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Final minutes of the end.

Summary:

And here they are, teenagers again, just like in the beginning, back in familiar places.... Again they look at the sunset reflected in the water, again they squeeze each other's hands.
But this time it's a little different, this time they're much closer than they were then, this time they're more relaxed, their behaviour doesn't have that teenage note that was left in the memories. This time they don't look into each other's eyes for too long, a few seconds is enough. This time they complete the moment - even if there are only a few minutes left.

Notes:

One day I'll learn to come back, probably not in a month..... I'm not sure, to be honest.
Well, while I'm here, have a nice read, mate.
(This was supposed to be released on 15th April... but I finished early, yay)
You can find me here: https://t.me/ALGgHold79

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

People are weak - their lives are worthless.
Their lives are a waste of time and energy.
Humanity is weak.
It was too weak to stop it..

Their lives were only hours away.It was useless to fight.It's too late.It's a foregone conclusion. Mankind had lost.
Perhaps they had no choice and this world - like countless others - would perish, drowned forever in the abyss of dead universes.
Perhaps they would be given one last chance - this time, a truly last chance.
They should have believed, but no one did.
Their hopes were so fragile that the slightest breeze would shatter them.
As there wasn't much time left, everyone was told to take a walk.

Each had something to remember.Each had something to say to the other.
They separated, but not for long.
Einstein and Welt walked slowly, thinking about everything.

It was quiet at first, I think you could hear their heartbeats.They walked silently through the quiet city, holding hands - while they could - with the wind at their heads, it was too hard to find the words.
They are not the same people they used to be.
There is no Lab 42...
No more things to worry about.
No more life and death.
There was only one answer.
"It's now or never." An inscription carved into my heart long ago. Now is as good a time as any.
They begin to speak almost simultaneously, and then they both laugh:
- I just wanted to say that I'm grateful to you, Tesla and Joachim. It was a fun time.
"The stars are especially bright tonight. The sky is very clear." It was probably the strangest confession she'd ever heard... But that's what made it so appealing.
The originality and... and the fact that it was Welt Joyce, no one else but him.
- I understand. - Her hands clasp his palms more tightly - I'm grateful to you all too - She stands up slightly on her toes and looks him in the eye and says, "Me too."
She sinks back down and looks up at the sky, remembering that there is only an hour left.
Just sixty minutes to say goodbye. Why is life tearing them apart again?
The death of mankind is inevitable. Not now, when the sky is slowly turning bloody. And the poisonous clots are slowly closing in, covering the stars, the moon.
The minutes count.
58..
They sit down on the cool sand, still clutching each other's hands, afraid to let go even for a second - as if they could lose each other even though they were so close.
57..
Ein moves as close as he can and hugs Welt tightly - it's the last thing they need to do now.
Tesla and Joachim were also somewhere nearby, walking along the road and discussing something.
56..
The wind picks up, kicking sand into the air, making it harder and harder to breathe.
Somewhere in the distance, waves are rising, still too small to reach, but not for long. In a few minutes they will be gone. Names will be erased from the world's memory forever. It is so strange to realise that you will be gone, but while some flee for their lives, you have already accepted your fate and just watch... strange indeed.
44..
Frederica and her family walk past the low buildings. The weather is getting worse. It's time to return to the meeting place.
Once they promised to be together forever. Even in this situation.
The road is quiet, there are no more people, everyone has closed windows and doors, trying to avoid the end in their own way. Even though the scientists said it was impossible.
31..
Footsteps break the silence, reminding us that there are five of them, not two.
Not far from here was a pavilion, relatively new, for those who liked to sit in the shade and have a drink.
It was the best place to watch the coming apocalypse.
25..
Everyone is finally gathering.
There's really no time left.
Plumes of unknown smoke thicken, lightning flashes in the sky. The thunder seemed even louder than usual, it was deafening.
First a drop hits the roof, then two, three, four.
Soon it was a downpour. With the rain comes the hail. It's big enough to hit a man on the head and knock him unconscious.
A truly terrifying sight.
- A real hell. - Joachim says quietly, exhaling, and Tesla embraces him and his son in tears.
"You won't see your loved ones again," nature has been saying for the last few hours.
"Everything will be fine and we'll get through this," the government said.
Nothing will be all right, the wind blew the shop signs nearby.
Welt fell silent, hugged Lieserl tighter and almost let her fall on top of him.
They had been ready for this for a long time.
But the closer the end came, the harder it was to hold on.
13..
The Anti-Entropy team, or rather the part of it that survived, was slowly dying. The waves were noticeably higher, calmly making their way to the shore, covering the nearest rocks and anything else unfortunate enough to be there.
Not much time left, just a measly ten minutes and...
5..
It wasn't even minutes, it was seconds.
A huge wave was coming towards them - it would swamp them if they didn't try to escape. They weren't going to.
Joey is not looking, hugging his parents, Frederica is still crying, much quieter than a few minutes ago, Joachim is saying something incomprehensible to himself as he counts down the moments.
3..
2..
1..
"I love you, Dr. Lieserl Albert Einstein." "I love you too, Welt Joyce."
The last thing the two heard before there was silence.

A white flash. A sharp beeping sound and a sepulchral silence.
There was nothing else and no one else to remember that moment.
These names, these moments, these feelings are erased from history forever...
It's over.

Notes:

Not quite the Ein/Welt that was needed, though.
To actually sit back and watch humanity die.