Chapter 36: The United States of America

The next morning, I woke up before anyone else in the house. I carefully climbed out of bed without waking anyone—even Luciano.

"What's up, Ying?" Yang asked me, tilting his head. "Another nightmare?"

"Something like that." I sighed as I got out the necessary cooking supplies for breakfast. I tossed up a sound and smell barrier spell without even thinking about it.

"You're falling back into old habits." He observed, reaching out a ghostly hand towards the barrier.

"What did you expect, Yang? In all honesty, after seeing and reliving all these memories... We both know it's coming up." I sat at the counter, a sudden wave of exhaustion sweeping over me. I reached into my bag and pulled out a book. It was small and a dark red-brown color with Celtic knots intricately woven in the design of the cover, forming a cross. At first glance, it could be mistaken for a bible, and the natural color of the Journal hid the bloodstains well, until you looked at the pages.

I flipped through some of the entries, my mind wandering back to old memories.

"You never really left, did you?" He sat beside me, a sad look on his face.

"No. My physical self did, but... that place still haunts me. It still holds me captive. Even here, so far away from all of it..." I didn't stop the tears as they flowed. "I thought... that once we got out, everything would be fine. Everything would be okay again, and that I'd be happy. So why am I so broken, still? Why does part of me want to go back again? Why do I... miss it?" I sobbed.

"Because you spent most of your immortal life there." Yang finally answered. "You tailored yourself both physically and mentally to cope with what that place had to throw at you, and you made yourself into a specialized weapon, specifically designed to combat the dangers of that place. And now, it's over. All those things you learned, and the skills you've developed are useless, now. And you fear that all those things you spent centuries mastering will now only serve to isolate you from everyone, and make you useless once more. You fear that you have served your purpose and have nothing left." His words hit home, and I cried harder.

"But that's not true." He spoke up, louder. "You are not a broken tool or a weapon with no purpose. You are a person. And while you may be hurt, you are not someone to be left behind and forgotten. You matter. To Luciano, to Romano, to Flavio and Japan and Germany and America... To everybody. To me. You have a rare gift, Feli."

I looked up in surprise. He almost never called me by my name. "A... Gift?"

"You make friends wherever you go. You don't let anyone or anything stop you from helping those friends. You should've died in that place. You all should have. But you didn't, because your strength of will was stronger than his." He smiled as he hesitantly reached forward, wiping a tear from my cheek. "You are strong, Feliciano Vargas. And that gift may be annoying as hell, but... it even worked on me." He blushed lightly. "I care about you, fratello." He quickly spun around, and I swore I saw heat waves coming off his cheeks. "D-don't go thinking that I'm soft or anything! I mean you're still annoying, and I'm still that same asshole as before, and—"

"Yang." I stopped him, a smile on my face. "Thank you, fratellino."

"You two done bonding, yet?" Luciano leaned casually against the doorframe.

"Damnit, fuckhole! How long have you been standing there?!" Yang demanded, bristling like a pissed off cat, causing me to laugh.

"Long enough." He smirked. "You almost got out of the bedroom without waking me."

"Ah~ What was it?" I asked, drying my eyes.

"The sound of you unlocking the door." He came over.

"So you heard all that, huh?"

"Yeah." Luciano reached into his own shoulder bag and pulled out another Journal. It was exactly identical to mine, but black instead of brown. The Celtic knots had once been white, but were now a reddish-brownish-yellowish color, aged by time and blood.

"It takes one to know one." I sent him a sidelong look.

"True, but I'm not as bad off as you. I didn't spend more than twice my lifespan in that fucked up hellhole."

"Both of you are bringing down the mood! Now shouldn't we get cooking or something before the others wake up?" Yang suddenly spoke up, and Luciano and I shared a look.

"You're right, Yang. Luci? Care to help with the prep?" I knew full well he couldn't cook anything with heat, unless we wanted to blow something up. It was quite a gift, really. If he made anything other than pasta or cookies that involved heat, with the exception of frozen food in the microwave, he'd blow it up. Every Vargas knew to keep him away from the stove.

"Or it becomes an unidentifiable moving grayish black blob... like England's cooking but liquefied." Yang shuddered. I was wise enough not to repeat it aloud. Luciano was rather sensitive about his lack of cooking skills.

