Series Summary: Originally from the United States, beloved spouse of Captain Stanley Snyder and Dr. Xeno Wingfield was in Tokyo, Japan at the time of the petrification. Awakening on their own in the stone world, they find themselves stumbling upon a new and budding civilization- The Kingdom of Science- a group of young scientists, warriors, and more, that will soon become like family to them. With one goal in mind- finding and reviving their husbands on the other side of the world- what will happen when the fledgling science troupe finds themselves in America and find it's already settled?
Part Summary: Finally, after who knows how long, you awake from the stone. Armed with nothing but your knowledge of wildlife and the will to survive, you venture into the new world.
TW: None <3
Barely proof read :P
Word Count: 2,820
A/N: Ooooh yuh part 2 is here. Genuinely thank you so much for all the love you guys showed part 1!! I'm so grateful to you all- I love so much that you all enjoy my silly little stories <3
I'm gonna be real, I'm not a huge fan of this part. But, I needed to get the reader's depetrifcation and arrival at the KoS out there lol. In any case, I hope you all enjoy!
Also, I do describe the reader's petrification marks in this part- and I did draw them on my own hand to show y'all what I meant lol. References for those will be at the end :3
Reader's Note: When writing dialogue between characters, I use italics for sentences spoken in Japanese! I use italics for their intended purpose (I.e. emphasis & thoughts) in other spots in this, so hopefully that isn't confusing! Please let me know if that concept translates well, or if I should figure out an alternative! Thank you!!
Suddenly, sound infiltrated your ears for the first time in god knows how long. Cracking, rumbling. As quick as the sound appeared, you could see light. You could see the sky, trees, and birds flying overhead. For the first time since the light hit you, you were aware of the stone surrounding your body. You could feel it chipping away. First, your face. You took a deep, gasping breath, your lungs filling with air for the first time since you can remember. Then, your hands. You could feel running water on the finger tips of your right hand. It took you a moment, trying to remember how to get your brain to move your ligaments, but you managed to wiggle your fingers- feeling the cool water run between them.
Soon enough, your entire body had broken free from the stone. You felt brand new, like someone waking up out of cold sleep. You sat yourself up- you don’t remember lying down- and looked around you. Trees, shrubbery, a flowing creek that definitely was not there when the light hit you, everything looked different. There were no buildings, no cars, no telephone poles, nothing. You looked around. You were surrounded by stone statues. Your heart sank.
What the hell happened?
How long has it been like this?
You looked down at your own body, completely bare. You examined yourself for any signs of harm- curious to see if the petrifying light had hurt you in any way. You found nothing except for a mark on your left hand, two jagged lines going from the tip of your ring finger, wrapping around to the back of your hand, stopping just past your wrist. You inspected it closer. It almost looked like a scar, but it went much deeper. It wasn’t a wound, though. It almost looked like… a crack? Odd. You studied it closer. It wrapped around to the other side of your hand right where your wedding bands used to sit. You frowned at their absence.
“Well, I suppose it makes sense,” you muttered to yourself, “it’s been long enough that neither my clothes, or any buildings exist anymore…” You thought to yourself, “gold doesn’t degrade… They must have broken off as the landscape changed around me. I wonder how far away I am from where I started?” You started to walk around, exploring the new landscape. None of it felt familiar- everything was different than the last time you saw this place.
The need for survival soon kicked in, and you eventually fashioned yourself some “clothes”. Nothing incredible- just some leafy vines you managed to tie together enough to resemble something that could’ve been a dress. At least you had managed to partially cover yourself from the sun. The air felt cool. You assumed it was sometime in the fall. But, still, elemental exposure- especially sun exposure- was dangerous any time of year.
Clothing was acquired, and you could get fresh water from the stream you had woken up next to if you stuck close during your exploration. Food was another story. You had a good idea of the local flora and fauna, but you weren’t exactly a hunter. You didn’t know how to fashion traps or a weapon… But you supposed you would have to figure it out eventually. For now, you subsisted on local flora- fruits and vegetables that you knew would be safe. For your first night, you hunkered down under a large tree, curling into yourself for warmth. You had tried- and failed- to start a fire. It wasn’t freezing… But you certainly weren’t comfortable. Tomorrow, you would look for survivors.
The dread hit you all at once. Survivors. Even if you found them, could you talk to them? You hardly spoke Japanese. Just enough niceties to get you through your trip. Otherwise, you had a translator with you the whole time. An even deeper dread set in. What if you were the only one? What if you couldn’t find anyone? Could you really survive on your own? If so, how long would you be able to do it? Would anyone else ever show up?
Sleep hit you deep into the night. Leaving you only a couple hours before daylight.
You woke up at the first sign of sunlight- groggy, absolutely exhausted from the adrenaline crash from the day before. Still, you got yourself up and moving. You continued to follow the stream you woke up by. You didn’t really know what you were doing- you weren’t a survivalist by any means. But, you knew that you wouldn’t get anywhere if you didn’t keep moving.
