Astro carefully nodded along to your story as the two of you sat on his bed. He leaned his chin on his fists and he pursed his lips with a focused expression on his face as you spoke while making grand hand gestures.
"So let me get this straight. You've travelled to alternate realties and faced different versions of yourself, all the while trying to find the black onyx pendant to complete an ancient magical trial. And you come from a world where two kids are tasked with guarding ancient magical necklaces." He summarised with a raised eyebrow. You eagerly nodded your head, grateful that he caught on pretty quickly.
"I've only travelled to a few other words, but they're all so different. I'm so glad you understand what I'm talking about." You gleefully admitted. Astro closed his eyes and he hummed in thought.
"Yeah, I get what you're talking about. And I think I know how to help you." Your face lit up in delight and you bounced on his bed in excitement.
"Really!?" Astro nodded his head and he smiled at you. He then hopped off his bed and he offered his hand to you.
"Come on, I'll take you to where you need to go." You gladly took his hand, ready to go wherever he would take you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the two of you arrived at your destination, you stared up at a large white square building with furrowed brows. You then carefully read its name.
"Metro Mental Institution....? Wait," you whipped your head towards him in alarm as he averted his gaze. "THIS is your idea of helping me!? You think I'm crazy, don't you!" You snapped. Astro shrugged his shoulders, feigning innocence.
"Well, your story is a little out there. I mean come on, magic doesn't exist. Alternate realities maybe, but your story sounds a lot like a fantasy." He ridiculed you. You glared angrily at him, making him flinch.
"I'm not lying! I swear what I've been saying is the truth!" You yelled, causing many odd looks to go your way. Astro raised his hands in defence.
"If you're really telling the truth, then where's that pendant you're supposedly guarding? I don't exactly see it." He mentioned. You opened your mouth to retaliate, but thought better on it. He was right, you didn't have the pendant with you. "Also I find it hard they put a kid in charge of an ancient artefact. If it was us, then we would have stored it in a very secure place."
Your face turned red with anger and you were close to blowing a fuse. You clenched your fists and you narrowed your eyes into daggers at him. Without a word, you turned your back to him and you began to storm away from the situation. Astro's eyes widened and he jogged after you. "Hey, wait up!"
'I can't believe that guy. Whatever, I don't need his help.' You thought bitterly to yourself as you stormed into the crowds with Astro not far behind you. 'I need to leave this world ASAP.' You weaved in between pedestrians, working to get to the other side of the crowd. 'So far, those portals only opened up when I was with another version of myself. Could it be the same with this world?' You thought to yourself, carefully analysing the situation you were in.
You pushed through quite a lot of people, until you broke out of the crowd and found yourself at the edge of the city. You looked passed the glamorous buildings and your jaw dropped at the dump site sitting just outside of the city.
"What the..." you breathed just as Astro had finally caught up to you. He let out a tired breath as you stared ahead of you, utterly shocked. "You're calling me crazy, but your 'perfect city' is right outside a dump!" You screeched while throwing your hands at the dump. Astro looked at you sideways and he propped his hands onto his hips.
"Yeah, I don't have much of an excuse for that one. Look, things are complicated." He defended himself. You gave him a sour look. You then stared at the trash site, mourning the loss of nature. You shook your head and you moved forwards.
"I can't focus on you, I need to find that pendant." You said. Astro followed you as you approached the broken head of a robot, making you shiver. You then looked back at him. "Why are you following me?"
"Who knows what sort of trouble you're going to cause," was his answer. You gave him a look of frustration and you kicked the ground.
"I haven't done anything!" Astro looked at you as if you had just contradicted yourself.
"You held up traffic." Your eyes widened and you stammered to correct yourself.
"T-That was their fault for driving so recklessly! I mean seriously, what is up with your traffic system!? Why are they driving so low in the first place, and on these weird paths as well." You began to complain. Astro aimed a high brow your way.
"You mean the road?" You shot forwards with an authoritative finger.
"Yes exactly! This world is pretty dangerous if you ask me." Astro stared at you as you crossed your arms over your chest. He then bursted into a fit of laughter. You eyed him down with a heavy frown as he laughed to his heart's content. You then turned your back to him and you left him with the dusty robots.
