Chapter Text
Prologue
Episode Zero
Remembrance. Warmth. The sun. Thoughts were fleeting, unlike her memories. Plagued by repetition and looping in an endless cycle. For as long as she dared to recall, she’d been blessed with a one in a million chance at perfect memory. On a scale that nobody really understood, or at least nobody took seriously. For the 184th time she felt like she was reliving every single moment of her life to every extreme aspect. The feeling of losing her mind as she began to focus on everything else, every possible detail down to the wallpaper in her grandparents farm house, to the types of trees that were planted outside of the apartment complex she was living in during her final moments. Was this what death was? Did she die? From start to end, she continued watching herself in her childish body staring up at her grandparents talking and cooing at her, to the very last words she shared with one of her fiancés.
“ Ahh, give me just a moment to excuse myself.” Xeno’s voice was soft as he held the phone away from him, audibly excusing himself from whatever party he was with.
Briefly over the sounds of whatever was happening at the DARPA tech demo party, Jade could easily depict the sound of Xeno's phone vibrating. That obnoxious vibrating that suggested someone had bombed his phone with notifications. Sheepishly she briefly felt bad, hearing him huffing under his breath at the sounds. However she didn't allow herself to feel bad for long, knowing it was information he would be thanking her for briefly. She had to hold her breath as she bounced a bit in her steps, excited to verbally tell him what she’d just discovered. Mindful of the small feathered animal she held in her hands. Flinching as it's beak pecked at her, fighting to be released from the fleshy prison of her fingers. She didn't allow herself to let go however, knowing if she did, it could be a very long time before she saw anything like it.
“ There, some privacy. Good evening or rather afternoon, Jade.” The conversation hadn’t had a chance to even start, “ I’m-“
Before Xeno even had a chance to finish speaking, Jade lost the battle. Her excitement winning against her as words started spilling from her lips rapidly. The beging was the usual word vomit that always seemed to flow first, the stuff that was too jumbled to make sense. The excitement showing in each new sentence to spill out. Barely allowing herself to breath as she looked down to the very proof that she’d been nurturing in her hands. This was the result of days without sleep, finally solving the new world phenomonon. At least finding some answers to a part of it. Any breakthrough was a breakthrough for this case. From within her hands angered squeaks chirped up at her, the small birds beak pecking at her fingers as she adjusted them to avoid hurting the recently unpetrified sparrow.
“ I just sent you the file for the DARPA tech demo, this could be important for everyone there- I know you were already aware of the brainwaves, but this really -” She was talking too fast, jumbling her words in the way that only a scientist of his measure would understand.
“ - assuming you just received the rings?” Xeno finished softly voice much lower and quieter then hers was, but it made her stop in the middle of what she was saying.
The sun was bright, and the day was already almost halfway over, her steps light as she made her way downstairs to her mailbox. She always checked it around this time, right after she started brewing her afternoon coffee. There had finally been a breakthrough that morning in her research and she was excited to share it with the only men she trusted said information with. Not that she wouldn’t have shared it with anyone else, but these two were always first.
“ Er…What rings?” She asked confused as she stepped down the last step of the stairs.
“ Oh.” His voice was surprised, “ I thought you were calling for…”
His voice was trailing, as another’s sultry laugh filtered through the phone. It was easy to tell who it was, the other man she’d been interested in calling. A small win for her on the field of not having to explain everything twice, not that Stanley really cared about all the science mumbo jumbo. There was always a clear lack of interest whenever she or Xeno would start in on whatever they were working on. Both of them bouncing off of each other like kickballs on a gym floor. Stanley usually ended up just sitting there silently while he waited for her to realize she realized what she was doing. It ususally followed up with a witty comment or in Stanley's own special flare, a comment made in those tones that sugguested he was flirting. Even to this day she had a hard time telling when he was flirting or not, the only real time it was clear was when he was in work mode. It was easy to see his smile in her mind. To see him smile at her with zero interest in his eyes, but nod like she was giving him nuclear launch codes. With her earlier excited smile she continued to her mailbox, planning on releasing the sparrow nipping at her fingers there to avoid it hitting any buildings.