By the time everyone had woken up and moseyed on downstairs, breakfast was ready and the table had been set. Everyone was grateful for the food, and dishes had already been taken care of.

Now we stood by the door once more, and let the next memory begin.

It started with flashes and images. Alfred and Kiku making up, Kiku's sight slowly but surely returning. At first he'd needed glasses, but eventually his sight fixed itself well enough.

We started moving closer to modern-day, until we hit the early 2000's. The scene finally slowed, showing Alfred holding Feli back after a meeting.

"Dude, I need... a favor." He looked really nervous.

"O...kay?" Feli raised an eyebrow. "What kind of favor?"

"You have to keep it a secret, please!" Alfred glanced around to make sure there was nobody else around. "I don't know what else to do! Mattie's busy with his own, and Diego... er, Mexico, that is, is off with his own boss. My boss needs me to come in for a week, and I haven't had time to make arrangements! I know most of 'em can take care of themselves, but I still want a nation around in case something happens..."

"Please, calm down, America! I don't understand." Feli looked as confused as the nations around me. America had this look of resignation and determination on his face, and Canada stepped closer to his twin.

"Just come with me. I'll show you." Alfred finally sighed. The scene blurred until the two drove up to a mansion atop a hill in the middle of a large plot of forest. It was beautiful, and the place was lively. Rose bushes and other visually pleasing flora grew around the house, and there were kids playing everywhere.

"An orphanage?" England guessed. I held back a chuckle as America bristled.

As the two walked up the steps, Alfred grinned. "You'd better not have broken anything!"

"DAD!" A couple of the nearby kids ran at Al, tackling him with hugs.

"D-d-dad?!" England spluttered and gawked, as did France and several other nations. America sighed and nodded, though he couldn't keep the smirk from sneaking onto his face. Seeing England look around in a mixture of shock and disbelief was rather amusing.

"Feli, meet my family." Alfred grinned. "This one here's Utah." He patted the head of a brown haired, brown-eyed boy who looked like the kind of kid to follow the rules. He was dressed nicely in what appeared to be his Sunday best. "And this is Nevada." He ruffled the hair of the other boy who had dark brown hair with a red streak, green eyes, and a bad-boy vibe. He was dressed in a hoodie and ripped jeans, a stark contrast to his brother. They both looked to be around fifteen.

"Dad!" Nevada complained.

"Your states... are personified?" England's jaw dropped.

"Yup. All fifty of them. And Puerto Rico. So I've got 51 kids." America smirked, enjoying the look of shock and bewilderment on his father figure's face. "And you said I was irresponsible." He stuck out his tongue.

"So you want me to babysit?" Feli asked.

"Yeah. Some of them can be handfuls. The Dakota twins, in particular. They're pranksters and inventors." Alfred rubbed the back of his head.

"Sounds like an old friend of mine." Feli muttered, thinking of Leonardo.

"They're twelve, by the way. Nearly thirteen. The only states who're over the age of 20 are the Original Thirteen." Al explained as he led Feli into the house.

"Don't worry, Italy." Nevada smirked. "If all else fails, I've got my gun."

"Which you will not be using in the house. Right?" Alfred shot his son a glare, and the boy gulped.

"O-of course not!"

"Mmmhmm." Utah shot his brother a look that plainly said he didn't believe him. "Oh, by the way, Dad. Can I go on another Mission?" The boy asked eagerly.

"But you just got back!" Alfred complained.

"Yeah, but Ukraine was so cold! Please? I want to see where they'll send me this time!" Utah bounced eagerly.

"Fine. But! You've gotta ace all your finals, or you're raising the money yourself." Alfred warned, but the boy was too excited to care.

"C'mon, Vads!" He grabbed his brother's arm as he dashed off.

"Mission?" Hungary asked, curious.

"Utah is Mormon. Every few years, he likes to go off on a Mission to another country to spread the word of God." America explained. "He's tried converting Nevada, but the kid's practically an Atheist." He chuckled. "I blame Las Vegas for his criminal record."

"Criminal record?!" China cried.

"Wasn't his fault. It was all self-defense. When a kid tried to stab him on the bus to school, he used some self-defense techniques to disarm the guy, but the knife ended up in the other kid's leg by mistake. Both kids got charges, though Vad's was dropped." America paused for a moment. "Though I wasn't happy about the stolen car, or him driving around underage and shooting up all the road signs. He was grounded for a month and I sent him back to high school a year early for that one."

