"A baby?" England sputtered. "A baby?" He looked down at the infant wiggling in the vines and then back up at Russia. "She gets a dagger in the heart and turns into a baby? Did China's spell go awry again?"

"I do not know." Russia held out a finger to the infant, who grabbed it and began to gum it, calming down.

"I don't understand," England muttered, sitting down and rubbing his fingers through his gray-streaked hair. "China willingly sacrificed himself. Was it because he didn't die? But he can't just die, he's a nation. Is it because he's a nation?"

"Up we go." Russia picked up the baby Earth, cradling her in his arms. She waved her little green arms at him, grabbing at his wrinkled and stained collar. Sunlight dappled her face. "She is a much nicer baby than she was an old woman."

"She never was an old woman. That was just a costume for her." England knocked the heel of his hand against his head. "What am I not thinking of? What am I missing? Why is she still personifying? Should she not be merely an idea?"

The sunlight in the clearing grew brighter. Russia looked up at the sky, shading his eyes. "Odd."

There was a flash of blinding light. Everything in the clearing glowed white for a moment before settling back into normal colors. A being floated over the pile of vines, a translucent creature colored a faded orange. It was built like someone who had never seen a human before, but had heard a description and tried to recreate that description out of light. There was flowing hair, but it flowed upward, like flames. It had eyes, but they burned bright blue. It appeared as neither male nor female. Russia and England gaped at the form, Russia instinctively holding the infant closer to his chest.

"Oh, I am so sorry," the form said, with a voice like cracking embers. "I did not expect anyone to be here. I hope I didn't startle you."

"Star -STARTLE us?" England squeaked. "But who the hell are you?!"

"You seem upset," the form said anxiously. "I do so hate making people upset."

"Do not be concerned for him," Russia said, jerking a head toward England. "He has had a long day."

"'A long day.' Oh, I like that expression. 'A long day.' Oh!" The form flew up to Russia and hovered next to him, looking down at the baby. "Oh, is that Earth? Ah, little girl, I did warn you." It tsked and held out its arms. "May I?"

"Forgive me, but I do not give babies to just any unknown ghost-like entities that float around asking for babies," Russia said cheerfully.

"Oh! How rude of me. Was that rude of me?" It looked down at its elongated feet. "Should I not be floating? No, you're not floating." It lowered itself to the ground. Moisture steamed and sizzled beneath its feet. "I am sorry. I cannot fully manifest on Earth without harming her, and it makes me a bit flighty." It bowed. "I am Solntse."

Russia's brows raised. "Solntse? England, this is the Sun!"

"Oh, of course, silly me!" England threw his hands in the air. "Earth, the Sun. Is Jupiter going to come for a visit? Should we wait up for the Milky Way?"

"Oh, I would not expect the Milky Way to visit," Solntse said distantly. "She's so very large she can barely bring herself to a star's level without losing most of her faculties."

"England, stop being annoying." Russia furrowed his brows at England. "This is an important guest."

England opened his mouth to snark, then closed it again and nodded. He stood up and brushed himself off. "Right. Sorry. Pleased to meet you, the Sun. I am a fan of your light, what little of it reaches my shores."

"Are you?" Solntse smiled prettily. "I get such mixed reactions from the tiny ones. I'm glad to know I'm appreciated by some of you." It looked again at the baby. "She can be very ornery. One minute, I'm too close, the other too far. But the always was a tumultuous one - much more so than her siblings. It must be all of this carbon growing all over her. No offense to those present, of course," it said to a nearby tree. It smiled up at Russia. "I hope my daughter was not too much trouble. I knew she was planning something she considered big for the tiny ones."

"Your daughter." Russia smiled and handed Solntse the baby. Solntse took her up and held her close. "Yes, she has been a nuisance lately."

"She banished all of the nations from personification," England said coolly. "Yes, I would say that she's been a 'nuisance'."

"Banished from personification?" Solntse laughed merrily and held the baby above its head. "Is THAT what you were trying to do, my silly girl? Oh, if you had only come to me." It brought the baby back to its chest and rolled its fiery eyes. "Adolescents. What troublesome creatures!"

"Troublesome." Russia glanced at England. "Why is this so funny?"

"Because our universe is not one in which personifications don't exist, young man!" Solntse patted Russia's cheek, singing the scruff that had grown over the last day. "There are universes that are quiet, but we live in one in which sentient beings give us life. Oh, I wonder if she didn't get this silly idea from one of her siblings, or a younger star, someone familiar with the multiverse. Why, if any were to attempt to ban a personification to the realm of ideas, that personification would simply be born again, devoid of its memories, but still very much whatever they personify!" It looked at the baby in its arms. "And that explains your infancy, my dear. Well, perhaps I'll leave you this way for a while before giving you back your memories. That will certainly teach you a lesson."

"My god, they aren't gone," England said faintly. "They're out there! All of them! Every nation, somewhere within their borders! They're just -"

"Amnesic babies," Russia finished.

"That's right," Solntse said happily. "See? No harm done in the long run. Now, I must go. Don't worry about her, I'll give her a few thousand years to think about what she's done. That should be ample punishment." Solnse began to fade, the infant Earth with her. "Be safe, boys!" She disappeared.

"Hah!" England jumped up and punched a fist in the air. "They're all safe and sound! We haven't lost a single nation! They're just - we just have to -" he blanched.

"We just have to find every single one and return their memories," Russia said somberly. "A single child in each nation."