“ Way to ruin the surprise.” Stanley’s sultry voice teased the faint sound of his usual flip lighter turning, his voice sounding a bit further away.
“ That’s okay, I’m kind of confused anyways. You sent rings? What for?” She hummed finally reaching her mail box that wasn’t too far from the stairs.
Upon reaching the large mailbox she took a deep breath, the scientist part of her brain arguing that it was dumb to bring the sparrow out to free it. However the other part of her knew that keeping it in captivity wasn't the proper decision either. So with a bit of a heavy mind, she opened her hands. The sparrow taking off with vigor, flying far and fast. She was amazed as she watched it’s perfect health. Keen eyes watching each detail. Not a single spec to the small bird showing any signs of it having been stuck in one position for an extended period of time. It showed no signs of even knowing it was trapped. This one wasn't damaged or broken, although she had some glued back together inside of her apartment. Those would be the next test subjects.
“ It’s health is perfect.” She muttered to herself as she watched it, “ Perhaps better then before, there’s no strain at all.”
“ None?” Xeno asked her curiously.
“ None. That was a sparrow that had a high brain function, even after being turned to stone. I’m speculating, but maybe it has something to do with its recovery?” She spoke a bit blankly eyes following it until it disappeared, “ It was eager when the stone chipped away too. No pause in eating or drinking, it resumed normal functions immediately. While it was a loss to have released this one success, I still have five others receiving the same amount of nitric acid-”
“ Jade.” Stanley’s voice was cutting, stopping her next round of rambling, “ You know I could sit and listen to you talk all day, but perhaps back to the topic we seem to be skirting around?”
Instead of responding, she wiggled the short lanyard that was around her wrist. The momentum swinging the key up into her awaiting fingers, body turning finally to look at her mailbox. Using muscle reflex more than sight to locate her box. Unfortunately she was a creature of habit with most of her day to day stuff, finding it easier to keep to a schedule when living alone. Work really didn't give her time to divert and explore. Inserting the key she opened her mailbox, spotting a couple of letters and a large envelope with an official seal stamped on it. As well as a small package, neatly placed on top. Pulling out the mail she shoved in the junk mail, not interested in picking it up, while she yanked the envelope open, eyes skimming the contents.
“ Is this a…” A dumb rhetorical question, “ Why?”
Her hands didn’t stop moving, instead they unwrapped the package pulling out a sleek black velvet ring box. Recognizing the name on the top to be a large brand, known for it's custom creations. While she was never all that big on jewelry, she was familiar enough to now that whatever was inside. Xeno commissioned rings that would be the panicle of elegance and perfection. Taking a second to mentally prep herself, she finally opened the box. Inside were the most stunning set of three rings, as well as a small picture of the matching sets. A show that both Xeno and Stanley had their own variations.
“ Is this... is this for real?” She followed up staring at the beautiful rings, her forged signature on the document she held in her hand.
Her full name was printed in handwriting that wasn’t hers, but her father’s secretary, signed right above Xeno’s full name. It was a marriage certificate. Jade Robinson ( Now Jade Wingfield) and Xeno Wingfield. It was already completed, commemorating their union. One that she hadn’t even been aware of until she laid eyes on this slip of paper.
“ Heh, yes.” Xeno’s voice was husky, “ It’s official.”
Her brain was sputtering trying to wrap around what she was seeing and being told, he really did it?
“ But… What about my father?” She asked uncertainly, her voice almost a whisper, emotions swelling high, “ What about Stanley?”
“ While I hate to admit I paid his price, well…” Xeno sighed likely scratching his cheek.
“ Don't make it about money. Jade what Xeno is getting at is that; You were worth every penny.” Stanley explained strongly., “ And while I may not be officially married to either of you, I don’t feel like we need a silly piece of paper to prove anything.”
“ Indeed.” Xeno agreed.
“ I…” She was at a loss for words as she stared at the stunning rings in her hands, tears welling in her eyes, “ I don’t know what to say..”
