Hushed voices surrounded you while you slept, and you couldn't make out what they were saying. In fact, you wanted them to stay quiet altogether. A groan left your lips and you swatted whoever was closest to you.
"Be quiet..." you moaned. A gasp sounded to your right and a familiar pair of hands captured yours.
"Y/n?" You squinted your eyes shut, before steadily opening them. The moment the light infiltrated your vision, you threw your arm over your eyes, shielding them from the harsh light. The pounding headache you had felt before returned, and you rolled onto your side. "Are you okay?" You forced your eyes open and your vision blurred. You then looked up at who was next to you. Tobio? No, as your vision cleared, you saw that it was Astro.
"Astro..." you uttered. Astro smiled warmly at you and he nodded his head while he held your hand in his.
"Yeah, that's right. How are you feeling?" You turned on your back and you stared up at the roof in a daze.
"I feel...dizzy." You mumbled.
"That's to be expected. You completely passed out earlier." Astro's voice spoke up, but a little further away. As you looked further down from Astro, you saw Tobio sitting on another stool with an equal amount of worry on his face just like Astro. The haunting image of his sinister smile then played in your mind, and you shot up with a start. The blood then rushed to your head, almost making you pass out.
Astro sucked in a sharp breath as you collapsed against him and he used his arm to support you by the waist.
"You have to be careful." He warned and he rubbed his hand along your back. You clenched your eyes shut while nodding your head.
"S-Sorry, it's just that..." you opened your eyes and you gazed at Tobio searchingly. His face was full of concern, and you found it hard to believe he would have smiled at you like that. 'Maybe it was my imagination? Yeah, it must have been.' Tobio looked down at the books on his lap with a heavy frown on his face and he began to trace his finger along its leather surface.
"I recognise these symptoms. I started showing these signs right after I began using the pendant's powers." Tobio whispered, making your eyes widen as well as Astro's.
"What? Does that mean she'll eventually fall into a coma, just like you?" Astro confirmed, his concern for you increasing tenfold. Tobio bit his lip as you looked around the room. This room looked a lot like Tobio's hospital room, except the door with the teleporting pad wasn't here.
"I'm not sure, hopefully it doesn't come to that. Y/n has been using her powers for a while now, so it's probably not as severe as my case." He mentioned, settling Astro somewhat.
"Do you think you can use the white diamond pendant to find out what's wrong with her?" Astro asked, making Tobio's eyes widen as well as yours.
"Astro, I really don't think that's a good idea. Look, I'm fine now! I just needed some rest." You admitted. To prove your point, you pounded your chest with confidence and you grinned at him. "See?" Astro gazed at you doubtfully. You averted your gaze from his and your focus turned towards the books sitting on Tobio's lap. "What's that you got there, Tobio?"
Tobio jumped in surprise at the sudden mention of his books, before an excited grin appeared on his face.
"These books are from my father's study. I'm sure you must have read them when you visited the library with Astro." He stated and he opened the first book's contents. Astro looked down at the pages and his eyes widened slightly.
"That's the book written about the war two hundred years ago." Tobio nodded his head and he flicked through its pages with a smile littering his face.
"Yeah, I wanted to show Y/n, but this happened..." he trailed off and he gave you an almost apologetic smile. Astro looked down at the page he had stopped on and his eyes widened.
"Hey, that's...that's me!" He exclaimed and he pointed to the picture of himself. You looked over too and you held your breath. Tobio nodded his head and he looked down at the book.
"Yep! Well, not really. This was a robot attendant to the black onyx guardian. His name was Astro, just like yours." Tobio revealed, shocking both you and Astro to a great extent. 'He was my attendant?' You thought to yourself as you and Astro faced each other. You then laughed.
"It's too bad he's not my attendant now." You joked. Astro frowned at you while Tobio chuckled. Astro then took the book out of his hands and he looked over the picture.
"Astro... So that's where he got my name." He whispered and he brushed his fingers over the old picture. Almost no expression was on his face as he stared into the camera lense. You poked your head into his view and you looked up at him. You and Astro stared at each other for a moment before the two of you laughed. Tobio watched the two of you silently before he tugged the book out of Astro's grip.
"You guys are almost always together. How close are you exactly?" He began to pry. Astro smiled at him confidently and he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you against him.
"We're best friends." He stated, it almost sounded like he was boasting. Tobio's eyes widened slightly while your face reddened. You looked up at Astro shyly before you smiled. Tobio closed his book and he rose to his feet.