"You send your kids to school as punishment?" Japan raised an eyebrow. "Something must be terribly wrong with the American schooling system if it's comparable to jail..." He muttered softly under his breath.

Oh, Japan. You don't know the half of it.

"What, like you'd know?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

Actually, Yang. I would. I went to high school in America once as an exchange student for shits and giggles. I swapped with Al... Let's just say that both our systems need work.

"Sort of. Everybody goes to school every few years." America explained. "After graduation, they're given anywhere from three to five years of no school, unless they chose to go to Uni. So with Nevada, he'd only graduated that previous year, and to celebrate, he went on a joyride."

"I'm surprised that he didn't get a felony for that. Isn't that what it is for auto theft in your country?" France asked.

"Well, he would have if the car had belonged to someone else. It was my car he'd stolen. So no trouble with the law, aside from the road signs, but I was able to pay the fine. I made him get a job to pay me back, though, just to make the lesson stick."

"Huh. Perhaps you do have parenting skills." England admitted.

"Daddy!" A young blonde of sixteen ran up to her father, hugging him. She had sun kissed skin, tanned from long days on the beach, and long blonde hair with bright blue eyes. She wore designer clothing, and high heels, and had tasteful makeup on.

America sent a glare at a couple nations who stared. "Remember. That's my daughter." He warned.

"Cali, hey!" Al grinned. "This is California, she's quite spirited, and more than a little dramatic."

"We blame Hollywood for that one." Another girl came around the corner, bleached blonde hair with blue eyes like her father. She wore designer clothing, too, and was just as beautiful as her sister. "Florida; good to meet you. I'm this ditz' sister." She playfully stuck out her tongue at California.

"Lori!" Cali crossed her arms and pouted.

"Cali!" The other girl mocked back.

"Now, now, girls. No fighting." Alfred stepped in sternly.

"Yes dad." The two spoke in synch.

"You've gotta watch these two, they'll fight like cats." Alfred chuckled. "Especially if you bring up oranges or beaches. They're so competitive."

"And dad!" California complained. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Cali!"

"Sorry, honey." Alfred chuckled as he gently kissed her forehead.

"It's either California or Katie." She continued.

"Yeah, yeah, you've told us a million times, Cali." Florida smirked.

"You looking to start something, Miss Dollar Tree makeup?"

"What did you just call me, you dollar menu bitch?!"

"You heard me. Or maybe you're getting too old! My, my, is that a grey hair?! I'm sorry, grandma, would you like me to find you the nearest hearing aid center?" Katie spat back.

"You fucking whore!" Florida lunged, and Alfred was quick to stop them both.

"GIRLS!" He shouted, making the two freeze. He looked mad, and the two gulped. "Hand me your phones." He held out his hand, and the two reluctantly handed him their cell phones. "That was uncalled for." He crossed his arms. "I thought you'd at least behave yourselves in front of a guest. Rooms, now. You're each going to write me a ten-page essay, twelve point font, single-spaced on the positive aspects of each other's state. Maybe that will help you tolerate one another a little more. You've got a week. If I find the essay acceptable, then you'll get your phones back."

"Holy shit, remind me not to piss you off." Spain chuckled nervously. The two girls trudged up the stairs, shooting one another subtle glares, but they wisely remained silent.

"Sorry about that." Alfred turned back to Feli. "Those two... they really can't stop competing with one another. I've been trying to get them to cool it for years, now. Essays seem to work the best. Last time, I had them write up ways to help the other's economy or environmental situation. It worked for about a month before they started fighting again." He sighed before he casually ducked under a rogue firecracker, catching it in his hand and crushing it in his grip.

"Missouri! What have I told you about firecrackers in the house?!" Alfred whipped around and started lecturing the sixteen year old with the ferocity of an angered father.

The sandy-haired boy grinned. "Sorry, Pa! I'll do 'em outside next time!" He planted a kiss on his dad's cheek. "Gotta go! There's a game tonight, and I can't miss the tailgate party!" He grinned.

"Remember to take one of your siblings with you." Al warned.

