnesota pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and studied France. "You said you were starting now. Which one of us were up for interrogation?"

France winced before he even said the name. These states were just starting to calm down, too. "...New York."

That did it. Michigan let out a loud laugh, while most Isolationists started another loud chorus of protests. New York stared at France with wide eyes. "Why? I didn't do anything!"

"We're not sharing our reasons, or else we'd have to announce why we're bringing states in every time we question someone."

New York glanced around at all the states yelling at France. He brought his fingers to his lips and let out a loud, shrieking whistle that would stop every taxi in New York City. The group of states quieted down, and New York lowered himself into his seat. "Everyone settle down." His gaze was oddly calm, and France understood why he spoke for the Isolationists. "This is not about what we want, this is about what we have to do." Even though his voice was calm, he leg bounced uneasily against the hard, gray rug.

"York, this is not something you have to do." Vermont said. When she glared at France, he pictured her in her apartment holding a hockey stick. "You can't force any of us to sit through an interrogation."

"Non, I doubt I could," France started carefully, "but you should know that this step is essential to this case. Answering a few questions could help you."

"How so?" Vermont asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, if we have reason to believe one of you are guilty, what you say when we question you could prove you or someone else innocent."

Any opposition fell silent. Vermont uncrossed her arms, and planted her hands gently in her lap. New York narrowed his eyes. "I'll go." He glanced back at the states watching him. "If I can stop these nations from wrongfully finding one of us guilty, I'll go."

"Taking a shot straight to the nose and not crying about it was pretty impressive," Michigan said, "but now I'm really impressed."

New York sent him a dismissive wave. "Whatever. Try not to convert any Isolationists while I'm gone." He walked up to France and Nevada. "When do we start?"

"As soon as Germany returns." France said. When he noticed the door opening in the corner of his eye, he turned toward the German nation. "Excellent timing, Germany."

Germany sent him a firm nod. "Everything is all set. England is setting up the cameras as we speak."

"How wonderful," New York muttered.

"So, we're ready to go," Nevada said, adjusting his lab coat. France sent him a look, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "You and New York are ready to go, I mean. It's not like I was expecting to go. In fact, I'd rather stay here. I can calm everyone down and everything."

"Calm them down as in stop them from laughing too hard?" New York asked, nodding toward the group of states who returned to conversing and laughing at each other's jokes.

Nevada shrugged. "We figured that this room would protest for much longer."

"We?"

New York narrowed his eyes, and Nevada took a step back. "Well, I suppose I won't be doing anything for a while now. I'll just stick around here in case you guys try to have fun without me again."

New York turned on his heel, and stormed out of the room. France let out a sigh. "Why do these states always feel the need to walk faster than I? They don't have to show off their youth."

Germany waited until Nevada walked over to the rest of the states, then he crossed his arms. "Remember to come get me if anything goes wrong."

"We will." France left the room, and looked up and down the hall for New York. He rushed down a few halls until he caught the state halfway up the stairs. "New York!"

The state stopped right before the staircase divided into two. "What," he said with a flat voice.

France skipped every other step, then stopped before New York to catch his breath. "Where are you going?"

"America's hallway. That's where you're interrogating us, right?" France opened his mouth, and New York rolled his eyes. "Of course it is. You're so predictable. I'm just surprised the state behind this hasn't killed you yet. Maybe they're keeping you around for entertainment."

France crossed his arms. "Where is this coming from, exactly? Is this because Nevada included himself in our group?"

New York snarled at him. "Be quiet. You shouldn't even be here. You're dangerous. All you're doing is keeping us sitting around while you mess up and slowly get us to want to be all buddy buddy with you."

"Excusez-moi?" France pointed a finger at him. "We're here to save Amerique, we have to keep you sitting around because an entire group of you is responsible for this mess, and it is not our fault if states are interested in getting to know us after shutting themselves away from the rest of the world for centuries."

New York clenched his jaw, and turned away from him. "Forget it. You don't understand."

"I would if you explained your side of the story."

"I said forget it." New York began to climb the rest of the staircase. "I agreed to answer any questions that could help solve this case. I didn't sign up to satisfy your curiosity." France followed him silently until they came across England pacing in the middle of the hall. "Where am I being questioned?" He asked, crossing his arms.

England pointed to the door behind him. "Take a seat and we'll meet you in there in a minute." New York pushed past him and slammed the door behind him. England raised an eyebrow. "He looks just as cheerful as I thought he would be about this."