'I need to find someway out of here, but what am I supposed to do? Why is this so confusing!' You gnawed at your bottom lip and you gripped at your arms. You then looked back over your shoulder and you saw that Astro was nowhere in sight. Your eyes widened slightly and you slowed to a stop. 'He's gone. It's probably for the best...' as you looked forwards, you saw a trio of robots playing on the distance. The three consisted of a skinny one, a large red letterbox, and a....fridge?
You watched in confusion as the skinny one brandished a feather to them, before the trio scurried off somewhere. You then shook your head and continued forwards.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After hours of walking, you had settled down by a small pile of robot parts, using the torso of an old robot as a stool. You hugged yourself tightly as the sun set below the horizon.
"I've been here for hours... How do I get to the next world? I suppose they don't call it a trial for nothing...." you mumbled to yourself. A cold breeze then brushed through, making you shiver to yourself. "I have to do this. Everyone is counting on me." A single line of the sun's fading light shot you in the eyes, and you raised your hand to block it out. As you looked through your hand, you saw that your hand had gone corporeal, making your eyes widen in alarm.
You shot to your feet and you looked down at your see through hands with a panicked face.
"I-I'm see through!? What's happening to me!" You screamed, your heart pounding loudly with fear. As you breathed up and down, a calm voice whispered itself into your ear.
"It's okay, there's nothing wrong with you." Your eyes widened and you began to calm down. You took deep and steady breaths as the voice continued to speak to you. "This isn't your real body. You're only here in spirit. Your real body is asleep in the real world." You muffled a sound of surprise as you looked through your hands.
"Really? So none of these worlds are real?" You asked. The voice simply chuckled.
"No, they're quite real. But you are only an illusion. The people you have met will soon forget about you." You stared ahead of you as you listened to her words. A hint of disappointment then appeared on your face as you slouched forwards. You stared down at your hands for a good moment, before clenching them tightly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The city at night frightened you even more than it did during the day. You ran passed many people as you desperately made your way towards the one place you knew. 'I don't want to do this, but I don't have any choice. I need his help.' You told yourself, giving yourself a reason not to feel guilty. You stopped at a group of people standing by a red light in the shape of a person. You eyed them curiously as they stared at the other side of the road.
The light soon turned green and all the cars came to a stop. You jotted forwards as the crowd moved to the other side of the road. You gladly followed them this time, hoping to get across.
It took you a while, but you had finally reached Astro's home. You hid your corporeal hands under your sleeves and you crept towards the front door. You gave it two heavy knocks, before it was pulled open by a scrawny silver robot. He blinked at you in surprise as you gave him a shy little wave.
"Uh, hi again. Um, is Astro here...?" Orrin, as you recalled his name, shot back with a start and he hurried over to the hallway.
"M-Master Toby! You're friend is back!" He called out to him. He then turned towards you and he gave you an apologetic smile while bowing his head to you. "I'm sorry, he won't be long." You kindly smiled at him and you stood awkwardly by the door. Astro popped his head around the corner and he looked shocked to see you.
"You're back? What is it that you want this time?" A vein had visibly popped out of the side of your head and your smile waned. 'How rude can someone be?' You grabbed him by the arm and you dragged him over to his room, leaving Orrin in a questionable state of mind.
The door closed shut behind you as you trapped Astro against the door. You gave him a fierce look before you leaned back.
"I'm running out of time." As you showed him your corporeal hands, his eyes widened and he let out a panicked breath. Your gaze hardened and you backed away from him. "Believe me now?" All Astro could do was nod his head, too shocked to actually say anything. You began to pace around the room while staring down at your hands with furrowed brows. Compared to only a few minutes ago, your hands had almost completely disappeared at this point.
'Nobody ever mentioned a time limit to me!' You clenched your fists in frustration and you let out a heavy sigh. Astro opened and closed his mouth, unsure as of what to say. He then shook his head, snapping himself out of it.
"So if you don't pass this trial, you're going to disappear?" He confirmed, no longer doubting you about your odd ways. You nodded your head with a defeated look on your face.
"I don't want to bother you, but I really need your help." Astro approached the window with a thoughtful hand on his chin and he stared down at the vibrant city below him.