"I know, I know!" He rolled his eyes before dashing off in shorts and a jacket.

"See why they need supervision? I'm scared that if I leave them all alone for a week without warning, that I won't have a house when I get back!" Alfred laughed.

"I can tell. Can I call in my brother for some backup?" Feli asked.

"Yeah, sure! But nobody else, okay?" Al grew serious as they stepped into Alfred's office.

"So, what's up? You called me here for more than just a babysitting gig, I know that much." Feli said as he closed the door to Alfred's office behind him.

"My states... they may be personifications, but they're mortal, Feli. They age slower, and I don't think they can die from old age, but they can die from injuries just like a human can. They get sick, too, sometimes. They handle it better, but still... I'm terrified that if the other nations knew, that something might happen to them." He looked down, and all the worry made Alfred look centuries older. "I called you here partially because I trust you... You're different. Most people wouldn't be able to keep a friendship through two wars like that, but you did. Most people wouldn't care about their former enemies, but you do. I don't know what it is about you, but... I trust you."

The two were silent for a moment. "Grazie. I'm not sure why, but I'm grateful and honored that you trust me with your family like this."

"Just make sure I've got a boisterous household of 51 to come home to in two weeks, yeah?" Alfred laughed. "Any questions, though?"

"Are they affected like a nation? By their people, I mean?" Feli asked after a moment.

"Yeah. That's why I got so mad over Pearl Harbor." Alfred admitted, and Japan paled.

"Oh... I never—"

"It's fine, now, Japan." America smiled. "She's forgiven you. No permanent damage was done. And I've forgiven you."

"I... I still..." Japan felt guilt well up inside him. He'd attacked a child.

"Japan. You're my friend, yeah? We play video games together all the time, and we go to anime conventions and cosplay and stuff! No hard feelings, kay?" He grinned, and Japan sighed.

"All right. If you're sure."

"If you really feel that bad about it, and you want to make it up to her..." America smirked. "I know she loves anime."

"Really?!" Japan perked up. "Then I apologize in advance, America-san, but I'm going to spoil your kids."

"Go for it!" America laughed. "Just keep it age-appropriate, okay? Double check with me before you give them stuff."

"Of course."

As soon as the two exited the office, a small girl of around nine rushed into Alfred's arms. She had platinum blonde hair and purple eyes, and she reminded the nations a lot of a softer-featured Belarus. "Папа!" She smiled, hugging him around the neck.

"Ah! My little Ангел!" Alfred grinned, slipping into Russian, making Russia blink. "This is Alaska."

"She looks just like a mini-Russia!" Feli blinked. "Only cuter~!"

"Well, she was one of his charges initially, but I don't think he knew about her."

Russia stared. That was his daughter, and he'd never even known that she existed. He'd left her all alone in the cold for so long... it's no wonder she chose America, with his warm weather. He wondered if America would let him meet her.

"So you and Russia...?" Feli sent Alfred a smirk and waggled his eyebrows as Alfred set the girl on the ground and told her to go and play.

"No." Alfred laughed. "No, none of my states were like that. I found them. Like how nations find other nations. The only thing that differed was that all of them, with the exceptions of the Original 13 colonies, were infants when I found them. So unlike most nations, who are found as toddlers or children, I had to raise 38 kids from diapers!"

"From diapers?!" China shuddered. He'd had a hard enough time raising the family he'd found from children, let alone infancy!

England was also equally horrified. No wonder the bloke drank so much coffee! His respect for his former colony increased.

"I've only raised one or two humans from diapers. I couldn't imagine a personification!" Feli shuddered. "Years of diaper changes and baby formula. You have my respect." Not to mention the 'why' phase.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy. Not by a long shot. Can't count the number of times I had to go without just so they could eat. And don't get me started on the Civil War." Alfred shuddered. "I'm just relieved that nobody died."

"So does Canada know?" Feli changed topics as the two walked.

"Of course! His provinces are personified just like my states." Al smirked. "He's my go-to to watch 'em most of the time. They listen to him almost as well as they listen to me, though Diego just eggs them on, I think." He chuckled. "Hey, Alex!" Alfred waved over another kid, who walked with leg braces and crutches. He looked to be around twenty or twenty one.

