Ollo! New story time! Okay, so if you read Secure in Your Embrace or MegaScars, you're probably thinking "WTF? Why are you writing new stories that aren't even in you regular fandom (Megamind) instead of updating the stories you already have?" Well, I'm putting those stories on hold for just a little bit. My computer crashed and I have my ideas and character descriptions and chapters and everything on there and it won't turn on. I am going to wait and see if someone can fix it and keep those files. Once I find out what's up, I'll continue those stories. But since I don't want to rewrite EVERYTHING and this idea wouldn't leave me alone, I am publishing this. If you AREN'T a Megamind fan and are reading this because it is from Fahrenheit 451, I apologise for this little soliloquy. But you really should look into the Megamind fandom. Because we're amazing and devilishly handsome. (; Okay! Well, enjoy!
Radioactive
MegaChoirQueer
Chapter 1: Pompeii
Based off: "Pompeii" by Bastille.
Chapter Summary: Montag and his group reach the city. It is ruined. There are other groups of "Book People" there, too.
The city was nothing but ash and dust.
The pavement was uprooted. The glass had shattered into sand. the buildings had crumbled like blue cheese.
Only a few structures stood in the man-made desert. A few doors to safety chambers underground were visible for the radicals who spent their whole lives in fear.
When Montag arrived with the rest of his new friends, only fifty-some people were roaming around the broken metropolis, observing the horrific dump.
A few people were searching for citizens who could still be rescued. Only a minute fraction of those people succeeded in finding a living being.
All the others panicked with shock and rage. They yelled at the authorities for letting such a catastrophe happen. They yelled at each other for being so blind as to not have seen it coming. They yelled at the god they didn't believe in for permitting such evil to go on.
There were other groups composed of several people skirting the other edges of the city.
Montag asked Granger, who was just a tad behind him, "Who are they?", curious as to who else could be gathering around the city.
"They're of the same kind we are. 'Book People'. They just live on other sides of the city. They are coming here for the same reason we are."
All of the "Book People", including Granger's group, just stood and stared at the mess, waiting for some one to take the first step.
Finally, one of the members of one of the groups lead the way for their people, entering the circle of chaos, which caused a chain reaction of bodies to make way into the city.
That first person was Guy Montag.
As they bumped into the other bunches, the smaller groups of Book People began to assemble and form into larger congregations.
As they drew nearer to the inanimate area, some began to converse with the people already there, asking if they could help in any way. Most people told them to "fuck off", angered that there were more outcasts left standing than urbans.
It took a while to reach the centre with all the blocks and bricks scattered across the chalky ground, but within fifteen minutes or so, the scores of subsets accumulated into one large mass of individuals, arranged into a circle.
For a while, there was a long, meaningful silence amongst the Book People. They glanced at each other, trying to see if they could identify any familiar faces.
It wasn't until a man humbly walked into the middle of the large loop that anybody made some sort of noise.
"Good afternoon," the young adult greeted. After a few moments he spoke again. "We all know what happened. We all know why we are here. We all know what we have to do."
Standing in the circle, Montag reflected on the man's words.
"We need to come together. We need to share our information. There is no time to procrastinate. If there is any good time to show the people how important knowledge is to the world, it is now."
Everyone looked at him with approval in their eyes. Some faintly nodded to themselves in agreement with the man before them.
"We can no longer live in the shadows, keeping to ourselves in small groups. We must share. We must collaborate. We must. For the sake of humanity."
Montag stared at the young male with admiration. He hoped that one day he could lead the group. He'd stand in front of the throng and supply them with his wisdom, being the sage that he'd be. He'd be eloquent and inspirational. He'd quell their fears and provide them with edification. Just as the stranger in front of him was doing.
"Do we want to live in this scrum? Do we want to be ruled under this dictatorship? I would certainly hope not!"
All of them softly shook their heads out of pity for those who did. Those like Mildred.
