A careful hand was placed onto your cheek, and your eyes slowly fluttered open. Astro stood above you with a caring smile on his face, while the rest of your friends stood around you, just as happy to see you.
"Everyone..." you trailed off, slowly gathering yourself. Your eyes then shot wide open and you gasped. "Tobio! The castle! He-" Astro carefully lifted you into a sitting position and he began rubbing soothing circles around your back.
"Shhh, take your time. It's okay, you're safe." He spoke while smiling at you. You stared at him with an open mouth. You then broke down into tears and everyone watched you with worried looks as you cried into his chest.
"I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop him...! I saw him do so many things, he..." you breathed in and you clutched into his clothes with a vice-like grip. "He killed me, Astro! That robot we saw in the book, he was the one who killed me two hundred years ago...!" Astro held his breath.
'The robot that looks like me, he killed Y/n...?' Instinctively, Astro's arms tightened around you. He brought his hand over your head and he began to rock you back and forth as he stared ahead of him with furrowed brows. From within the group of friends, Alejo opened his mouth. He then decided against it and he turned to his friends for help.
With a nod, Reno gathered the others by the door and he looked back at Astro.
"We're gonna try and contact the palace again. Hopefully it'll work this time." Astro gave him a thankful smile as the group left your dorm room, leaving you and Astro alone. You breathed in his scent and you began to calm yourself down. This was the Astro you knew. Not that fake who took your life.
Time completely passed you as you dried your tears. With the last year drop, you breathed out your worries, and you were ready to tell Astro what had happened. Astro rubbed his hand along your arm as he held you, making sure that you were comfortable.
"Are you okay?" He asked. You nodded your head.
"Yeah, I'm just a little overwhelmed." Astro nodded his head in understanding. He then turned his gaze towards the window. From here, he could see the ominous barrier surrounding the castle. You kept your head down as you stared down at the ground with regret.
"Y/n, what happened back at the castle?" Astro asked with a sense of urgency in his voice. At the thought of Tobio's terror, you felt like crying all over again. Just thinking about what he had done to you, it was scary yet sad. You then shook your head. 'No, this isn't the time to be afraid. Tobio has to be stopped.' You breathed in deeply.
"This world is in danger. Tobio has forsaken his duties as the guardian of the white diamond pendant." You said, making Astro's eyes widen in utter shock.
"What do you..."
Astro sat in front of you with his legs crossed over each other as you told him what had happened. By the end of your lengthy explanation, he was mortified.
"How could this have happened....?" He uttered in complete disbelief. You shook your head in your hands. You then slapped your hands onto your lap and you straightened.
"The white diamond guardian has taken over Tobio Tenma's mind. We have to save him somehow!" You cried. Astro nodded his head in agreement.
"You're right. I'm sure we'll rescue him." Astro smiled encouragingly at you as he said this. You felt better having him by your side, and you began to relax.
"The barrier around the castle, there has to be some way to take it down." You began as you fell deeply into thought. You then looked down at your hands you clenched them almost painfully. "If I wasn't so useless at my job, then maybe none of this would have happened." Astro fell short of his words as you curled up into a tight ball and pressed yourself against the wall with your head buried in between your knees. He then crawled over to you and he seated himself beside you, pressing his shoulder against yours.
You peaked your eye at him as he stared ahead. You quickly averted your gaze as he turned towards you and your body shook with humiliation.
"Hey, you know it's not your fault. None of us could have predicted that this would happen. Please don't be so hard on yourself." Astro spoke as he wrapped a warm arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to him. You broke away from your huddled position and you looked down at your hands with a defeated sigh.
As you turned your head up towards him, Astro's grip on you tightened. "I trust you. If we work together, I'm positive that we'll be able to take down Tobio's barrier." Astro's words lifted your spirits. You then rested your head against his shoulders and closed your eyes.
"Thank you, Astro." Astro smiled warmly at you. He then thought back to your earlier statement, making his heart flutter. You heard him making weird sounds and you looked up at him in confusion. His cheeks were a light pink as he stared ahead of him, constantly avoiding your questioning gaze.
