(Joan's POV)

Early the next morning, Joan slowly blinked open her eyes to the first rays of dawn shining through the window. As sensation gradually returned to her heavy, half-asleep body, Joan became slowly aware that there was a pair of arms hugging her from behind, around the waist. Her mouth curled into a smile. Good. That means that I didn't sleepwalk last night. Closing her eyes, she wriggled around and leaned forward to give her husband a peck on the forehead. Francis mumbled something indecipherable in his sleep and his arms tightened around her. Smiling again, she slowly opened her eyes to look at Francis' sleeping face.

It wasn't Francis.

France's blue eyes were tightly shut, and his chest rose and fell gently as he breathed, still deeply asleep. Joan stared at him. Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap. (A/N Ohonhonhonhon~)

Quick as a thought, Joan grasped the mattress cover and pushed up on it, making herself slide down and out of France's grasp. Once freed, she paused for a moment, listening. France grumbled something, his leg twitched, and he rolled over, settling down. Within a matter of moments, he was sound asleep again. Joan breathed a sigh of relief and started to pick her way out from under the heavy, stifling covers, trying to spread her weight out whenever she could so that France wouldn't feel the mattress bending under her weight. Within only a few moments, Joan's bare feet hit the hard floor and she practically sprinted out of the room. She flew down the hall, slid down a banister, skidded around a corner, and burst into her room as quietly as possible (if one can burst into a room quietly). She arrived just in time to see Francis blink open his eyes. Quick as a flash, hoping that Francis hadn't seen or heard her, Joan spun around, ran out of the room, down a different hall, through the kitchen where she grabbed some tea that China had already made and was about to drink, and out the back door, ignoring China's cry of "Hey, aru! That's my chai tea!"

Sorry, China, Joan thought as she plunked herself down on the grass. Taking deep, quick breaths, Joan allowed herself to relax slightly for the first time that day. Why does France have so many goddamned halls!? She thought to herself as she took a sip of tea. And why, god, WHY am I a sleepwalker? Joan groaned in despair. Even if France didn't remember her late-night jaunt in his bed, Francis almost certainly saw her burst into the room, then spin out again with a guilty expression on her face.

God, why me!? Joan dropped her head into her arms.

"Hey. Are you alright?" She heard an accented voice say behind her. When she didn't look up, the person walked over and sat down beside her. Joan glanced up, only to have her eyes widen in surprise when she saw Prussia sitting beside her. He glanced her way.

"Why are you sad? Zhat's unawesome!" He protested, and Joan could feel a small smile picking at the corners of her mouth. She sighed.

"I'm not sad, I'm just… Confused…"

Prussia nodded knowingly, his maroon eyes glinting. "Confused about France unt Saint-Germain?"

Joan looked up in surprise. "You could tell?"

Prussia snorted. "Of course! Anyone as awesome unt all-knowing as me could tell zhat you vere having problems vith your love life!"

Joan blushed. "It's not my love life! I'm married, and I hadn't seen France in over five centuries when I met him again! I know that I love Francis, it's just that…"

"You do not know whether you rove him more than France." A quiet voice said behind her, and then Japan walked into her field of view and knelt down.

"It's-a okay! That's a hard-a thing to decide!" Italy sang, skipping in front of her.

Joan stared at all of them. "Don't you ever sleep?"

"Nope! Unless we're turned human, then we have-a to sleep!"

"You can be turned human!?"

"Yes." Germany replied from behind her. "It happened, just vonce, in a mansion-"

"Prease, don't remind me about the mansion." Japan interrupted with a shudder. Joan had to bite her tongue to restrain her flow of questions.

"Minha amiga, you will know who you love the most!" Portugal said, walking around and laying a hand on Joan's shoulder. "You have to be brutally honest with yourself, which can be hard, but your heart will know the answer. I was confused for centuries between Austria and China before I was able to choose." She said, speaking lightly and cheerfully.

"Don't worry about it, eh." Canada said, kneeling down on her left side. His dark blue eyes glowed warmly. "Take your time. Things like this… You can't decide them in a matter of moments. It's okay to wait, eh!"

"Who are you?" Kumajiro said, his little polar bear face peering up at her curiously. Joan simply smiled in reply.

Joan looked up around the little group of Nations, all who were offering her their support and trust. I was unsure before, but… These ancient, powerful Nations are just as dear to me as the rest of the immortals

She smiled up at her group of friends. "Thank you. I will have to decide, but… I don't think that now is the best time. Maybe when we've defeated Tartarus… But, in the meanwhile, let's go and wake up those sleepyheads in the worst way possible!"

Prussia grinned evilly. "I know just zhe trick."

Twenty minutes later, Joan and Italy were standing in front of America and England's room. For the last while, they had been sneaking around, hiding hamburgers under the pillows of every single bed. They had also stationed a fan in each room and set it on high, letting it blow the smell of the burgers out of the rooms until it filled the entire house. (A/N I think you get the idea…) They had also based Nations outside of each door, armed with fire extinguishers ready to spray. Within the next minute, they would open America's door and let all hell break loose. Yes, it's immature, Joan thought, but it's also probably going to be the most fun that I've had in years.