"How am I supposed to help you? I don't even know what you're looking for." He mentioned as he looked back at you. You looked quite lost yourself as he said this. 'There's no point in me explaining the entire trial to him. All I need to do is find the me in this universe. When I do,' you were quickly reminded of your past experiences with the other versions of you, 'hopefully a portal should show up.'
"I'm looking for a girl who looks identical to me. You wouldn't happen to know anyone like that, would you?" You asked with a hopeful tone in your voice. Astro shook his head, disappointing you greatly. You pressed your hand against the window, and you couldn't help but compare the two.
"It's pretty late. If this chick we're looking for is the same age you are, she's probably in her home right now." Astro pointed out as he walked up to you. Your fingers curled into a fist and you angrily bit your lip. A spark then hit your chest, sending chills through your body. The feeling lingered and you brushed your fingers over the sensitive spot.
'This feeling...' You could see the junkyard's outlines from afar and you focused on the illuminated forests while Astro paced back and forth behind you.
"Hey Astro," Astro looked up at you as you pointed to the forests, or tried to at least. "What are those lights?" Astro raised an inquiring brow at you and he followed your line of sight.
"Lights?" As he watched the forests, he stepped back in surprise. "There aren't supposed to be any kind of lights there." An excited smile appeared on your face as you realised what this feeling was. Astro watched you in confusion as you pulled open the window. You then stepped onto the window seal, making him shoot forwards in alarm. "H-Hey! That's really dangerous!" He yelled and he made a grab for your hand.
To his bewilderment, his fingers slipped right through. He stared at your hands with wide eyes as the wind brushed through your hair. You looked back at him and you smiled.
"I know where I need to go. But I'll need your help. Can you please take me to that forest?" Astro's eyes widened at your request. One look at your hands however, and he had made up his mind.
Astro jumped onto the window seal beside you and he gripped the windows tightly. He then gripped you by the waist and he smiled confidently at you.
"You can count on me." Your cheeks felt warm and you thought back to your Astro. You then looked ahead of you, allowing the nightly winds to cool your cheeks.
"Let's go!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A loud explosion sounded in the forest, releasing a shockwave strong enough to knock down a few trees. The pinewoods then caught on fire, and coherent shouting could be heard. High above in the skies, you and Astro watched the burning forest with worried gazes and the two of you shared a brief look with each other. You then spotted exactly what you had been looking for above the tree level, making you smile.
"There it is! Astro, drop me over by that cliff." Astro stared at the magical portal with a gaping face, before he followed along with your wish. The moment your feet touched the ground, you and Astro wandered over to the edge of the cliff and the light of the portal reflected off your face as you peered into it.
"Holy cow... So magic DOES exist!" Astro excitedly exclaimed. You nodded your head and you stared carefully into it. 'It's right here, but those explosions from earlier,' images of the girl wielding flames flashed through your mind, putting a frown on your face. 'So they really are here. Is every world going to be like this until I find the pendant?'
"The fire is getting worse, I have to do something!" Astro yelled, snapping you out of your thoughts. You looked up at him as he readied to take flight.
"This fire, it's probably caused by the other me that can use this sort of power." You mentioned, making him snap his head in your direction. He gave you a baffled expression as the portal waned below you.
"Wait, you know those guys!?" You shook your head and you held your chin thoughtfully.
"It doesn't look like she used any sort of artefacts when she burned that city." You mumbled. You then blinked as a thought came to you. 'Artefacts? Hold on, that would make this power her own. Now that I think about it,'
"If you find me, then I just might tell you. I'll even return the black onyx pendant to you."
Your mouth opened in realisation and you felt like smacking yourself. How had you not realised this before!?
"She never mentioned that I had to actually find the pendant. She only said she'd return it to me if I found her!" You exclaimed, much to Astro's confusion. You whipped your body and you grinned excitedly at him. "I know what to do!"
"You do?" You faced the portal and you breathed in. You then bowed your head thankfully to him.
"I have to go now. I'm really thankful for everything you've done for me." Astro's eyes widened and he held his hand out to you.