"I understand that some of us are hurting. I know most of us are terribly languid after this morning's happenings. We're tired. We're bruised. We're worn down. But we are not weak."
Montag thought about the events that had taken place in the past few days. He was pushed to extremes. He felt he couldn't go on. Yet, despite all of the pain and strife that he endured, he did not give up, like most people he used to know would. He knew that he was in a group of fighters, of rebels, and of liberators. Just like him.
"We are literate. We are ambulatory. We are alive. That means we are more than capable of changing the way things are."
Montag knew that that was what he had such a strong desire for. Change. He knew that he had to fix the world. Every day was the same in this miserable world. People were mindless drones. They were sheep. Thy couldn't make choices for themselves. They had to have everything preselected for them. He was surprised they could even pick out their own outfits in the morning.
"The world wasn't always like this, as we all should know. People had the right to think individually. They had the right to say what they wanted to. They were able to read or write nearly anything they wanted to. The people of this society aren't offered that. Now look around you. This is what happens. This is the price of ignorance.
Everybody looked behind themselves and they looked next to themselves and took it all in. The dust. The ash. The glass shards. The crumbled concrete. The damage. The terror. The murder. This is the price of ignorance.
"It's not worth it, is it? And we know this, but we can't call ourselves heroes. Not yet. We are to blame, too."
At first, most appeared to be bewildered and confused. But Montag knew what he meant. And he thought of Faber.
"We all knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. We knew people were ruining themselves. We knew of the denseness and the destruction and the death. We were witnesses to their detrimental behaviour, and we just let it go on."
Montag thought. He was once a part of the destruction and death. He had once acted with detrimental behaviour. Not only did he let it happen,but he participated.
"We never tried to reach out to those who didn't know the price of their ignorance. And if we did, we didn't tell enough people. We didn't try hard enough. We didn't do it right."
Mildred.
"We were afraid. We let our fears get to us. We weren't brave enough. We were cowards."
Faber.
"In fact, we were lucky enough to have someone reach out to us. To have someone who could do it right."
Clarisse.
"But it isn't too late. While we are partially responsible for the remains under our feet, we can try to rebuild it. We can rebuild the city. We can rebuild the nation. We can rebuild society."
Montag remembered Faber telling him about the Dark Ages. And how it only took a few people to spawn a Great Awakening.
"It's quite the conundrum, but if we put our minds together, we can solve this. We will solve this."
The crowd cheered at his certainty.
"We all have three common goals: to learn, to build, and to teach."
This was true. Montag wanted to learn more about the universe surrounding him and how it worked. He wanted to help build a new civilisation where people could think and act and do and be instead of just obeying and sitting and watching and destroying. He wanted to distribute what he learned to others, the younger generations especially, so that they could pass it on and on and on, and he'd never die. His knowledge would live on. He couldn't argue with those three goals.
"Together, we can fulfil those aspirations."
He believed that.
"It will take time. We'll have to formulate a plan. We will have to put a lot of onerous, time-consuming effort into it. We will have to have to obtain the courage to deploy that plan and follow through with it. But if we do all of that, when we do all of that, we are sure to succeed."
The congregation clapped loudly in confirmation of what he had said.
"So, here's what we'll do: We'll live together, we'll form a pack, we'll collaborate, we'll create many tomes featuring a gamut of subjects and genres, we'll tell all of those who live in ignorance about the wonders of wisdom and literature, we'll gather more members, we'll grow, and if necessary, we will go straight to the authorities."
It seemed rather difficult and wearisome, but there was no other option. There was no where else to go. He had to be here. He wouldn't let himself leave, even if he wanted to."
"We'll turn this waste into a wonderland. We'll turn this calamity into Cloud Nine. We'll turn this Pompeii into a paradise."
And in that moment, Montag knew that this is where he belonged.
WHAT DID YOU THINK? This is my first time writing a non-Megamind fic. How did I do? Please review! I would very much appreciate it! Thank you! Look out for chapter 2, which will be up soon! See you then! Have great day! :D