"What will we ask him?"

"Whatever questions come to mind," England said with a shrug.

"In other words; we're winging it." France sighed, and placed a hand over his head. "It worked for Prussia, so I doubt Germany would be against our methods."

"That's the spirit. Let's do this." England opened the door, and France was taken back by the work Germany did. It was hard to tell what this room was originally. Germany must have moved most of the furniture from the room, because now the room was vacant aside from a table and a chair set in the middle of the room. Thick curtains were drawn over the windows, and it was easy to spot the cameras mounted on each wall. "How are you doing, New York?"

"Cut the chit chat." He muttered, planting his elbow on the table. "What do you want to know?"

England held his hands behind his back and stared down at New York cooly. "Why did you choose Maryland, Ohio, Louisiana, and California to escort us around the country?"

New York let out a sigh. "Maryland doesn't lie, and he's an internationalist, but I knew he would be able to introduce information truthfully without piling on too much information at once. Ohio is a trusted Isolationist. He hates nations, which makes him a safe state to choose. Louisiana is blunt, which is not only what I needed to help sort out the situation at hand, but also what any nation needed to deal with Texas and New Mexico. California is on the more energetic side, but she is good at uniting the western states when the cause is important. Not to mention she's the best at transferring information to other states without feeling any drain. Oh, should I mention that I think they're as innocent as I am?"

"And how innocent is that?" France thought that New York was irritating at times, but he could never imitate the cold look England gave the state.

"As innocent as I can prove myself to be," he said through clenched teeth. "Have any more questions?"

"What were you doing during America's party?"

"Avoiding you." He rolled his eyes. "I was with Vermont for most of the time. At one point we ran into California and America after he got covered in cake, but the meeting was brief."

England nodded, then tilted his head. "So, why do you exist?"

New York's mouth fell open. "I find that incredibly offensive."

France took a step forward. "I'm sure what Angleterre means is how did you states come to form alongside Amerique?"

"We didn't." France didn't break eye contact, and New York brought his gaze to his hands folded over the table. "Us stripes were formed before America was."

"You're older than America?!" England called out.

New York shrugged. "Only by a few decades. It's not like America didn't age faster than we did."

"What happened?" France asked. "How did you become states led by America if you were independent personifications before America was even formed?"

"It's complicated," New York said, shifting uncomfortably in the wooden chair he sat in. "Not only would it take forever to explain, but I'd need every stripe's permission to tell you how we came to be."

"Do it," England blurted out. The state widened his eyes in surprise, and England continued. "Learning of your roots could help us with this investigation."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll see if I can get everyone on board, but don't get your hopes up."

France was surprised with how cooperative New York was being, especially due to his earlier outburst. "Why do you hate nations?"

New York stiffened. "That has nothing to do with your investigation, so I don't have to answer that."

"It's getting in the way of our investigation," England muttered crossing his arms. "Is it so bad to want to know why?"

"You don't deserve to know why," New York shot back. His glare was only focused on England. "I won't apologize for being an inconvenience after what you did to me."

England knit his eyebrows together. "I haven't even met you before the fifth." The state let out a dry laugh, causing England's frown to deepen. "I have done nothing wrong."

"What?!" New York growled. He slammed his hands on the table and shot up from his chair. "You stripped away every ounce of hope I had toward other personifications. The moment we met face to face, I have never felt more useless. I was so young. I agreed to help. I was actually excited that I was doing something with purpose for once." His face turned red, and France took a step back when he caught the hatred that flooded his eyes. "It was my first battle, and you took everything away from me."

England put his hands up. "New York, you should calm down. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't." The state spat. "That battle was so insignificant to you. I was so insignificant to you. You looked at me like I was just another disgusting rebel." His laugh was bitter. "All this time I avoided you like the plague. I should have known that you wouldn't remember me."

"You can start making sense any time now," England snapped, placing a hand on his hip.

"The Battle of Long Island!" New York yelled. He breathed through labored breaths. "We were forced to retreat. I almost made it, but a few Redcoats knocked me out. I was thrown in one of the many prison ships anchored in Wallabout Bay. Do you remember those ships?"

England's eyes widened, and he instinctively took a slow step back. "I-I-"

"You what?" New York was shorter than both France and England, but it felt like he was staring down at them. "I was thrown in The Jersey. I remember the ship well. Every day was completed with the same amount of darkness and hunger."

"New York, I didn't know," England said barely loud enough for France to hear.