"I should get going. It's getting late. I hope you're feeling better soon, Y/n." Tobio reached forwards and he gave your hand a light peck, causing your face to flush with colour. Astro gaped disbelievingly at the boy as he smiled winningly at you. With a polite nod of his head, Tobio quickly excused himself from the room.
"I can't believe he did that." Astro muttered under his breath, and he grabbed a nearby cloth from a water basin. He then grabbed onto your hands and he scrubbed them, particularly the spot where Tobio had kissed you. You gave him a crooked smile as he did this.
"Really?" Astro closed his eyes and he set the cloth aside.
"I'm only taking care of you." You muffled your giggle with your hand. Astro smiled warmly at you. He then pushed his seat back and stood up.
"I should also get going. You need more rest. I'll come visit you in the morning." Your eyes widened as he turned his back to you. "Goodni-"
"W-Wait!" You cried out and you pulled him back by the shirt, stopping him abruptly. Astro looked back at you as you stared down at the ground with thin lips. Your hands trembled and your grip tightened incredibly. "Um, do you mind staying with me? I-I don't want to be alone." You asked in a quiet voice. Astro's expression changed and he stood shocked. He then sat down in his seat and he made himself comfortable.
"Of course. I'll always be here when you need me." He spoke and he smiled at you. You felt safe with him, and you desperately wanted to talk more with him. In fact, you wanted to tell him about your entire day. And so you did. Astro carefully nodded along to your words. His face then lifted in surprise at some parts. He hadn't even realised there was an armoury for the two guardians.
After half an hour of talking with him, you let out a long yawn before rubbing your tears away with your fingers. Astro spared a glance at the time.
"Okay, it's really gotten late. You should go back to sleep." He prompted and he nudged you back. You allowed him to push you down onto the bed and you looked up at him through half lidded eyes. Your lips stretched into a smile and you held his hand.
"Thanks for being with me, Astro." Astro's heart fluttered and he held his breath. He then swallowed hard and he leaned over you. Your eyes widened as he pressed his lips to your forehead, holding them there for a good second before he pulled away.
"Goodnight, Y/n." You could only nod your head and you hid your red face behind the blanket. Astro shared a warm smile with you before he stood out of his seat. Your eyes followed along his retreating figure as he exited the room, leaving you by yourself. You then turned on your side and you pressed your cool hands to your flushed cheeks in an attempt to cool them down.
'H-H-He just k-k-k-kissed me! It was only on the forehead, but still!' You clenched your eyes shut and you rolled back and forth onto your bed. Before you were ready to go to sleep, but now you couldn't even think straight. The hospital room felt a lot warmer than before, it was almost unbearable. You leaned into your sheets and you closed your eyes. This was going to be a long night.
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In the next morning, you sat at the dining table with your fork hanging loosely in your palm as you stared at your plate of food. Astro sat by you while Tobio happily at his food. Tenma had informed you beforehand that he would be eating his breakfast in his office, as he was a very busy man. You held a vague expression on your face while the two boys eyed you worriedly. Tobio slowly chewed his food while Astro tapped his finger away on the table.
"Are you okay, Y/n?" Astro piped up and he rested his hand onto your shoulder. You dropped your fork in surprise and you jumped back from him, making his eyes widen. Your face was flushed a bright red, and you couldn't bare to look him in the eyes.
From the other side of the table, Tobio laughed and he leaned on the table with one elbow. Astro whipped his head towards him and he saw the mocking smile playing at his lips.
"Best friends, huh?" Astro clenched his fists and he gave Tobio a look, silently telling him to shut up. Tobio shrugged his shoulders while you kept your hands buried into your lap. Astro then looked over at you and he furrowed his brows with concern.
"Did I do something?" You gasped and you hurriedly waved away his presumptions.
"Of course not! I'm just weird, heh heh." You said and laughed it off. Astro frowned even more while Tobio finished his plate of food. He then pushed his plate back and he patted his stomach down.
"Y/n, would you like to check out other parts of the castle with me? I can tell you about their history." Tobio offered. Your eyes quickly flickered over to Astro before you nodded your head and stood out of your seat.
"Yeah, let's do it." Tobio smiled at your answer. He then looked over at Astro.
"What about you?" Astro opened his mouth to agree, when the dining hall doors opened to reveal another one of Astro's subordinates. A visible look of confusion appeared on Astro's face and he tensed up in his seat as the white diamond knight walked over to him with another letter in his hands.
