There's a light, there's the sun, taking all shattered ones.
To the place we belong and his love will conquer...
All
December 21st, 2012
Montreal, Canada
UN World Conference
It was supposed to be a normal meeting. Everyone had gathered together. Everyone. Nothing was supposed to get accomplished: that's how meetings worked. There were supposed to be insults thrown across the table. There were supposed to be awkward sexual innuendos. There was supposed to be the smell of food wafting from the kitchen. There was supposed to be yelling. There was supposed to be so much noise that people couldn't hear themselves think. That's how world meetings went.
Now?
There was silence. Rare, weird, stunned, shocked, horrified silence. It engulfed the room, settling like a fog over the countries. The being in the middle of the room had almost a passive look on her face, her movements stilted and robotic. She glanced at the countries, never staring at anyone for longer than a moment. It was as if they weren't even worth her time. No one dared to move or even breathe. The silence was finally broken by a quiet, disbelieving voice.
"What?"
There is a meteor heading towards Earth, she replied calmly, her voice reverberating within the minds of her audience. Her voice matched her movements with an uncaring, metallic trill. It caused a chill to surge through the nations. The American in the group laughed, his voice forced, hoping to break the tension building in the deafening silence.
"This...This is a really great prank, Matt," he said, glancing over at his brother, "You really had me going for a sec!"
This is no joke, America. You of all people should know that. Didn't your scientists spot it first? The voice rattled around in each country's head, reminding them all of the reason the meeting was called in the first place: scientists from all over the world had confirmed the being's words. No one wanted to believe it. Silence befell the room again.
"What can we do?" Finland whispered, trying to keep his voice level. It wavered only slightly, his fists clenched. Sweden shifted uneasily at his side.
There is nothing you can do.
"Then why have you come?" Britain wondered, crossing his arms. He spoke strongly, determined. He was trying to keep a level head. Everyone was. They were trying to keep some sense of normalcy. Trying to not let the fear sink in of what was inevitable. Each nation held their breath as the being seemed to hesitate.
I have a proposition for you all, she said as she scanned the shocked looks of the crowd.
"What do you propose?" Germany asked before anyone else could, his gruff voice coming out less intimidating than usual. Through centuries of wars, through governments and regimes, through all the bloodshed and dangers the countries had faced, their mortality never came into question. Their world was never in this much danger. They listened.
Again, the being seemed to hesitate. The normally jovial Italian at Germany's side gripped the sleeve of his uniform tightly, as if it would protect him from the answer.
The meteor and other calamities will never befall Earth if you all become human. Permanently.
The voice echoed endlessly in their heads. Eyes grew wide. The crowd shuffled uncomfortably. The being took this silence as the incentive to continue.
Once you turn, you will have no memory of ever being a country, the being's robotic voice said. She watched the nations as they turned to quietly whisper to their counterparts, empty eyes staring down the crowd. Her eyes finally focused on the fuming American before her.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he muttered, his fists clenched. The whole room fell silent. As he spoke, his voice rose in volume, his arms shaking as if trying to restrain himself. "How can you talk about taking someone's memories away as if it's nothing? Who the fuck do you think you are?" England took a step forward, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, and the American deflated somewhat.
The mechanics of it are quite simple, the being responded, Think of your brain as a computer and your memories as data. We take your brain, remove the data, and set you about your new lives, the being paused, as if contemplating, then said, However, if you mean the emotional capacity of which we take your memories, I am afraid we do not understand.
The eldest Italian brother stood up from his chair. "Who is this 'we' that you keep referring to?" he asked, visibly forcing himself to remain calm.
We are the Forgers: we make sure everything goes according to design. Needless to say, the end of the world is not in the design. She watched as the countries exchanged looks. There really wasn't enough time for all of their silence. Do we have a deal?
America glanced over at the other countries who shifted uneasily.
"Can...can you give us time to think this over?" he asked.
I'm afraid we cannot, the being replied. Staring down the stunned looks of the nations, she paused. The only time we can give you is twenty four hours before the exchange is fully made.
"Meaning?"
Meaning, if you make the deal now, the meteor will be gone. We will give you twenty four hours to say goodbyes and make amends. She eyed the nations uncertainly, though her movements remained stilted and robotic. Is that not unreasonable?
The Forger looked around at the countries. It seems they still did not understand. With a wave of her arm, a miniature, pixelized projection of the world appeared before them. It turned slowly on its axis as she explained further.
