Chapter Text
Like a scene out of a movie.
The day was beautiful; sunny with some clouds decorating it, birds singing and flying over the city, people walking to do their tasks, others driving to work, some others to their houses, kids laughing and screaming in the park and some teenagers trying to confess their love.
Perfect. Who would have thought it would be the last time they could to do that?
You were working at your father's mechanical workshop when it happened. Everything seemed normal at the start; the guys were laughing at some show with a magician on the TV, the costumers were asking for oil and tires replacement and the rest were working hard to finish the cars and bikes screaming for changes and checks. Music to your ears. Until the sounds of the city could be heard fading away in the background. That's weird. That made you get out from under the car whose brakes you were fixing.
You saw it in the glimpse of your eye: That weird green light on the horizon that spanned all over the sky. Your coworkers saw it too. "What's that?" one of them asked, but nobody could answer.
How could anybody know?
Silence remain as the light approached.
"Is this an attack? A bomb? Is it dangerous? An alien attack? Is this even an attack?" Your train of thought started with all this questions that had no answer. All Senku's fault. You only focus on the light and that it was getting close.
The feeling of ineptitude creeping on your body.
"We can't run or do anything to escape. Just accept it." You thought and as you saw how the people a few blocks ahead started to become stone.
Just like statues.
It was a few meters more till it reached the workshop. Everybody was still staring at the light without making comments. You wondered why there were no screaming.
For you all of it felt like a quiet surrender.
Nowhere to go.
Nowhere to hide.
This was it.
"Is this related to the birds Senku found? It could be". You were thinking about the possibility of it. You remembered that Senku's last investigation was about some birds that turned to stone. Everyone believed they were some craftsman's creation. But it turns out it wasn't the truth.
"Who would have thought of this happening to us too?".
The light enveloped everything. You felt how your skin was surrounded by this material and become rigid. Soon, you were all stone.
Confusion.
Fear.
Darkness.
You realized you were still alive. Conscious. But didn't know if to feel relieved about it.
***
How much time has passed?
You couldn't see, hear or feel anything from the outside.
You felt trapped.
It felt like the end of the world. But quiet.
They were no screaming.
No news.
No messages.
No war.
Nobody injured (maybe).
It happened quiet.
So quiet.
Maybe it was the end of the world as we knew it.
***
You felt the consciousness leaving your body.
You felt sleepy. Tired. Ironically heavy.
Your last thoughts were those last promises you made before the oh-wtf-is-that-green-light.
You had promised Senku to pick him up after school when you had finished your shift.
What happened to him? Is he stone too?
And how you told your dad that you wanted to check out the last broken-down engine he had brought home.
Oh, dad. Sorry.
You couldn't do much than remember.
You couldn't escape the light. Maybe no one could. But you couldn't know if someone made it.
And now you wondered if you would ever wake up and see your friends and family again.
***
First darkness followed by the sound of cracks on stone.
Finally free from the stone prison, your limbs started to work as they used to. "How many time was I sleep? It felt like ages. Maybe it was that much" Your eyes remained closed, but you could feel the sun directly on your face and a cool breeze embracing you.
You opened your eyes with your head up.
Brightness. You were staring at the sky after so long.
"Is this a dream?" You wondered.
You could heard again the singing of birds in the distance and the leaves from the trees, even though that was weird for you; you remembered that you were in the city in your father's workplace, but you didn't mind. You were free from the stone.
But as you were in delight, you felt a lot of pairs of eyes on you. "What the hell?" The magic moment long gone and now filled with confusion.
A huge group of people was standing in front of you completely quiet but expecting.
You stared back, but you noticed that something felt off. Like their entire clothes; It was made of animal skin and their shoes were made of stone with something to tide them on. Then you looked at their tools also made of stone and wood. And finally you repaired on your surroundings: No technology. No houses or buildings. No cables obstructing the view. Just nature. Pure and simple nature.
Primitive.
"Am I dreaming or is this some kind of bad joke?" You thought. You couldn't believe your eyes. You must be dreaming or having a nightmare.
Suddenly it hit you. You weren't naked; you also were wearing some kind of replica of your old mechanical uniform made with animal skin and something that looked like boots.
It was oddly comfortable.
"Did they dress me up?" You asked to yourself in disbelief.
The group of people were staring while you examined your clothes. They were confused with the whole situation too. Some were wondering why she was using that weird pants-mixed-shirt and others why did the chief order it to the arts team in first place.
You couldn't ignored the looks any longer. They were still waiting for you to do something.
But what? Do what?
"Aren't they supposed to tell me what happened? Did they wake me up? If that's the case. Why did they wake me up?" Lots of questions emerged in your mind but didn't said a word to them.
You were about to speak when, at the glimpse of your eyes caught two familiar faces.
Taiju-kun and Yuzuriha-chan.
They were dressed the same. Animal skin, shoes made by the same material and stone tools in their hands.
You stared the stone tools in shock.
That could only mean one thing... Civilizations's end.
"So this ain't a theater show". You concluded and kept your gaze onto your friends. "Where's Senku?".
"Ha! It only took you 130 seconds to ask for me" You would have never mistake that voice, no after hearing it for so long.