"S-Sorry, I was just thinking back to earlier." You blinked at him in surprise.
"Earlier?" Astro nodded his head and he scratched his cheek.
"Yeah, you called me yours...and stuff." Your entire body stiffened and you looked almost horrified. A burst of red colour then exploded across your face and you waved your arms in a flustered manner.
"I-I didn't mean anything weird by that! It's just that two hundred years ago, Astro used to be my attendant, and...y-you're a much better person than he was. So that's why..." you trailed off as you calmed yourself down. Astro watched you curiously. He then blushed as he gave you a tender smile.
"I wouldn't mind being yours." You stifled a gasp and you looked up at him with wide eyes.
"What...?" Astro reached up and he gently cupped your cheeks with his hands. Your body grew warm and your heart raced in your chest. You clamped your hands to your chest as Astro leaned towards you. Your face was practically on fire at this point. 'W-What is he-?'
You clenched your eyes shut and you felt something graze across your lips. You flinched, and he stopped. Slowly, you leaned into his touch and you closed the gap between the two of you. You barely had time to feel his lips on yours when the door slammed open, and you and Astro tore away from each other with heated faces.
Sabrina stood at the doorway with the heaviest frown on her face while the rest of your friends stood behind her with red faces. Your eyes widened and you quickly shoved Astro off the bed, making him cry out in surprise. Everyone winced as he smacked the back of his head on the ground, and he sat upright with a painful grunt.
"You two do realise that we're in a crisis right now, yeah? Can you save whatever that was for another day?" Sabrina deadpanned as she stared you down. You could only nod your red face while Astro coughed and turned to the side. Alejo broke passed Sabrina and he grinned excitedly at you.
"We managed to contact the castle!" He exclaimed, making your eyes widen as well as Astro's. Astro then jumped up to his feet and he marched towards the group.
"Good job! Are they still on the line?" Alejo nodded his head and he stepped out of the doorway, giving Astro room to leave. You followed behind the group as everyone made their way out of the dorm buildings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Principal Red sat in his office chair with his gaze glued onto the computer screen, his brows knotted heavily together. Daddy Walrus stood by his side as well as many other teachers. The doors leading into the principal's office then burst open, making everyone look up. All of you piled into the room with Astro taking the lead, and almost immediately he addressed the older man in a dutiful manner.
"Show me the monitor." With a nod of his head, Principal Red indicated to Daddy Walrus to move the monitor. He did so and he showed Astro the caller's identity. As you looked at the monitor, you saw a yellow cylinder-like robot with striking green eyes and winding arms constantly pacing in the camera's view. Astro held his breath as his eyes flashed with recognition.
"Nora!" At the sound of his voice, Nora looked up and she almost slammed her face into the computer.
"Astro! Oh thank goodness you made it outside of the barrier." Everyone jumped back at her sudden shouting, and Kennedy nudged Astro in the side.
"Who's that?" He whispered. A relieved smile appeared on Astro's face and he gestured to the computer.
"This is Nora, she's Dr O'shay's assistant." Nora beeped with life as she closed her eyes in delight. She then shook on the spot as she gave him a nervous look.
"I'm glad you're okay. I-Is the black onyx guardian with you?" As if to answer her question, you stepped into view. Nora let her body relax and she sighed. "Thank goodness..."
"Nora, what happened to everyone in the castle?" Astro promptly asked as he took control of the conversation. Nora spoke in a jittery voice and she constantly looked to her right worriedly.
"I-It's terrible! Everyone, they- they've turned into stone!" She cried. Your heart stopped as she turned the camera onto Dr O'shay, who sat at his desk with grey skin. His entire body had been turned to stone. Everyone looked horrified while Astro shook immensely. He then slammed his fist onto the principal's desk before crying out in frustration.
"NO! How could this have happened....!" He gritted out. Your nails dug into your palms and you bit down on your lip.