"That'll take decades," England said, his face drooping. His eyes grew wide. "Oh, bugger. Oh, hell. Oh, fuck." He clenched his hand on his chest. "We're still under China's spell. Our people are still cut off from their nation! The other nations are alright, but what about us?"

Russia shrugged. "We can find a way to reverse the spell."

"Yes! Okay." England began pacing and tearing at his hair. "It was a blood spell. China needed the blood of a human to activate it. Perhaps the blood of a nation -"

"A nation which we will have to find," Russia cut in.

"Yes, we'll have to find -"

"A child nation, which we will have to find and then cut and draw blood from," Russia said placidly. "If we find him or her."

"Christ, it will be like searching for the proverbial needle!" England rubbed his face. "One child in each nation. One child out of millions! Months! Years! Oh, god, how long can my people last? Russia, what will we do?" He grabbed Russia by the collar. "I don't want my land a smoking ruin! I don't want people to be fighting, confused and not really knowing why for years! What are we going to -"

Russia pulled one of the daggers from his belt and stabbed England in the chest. England pushed away from Russia, grasping at the dagger's handle, but his hand flew through the rapidly fading weapon. Soon it was gone, leaving nothing but an extra hole in England's well-tattered shirt.

"What did you do?" England shook with fury. "What the hell did you do?" He tackled Russia, and they landed hard on the ground as England punched at Russia's gut and face. Russia wrestled with him, twisting England off of his body and kicking out and he struggled to his feet.

"Stop!" Russia bellowed. "It would not have worked if you were not willing!"

England's breath was ragged. He pulled himself up to his knees and glowered at Russia. "You raging, spittle-covered -"

"Yes, yes," Russia said placidly. "And yet, the dagger worked."

England continued to glare at Russia. "It was a moment of weakness," he hissed. "The exhaustion, the assault on my...the memories, the..."

"The girl?" Russia flashed a wide grin. "Come now, you think I did not hear you talking to yourself by the fire last night?"

England blushed a high red. "That had nothing to do with it!"

"Relax, England." Russia crouched next to him and scrabbled his hair. "The truth is, you are that worried for your people. And so am I. My people tend to get a little crazy in unstable times." He pulled the other dagger from his belt. "But we both know, this is the easiest way. Our people will be safer without us." He flipped the dagger in his hand and stabbed himself, cringing as the metal hit his heart. As it faded, he felt a distant part of himself grow lighter - and empty. Then the sensation was gone. He rolled his shoulders. "That was not so bad."

"So that's it? We're human?" England touched his cheek, realization crashing in. "My god, we're human?"

"So it seems." Russia laid back on the grass and looked up at the sky.

They were silent for a moment, soaking in the sound of the forest.

"So, what now?" England said hesitantly. "I've never not had somewhere to be. What do humans do with all their time?"

"Go to school?" Russia shrugged. "Build things? They watch a lot of television. Some of them knit."

"Start businesses," England continued. "Travel. Travel for pleasure! That would be different. Build empires..."

"Ha! Create nations, yes."

England sat back on his heels. "Somewhere far away, a new Russia and a new England are being born."

"That is how the Sun said it works." Russia smiled slowly. "That does sound a little ridiculous when one says it aloud."

They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

England waved a hand above his head. "But they have no memories. None of the nations do." He shook his head, rising to his feet. "We can't leave them that way. A nation with no memory is doomed to repeat old sins. I can't do that to a young England."

"Then we will find them!" Russia said jovially, throwing a fist into his palm. "We will travel the world, looking for the nation children. We can give them back their memories. Look!" He threw his arms open wide. "We even have a spell to work with already!"

"Lady Tara's memory spell," England whispered, twirling slowly and staring out at the forest. "We can link something to the big circle, like the sacrifices' daggers were linked to the smaller circle! More daggers -"

"I do not wish to stab tiny children," Russia admonished, holding up a hand.

"Well, we'll think of something." England looked down at his clothes. "What on earth are we still here for? Come on!" He ran off into the forest.

Russia sat up, shrugged and followed. "Why the sudden hurry," Russia huffed when he caught up.

"Because I'm dirty, and hungry, and all of a sudden the only responsibility I have in the world is spending my life going on a massive scavenger hunt," England said merrily. "I very much want to celebrate with a bath."

They ran to the edge of the forest and up to the foot of the mountains surrounding it. The barrier spell was gone.

"Look, there." England pointed at a narrow pass separating two of the mountains. They squeezed through for a number of meters, then stumbled out into the blowing sand of the Sahara. From the outside, the mountains appeared to be giant dunes stretching up to the sky. Not far away, their plane waited in the sand, its wheels partially buried. They worked to free the plane, their already ruined clothes becoming yellowed with sand.

"Will we be safe leaving the circle behind without attaching the memory spell to something first?" Russia asked, concern etching his face.

"You mean, do you think we'll be able to find it again?" England opened the cockpit door. "Russia, it's a bloody forest in the middle of the Sahara desert. We'll be lucky if people don't spot it and start making pilgrimages before we get a decent meal in us."

They climbed into the plane, England checking over the controls before starting the engine. The plane rolled over the dunes, and he maneuvered it to a flatter location.

Russia held on to his seatbelt, a thought hitting him. "Now that we are human, we can die from bad accidents, yes?"

"Well, I suppose so," England said, distracted by the controls.

"Ah." Russia paled. "Do not crash the plane, England."

"Yes, thank you!" England throttled the engine, and the plane took off, shaking as the sand buffeted it during its ascent. It cleared the sand and rose high into the air, becoming a bright spec in the blue sky.