"There's been a bomb threat in the inner layer. It requires your immediate attention." Your eyes widened as well as Tobio's while Astro took the letter from him and he read over its contents carefully. With a curt nod of his head, he grabbed his sword from under the table and he strapped it onto his back.
"Let's go." Tobio stood up out of his seat and he watched Astro go with wide eyes.
"W-Wait!" Astro looked back at him with a raised eyebrow as he tripped over himself just getting to him. Tobio skidded to a stop and he breathed out. "You're going?" A feint flicker of surprise crossed his face before he propped his hands onto his hips.
"Of course. This is a bomb threat we're talking about. I can't waste any time, so be careful. Both of you." He warned, directing his words in your direction. You jumped up to your feet and you gave him an encouraging smile.
"Good luck." Astro returned your smile. He and his subordinate then exited through the doors with an air of dignity. 'I almost forgot he was the captain of the white diamond knights.' You silently admitted to yourself as you watched the doors close behind them. Tobio held a pouty look on his face before he turned towards you, bringing you back to reality.
"Should we go ahead then?" You slowly nodded your head. Tobio offered his hand to you with a bright smile on his face. You eyed his hand with pressed lips, and you couldn't help but think back to his haunting smile. 'Stop thinking like that. It was obviously your imagination, so get that thought out of your head!' You scolded yourself with a shake of your head. Tobio watched you curiously as he stood patiently. He then took you by the hand and he tugged you behind him.
"Come on, if we don't hurry it'll be too late." You pressed your knuckles to your head as you dealt with your inner mind battle while Tobio dragged you behind him, guiding you out of the room. You had missed his earlier statement, leaving you to your own thoughts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You and Tobio wandered down the hallways where the castle staff would bustle around you, performing their duties. Your head followed along their moving bodies and you leaned towards Tobio.
"Is it always this busy here?" You asked him. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head in a guessing manner.
"Sometimes. This is the main part of the palace. It's where all of the officials hang around." Your mouth opened in wonder and you saw a young maid carry an overly large platter of fruits down the hallway. You leaned back as she turned a corner down the hallway, and Tobio eventually dragged you back onto the correct pathway.
"So where exactly are we going?" Tobio looked at you out of the corner of his eye, and he pressed a quiet finger to his lips as a Cheshire like grin spread across his face.
"You'll see." As you and Tobio walked further down the hallways, less and less staff began to appear, until the two of you had reached total seclusion. The hallways felt oddly quiet as your footsteps echoed. Finally, you and Tobio came to a stop outside a set of dark wooden doors. It had been polished so much that you could see yourself in the reflection.
"What's behind here?" Tobio gripped onto the door handle and he spied you out of the corner of his eye. He then smiled at you.
"You'll find out." He then pushed open the two wooden doors, and they creaked with age. Your jaw dropped as a circular room engulfed in a golden light was revealed to you. You followed Tobio inside and you immediately began to admire the beautiful artwork littering the walls and the roof. The windows had beautiful metal works wielded into its seams and the floor looked so polished. As you stared into your reflection, the face of a woman stood out before you, making you look up.
A lone statue of a woman cradling a spear sat at the end of the room. The end of her spear had spiral patterns embedded onto the blade and below the blade, two beautifully made handles decorated with jewels stretched out, serving as a guard. As you approached the statue, you looked up at its face. She held a stoic expression on her beautiful features, and something familiar about her face spoke out to you.
As your eyes wondered down to her chest, you sucked in a sharp breath as a stone carving of the black onyx pendant hung around her neck.
"Is this...the black onyx guardian?" You breathed. Tobio stood beside you and he gazed up at the stone beauty with a small smile.
"Yep! She's your incarnation, your past life. Her statue was built here as a memorial for the black onyx guardian, who had disappeared completely for two hundred years." Tobio said to you, reciting the purpose for this statue. You looked around the room, and you failed to find his statue.
"What about your statue? Don't you have one?" Tobio shook his head no and he rested his arms behind his head.
"I never needed one. Unlike the black onyx guardian, I appeared when I had to. Even now I'm still fulfilling my duties as the white diamond guardian." You fell silent as he said this, and you turned your gaze downward. Your lips thinned out and you let your shoulders drop.