Her voice was soft and a bit shaky, somewhat overcome with emotion. For years her freedom had been hanging from her father's fingers, held over her head with the threats of being thrown into an arranged marriage. Her father often threatening to marry her off to the closest scum bag, or some nasty old man that would do who knows what to her. For years he held her at a firm price, raising it whenever she brought a new achievement. It either made her work harder to be more difficult to 'purchase', or made it so that any real man that cared for her was chased off. It was a never ending cycle, a terrifying one. But... It was finally over.. She didn't want to know what price Xeno paid.
“ Save that for when we get to Japan.” Stanley exclaimed to her, his voice quieter as whatever party they were with grew in noise in the background.
“ Don’t you both have work?” She laughed softly as she pulled the rings from the box, the silk fabric following them a bit.
She took practiced breaths to avoid crying over the phone, even though she wanted to. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs because of her freedom. She felt like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders.
“ We both took some leave, so we could have a nice honeymoon.” Xeno explained simply.
Pulling the fabric out along with the rings, she found herself avoiding touching them with her fingers. Not wanting to get them dirty in any way, or potentially damage them. A small fear of dropping them or potentially losing them crossing her mind briefly. She sprawled the fabric over her palm with the rings still in the center, just staring at them. They were stunning, something easy to stare at, like that of art in a museum.
“ They’re really beautiful.” She admitted to them, “ Thank you.”
“ Don’t thank us yet, wait until after the conference tomorrow.” Xeno smiled happily, “ We leave directly from here to you.”
His tone took on a soft hum towards the end, his fingers tapping loudly on the screen of his phone.
“ Oh how elegant!” He proclaimed, “ This is fantastic darling, this gives us a major leap! You’ve successfully narrowed down a means of redoing-What is that?"
His tone went through a drastic change, from excited to confused. The sound of voices shouting in the background and confusion in the air. Something must have been happening at the tech demo. The sound of something scraping the microphone startled her into pulling the phone back, taking a step back to glance around. The sound was breif, but concerning.
“ Xeno?”
“ What-“ A voice called out from somewhere beyond the phone, voice scared.
“ It’s coming. Retreat!” Stanley’s voice suddenly boomed closer than it had before, his command stern and dominant, a tone she rarely heard, “ Run for cover right now!”
The sound of furniture being upturned could be heard and she was becoming more worried, fingers wrapping around the rings to bring them to her chest. She could hear the sound of Xeno getting pushed around, no doubt by Stanley. From beyond the horizon an electric green filled the sky.
“ You can’t escape petrification, but the real test comes after!” Stanley’s voice continued to shout, “ We must remain consciousness!”
“ We’ll protect Miss Luna if it’s the last thing we do!” An unknown voice shouted in the background, “ Right, Carlos?
“ Xeno? Stanly?” She called back as a sudden green light filled the sky.
“ Jade, keep your mind conscious.” Xeno’s voice was soft as he spoke through the phone sounding like he was being thrown to the ground, “ Ugh, no matter what don’t-”
And just like that, everything turned dark. Fifteen minutes had passed between then and the moment that green light reached her. Jade foolishly remaining in place and tapping on her phone screen, attempting to recall Xeno several times. She didn’t even notice the light because of how the buildings were placed, only noticed it once it was too late. Vaguely she could remember loud crunching followed by another bright green light, back-to-back, numerous times. Until she receded into the deepest depths of her mind, the sound of crunching only fueling her to try and hide from the noise. It became louder and louder with each turn, each flash of green. Then there was nothing. There were so many things she wanted to talk about, to hear. She wanted nothing more than to curl up and lay in their arms, secure in a way she didn’t think she’d get to be. Longing settled in her chest as everything cycled again, slapping her in the face. It was like watching someone hit rewind on an old VHS tape, all the reels of film. Xeno’s words echoed in her mind as her mind tortured her with another loop, her mind feeling like it would break at the heartache she felt in her chest. She wanted to feel the sun! She wanted to tell them!