"Yo. What's up, dad?" He walked over, catching sight of Feli. "Oh, so you're Italy. Nice to meet you. The name's Alexander, or Alex for short. I'm New York." He grinned. He had blond hair just like his dad, and sky-blue eyes. He was almost a carbon copy of his father, though his hair was messier, and his eyebrows were a little thicker, showing Arthur's influence. He caught Feli glancing at the braces. "Towers." He explained, and Feli flushed with embarrassment at having been caught.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I survived." He smirked. "So what did you need?" He turned his attention back to Alfred.

"I need you to let the other 13 know. My boss has called me in for a week, maybe two. Italy and his bro are gonna help you look guys after everyone, okay? If you need anything, you know who to call."

"Really? Maybe I'll get to try some of your famous pasta, then." He smirked, looking at Feliciano.

"Absolutely~!" Feli grinned.

"Why couldn't you just have Alex look after them?" Japan asked.

"Well, normally it's a job for at least 3 of the Colonies." America explained. "But the only ones home at the time were New York and Delaware. The 13 are all over the age of eighteen, so they've gone off to live on their own. They usually crash here at home, though." He smiled. "Nobody else could come home on such short notice, as most of them either had jobs or college, which is why I needed Italy to come give them a hand."

"That makes sense." Canada agreed. "I wasn't able to get there for about six days or so, due to matters with my own boss."

"Yeah, and we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to make sure nobody died!" Romano huffed. "Puerto Rico was cute, though." He flushed a bit as he muttered the last bit.

"Only because you're great with babies~!" I whispered back.

"Shut up! It's not like I'm soft or anything!" He protested.

"Sure, sure. But you have a talent for making kids behave."

"I have a talent for making babies happy. They're simple. Food, diaper change, entertainment, sleep. If it isn't one of those four things, they're sick. Kids, on the other hand, need so much more! You're the one who's good with children, I'm good with babies."

There were a few flashes of random chaos and Feli and Lovi trying to reign it all in as best they could. America laughed, watching them learn how to handle his family, especially when the Dakota Twins, who were about 12 or 13, decided to start pulling all kinds of pranks; one of which involved extremely fine glitter.

"My word, they're so out of control!" England stared at the chaos around him. "Is... is that a glitter cannon?!" He gawked.

"I knew they'd built one." America's eyes narrowed. "I'll have a talk with the Dakota Twins later about that. They know glitter is against the house rules. I'll be finding specks of it for decades!" America groaned. "As far as the craziness goes, though, there's nothing to worry about. Normally, they're a lot calmer." America reassured, but Canada, Romano and I all set him a flat look. "They're testing Feli and Lovi, here. They pull together when it counts, but whenever I have someone new watching them, they pull out every trick in the book to get a good feel for what they can and can't get away with."

"Yeah, and they learned real quick not to mess with me." Canada smirked.

At one point, Feli and Lovi had to call in Matthew due to some rather violent fistfights that had broken out over some sports-related argument.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot to warn you about that. They're pretty competitive when it comes to their teams." America winced.

"Gee, ya don't say." Romano deadpanned.

"Don't worry, Al." Canada reassured. "I handled it."

And sure enough, the next scene showed a rather annoyed Matthew storming into the house, yelling as loudly as his brother for everyone to 'shut the fuck up' and 'sit the hell down'. The entire house was quiet after that until his anger finally melted away, but the image of the Canadian nation so pissed off would haunt the watching nations for a while.

There were other flashes, including everybody seated around the dinner tables. It looked like a small cafeteria.

"That's Puerto Rico." America pointed towards a small two-year old that another state was helping into his high chair. "And that's Hawaii." He gestured towards a small girl of around eight or nine. "Though, don't call her little. Her memories may not have returned, yet, but she still gets offended." America chuckled.

"Memories?" Prussia tilted his head.

"Yeah. Hawaii was her own nation before she became a state. Upon becoming a state, she de-aged to an infant, and all her memories were suppressed. They'll return as she ages. Several others have had this happen, too. Scared the shit outta me the first time, though! Man! Lemme tell ya! I had no clue what was going on!" He laughed.

"That's... not normal." China blinked.

"Is personified anything normal?" Romano countered.

"Over there's the troublemaking Dakota Twins." America pointed out a pair of identical twin boys with dark hair and blue eyes that sparkled with mischief. "That's North Dakota, on the left, and that's South Dakota, on the right."