New York's stare was cold. "You didn't think you knew, but one day you stopped by. You visited to taunt us with freedom with too high of a price. You looked me in the eye and told me that I would be freed if I pledged my loyalty to the king. I told you to go to hell, and you moved onto the next prisoner only after you told the guards to take away my portions for the day."

"New York-"

"I died three times on that ship," he interrupted. His voice was starting to shake as violently as his hands were trembling. "Once by starvation, once by smallpox, and once by freezing to death. I was lucky the third time. Redcoats grabbed my body before I healed and dumped me and a dozen other corpses in a trench along the Brooklyn shore. By the time I found my way back to the Continental Army, everyone else has accomplished so much. Meanwhile I was captured during my first battle and was given a vacation from the revolution on a prison ship."

"We all do horrible things in times of war," France said.

New York balled his hands into fists. "I don't care. You asked why I hate nations and I gave you your answer. Are you happy, France?"

"Non, actually. I'm sorry about what you went through."

He raked a hand through his head and let out a shaky breath. France could almost see the rage deflate from him, and regret replaced the terrifying look in his eyes. "That… didn't help this investigation in the least. Sorry for the outburst. Excuse me." New York tore open the door and ran into the hall.

France crossed the room to gently close the door. England stood motionless in front of the wooden table. "I didn't know," he muttered to himself.

"You couldn't have known." France told him. "I can't believe he held onto that grudge for such a long time."

"I would have if it happened to me," England muttered. He leaned over the table and placed his hands over his forehead. "This is a disaster."

France didn't know what to do. He almost reached over to pat England on the back, then stopped. "Don't worry, Angleterre. Most of the world has had to deal with British invasion. New York is not the first personification you upset."

England looked up only to deliver a sharp glare. "Sod off."

"Relax. You can patch things up with him somehow." France wasn't as convinced as he seemed to be, but England's shoulders relaxed slightly, so at least one of them bought it. "I'll go hunt New York down."

England let out a heavy sigh. "I suppose I should tell Germany how this went. He'll probably want to bring New York in again so that he can get something productive done."

"Think of the bright side. This interrogation wasn't a complete failure. At least we might be able to find out how these states survived after America won his independence." France placed his hand on his chin, and looked toward the door. "I can try talking to him."

"Go ahead. I doubt me trying to talk to him now would do any good. I'll go talk to Germany."

France held the door open for England, and they walked down the hall together. There was no change in England's depressing mood. "This happened a long time ago," he said, trying to cheer the English nation up. "He bottled this up for a long time. Now that he let out all this steam, maybe it will take a shorter amount of time for him to get over it."

They stopped before the stairs, and England's shoulders slumped. "I shouldn't wait for him to get over it. I owe him an overdue apology." He crinkled his nose at the idea of apologizing to any of these states, then shook his head. "I'll work on it. Good luck, frog."

"Same to you." He watched England descend the elegant staircase, then turned around and headed to the states' rooms. France was starting to learn his way around the house, but it still took awhile before he found his way back to the Stripes' hall. He walked past New York's room without giving it a second glance, trusting that the state wouldn't go into that room until Russia and Japan cleared it. France softly rapped on Massachusetts' door. "New York. I know you're in there, can I come in?"

"No." France opened the door and slowly slipped inside. New York was lying flat on his back on the bed, tossing a baseball up in the air and catching it. He stared France down in the corner of his eye. "Did you not hear me when I told you not to come in?"

"I heard you, but you know how us nations are. We're very persistent. And we're good in bed, but that's not relevant to this conversation." New York let out a snort, and sat up on the bed. He tossed the baseball to France, who returned it to the Red Sox shrine Massachusetts made on his dresser. "I'm sorry about what happened to you during the American Revolution."

New York shrugged with one shoulder. "You're not the one who owes me an apology. You had nothing to do with what happened to me. It's England I hate." He rolled his eyes. "Although none of you are very good at proving anything bad I say about nations wrong. Besides, you were on our side."

France leaned against the door with a light sigh. "I only wish I met you states before now. I feel like it would have been fun to know you before I became involved in this mess."

"You did." His eyes widened. New York seemed to have expected his surprise. "In 1775, you met Pennsylvania when you went to Philadelphia to tell America what he had to do to get your help separating from England. Then you met Massachusetts a little more than a year later when he went to Paris with Benjamin Franklin to propose a formal alliance. You met a few more of us down the line like New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New Jersey."