Crackle-Crunch-Crackle-Snap-Snap~
The noises were loud, thundering in her ears. Her mind blearily blurry as more of the sounds filled her ears. Rapidly blinding cracks filling her vision as though she was seeing the light for the first time in her life. Temperature started coming back to her, her mind struggling to comprehend what was happening as her eyes fluttered shut. More crackling sounds followed as her fingers twitched around whatever was secured within her hands. Her eyes struggling to open as she shifted slowly. Mentally her brain screamed at her, as her eyes fluttered shut once more disoriented by the blinding light of what could only be either the sun or a form of spotlight. Vaguely the feeling of rocks falling from her skin caught her attention as she forced herself to sit up, the feeling of something similar to sand fluttering from her fingertips, a weight settling into her fingers. Surprisingly she wasn’t hurting, and despite the brain fog, she was slowly around bit by bit. Understanding clearer and clearer with each passing second. Her eyes blinking rapidly as she mentally processed what she was seeing. Blue and green.
Her brain was a curse to her, both useful and a slap to the face as it quickly started recalling what exactly had happened. Organizing her thoughts like some kind of filing cabinet, as it worked on recognized senses that were coming back to her with each passing second.
It took a couple of minutes, a few of which were just her keeping her eyes shut as she recognized the feeling of rings in her hands. The very rings she and one of her fiancés were discussing prior. She slipped them onto her ring finger before pushing her bangs from her face and struggling to comprehend what exactly happened. Time had been a difficult thing for her to keep track of after that bright green light had touched her. At the start it wasn’t too hard, but as time had gone by, she just stopped. Her mind, like a loop as it just slowly worked on each memory she possessed, all the useless blueprints she mentally mapped, all the interactions she’d had. Music, she enjoyed listening to, movies she’d watched. Conversations and expressions. Guess photographic memory was useful in this case. By the time she was able to finally open her eyes completely she was unsurprised to find herself sitting outside in what looked like a small clearing of grass, surrounded by trees at all ends. She’d been analyzing everything she could without her sight, letting them adjust to the brightness of the sun. The sight even with how terrifying of a prospect it was to take in, was stunning in it's own ways. Elegant almost, as Xeno would of worded it. It reminded her of the rare times she had gone camping, the nostalgia in what came off as old-world to her. Nothing, but the plants and nature at her front and back.
“ Encased in stone. Feeling physically at peak. Naked..” She muttered to herself quietly, as she looked around feeling a faint breeze, “ Time’s clearly passed, not a building in site. Where’s my phone? Probably a dumb question...”
Looking around she failed to locate her phone anywhere, much less even a shoe. Vaguely she deduced that these items either drifted much further from her or worse. Her brain then processing just how large the flora was, vines stretching up trees. Further she could see other people, or rather stone statues of people. Based on the shell that held her features and scattered around her, she would assume all of them were just like her. Meaning the conversation, she’d been having with her... her husband previously to that green light was true. Flashes of the sparrows that she’d managed to un-petrify just before being turned to stone herself. Vaguely she wished she’d been more advanced in science then just being a surgery, pharmaceuticals, the startup of cybernetics and prosthetics. Looking around further she could see a cave not too far from her, and that of what looked like bat droppings. Briefly she felt disgusted, but then she realized what exactly it was. This is what had helped to awaken her, which meant her theory was correct before. Brainwaves had something to do with the how soon you could be released, if only she knew how long it took for her to wake up.
“ Based on the breeze it’s ether spring or fall, hard to tell..” She muttered to herself as she finally allowed herself to stand.
She was a bit wobbly despite feeling better than she had in years, surprised by how spry she felt. Nothing hurt, nothing creaked internally, if she was being honest with herself; she felt amazing. Like she could go on a five mile run and not break a sweat, like she was experiencing a caffeine high for the first time, just without the crash. Allowing a second to stretch, she finally took to surveying some more, hoping to see anything recognizable. However, with each sweep of her eyes she became more and more uncomfortable, feeling just as naked as she truly was. Every statue was butt naked, leading her to believe that it had been long enough for clothes to either get ripped off or removed, or it had been long enough for them to essentially dissolve due to long time exposure, which would hit at several hundred years…
The mere thought was concerning and terrifying all at once, something she forced herself not to dwell on for too long. She had other things to do, especially if she wanted to sleep out here. Not bothering with the cave, she began to walk around the area, taking everything in, and mentally mapping where she’d began and where she went. She didn’t want to stray too far, but she knew that the basics of survival were a good starting point for the moment. Find water, potentially find food, and make shelter. The cave wouldn’t be suitable for her to stay in based on the smell of ammonia in the air alone, so that meant she would need to find or create shelter somewhere else. Realistically she could recognize what wood would be best for what, but another thought dawned on her. Tools….