"Go! Go!" Joan whispered to Italy, who grinned and crept off to Telemann and Machiavelli's room. Joan, stifling her giggles, set up a camera facing into America and England's room, gently pulled open the door, and snuck off to Francis' room.

Within moments, a shout of 'HAMBURGERS!' shook the house and America scrambled out of the room, followed by a trail of curses that made Joan want to scrub her ears. Down the hall, Joan could see America pause, turn, then set off at a sprint directly into Marethyu and Sophie's room. Joan winced. "Good luck, Japan…" She murmured. A moment later, America burst out of the bedroom with his prizes, stuffed them into his mouth, and ran away again. Marethyu and Sophie, looking equally confused and annoyed, had barely exited to room when Japan nailed them with a blast from his extinguisher, then sprinted away to Scotland and Scathach's room. Joan giggled at their stunned, foamy, gasping faces, and quickly slipped around the corner so that they wouldn't see her. In the meanwhile, America, having rudely awakened Tsagaglalal, barreled straight to Francis' room. Joan had barely enough time to jump out of the way. A moment later, America exited again, ignoring her, and ran to Scotland and Scathach. Francis trailed after him, and the moment that he stepped out of the room, Joan liberally doused him with her fire extinguisher.

Francis paused, stumbled, and wiped the foam out of his eyes. "Joan? What are you-"

Joan interrupted him. "You were taking too long to get up, so we decided to take matters into our own hands!" She replied, grinning cheekily. Francis frowned, then shook his head in awe. "I've known you for so long, but I still know you so little…" Joan grinned again, then headed away to Antarctica and Norway's room.

Within ten minutes, everyone except for the pranksters was thoroughly awake, thoroughly covered in foam, and thoroughly annoyed. Joan and the rest of the countries that had helped her were hiding up on the roof and laughing together when everyone else was searching for them through the house, in equal parts cajoling, pleading, and cussing.

"You should-a have seen Machiavelli's face!" Italy giggled. "He was-a looking all angry, and it was scary! But then-a he just started to smile and laugh, and-a he wasn't scary any more!"

Joan laughed. "Really? You should have seen Antarctica and Norway!~ They were the last ones that America got to… It was hilarious! America leaped up on the bed, practically punched Norway out of the way, and got the burger, but when he tried to get at Antarctica's, she froze his legs solid for a moment and he just kinda collapsed on top of her… Her face afterwards! She was blushing so hard; Romano would have been impressed…"

Germany didn't smile, exactly, but his face looked a little less stern. "I believe that Antarctica may like America."

Japan nodded. "I berieve that as werr."

Canada laughed nervously. "That might get to be a little uncomfortable…"

"There you are, you *this section has been removed as it has been deemed too inappropriate by the author*!" Romano shouted. Italy leaned precariously over the side. "There-a you are, fratello!"

"You'd-a better get down-a here! Everyone's fucking majorly pissed at you, Veneziano! And there's this weird glowy bitch here, says she wants to see us!"

Joan paled. "We'd better come down." She said, speaking quickly and quietly. "Amaterasu's here."

The Nations and Joan quickly assembled themselves on the front lawn. The foamed Nations had mostly managed to clean themselves off, but there were clumps in Antarctica's hair and stains in all of their clothes. Joan grimaced and shot Antarctica an apologetic look. Antarctica hesitated for a moment, then smiled and nodded. She understood. Joan breathed out a sigh of relief, then walked over to join the immortals, avoiding everybody's eyes. She looked down at her feet for a moment, embarrassed, then raised her gaze and stared at Amaterasu, who had just joined them on the lawn.

She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful creature that Joan had ever seen.

Amaterasu was tall, almost eight feet, and inhumanly slender with vivid amber eyes, long, night-black hair, and high, striking cheekbones. A river of glowing marks ran across her skin, starting at her left hand, curling around her arm, disappearing into her white dress, them reappearing around her collarbones, where the marks twisted around her neck before climbing onto her face. Each mark looked like a different Japanese symbol, and all of them shone like fire. When she saw Japan, Amaterasu bowed slightly. "Nihon. I have not seen you in many years. It is a pleasure to see your face again." She said warmly. Japan bowed back. "Konnichiwa. The pleasure is mine, Sun Goddess."

Amaterasu turned to the rest of the Nations. "And you must be the other nations that Japan has spoken about. May I know your names?"

England stepped forward. "Greetings. My name is England."

"An' I'm Scotland, lassie."

"Antarctica, and this is Portugal."

"China, aru!"

"I am Prussia zhe Awesome!"

"Ohonhonhon~ My name is France, but you can call me anything you like." France said, a mischevious grin on his face. Joan elbowed him.

"Hallo. I am Norway."

"Romania. At your service, my good lady."

"I'm-a Italia Veneziano, and this-a is Italia Romano!"

"Guten tag. I am Germany."

"Hey, dudette! I'm America the Hero!"

"I-I'm Canada, eh…"

Amaterasu paused. "A pleasure to meet you all. Now, Tsagaglalal the Watcher contacted me and informed me that Tartarus is planning to return to this Shadowrealm, to awaken Gaia. Is this correct?"