France studied the ground, trying to think. "I… can't recollect meeting any of you. All of you are so memorable now. I don't see why I would overlook you."

"Don't bother trying to remember. We had very important roles throughout the revolution, but from a nation's point of view, we were merely in the background." He crossed his arms. "Well, at least everyone else had an important role in the revolution. I was too busy trying to get off a prison ship."

"Certainly you had some important role during the revolution," France insisted. "You could have overlooked it just as I overlooked meeting any of you." New York didn't look so sure, so France tried to change the subject. "If not during the revolution, then afterwards. You're a head of the Isolationists after all. You're good at taking the initiative, especially if you can get the rest of the Stripes to agree to share how you exist."

A small smirk grew on him. "Are you kidding? No amount of convincing is required. All I have to do is tell them that I'm willing to share, and they'll be on board."

"Why's that?"

A distant look cast over his gaze. "After the we won our independence, and our forefathers created a stronger constitution, America became stronger while we grew weaker. We started to become more human. Our healing process was becoming slower, and it we were starting to lose our connection with our land…" He seemed to have snapped back to reality, and avoided eye contact with France. "We wanted to live. I was the one who suggested the solution that worked. That's all I'll share before everyone else agrees to let you in on the full story."

France placed a hand over his heart. "Mon Dieu. That sounds intense." New York nodded in response, and the room fell silent. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence, since France knew his mind was on things other than his experience throughout the revolutionary war. Although, there was still something that felt unfinished about the interrogation. As France racked his brain for what it could be, an unanswered question suddenly came to mind. "Hey, New York. Do you remember the conversation we had on our way to meet Vermont?"

"The one we had when you ripped that shard of glass out of my skin?" He asked dryly.

France let out a gentle laugh. He didn't mind New York's attitude as much now. "No, the one we had when England was getting gas." His smile faded. "You called yourself greedy. When I asked what you could gain from harming America, you said everything you ever wanted. What could that be?"

New York winced. "I was hoping you forgot that conversation." France stared at him, waiting for an answer, and he let out a sigh. "I told you that, and I warned you that the state behind this could be any one of us. There's too much to gain. The only reason we haven't before is what we have to do to obtain it. Although someone obviously decided that it's worth it."

"What do you get?" France asked barely above a whisper.

"We get freedom," he said with a hard voice. "We get to cross the borders, we get power, we get treated seriously. We get the same treatment of a nation." New York clenched his fist, and glared at the ground. "We become America. If we kill Alfred, we can take his place, and he'll take ours."

France's mouth fell open. "You mean, a state can become a nation?"

New York nodded. "And in return, America would become the state who killed him."

"But...but…" France quickly shook his head. "The gunshot Angleterre heard over the phone. America was shot, and he died."

"That's because the state behind this wants to get rid of their obstacles before becoming a nation, their obstacles being you and their followers who joined to either steal the opportunity or rat them out." New York ran a hand through his hair. "That's why when England told me a group attacked America, I knew we still had time."

"How did you learn this was possible?"

"It was an accident," he admitted. "Virginia was the one to do it. It was during the civil war. She killed him, and after he died, she shared with him. Then suddenly he's the one with the star and the stripe and she…" He bit his lip. "Virginia used to have a star and a blue eye. I met her once after she took America's position. Both of her eyes turned red. She was stronger, too. America had to do the same thing to take his country back. His eyes were blue as ever, but her one eye never changed back. It's a constant reminder of what she did." France could only continue staring at him in horror, and New York suddenly jolted. "Wait, I didn't mean to share all of that. I should have asked Virginia first." The state pushed against his forehead. "She's really going to kill me."

"Non, it's fine," France could only think to say. "Merci. You're really helping us."

New York closed his eyes. "You were never supposed to know any of this. It's too dangerous. I made this clear to every state, and then I'm the one to blurt this out to the first nation who asks."

France pierced his lips together. "I hope we can prove you wrong." New York opened his eyes, and looked at France with a doubtful frown."I really hope we do. I don't think any of us would be cruel enough to take advantage of this information, and I want to be able to prove that to you."

"Thanks, France, but I don't have that much hope." New York turned away from him. "I told you as much as I did because I want to get this state caught before they complete the steps to becoming America. After that, I'll spend the rest of my life forcing every nation we met to keep us a secret from the rest of the world."

"I can guarantee you that I won't tell a soul. That is, if by then you feel the need to keep your existence a secret." France sent him a wink, and opened the door.