“ Oh hey everyone, what would you do if you were sent back into the stone age?”
Bitterly she stared ahead taking stock of what was around, spotting a few mushrooms that weren’t edible. It rang in her mind like it held the answer to her current question and confusion. But… Was she really in a stone age? Had it truly been that long?
It took her nearly all day to locate even half of what she felt she needed. She prioritized clothes as she walked, wrapping vines and leaves around herself almost too tight. Encountered animals that stopped to stare at her like she was the odd thing to see, then found herself water. Not really having an option to boil it she took her chances to quench her thirst before she set about trying to find a decent spot to build at least a fire.
By the time she could finally relax, she was beyond exhausted, and her brain was filtering through all that she’d seen. Tears of frustration pricked her eyes as she looked around for stuff she knew wasn’t anywhere near her. Paper being a major one, pens; her phone most of all. With a deep breath to try and drown her swarming emotions of feeling alone, she looked down at her hand where her two rings sat. She wanted nothing more than to hear the voices of her husbands, wondering where and what they were doing. Were they free too? She wish she had as solid as a game plan as she knew at least one of her husband’s had.
“ I’d create scientific weapons from scratch, and rule as a dictator.”
At the time she thought he was a bit full of himself, and didn’t agree with it. But sitting here now, with no plans other than basic necessity, she wish she was more put together. The stress of the day and what was fully happening around her was a little too much.
“ Hmmm…. Hard to say, hard to imagine not being around Xeno or you when I wake up.”
Stanley had been in a flirtatious mood that night, completely briefing over the question that she had given him. That night they had been sitting at Xeno’s grueling over a new blueprint for a gun that Stanley was interested in redesigning. He’d barely paused in what he was staring at, glancing at her with a flirty smile, tongue darting out to lick his lips no doubt ably craving a cigarette. That night they were all quiet, enjoying the peaceful company of one another. She’d brought it up as a joke, trying to throw scenarios at him to trip him up in conversation. The question caught Xeno's attention, likely remembering when it had been brought up at work.
“ Although I’ve never really given much thought to the future. It’s not really something you think about when you’re in my line or work.”
She’d never related to that comment more than she did in that moment. Vaguely wished she’d prepared herself more, even though logically there was no way for her to prepare for a stone world. Who just magically knows that they’re going to get turned into stone one day and wake up however many years in the future?
That week passed in a blur, full of tears and fears. Realization crashed down on her almost painfully as she struggled to adapt to her new world. She would be lying if she said she didn’t experience panic attacks and the beginnings of depression. They weren’t hard diagnoses to make, not with her experience. The fear of being alone scary, the fear of dying from such a large multitude of things and creatures, the fear of never seeing or hearing the voices of her partners. Most nights she found herself crying herself to sleep, the tears weighing on her exhaustingly. Desperately she wished she felt like she could survive on her own, that she had something to drive her other than survival. Every night she thought back on her life, wishing she would have stayed in America, or had gone to the Summit that Xeno and Stanley had gone to. She was invited, but she stayed to keep working on the sparrows. Having access to better equipment was important, and unfortunately Japan was top notch when it came to the science field.
On the tenth day she felt sick, unsure if it was from malnourishment or from the depression that she was slipping into. She was finding it harder and harder not to get depressed, not to feel so alone. Part of her argued that she should try so that she could get back to Xeno and Stanley, another part found it hard to even piece together how much work would be necessary to even attempt to do that. It wasn’t like they weren’t worth it, that wasn’t the issue. The issue was she felt too much of a mess to even know where to begin. She struggled to find the willpower to even find the bare minimum for food.