"Is there any way inside the barrier?" Reno piped up as he neared the computer. Nora shook her head and she pulled up a holographic blueprint of the castle.
"No, I've performed a scan of the barrier's layout, and it goes even under ground." You frowned heavily while Principal Red held his chin in thought.
"So the castle has been encased in a sphere. This makes it a lot harder for us to make it inside the barrier." He mentioned. You held up the black onyx pendant and you stared down at it sorrowfully. Astro matched Principal Red's thoughtful expression and he looked back at you.
"If we could somehow use Y/n's powers to break the barrier, then we could get inside. Nora, can you send me visual scans of Dr Tenma's notes written about the black onyx pendant?" Astro asked. Nora gladly nodded her head and she saluted to him.
"Of course! But it will take me a while to get them to you." Astro nodded his head and he smiled at her.
"That's fine. Please be careful." With an affirmative nod, Nora abruptly ended the call before he could ask her anymore questions. Astro let his head drop and he grasped it. "We need to come up with a plan...." Your eyes lit up and you gasped, making everyone turn towards you.
"I've got it!" You exclaimed, exciting everyone.
"What is it?" Alejo piped in as he leaned towards you. You smiled confidently at everyone and you clenched your fists.
"Tobio mentioned something about the spacial lines. Apparently I have the ability to travel through them, that's how I managed to escape the castle." Everyone's eyes widened in realisation, and they caught onto what you were planning.
"That means Y/n can re-enter the barrier!" Kennedy excitedly exclaimed. You hummed in agreement.
"Bingo." Astro frowned heavily at the two of you.
"Absolutely not. It's too dangerous." Kennedy gasped while you gave him a grumpy look.
"And why not?" Astro took you by the shoulder and he gestured to the barrier outside of the window.
"Did you forget who you're up against? Y/n, I won't be able to help you inside the barrier! You're going to be fighting against a fully realised guardian. How do you expect to cope with that?" You stiffened as this sudden realisation fell upon you. Sabrina raised an eyebrow at the two of you before she broke the two of you apart.
"I've been meaning to ask you guys this, but what happened to Tobio? Why isn't he with you?" She mentioned. You and Astro both turned towards each other.
"Long story short, Tobio has been brainwashed by his incarnation from two hundred years ago. He's the reason for that barrier around the castle." Astro informed, shocking everyone greatly.
"Why didn't you tell us this earlier!?" Abercrombie shouted.
"I only just found out! Besides, that's not the issue. We have to find a way to take down that barrier and get inside the castle." Everyone looked troubled as Astro paced around the room. You kept your gaze glued to the black onyx pendant and you stared into its deep gem with pressed brows.
"For now we can't do much until I get those documents from Nora. Y/n, you should get some more rest while you still can." Astro suggested as he walked towards the door. He gripped onto its handle tightly before he looked back at you out of the corner of his eye. "You'll need it." You felt your ego deflate as he disappeared down the hallway, going to who knows where.
Your friends gathered around you and they gave you encouraging smiles.
"Don't worry, we'll find a way. Together, we'll beat Tobio and save the kingdom!" Kennedy exclaimed as he threw a cheery fist into the air.
"Wait, you guys are actually going to help me?" You asked, surprised. Alejo nodded his head and he grinned.
"Duh! Why wouldn't we? We're friends."
"And friends don't abandon each other. Especially the black onyx knights." Reno piped in as he slung a friendly arm around your shoulders. You felt pumped up and you raised a mighty fist into the air.
"Yeah! We'll take him down and save the kingdom!" As soon as these words left your mouth, you stretched your mouth wide open and you let out the biggest yawn of your life. Everyone stared at you as you clamped your mouth shut with tired tears pricking the corners of your eyes. "But first I think I'll take a nap." Everyone laughed at your statement while your teachers sat back and watched with smiles threatening to break out across their faces.
As you and your friends left the classroom, Principal Red nodded to the teachers in the room. With the children out of the way, they needed to put their own plan into action.