"How can you tell the difference? They look the same to me." Hungary asked.

"When you raise twins, you get to be able to tell them apart." Surprisingly, it was Prussia who spoke up.

"How did you... oh, right." Austria started to speak before he caught sight of Germany.

"Well North Dakota's got a few more freckles than his brother, you see. Plus South Dakota's taller by a good quarter inch. They try to pull one over on me all the time, and those Weasley Twins from the Harry Potter books only encouraged them more." He shot a glare towards England. "Thanks a lot."

"That's not my fault!"

"Uh, huh." America didn't seem convinced. "I wasn't planning on showing my family to anyone, but these kids are my life. They're so very important to me." He smiled softly before turning to glare death at each and every nation—aside from myself, fratello, and Canada. "If anyone hurts them or harms them in any way. I will retaliate. And if you do so outside of war time..." His eyes turned cold, making the others shiver. "I will hunt down whoever's responsible and remind them why I'm a Superpower."

There was an awkward silence before America plastered a friendly grin on his face, and all anger vanished. "But I don't think any of you are stupid enough to try anything, right? So let's not worry about that!" He laughed, and a few nations exchanged wary looks.

The scene finally faded out as Alfred returned home, greeted by a cacophony of welcoming arms and a warm, happy home.

A/N: As promised, here's today's chapter! ^^ Now, as you may have noticed, my chapters are starting to get longer. If this ends up staying this way, updates will come slower. I may be able to occasionally push 10,000 words in one day, but to do that, I spend about 8 or more hours sitting in a café writing. (And those wooden chairs are hard! XD)

Don't get me wrong, I love to write, but please understand that longer chapters mean slower updates. I can't always sit for 8 hours straight, and I won't always have the motivation to write 10,000 words in a day. So please be patient. ^^

The next chapter, The Rumors, has already been finished, so expect that update tomorrow. ^^ (again, I love to spoil you guys~!) I know it's Finals week/Exam week for a lot of you, so this is dedicated to all of you guys who are going through that. Good luck~! My thoughts are with you. And don't cheat. The excuse of 'Prussia told me I could.' Doesn't work... trust me. XD

On a different note, when doing research for HetaOni, I was looking up Ao Oni (the game it's based off of). Did you know that there's a live-action horror movie for Ao Oni? Or a comedy (and shittily animated) anime? I haven't seen either, but I found this information really cool. ^_^

Last chapter I mentioned that I'd love to see some fanart of my fics, and quite a few of you were interested~! I'm so happy!! ^^ I can't draw very well, so seeing my stories come to life in the form of a drawing really makes me feel... Happy is too plain... On cloud nine? Umm... joyous? It makes my day, and can actually make me fangirl squeal in public. XD

We finally meet the States. ^^ You may have noticed that the most screen time went to Utah, Nevada, and California. That's because these are states that I've lived in, so I feel I can represent them a little more accurately than, say, Missouri or Delaware. As I travel around later in life, I'll see if I can come back and add some more detail, but I don't want to misrepresent anybody. ^^

Words: 4,335/4,573

Pages: 9

Posted: 01/23/2019

Edited: 03/11/2019

A/N 2: I've had some people express concerns of their home state appearing. Rest assured, I don't plan on really representing any state that I haven't spent any real length of time in, or at least visited. This is why California, Nevada, and Utah have been the most prominent, as I've lived in those three states, and my godsiblings live in Florida, so I've put her in as well.

I've had a few people chew me out for Hawaii being a child. I am well aware that Hawaii was her own nation before becoming one of Al's kids. But, much like the Italy Twins upon connecting to their nation, many states that were territories (Alaska) or countries (Hawaii) of their own beforehand, were de-aged upon becoming states. Most had their memories repressed, and Alfred's been doing his best to give them a carefree and happy childhood so they've something positive to look back on when their memories return as they age (and not necessarily physically, either).

The States will likely not show up again in any real detail in this fic. So please don't worry.

Fun fact: I nearly called this chapter, "The Chaotic States of America". That may have fit better, now that I'm thinking about it. Oh well.

The incredible art for this chapter was created by Nesha. You are AMAZING!!! Keep up the Awesomeness.