When twenty four hours is up, you countries will fade from existence. The projection zoomed in slowly to miniature versions of Austria, Prussia, and Hungary, arguing together in the middle of a lush and green garden. It looked eerily like the outside of Austria's home. Slowly, their arguing subsided and the small projections stared at their real-life counterparts, fading from view.
The being made the terrifying act seem so simple it was heartbreaking. Hungary put a hand over her mouth to stop from crying out. Austria took in a sharp breath, his eyes wide. He gently took Hungary's free hand in his own. Prussia squeezed her shoulder, his face hard.
Horrified silence filled the room. The Forger continued to speak as if nothing occurred. You will hear our voice verification and then be rerouted. China knit his eyebrows together and blinked several times, as if trying to rid the image of his disappearing comrades from his mind.
"Rerouted?" he breathed.
You will be sent back in time to live out your human lives. The Forger explained simply. She barely noticed the quiet shuffling of the people around her. She glanced, ever so slightly, at the watch around her wrist. They were running out of time. Do we have a deal?
The nations glanced at each other. They were apprehensive, to say the least. Who were the Forgers? They seemed like gods but by their deal-making ways they could be demons or devils. Did they have any ulterior motives? No one had heard of the Forgers before. What if the nations were being tricked? And...
If you don't take this deal, the Earth will be lost.
...Was their doubt worth losing the planet over?
The air was contested, but an agreement was silently met. Germany stepped forward, Italy's hand slipping from his sleeve. His face was dark and unreadable. He drew himself up to full height and took a deep breath.
"We'll have twenty four hours, correct?" he asked, his voice clear and strong.
Affirmative.
Germany spared a final glance back at his fellow nations, his eyes lingering for a moment on the auburn haired Italian. Before anyone could speak, he turned back to the Forger.
"We have a deal."
Good. A corner of the Forger's mouth twitched. Her eyes closed and slowly, she breathed out. The Forger's eyes opened. The meteor is gone.
"That's it?" America wondered, rather lackluster, "I expected more flashing or explosions or something." Britain smacked the back of his head, though there wasn't much malice in it.
The Forger stared momentarily, then promptly readjusted her stance.
Your twenty four hours starts now. Do with it as you see fit. She slowly dissolved from view, her eyes locked on the far wall.
She left the nations alone to their silence.
Number 41 stalked the chrome halls towards the main computer chamber, ignoring the questioning glares from the other identical Forgers as she pushed passed them. The doors slid open and 41 stepped inside.
The super computer was up and running, the map of the world displayed prominently and proudly on its gargantuan screen. Number Four and Two stood in front of the screen, the computer quietly beeping and clicking in response to their inputs. Number Two and Four's headbands burned a bright blue and purple, as was the norm for the high Forgers. 41 stood idle, waiting to be addressed as she was programed to do.
Did they take it, 41? Number Two called, not looking up from her work.
Yes, Number Two. With the planet in danger, they wouldn't refuse. Number 41 slowly approached, eyes locked on the super computer's massive world map. Copious amounts of small red dots littered the map's surface. They occasionally blipped from one location to another. Each one was held in high reverence, representing the nation who's data would soon be entered.
Number Two stood up from her chair, her blue headband flashing.
Number Four, prepare the algorithm, she snapped, not even sparing a glance at 41 as she breezed past to the exit.
Yeah, yeah, Number Four grumbled, typing rapidly. 41 surveyed the screen, eyes scanning for any anomalies over Number Four's shoulder. She frowned, or she would have if she had emotions, and stared. A strange yellow discoloration blinked softly between various pixels near the German-Czech Republic boarder. It seemed to blink in and out of focus, but was most certainly there.
Number Four, is this an error? She wondered, pointing at the strange formation. Number Four fought the urge to groan and followed 41's gaze. She sighed, her purple headband flickering.
An off color pixel, she mumbled, her attention back to her keyboard, Ignore it. I'll fix it later.
Number 41 paused to stare a moment more, before looking away. She was programed long ago, along with her 99 sisters, to not question the words of a higher ranking number.
It didn't matter, oddly enough. Both she and Number Four promptly forgot about the yellow discoloration, even when the red dots turned green at the end of the twenty four hour period.
The discoloration remained.
No one noticed it.
What?!
WHAAAAAT
For those of you who haven't seen my posts on tumblr, this is the prologue to my "Shattered Ones" series.
Each of my favorite ships will have their own story set in this universe and will be labeled as such when they come out. Though I would appreciate it, it is not necessary to read all the stories to understand the overarching plot.
Sorry about the delays on Maleficium, I'm not sure what's going on with that fic anymore. For now, it will be on a temporary hiatus until I can figure out what I'm doing with it.