You walked through the day and into the night. By the time dusk was falling, you had arrived at a tall hill. The height could give you an advantage, you thought. Using your last bit of daylight, you climbed. When you were at the top, the sun had set completely.
“I don’t know what my plan here was…” You muttered to yourself, realizing that without daylight, your vantage point was essentially useless. You stood there, looking directly up into the sky. The night sky was like nothing you had ever seen. You swore you could see every star in the galaxy.
“Xeno… You would love this.” You felt tears prick at your eyes. You sat down on the grass, imagining what it would be like to have your husbands here with you. You imagined a picnic blanket, the three of you lounging on it. Xeno would be in the middle, excitedly pointing out every constellation and planet he could see. Stanley would be lying with his hands behind his head, likely dozing off. You would be curled up into Xeno’s side, listening intently to his excited rambles.
You felt the grass to your sides, bare and empty. You wondered where they were. Did they get turned to stone? What happened to them? Had they revived before you did? Were they even still alive? The thoughts made you sick to your stomach. They were interrupted, however, when you caught a glimmer of light out of your peripheral. Quickly standing, you turned towards the light. Below, you could see fires lit, and lights coming out of windows. A village?
Without regard for the nighttime, you started running. You couldn’t gauge how far away the lights were- maybe a mile, or two? You didn’t care. There was civilization here.
You kept running. For how long, you weren’t sure. An hour or so. Stopping to catch your breath along the way. Before long, you were upon the small village. You approached a suspension bridge that led into the village, stopping when you saw two young men standing in front of it holding spears.
“Stop. You may not enter. Who are you?” The taller one spoke, both of them crossing their spears to stop you from crossing the bridge. You couldn’t understand what he said- only picking up on the word stop. You shook your head at him, eyes wide.
“I don’t speak Japanese,” you said, using one of the only phrases you knew in the language, “Do you speak English?” You asked in your native tongue, hoping that one of them would understand.
The taller one, with dark hair and glasses, looked at you confused. He said something you didn’t understand to the shorter blond one next to him. The short one ran off across the bridge, and the taller one stepped in front of it, using his body to block you from the entrance. He put his hand out in front of him, in a universal sign for wait here.
You waited, nervously fidgeting with your hands. You were afraid of this. You found survivors- civilization, even- but you couldn’t communicate with them. How were you supposed to prove you were worthy of their trust when you couldn’t even have a conversation with them?
It wasn’t long before the short one returned, with two other men in tow- one with green and white dual toned hair, the other black and white. The short blond’s loud voice carried to where you were standing as you crossed the bridge- but you didn’t know what he was saying. The taller man standing in front of the bridge moved to the side for them to fully cross, but was still visibly on guard.
“So you don’t speak Japanese?” The man with the green hair asked you a question. You, speak, and Japanese were the only words you got from it. You shook your head at him.
“English?” You asked, your voice small. You were trying to make yourself seem as little of a threat as possible- not that you looked like much of one to begin with.
“Are you American?” He asked in perfect English, surprise in his voice.
“Yes! I am! Oh my gosh, you can actually understand me,” your tone was dripping in relief. You felt like you had just struck gold.
“Well, this is interesting. I have a lot of questions for you. But, first, are you with Tsukasa?”
Your brows furrowed together, “am I… What? I don’t… No, no. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just… I woke up, or broke out, or whatever out of that stone yesterday. I just saw signs of civilization and ran towards it.”
The man with the black and white hair spoke, “It seems to me that they’re telling the truth, dear Senku. They don’t look familiar, either… I don’t remember seeing their statue in the Tsukasa Empire.” So there were two English speakers. The man with the black and white hair looked familiar to you… You swore you had seen him somewhere before in the old world.
“Follow me,” the one you now knew as Senku said, turning to walk back over the bridge. He said something to the two guards in Japanese, and they both stood down, moving to the side. You were still nervous, but started to follow over the bridge. The man with black and white hair hung back, noticing your unease and waiting back for you.
He spoke as you walked, “The guards at the bridge are Kinro- the tall one, and his brother Ginro. That,” he pointed to the man walking ahead of you, “is Ishigami Senku. He’s the chief of this village, and a scientist. And I am Asagiri Gen.”
“The mentalist,” You said, the dots connecting in your head, “that’s why you look so familiar.”
“Ah! So you’ve heard of me! Happy to hear that my little stint in the States made a lasting impression.” His voice was almost unnervingly chipper. His happy-go-lucky tone left an uneasy feeling in your stomach, like you were watching someone play a role.
“Your phony mentalist gig is ten billion percent the least interesting topic among the three of us right now, Gen.” Senku said, annoyance in his voice, as he led you into one of the many huts in the village.
“Well that’s a good way to hurt my feelings, dear Senku,” Gen retorted, the chipper tone in his voice switching to a painfully fake sounded tone of hurt, “I was just trying to make conversation with our new iend-fray here.”
