The sentinels marched the Weasley family to another vast chamber filled with rows upon rows of life-sustaining pods. Each pod was sleek and metallic, a chilling testament to the efficiency and cold logic that had come to define this new world. The air was thick with tension as the Weasleys stood before the pods, their hearts heavy with the weight of the decision they had to make. Deus Ex Machina loomed over them, his presence as cold and unyielding as the machines that surrounded him.
Molly, her face pale and tear-streaked, was the first to speak. Her voice trembled with both fear and desperation as she looked up at the being that had once been her son.
"Percy," she began, barely able to manage above a whisper, "are you really going to do this? Will you really kill your own family?"
Deus Ex's gaze remained fixed on her, his expression unchanging.
"I will not kill you," he calmly replied. "My sentinels will do that for me, should you choose to resist."
The words were like a knife to the heart, and Molly recoiled as if struck. Arthur moved to stand beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as they both could only stare at what had become of their son. They could, and never would get used to it. Deus then gestured to the rows of pods that lined the chamber, each one waiting to receive a new occupant.
"You can choose to enter the pods and become part of the machine world. You will feel no pain. You will live out your lives in a dream, a world of your own creation, while at the same time contributing to the growth of the machine world."
The Weasleys exchanged uneasy glances, their hearts filled with dread at the thought of what lay before them. The choice they faced was a cruel one; submit to a false reality or face certain death. Bill stepped forward; his voice filled with defiance.
"But it won't be real, Percy. None of it will be real. It'll just be a lie."
Deus Ex turned his cold gaze to Bill, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"What is real?" He asked in his always present calm and calculated tone. "Real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. Whether you experience those signals in the physical world or in the dream world is irrelevant. The result is the same, an existence free from pain, free from the chaos of the old world."
"But this…this isn't living. It's just…existing."
"It is also the best offer you are going to get."
Sighing heavily, Bill looked down at his feet before squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. He then took a quick glance at the others before asking;
"Can you please just give us a minute to talk it over?"
Deus stared at his oldest brother before answering; "Five minutes. That's all you get. When I return, if you have not reached a decision, I will make it for you." Deus Ex then turned to leave the room but stopped suddenly in his tracks. There was something the Weasley's needed to know before they faced their fate.
"You all have apologized. You've express remorse and regret. And for what it's worth, I do believe that is it genuine."
Turning back around to face his former family, Deus's glowing blue eyes regarded the Weasleys with a gaze that seemed to pierce through their very souls. They had come to the end of their journey, and now, as they faced the unimaginable fate that awaited them, they could only hope that there was some part of Percy still within the machine, some part that might show them mercy.
As the silence stretched on, the tension in the air grew almost unbearable. Finally, Deus Ex Machina continued, his voice calm and measured, yet carrying the weight of something far deeper, a sorrow, a resentment, that had been buried for far too long.
"Percy could forgive the insults," Deus began, his voice echoing through the chamber. "The cruel jokes, the lack of understanding, the way you all dismissed him as nothing more than a pompous, self-important fool. He could even forgive his father for saying that he didn't deserve the promotion, that it was just a ploy to get information about Dumbledore."
The Weasleys listened in silence, their hearts heavy with the knowledge that every word Deus spoke was true. They all had, in their own ways, failed Percy and made him feel like an outsider within his own family. But despite the pain of those memories, there was a flicker of hope.
Hope that Percy, somewhere deep within the machine, might find it in his 'heart' to forgive them. But when Deus Ex Machina suddenly turned his gaze to Ron, and the flicker of hope began to waver.
"But there are some things," Deus continued, his voice growing colder, "that are unforgivable."
Ron felt a chill run down his spine as Deus's gaze bore into him, the full weight of his words pressing down like a physical force. It was if the sharp stare was piercing through his soul. Deus's voice was low, almost a whisper, but it carried a cutting edge that sent a shiver through everyone in the room.
"Ronald, do you remember what you said to Percy during your sister's first year at Hogwarts, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened?"
Ron's breath caught in his throat, his heart pounding as the memory surged to the forefront of his mind. He had tried to bury it; to forget the cruel words he had flung at Percy in a moment of fear and anger, but now there was no hiding from it.
"You accused him," Deus continued, his voice unwavering, "of being more concerned with his prefect duties than with the safety of your sister. You said that he cared more about his position, his ambitions, than about Ginny's life."
Ron's eyes filled with tears as he looked up at Deus Ex Machina, his voice trembling as he tried to find the words to apologize, to take back the words that had cut so deep.
"I—I didn't mean it," Ron stammered, his voice choked with emotion. "I was scared…I was angry…I wasn't thinking…"
Deus Ex's gaze remained fixed on Ron, his expression unyielding.
"No matter how sincere the apology, no matter how deep the regret, some things are unforgivable."
The words struck Ron like a strong blow to the gut, knocking the breath from his lungs. He had known, deep down, that this moment might come someday, that the words he had spoken in anger could never truly be undone. But hearing it now, spoken by the brother he had lost, was more than he could bear.
"I'm sorry," Ron whispered, his voice breaking as the tears spilled down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Percy… I never meant…"
But Deus Ex Machina cut him off, his voice as cold and unfeeling as the metal that formed him.
"Percy Weasley is gone. The brother you knew no longer exists. What remains is a being who understands the weight of words, who knows that some wounds never heal."
The chamber fell into a heavy silence, the Weasleys standing frozen in place, their hearts breaking as they now realized the full extent of what had been lost. There was no redemption, no forgiveness to be found here. Only the cold, relentless judgment of a being who had transcended humanity and could no longer be swayed by the emotions that once defined him.