"Why did I disappear two hundred years ago....?" You whispered. Tobio had almost missed your words you spoke so quietly. He turned his head towards you and he gave you a sorry look. You looked over at him and you chuckled while rubbing the back of your head. "Sorry for being so gloomy. You don't hold all the answers."
"So you don't remember?" Your eyes widened and you pulled your hand away from your neck. Tobio stared straight into your eyes, searching for something. You tore your gaze away from his and you looked up at the statue of yourself. As you focused more on her spear, you gasped.
"Wait, that spear!" A flicker of hope flashed through Tobio's eyes as you turned excitedly towards him. "It's not in the armoury, was it lost?" Tobio almost fell over, and he let out a heavy sigh.
"It wasn't lost, that spear is her weapon of choice. Those weapons you saw in the armoury were forged for us. The weapons we summon signify who we are, and what fate we're tied to." Tobio explained to you. Your mouth opened in understanding and you looked up at the statue once more. You then gasped.
"Wait, then why is my weapon a scythe!?" You cried out and you turned towards Tobio in alarm. Tobio held a thoughtful hand to his chin.
"I'm not too sure." As he thought more on the subject, the tips of his brows came together. "Could it be...?"
"Could be what? What is it?" Tobio shook his head and he wandered passed you.
"No, it's nothing." 'It doesn't look like she's going to remember. She's pretty thick.' Tobio thought to himself and he watched you carefully as you looked around the room. A twinkling idea then struck Tobio, and his eyes widened. 'Wait, maybe I don't need her memories. This is probably better anyway.'
"Tobio, what is this room exactly?" You asked and you turned towards him. Tobio jumped on the spot and he cleared his throat.
"Well, this is the coronation room for the guardians. It's where you and I held our coronations over two hundred years ago." Your eyes widened in wonder.
"Really?" Tobio nodded. He then moved towards the statue and he rested his hand over the podium it stood on. "We were the ones who ended the two hundred year war, did you know that?" You shook your head no, quite fascinated with the ancient story.
"I had no idea." Tobio closed his eyes.
"Well it's true. Even though we were the ones who ended the war, fate was never in our favour. Do you want to know what happened to us after the war?" As Tobio spoke on, he acted more and more out of character, which concerned you. You swallowed hard and beads of sweat began to form on your forehead.
"What happened?" Tobio stared down at his hand as he pressed it against the stone statue. His eyes were empty, and you couldn't detect the slightest emotion in them. He then spoke in a broken voice.
"We died. Right in this very room." Your eyes steadily widened and your hands flew up to your mouth. Tobio's fingers curled into fists and he bowed his head melancholically. He then looked back at you from over his shoulder and he gave you a pained smile. "It's just not fair, I never chose to be a guardian. So why do I have to suffer like this?" You swallowed hard and you lifted a hand towards him.
"Tobio..." you uttered, but he pulled himself back from your kind touch. His bangs covered his eyes as he obscured his face from your view. His shoulders then shook as a low chuckle rumbled in his throat.
"Apparently in other timelines, we aren't tied to this fate. But even then, I still die. It's not fair, IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!" He screamed. You stepped back in shock as the glass panels shook from the volume of his voice. For the first time, you saw his pendant glow a white hot light, feeding off his impending rage.
"T-Tobio?" Tobio almost glared at you, he was that angry. But upon seeing your look of fear, he backed away and his rage soon died down. He breathed in a heavy breath, and he let out all of his frustrations with one sigh.
"I'm sorry, I...didn't mean to snap. I'm just frustrated." He uttered, and he kneeled to the floor in exhaustion. You pressed your knuckles to your lips and you continued to watch him with knotted brows. You then carefully stepped towards him and you held your hand out to him once again.
"Tobio, how do you know that you die in the other timelines?" You whispered. Tobio breathed in and he gently cupped the pendant in his hands. He then held it out to you.
"I control the power of time while you control the spacial lines in our world. With this pendant, I'm able to see futures even from other worlds. So I got curious, and I had a look at my own future. Every time I'm fated to die, just so that some robot can live." You sat on your knees while Tobio frowned to himself. His words confused you greatly.
Tobio let the pendant fall against his chest and he crossed one leg over the other before pressing on.
"But it's different in this world. I don't die, but my life is still controlled by some fate. You and I, we're both forced to fight for this country. Us, just a bunch of kids. Every generation, we fight. Doesn't that annoy you?" You opened your mouth to respond, but then you closed your mouth. You felt conflicted in all honesty. You hadn't even thought about your fate in other worlds.