“ I wonder if Byakuya and the others were turned to stone.” She wondered allowed as she walked around in hopes of calming herself.
Realistically she knew she should be attempting more than the bare minimum, but she needed a slower day. A day to mental health she justified, knowing tomorrow would be just as shit. Without even realizing it she found herself walking without even paying attention. Not until her foot caught onto something hard, stubbing her toes hard enough to have her yelp as she was flung forward. Her elbows and knees dug harshly into the dirt, tearing skin a bit as she slid. Mood turning sour as she sat up quickly upset that she’d tripped to begin with. Tears stung at her eyes not yet falling but sitting there in emotional frustration. Internally she wanted to shout; curse the world for where she sat now however long into the future, but she held back turning to see what she tripped over.
She was shocked to see someone that looked a bit familiar, mainly from pictures. Sniffling a bit she shifted around where she sat, looking at the partially covered stone, noting the features of the boy that had to be a teen no older then fifteen, maybe sixteen. The more she stared at the statue, filtering through memories of all the interactions she shared with the white and blue haired man in question.
“ Humanity will always have one trick up it’s sleeve. That’s curiosity. I’m ten billion percent sure a greedy bastard who literally wants to know everything about everything would show up. Basically, someone just like my son.”
Byakuya talked about his son often.
“ Hey, Dr.Jade, look look! This is my son Senku.”
Byakuya had been excited to show off pictures of his son, ones that apparently his neighbors had snook for updates on how his son was doing. It was a rather odd arrangement and completely different then what she was used to. The US had a completely different outlook on minors living alone, but she knew it wasn’t too strange for young kids to be wickedly independent. Byakuya also like to brag about how smart his son was, often bragging to Jade about how he’d flown all the way here just to get Byakuya’s credit card. How his son was the reason he was able to qualify for the program.
Staring at the face of the young man she’d only seen in passing twice, she immediately felt a small glimmer of hope. Followed rapidly by shame. She felt a spark from seeing the statue of a child that she didn't actually know. Felt a solution in the back of her mind like all those times Byakuya bragged was some cosmic joke of letting her know that his son needed to wake up. However seeing his face she felt helping him to get free sooner was the smartest option. Byakuya always talked about how smart this boy was, which meant there was a fifty-fifty chance on him having kept thinking all this time. There was a chance he could break out of the stone just like she had. And, based solely on the pathway in which he lay, she wanted to believe it was some twist of cosmic fate that lead her down this path today. Not too far from where she stood, she easily spotted the same cave she’d woken in front of. The one with the bat guano; the same one that assisted her in breaking free from her own shell: so to speak. If she could dig him out and get him closer he might have a higher chance of escaping.
“ I need to move him.” She said to herself as she surveyed to make sure he wasn’t broken.
With a bit of new found purpose she put herself to work, digging him out so that she could move him to the mouth of the cave. Uncaring if she got cuts the crude use of large stones and sticks. When he was finally free of the dirt that held him, she carefully lifted him from his shoulders, happy he was in such an easy pose. Based on the broken statues she’d seen, they were stone all the way through, which made him a bit hard to move, but it was something she was willing to get over. It would be worth it. This was worth it. She used those phrases to help push her forward in her plan.
Once he lay where she once woke she allowed herself a minute to breathe. She had no idea how long it would take for him to come out of the stone, but one thing was clear. She was going to need to put more effort into surviving.
“ Alright.” She whispered to herself after ten to fifteen minutes of sitting beside the statue of her former colleges son, “ Better get to work, I can do this.”
With that she started a small road map of everything she was going to need to do, what she needed to start with, what she needed to build. She needed a better base of operations, she needed reliable food, and she needed to get over herself. Seeing Senku gave her a sliver of hope that she might not be alone for the rest of her days, and that was enough of a jumpstart for her. As pathetic as it was to rely on a child to wake up from being petrified… But if he was anything like Byakuya claimed then she felt like it would be worth trying for.