You turned around and there he was. Dressed just like everybody else with animal skin, his gravity-defiant hair and that smug smile. You felt relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from your shoulders. You were scared of facing, whatever was going on, without him around. Specially now that you discovered that the hole civilization had fallen.
But, deeply inside, you thought that she would never be able to see him again after that light. It could have happened so many things before seeing him again.
Senku looked at you with his characteristic unfazed haze. But, for the group watching the whole scenario, he looked more alive than ever. It was strange seeing him like this. But as everybody wonder, you ran to him and hugged him.
"It took me a while, but I finally found you" He said with an unusual softness in his voice. You knew him well enough to know he never reciprocated affection, so when he hugged you back, you knew he missed you as much as you did.
If the group of people were confused at first about Senku being so eager to un-petrificated you, now they were in shock after seeing him hugged you back. They were still trying to process this welcoming; some of them went completely quiet for the shock, but others started to whisper things and making questions, some asking who you were and others were talking about Senku's behavior and the sudden given affection he provided.
Senku noticed everyone's bewilderment and used the closeness on his favor, "There's a lot to explain, but now, there's something I need you to do" he whispered in your ear while keeping and eye on the crowd.
You broke the hug so you could pay attention. "Say it and I will make it".
His smile was instantaneous, he appreciated your immediate response. For him it felt like those three years without you never happened and return to being in his room with you doing experiments. He missed the old days, not that he would tell you about that. "We need a ship engine".
You blinked twice as if processing the information. "What? A ship engine? Is this no-so-like economy? Is it possible?". You were confused for the demanding request.
Gen, perceiving the new girl's debate face, got in the conversation. "Senku-chan, I don't want to ruin your cute little reunion but don't you think she just wake up and might be a little lost and confused? I mean, I know what it feels like to be petrified and so you do, and asking her just like that might be a little excessive. I wouldn't want her to feel dizzy so soon". He said with his made-up innocent voice thinking, "Maybe that can motivate her". You stared at him.
You knew you have seen this guy before but couldn't tell from where in that moment. But one thing you understood right away was his twisted words. You had heard them before in the mechanical workshop and in the army.
He was provoking you. Testing you.
Just like the rest of people you met in your life.
That was enough to make your eye twitch.
You didn't need that pathetic provocation to do your work. Indeed, you couldn't denied that it did look crazy to create something like a ship engine with stone tools. But, once your father said 'if you don't have the pieces, you create them'.
"It might take a while but..." You look directly at Senku now. He didn't tore his gaze apart from you. "It can be done".
The man with black and white hair just stared with and incredulous face. He thought that this girl would panic or something similar. He wasn't waiting for you to jump with headfirst straight into the abyss. "Ah. I get it now. She's just like you, Senku-chan" He said while staring at the man beside you.
Senku only smiled knowingly.
"Let's go, things are getting exciting".
***
After all that welcoming, the group walked back to the rest of the community. While heading back, Senku was informing you about all the things that happened the last 3 years he was un-petrified, also that they were petrified for approximately 3,700 years and that your conclusion was right, there was no modern era, at least not for the moment.
"All the buildings and humans creations no longer exist" Senku commented while walking by your side.
"What a devastating thought... All music, art, architecture, monuments, technology, languages, knowledge and history gone". Your thoughts were as dull as your expression. Even though Senku said he has all of that in his head, you knew he couln't hold every knowledge in. "The voices of the past are lost forever. There's no discs, movies, books, nothing. No records".
The group was a little behind trying to comprehend the dynamic between you two. Why do they seemed close? It's obvious that they know each other. But how close are they exactly?
Gen was glowing while making his theories about you. It seems to him that Senku-chan had a little, no-so-little, secret and, stealing his friend's signature exclamation, this was getting exciting for him; the perfect chance to know more about the well-reserved Senku in the palm of his hand.
While Gen was giggling to himself, Kohaku watched the couple as they talked in front of them. She thinks she have heard your name before, not from Senku but someone else, she wasn't totally sure. But one thing was as clear for her as her vision; Senku was happy to reunite with you. Even if he denied it now, everyone would know he wasn't telling the truth. He was talking about the perfect person that would help them with the ship and insisted in your name when the journalist suggested other people.
Chrome's only thoughts were that Senku was acting a little weird. He never saw Senku being that soft spoken or affectionate. Is this some kind of plan? Did he intended to lure you to help with the ship? Or it was real interest?
While people were making assumptions and questions, you were asking yourself if all of this is what is like to be forgotten. If all of you never woke up, nobody would have remember anything from the past. Nothing of what you did, said or thought mattered, just like if you were never born. And then you remembered that every person you knew was a statue. Some might be far away from were the group were and maybe those statues will never wake up again. They will all grow old and the statues will still captured their young versions trapped on stone.
"And maybe I shouldn't think about that". You stopped your thoughts. It was useless being pessimistic.
As if Senku knew what you were thinking about. "I'm going to restore the civilization" he said firmly, "and I will bring everyone back from the stone".
He seemed so sure and confident.
He knows he can do it.
You looked at him speechless. All gloominess gone.
Senku saw the hope in your eyes and smiled satisfied to make you feel better.
And you believed in his words.