Metamorphosis AU: Installment 1
Years of work were going to come together in this one critical moment. Years of reading code until it was more familiar than their mother tongues, years of sleepless nights, of successes and failures. It was all about to come together into one big event.
It would be a lie to say none of the three of them were excited. The buzz in the air was palpable.
Not only had the trio proven the existence of the multiverse with an overwhelming amount of evidence, but they were about to peer into another reality just to see it for themselves. Their equipment was ready and the three of them waited for one to make the call, all of them waiting at the edges of their seats.
"If we're going to do this, I don't see a point in putting it off any longer," the representation of Germany grumbled as he brushed over a stack of notes one last time.
"No time like the present," his Russian counterpart cheerfully agreed. He secured the long ends of his thick scarf under his sweater, then looked to the last member of the trio, who had up until now been uncharacteristically quiet.
This was the personification of America, who had been deep in thought for some time. They were all thrilled to be so close, sure, but were they opening Pandora's box?
The young man sighed and ran his hands through his hair, then offered a wide smile to his friends. He clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "Right on! I've been waiting forever to see how this turns out. Let's go."
Germany accepted the proclamation without issue, but as expected, Russia's gaze lingered on America for longer than he was comfortable with. The western nation matched that stare, the two locked in a falsely cheerful exchange.
Oh, how little they had changed. America cocked an eyebrow, daring the other to speak. Russia simply chuckled in response, then stood and strode over to the delicate machinery that had spent the last few years there in that spotless Berlin basement.
He crouched down and plugged in a couple of cords while the other two waited at their shared table with bated breath. As the electric whirring filled the room, Russia stood and waited by the center of the mechanical mass, an old metal door that looked near indestructible.
"We can share pleasure," he announced, his smile wide as ever. "I'm happy to open this if you turn the power on, Germany."
Aside from the dull hum in the background from the electricity, the room was silent. All that could be heard was someone stomping around on the floor above them and a raucous laughter.
The distraction wasn't enough for America to forget the surely deliberate snubbing. He pushed up his glasses and asked, "And what about me, hm? What do I get to do?"
Russia thought for a moment, tapping a finger to his lip. Glancing over at Germany, America saw that while his expression was the same as ever, his jaw was clenched. Neither looked forward to the answer.
"We need someone to do a countdown!" The Muscovite announced before repeating that same damn mocking laugh of his.
Whatever. This was supposed to be a good day, and the two of them were friends now. America could take this.
Germany pinched the bridge of his nose, then moved so he could access the control panel they had built. If he had something to say, it couldn't be that important. Or maybe he wanted to keep the illusion of peace.
But passive aggression had no place here. America stood in clear view of the door so he could see the other side when it appeared.
He clapped his hands together and loudly cleared his throat. You could only announce the coming of another reality one time. He had to do it right.
"Alright, guys! We're on in ten, nine, eight, sev-"
"Wait!" Came the shrill hollering of Germany's elder brother as he began pounding on the door. "You can't do it without my say-so and you don't get my say-so until you let me in!"
The three of them could have had a whole debate in shrugs, eyerolls, and hums while they figured out the safest course of action but Germany decided to spare them.
"It's open. Come in, but don't cross the red line. And don't distract us," he ordered.
Not more than a second later, Prussia had opened the door and was ever so gleefully rocking back and forth in front of the duct taped line on the floor. He looked the setup up and down, then tiptoed closer to the metal door handle held firmly by Russia- all the while ignoring Germany's warning scowl.
"Whatcha gonna see in there? Aliens?" He asked as he stroked the canary blithely resting on his shoulder.
Russia wasn't about to let him get too ahead of himself.
"We probably won't see anything that we're able to notice. It could be completely unobservable, a whole world invisible to us," he explained all too smugly.
And if Prussia didn't look dejected enough, he became even more discouraged when Russia added, "Even if we could see life, my guess is nothing more than bacteria. But it's alien bacteria, and that's exciting enough."
"But not real, cool aliens," Prussia added under his breath.
America thought it best not to mention his friend from Roswell and to just get on with his count. He cleared his throat once again and held up his hand, curling his fingers as he counted down.
"Five, four, three... two... one!"
Germany dutifully flipped the switch.
Russia pushed the door open and stood aside so the others could see.
And what they all saw was not the blackness they may have been expecting. Instead, what they saw was a woodland world teeming with plant life. Not quite pitch black, but only as dark as any forest shrouded in the veil of night.
Which happened to be lit by the pale glow of countless unfamiliar plants and mushrooms, as if the forest floor wanted to mimic the starry sky above.
They were all but struck dumb by the wondrous sight. Prussia was the only one able to mumble a weak, "Well, this sure beats the hell out of aliens."
Yeah. No shit.