They all nodded, and Amaterasu clapped her hands together. "Then, you are right! I have looked at you, and you all have good souls. You are the hope for this world. Therefore, I will now begin the Awakening process, so that you may access the full range of your powers. How many must have your powers accessed?"

England stepped forward, the unofficial spokesperson for the Nations on magical matters. "All of us except for Antarctica, Portugal, Norway, Romania, and I."

Amaterasu nodded. "Very well. Although… I have never seen a Nation's aura before. Could you show me, please?"

England nodded, and a moment later, his black aura rising from his skin. Amaterasu stared.

"Fascinating. You are perhaps the only living being on this world with a black aura. What are the gold and silver lights, may I ask?"

England shrugged. "I have no idea. I have searched for an answer for most of my life, but I have never been able to find one. Not even a theory."

Amaterasu watched the aura for a moment longer, then turned to face the Nations. England's aura faded away behind her.

"Very well. Which one of you is the oldest?"

China stepped forward. "I am, aru."

Amaterasu closed her eyes. "Very well. China, what is your mother's name, your father's name, and your age?"

China blinked. "I never had a mother or father, and as for my age… 4024 years, I believe."

Amaterasu threw her head back. "China, son of none, you have lived 4024 years on this world. Your kind has long forgotten the abilities and powers that they once had, but on this day, they will be Awakened, and you will begin to truly live for the first time…."

(A/N I know that the words for the Awakening aren't the same, but I'm too lazy to check them…)

*Time skip brought to you by Amaterasu*

Nearly an hour later, the countries were all lying, passed out, on the ground. Amaterasu and the immortals watched them as they slept, weariness etched into the Elder's face. "It is done. The saviours have been Awakened. All that is left to see is whether their minds will be able to withstand the weight of their new burden."

"They will." Joan replied with conviction. "I don't know how, but they will."

Amaterasu clasped her hands together. "I believe you are correct. I have never seen auras like these… They are equally strong, if not stronger, than Gold and Silver auras. They are the only immortals that I know that have the life force and strength of an entire landmass to draw upon."

Joan nodded. "I agree. It's strange."

Amaterasu glanced down her way, just once, then turned to the rest of the immortals. "All of you, I must leave now. My power is weakened, and I must give it time to recover. Before I part, there is one thing that I must say." She paused, bowing her head, then raised it and began to speak again. "These Nations are the only hope for your world. I have looked into their spirits, and they have suffered many hardships before they came here. They have all caused, and ended wars, and all of them have died at least once before."

She walked around the Nations slowly. "Italy Veneziano. He is perhaps the bravest of them all, with a quiet determination and loyalty to his friends. He would, and has, gone through Hell many times over to make sure that they are all alive."

She walked on. "Germany. Although he is stern and can be harsh, in his soul he is supremely dedicated and will put anyone's life ahead of his own."

"Prussia. He has walked a hard path alone, with few rewards. And yet, despite of this, he still has the same character that he had a thousand years ago."

"Japan. Quiet, polite, courageous. If he is your friend, he will fight with and for you until he dies."

Amaterasu lingered at Japan for a moment longer, then turned away.

"Italy Romano. Bad-tempered, foul-mouthed, and rude, but all he wants is acceptance and affection."

"America. A true hero, he has saved many lives and will save many more. He is cheerful and warm-hearted, and putting him down only makes him brighter. Keep this in mind, England." She glanced up at the blonde Nation and he blushed.

"France. Although he is promiscuous and flirtatious, he is also like an older brother to so many of these countries. He is warm when they are cold, takes the hit when they are angry, and laughs when they cry, and it has made him a better person."

"China. He has lived so long, watched his empire fall to shambles, and felt himself weaken with every passing decade. However, he has never become bitter or cynical. All that he wishes is that he goes back to his former life, four thousand years ago.

"Scotland. Always fighting for his independence, always fighting his brothers, always fighting for his people. And yet, he is warm-hearted and loyal to England, Ireland, and Wales. If you wish to love him, he is a good choice, Scathach."

Scathach reddened and turned away, but not before Joan could see a smile on her face.

"And Canada. Sweet, lovable, quiet, gentle, and friendly Canada. And yet, people never recognize these qualities in him or always mistake him for others. He has never hated anyone for that, never harboured any resentment. And that gives him an inner strength that nearly none of the other Nations have."

Amaterasu turned away from the sleeping Nations and back to the remaining Immortals. "I have looked into their souls and seen this, and much more. If you have chosen these to be your saviours, you have made an excellent decision. Farewell."

She bowed her head and her tattoos flared to an almost unbearable brightness. Joan looked away, squinting, and when she looked back, the Sun Goddess was gone.

Billy was the first to break the resounding silence. "Well… That was strange."

Yay! Chapter 10 already!

Sorry for the mushy character stuff, if you didn't like it. I just finished playing HetaOni for the first time, and it inspired me to write all that.

Italy Veneziano, you are my hero.

And tomorrow, the boring training and less boring other stuff begins! Yay!

Also, I would really like to thank PaintingMornings for all of her reviews. (One on each chapter!) Your feedback and praise really made me happy. ^^ So, thank you.

Wuvs!~