New York raised an eyebrow. "You're leaving? Aren't you worried that I'll kill someone or something like that without supervision?"

France shook his head. "Not this time. You look like you gave yourself a headache. You should rest." He stepped into the hall and gently closed the door behind him. He didn't know how tense he stood until he finally had the chance to loosen his shoulders. France calmly walked away from Massachusetts' room to avoid disturbing New York, but broke into a sprint the second he reached the end of the hall.

He had to tell the other nations about Capital's goal. France thought back to his phone call with Capital. He was so confident that he could kill a nation. There are ways, long forgotten ways, but they exist. France grit his teeth, and scrambled down the stairs. New York said that they still had time, but how much time? How long would it be before America was turned into a state, and his killer took over his job at a nation? They could figure this out, France knew they could. He just didn't know if they could figure out who Capital was before he decided that he had been personifying a state for long enough.

XXX

Author's Note: Hello to all my beautiful readers! As a warning this author's note is going to be pretty long since I want to answer a few guest reviewers. However, since this chapter is already around 7,500 words, I'm not that worried about making this chapter too long. I really wanted to update this story before Christmas, but unfortunately that didn't happen. However, I'm here now! I hope everyone had a great Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa or just a nice end of the year if you don't celebrate the holidays. Also I hope everyone had a nice new year! What's your new years resolution? Mine is to learn how to cook, so fingers crossed that I won't burn my kitchen down by 2018.

And there you have it! I hope this chapter answers some of your questions. Hang in there because more will be revealed later on. This is a mystery after all, so I'm giving out small puzzle pieces. I was really excited to reach this chapter since we're just beginning interrogations. I know that I focused a lot on New York and Nevada during this chapter, but don't worry. Since there are so many characters, I'll be focusing on a few when they're relevant to the plot and then moving on to focus on others. If you're upset that a state you wanted to see wasn't focused on in this chapter I can almost guarantee you that they'll be focused on before the end of this story. I'm going to jump into answering some questions now, so if you left a guest review I hope this clears some things up!

To the guest reviewer who warned me about posting non-story chapters: I had no idea this violated this site's guidelines, and I doubt I'll do this again. I only posted an author's note because it's been so long since an update and I felt you deserved an explanation. I don't like opening updates just to see a short author's note myself. Thank you for informing me on this rule!

To the guest who asked why the states are alive: More will be explained in the future, but this question had excellent timing since I always planned on New York dropping this bomb at this point of the plot. Also you have no reason to apologize for possibly offending me. I actually live for some good constructive criticism, because it helps me make developments to improve the plotline and the characters, so thank you for your honesty! I'm sorry that you don't like your home state. Since there are fifty characters, not all of them were made to be likable, and a good number of them have yet to be fully developed due to not alignment with the plot yet. I will tell you that your state gets a spotlight in the future, and I will use this as an opportunity to develop his character beyond his introduction, and possibly fix his character design. As I am just one person in NY, and most of my research for creating these states came from the internet, I admit that there are probably several flaws in the making of these states. I thought grits were just an all-around Southern thing? Also I had to look up Pepperoni Rolls after reading your review and oh my god, how can you keep such a delicious looking snack down there?! I had no idea these things existed, but now I demand that Pepperoni Rolls be brought up to NY! Back to the topic at hand, I will definitely follow through with some of your advice, and I'm really sorry to disappoint or offend you.

To the guest who asked about the stripes: Their stripes glow as well as their stars when they are sharing. No stripe has really gained the amount of control to share with just one or the other, so the only difference between a stripe sharing and a non-stripe sharing is how much of them glows. (I am not including the black star in this answer since we haven't gotten into the details of that experiment yet). Also thank you so much for your kind words!

To the guest reviewer with the blog on tumblr: Oh my god I wanted to follow you on tumblr so badly but I didn't know if what you listed in your review was your exact URL or not. Thank you so much for your kind words and it blows my mind that you're recommending this fanfic to people!

To the guest who states who they like the idea of Capital being: I love hearing ideas about which state you think is most likely to be Capital, so thank you so much for your review!

Well... that was just as long as I expected it to be. I won't be answering reviews for a day or two since I'm going to Philadelphia tomorrow for a college tour, but please let me know what you thought of this chapter, and what you want to see in the future! Also I love to hear about your opinions on states and your suspicions. Once again if you have any constructive criticism, I am all ears. I'll be hopefully posting the next chapter soon, so I'll see you then!