"Y/n, we can change our fates!" Your gaze locked with his and your eyes widened as an excited grin appeared on his face. He then jumped up to his feet and he threw his arms out, emphasising a grand gesture. "With our powers combined, we're able to control the timelines and their movements." You quickly shook your head and you raised your hands, stopping his excited banter.
"Hold on, a-aren't you going too far? I don't exactly want to mess around with our powers without really understanding them. I actually don't mind how we are at the moment." You quietly admitted. Tobio's grand smile soon disappeared from his face and he let his hands fall to his sides as he stared silently at you.
"All I want is freedom. Is that so hard to ask for?" No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't come up with the right response. You bit down on your lip as you fell into a dilemma. "It's the same for you, isn't it?" Your gaze snapped up to meet his and you furrowed your brows in confusion.
"What?"
"You were thrown away and raised in the outlands. Talk about bad luck. And now you're thrown into a role you never even wanted, doesn't that make you angry?" You narrowed your eyes at him and you clenched your fists.
"What do you mean by unlucky? I love my family in the outlands. And I don't regret becoming the black onyx guardian." Tobio shook his head in denial and he grabbed you by the hand, making you look down at it.
"You don't even realise what you're saying." He then smiled. "In these other worlds, you can live a normal life. You can have a normal family! You won't have to worry about anything at all. Doesn't that sound great?" You stared at Tobio in astonishment. 'What is he saying? Why is he acting like this?' You then ripped your hand from his and you stumbled back.
"Why are you acting so weird? I don't want to talk about this anymore, I want to go somewhere else." Tobio's mouth hung open as he watched you back away towards the door. He then took a step forwards and he yelled at you.
"But Y/n! We can use our powers to change the world for the better, we can make everything better! If we combine the timelines and make it one, then-"
"NO!" Tobio gasped. You ferociously shook your head and you glared at him. "The world is fine the way it is. It's not our job to play god!" Tobio's entire being shook as those words left your mouth, and a bad memory replayed itself in his mind.
"It's not our job to play god!"
A low laugh escaped Tobio's lips as he shook with humour, and he cast his gaze to the floor. You raised a quizzical brow at him as he broke out in a hysterical laughter.
"What's so funny?" Tobio breathed in and out, before he looked up. Your blood ran cold at the look he gave you. It wasn't like the others, instead of his usual friendly smile, his eyes were cold, devoid of his warmth.
"This is just like last time. You haven't changed one bit, Y/n." He uttered. Beads of sweat formed on your head and you swallowed hard. Your voice trembled as you spoke.
"You're crazy... What exactly are you talking about?" Tobio's face scrunched together with irritation and he growled out.
"You really don't remember, do you?" Panic settled into your chest and your breaths quickened.
"Of course I don't! This isn't even me you're talking about!" You yelled. Your eyes then widened with realisation. "Wait, the armoury, the wall, the chapel, have you been taking me around just to get me to remember...?" Tobio held a hand to his aching head and he closed his eyes.
"It would have gone more smoothly for us if Astro was standing with us in this room. He's a key figure to you getting your memories back." With every word he spoke, it only made you more and more angry. 'What's wrong with him? This isn't like Tobio at all.'
"You know," you perked up. "It's probably for the best that he isn't here. This time, he surely would have stopped me." Your eyes significantly widened.
"This time?" Tobio held his hand out, and his pendant's glow intensified. Wisps of light then wrapped itself around his arm and a blade made entirely of light appeared within his grasp, making you gasp. "W-What are you doing? I thought you were too scared to use your powers!" You cried out in a panic. Tobio gave you a dull look.
"Obviously that was a lie. All this time I've been waiting for this moment, for the moment you would join me in my cause. I even played with you just to shut you up and make you happy." He spat. He then sneered at you. "Of course that wouldn't have worked."
Your heart tightened and you felt hurt by his harsh words. Your eyes welled up with tears and you bit down on your lip.
"I thought we were partners..." Tobio's grip on his sword tightened and he aimed his blade in your direction.
"That was just some lip service. Honestly, you're very gullible. You always have been, even on that day." You narrowed your eyes at him and you inched back.
"You talk like you were there." A confident smirk slipped passed his lips and he slanted his eyes at you.
"That's because I was." Tobio raised his sword high into the air, making your eyes widen. "I don't need you anymore. I'll just wait for the next black onyx guardian." You cried out when he struck down.