Gen had you feeling more nervous than you were before. You could tell his tone was genuine with Senku, even when he was putting on a show. But, when he was talking to you, it felt completely fake. He wanted information from you. You had no intention of hiding anything from these two, not when they were your only chance at survival right now, but it was very apparent that one of them did not trust you.
The three of you sat on the floor, Senku and Gen both sitting across from you. Gen’s gaze bore into you. You felt like he could see straight into your soul. Senku had an almost bored expression on his face, but his eyes held a glimmer of excitement.
“So, you can start by telling us your name.” He said.
“Oh, right…” You had gotten so distracted by whatever was going on with Gen that you had forgotten to introduce yourself.
“I’m Y/N. Y/N Snyder.” You said with a nod, “I’m a wildlife biologist from America. I was here on a work trip when that light appeared.”
“Wildlife biology, huh?” Senku remarked, “that could come in handy. How did you depetrify?”
You shook your head, “Nitric acid, I’m assuming. I woke up with my hand in a stream. I had been sent a report briefing the day before everything happened. I was supposed to be in attendance at an expo for the Department of Defense, but I couldn’t get a flight home in time…” You realized you were rambling, “But, anyway. This briefing contained information from the CDC, showing a strong correlation between brain wave activity and response to nitric acid in the petrified swallows. I didn’t have much time to react in the moment, but I knew it was best to stay conscious and just hope something could save me.”
“Fascinating,” Gen said, with genuine surprise in his voice, “you and Senku had the same reaction to the petrification, for different reasons. The brains of you scientists are too much for me.”
Senku rolled his eyes, “so you stayed conscious, that makes sense. Nitric acid occurs naturally in rain water, enough of it in that stream over 3,700 years definitely could have broken you free.” Your eyes widened. How many years did he say?
“Anyway, how did you manage to get an invitation to a classified event like that? I’m curious about your career.”
You chuckled, “Well, I’ve been studying it for practically my whole life, it’s always been my passion. I’m considered a leading expert in my field. That’s why I was here in the first place- I was speaking at an international conference in Tokyo. On top of that, I do have my connections…” You knew you had already spilled confidential information to these two, but something about your “connections” being your husbands who were also very high ranking in their fields felt embarrassing.
“A world renowned expert in wildlife biology wouldn’t be bad to have around. I can think of about ten billion practical applications for your knowledge. That is, if you had any interest in sticking around here?” Senku leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs.
“Yes, yes, absolutely. I mean, it’s not like I have much of a choice,” you huffed out a laugh, “I’m more than happy to put in my share of work. I do have a few questions for you, though, if I may?” Senku nodded in response.
“So you’re both, obviously, from the 21st century. Do you have any idea what happened? Did you build this village? And you asked if I was with someone earlier- Tsukasa- who is that?” Your questions came out in rapid fire. You realized this, and stopped yourself.
“I basically just want to know what your deal is. I’ve been living inside my own head for the last, what did you say? 3,700 years? And, if I’m being completely honest, I am very scared and very confused. I’m a long way from home, and I’m wearing leaves right now.” You laughed, but concern was present on your face.
Gen stood up, “I can help with that last problem. Senku here can catch you up to speed on everything else.” With that, he left. Presumably to find you some real clothes to wear.
And catch you up, Senku did. He told you everything- about the revival fluid, Ishigami Village and the astronauts, the Tsukasa Empire, the war that was inevitably coming. Your head spun with the information presented to you. You wondered what the hell you had gotten yourself into, if this would even be worth it. But, Senku had a charm, a spark in him that had you hooked. He reminded you so much of your Xeno when you were teenagers- just enamored by science and all the mysteries of our world and the universe. Senku had a passion that you immediately wanted to protect. You had watched the powers that be try and extinguish your husband’s spark innumerable times, try to hold back the progression of science. Exactly what this Tsukasa was trying to do now.
In this new world, you wanted to help Senku. Help this little kingdom of science. You wanted to help him discover things you yourself wanted to know- the secret behind the petrification beam, and the course to reviving all of humanity. And you knew, with Senku’s help, you could create the opportunity to go back home. To find them.
Stanley, Xeno, I’m coming. I promise.
Part 3 Here!
A/N: Okay, so part 3 is already written- I might add a wee little bit more to it for funsies. The next part takes place like right before they leave for America, so I might add a couple little blurbs of Stone Wars - Treasure Island. Again, for funsies. I want to be able to establish relationships between the reader and the other characters without taking tooooooo long before getting to Stan and Xeno :') Reader lowk is the parent friend of the KoS and will mother all of them :)
Also, here's a reference for how I was describing the reader's petrification marks. It's not that important, but I think the idea is cool as hell and I wanted it to be a little Easter egg for the two wedding rings they would wear in the old world :3 pardon my teeny tiny baby hands they are so stubby