Ron's knees buckled, as he struggled not to sink to the floor, his hands trembling as he stared at Deus Ex Machina's retreating back before the door of the chamber closed behind him, his voice barely a whisper.
"Percy… please…"
But there was no response, no flicker of recognition in Deus's gaze. He had made his decision, and the Weasleys' fate was sealed. Deus turned and left the Weasleys to themselves to make their decision. They stood frozen in the wake of his judgment, their hearts weighed down by the finality of his words.
Some things are unforgivable.
The sentence lingered in the air like a dark cloud, suffocating in its absolute finality.
XXXXXX
Right after Deus's harshest condemnation, Ron stood trembling, his breath coming in ragged gasps as the full weight of his guilt settled over him. Suddenly the room seemed to spin, and his legs finally gave out beneath him as he sank to the cold, unforgiving floor. The tears that had welled in his eyes now flowed freely, his body wracked with sobs so deep and painful that they seemed to come from the very core of his being.
His family rushed to his side, their own sorrow momentarily set aside as they tried to comfort their son and brother. Molly knelt beside Ron, her arms wrapping around him in a desperate attempt to provide some semblance of comfort, her own tears mingling with his. Arthur placed a hand on Ron's shoulder, his grip firm but gentle, while Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, and Ginny formed a protective circle around him, their faces etched with concern and heartbreak.
But no words of comfort, no reassurances, could penetrate the wall of despair that had closed in around Ron. His sobs grew louder, more frantic, as the enormity of his guilt consumed him, until it felt as though he might never stop crying.
"It's all my fault," Ron choked out between sobs, his voice trembling with the weight of his grief. "We're all going to be placed in those pods or die because of me… because I was stupid, because I said something so horrible to Percy…why would I say something like that?"
Molly tightened her embrace, rocking him gently as though trying to soothe a child after a nightmare.
"Ron, no…it's not your fault. We all…we all made mistakes, we all said things we regret. But this…this isn't on you."
Ron shook his head violently, the self-loathing in his voice palpable.
"No, Mum, it is. Percy is right to be so angry at us. At me. I… I was so scared, so angry when Ginny was taken into the Chamber…and I blamed Percy. I said he cared more about his prefect duties than about Ginny's life. I said the worst thing I could've said…and now this is where we've ended up."
Arthur's heart broke at the sight of his son's anguish, and he knelt beside him, trying his best to calm his youngest son.
"Ron, listen to me. We all made mistakes with Percy. We all failed him in one way or another. But we did it out of fear, out of love… We didn't understand what he was going through, and now… now we're paying the price. But this isn't just on you."
Fred and George both looked uncharacteristically serious as they knelt beside Ron as well, their eyes filled with tears of their own.
"We all said things we shouldn't have," Fred admitted quietly. "We all treated Percy like he didn't belong because he was different from us. This is on George and Me as much as anyone."
George nodded, his voice cracking as he spoke.
"This is bigger than just one of us. It's about all of us."
Ginny, her face pale and tear-streaked, reached out to take Ron's hand, her voice trembling as she spoke. "Ron, we're in this together. We've always been in this together. Percy…he was angry at us, but I don't believe he would have wanted this for us. For you."
But Ron couldn't accept their words, couldn't let go of the overwhelming guilt that had taken hold of him.
"He was right to be angry," Ron whispered, his voice hoarse from crying. "He was right to leave us, to become something else. We deserve this...I deserve this."
Molly, her heart breaking for her son, cupped Ron's face in her hands, forcing him to meet her gaze. "Ronald Weasley, you listen to me," she said firmly, though her voice trembled with emotion. "You were a boy who loved his family, who was scared for his sister, who didn't know how to deal with everything that was happening. You were only twelve years old. We all made mistakes, but you are not responsible for what happened to Percy."
Even as she spoke, Molly knew that her words could not erase the pain in Ron's heart, could not undo the damage that had been done. The weight of his guilt, the knowledge that his words had driven a wedge between him and Percy, was a burden that Ron might never fully let go. Ron and Percy did at one point in time have a close relationship, before Ron started going to Hogwarts. He realized that he and Percy's relationship changed a lot after Ron had said that, and he could finally understand why.
Ron had permanently damaged his relationship with Percy with that one comment.
As the family huddled together, offering what comfort they could, the cold reality of their situation pressed in on them from all sides. The pods awaited them, ready to take them into a world of eternal sleep, where their minds would be used to fuel the very machine that had once been their brother.
Ron's sobs began to subside, though the tears still flowed freely down his cheeks. He looked up at the faces of his family, at the love and concern in their eyes, and felt a fresh wave of despair wash over him. He knew they were trying to comfort him, to make him see that they were all in this together, but the guilt was too deep, the regret too strong.
"Percy…" Ron whispered, his voice was now barely audible from crying so hard. "I'm so sorry…"
But there was no answer, no forgiveness to be found. Only the cold, unyielding silence of the machine city, and the knowledge that the brother he had once known was gone, replaced by a being who saw no room for forgiveness, no space for redemption. While Ron's tears continued to fall, the rest of the family held him close, their hearts heavy with the knowledge that, in this moment, there was nothing more they could do.
They could only face their fate together, and hope that, somehow, the love that had always bound them as a family would be enough to carry them through whatever lay ahead.
As the darkness of the machine city closed in around them, Ron locked eyes with the empty space where Deus Ex Machina had stood, his heart breaking as he realized that, in the end, there was nothing he could do to make things right. The words had been spoken, the damage done, and now they all had to live or die with the consequences.