"WAIT!" You eyed him curiously as he stood frozen in front of you with an open mouth. He then clamped it shut and he straightened. "Will I ever see you again?" The look he gave you was sad, and you honestly didn't know what to say. Your lips twisted into an apologetic smile.
"Probably not." Astro lowered his gaze to the ground and his shoulders slumped.
"Oh..." you tried to grab him by the shoulder, but your arm only went through him. You looked back at the portal sparingly. With a burst of energy, you stepped into Astro's line of sight and you gave him an encouraging smile.
"Don't be sad. You probably won't remember any of this when I leave." Astro's eyes widened and he stumbled back.
"How is that reassuring!? I don't want to forget you!" You attempted to keep up the smile, but even you felt saddened by this. You looked up at the stars as you backed towards the portal.
"You will. I'm not meant to be here." A stir of emotions filled Astro as he stared at you. You closed your eyes and you nodded. "We'll meet again. It might not be the me you know right now, but someone new." Astro furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Someone new?" You grinned ecstatically at him. You then stepped off the cliff.
"Bye bye." Astro's eyes widened and he raced towards the edge of the cliff. His arm hung over the edge as he watched the portal close after you. Everything about you, he didn't want to forget it. He clenched his shirt tightly and he gnawed on his bottom lip.
"I'm looking forward to the moment we do meet again." He whispered with a small smile on his face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The winds within the vortex stirred around you as you fell through it with your arms spread out beside you. You closed your eyes as you repeated her voice in your head.
"I think I finally get it now. What you wanted me to do." You uttered. You then opened your eyes and you looked back at the exit. You turned your body in the air and you looked down at your now visible palms. "Being alone, powerless, and unaware. Those were the three weaknesses I had to conquer. And now," a powerful feeling overcame you, and you pressed both hands to your chest. A warm light touched your hands, and you held your hands out before you. With a great amount of concentration, the light darkened and it spread into the shape of a scythe. With one final click, your favoured weapon appeared before you.
You caught the scythe in your hands and an excited smile appeared on your face. 'Just as I thought, I did it!' With a surge of confidence, you aimed the scythe at the exit of the portal and you breathed in.
"This is it, this is my power! I wasn't just chosen for this role, it's my job to protect this world," you swung at the vortex and you let out a mighty cry, "as the black onyx guardian!" The tip of your scythe tore through the vortex like paper, and everything shattered before your very eyes. Glitters of light flew passed you as your body drifted towards the ground, surrounded by pitch black darkness.
The scythe stayed in your hands as it should have, and you watched the pretty colours fly away. The sound of clapping then brought your attention away from the sky, and you looked forwards. Situated in the middle of a lone island was a blank stone slab embedded into the ground. Sitting on top of the stone slab was a woman who's face was hidden by her cloak, as dark as the moonless night. Hanging off her wrist was the black onyx pendant.
Your jaw practically dropped to the ground as a hint of recognition flashed through your gaze. Her hands continued to clap for you as you steadily approached the stranger, and her lips twisted into a smile.
"You did it. You finally accepted your role as the black onyx guardian." She spoke, making your eyes widen. You stood before her nervously as she jumped off the stone slab. She then calmly walked towards you with the pendant clasped in her hands. The end of her cloak blended in with the darkness as it flowed behind her. You felt like you had to lower your gaze as she stood before you, but you resisted the urge to.
"Who are you?" You asked, although you already had a good guess. She smiled promptly at you before she placed the pendant over your neck, letting it fall into its rightful place on your chest. The comfortable feeling of it brought you peace and you began to fiddle with it quite happily.
"My name is Lapis, and I was the first guardian of the black onyx pendant." She revealed. Your gaze snapped towards her and you dropped the scythe in surprise. The scythe clattered to the floor, but it did not disappear. That was new. Lapis's smile widened as you stared awestruck at her.
"Y-You're the rogue!" You cried out, making her laugh. You felt embarrassed as she began to pat your head affectionately.
"Is that any way to treat the very first?" She joked, however you missed this indication and you began to bow your head apologetically to her ferociously.
"I'm so sorry! I-It's just that you were known as a rogue, so I thought you had..." her continuous laughing made you stop your rambling, and now you just felt silly. 'She has more of a sense of humour than my last life.' You quietly admitted to yourself. As if hearing your thoughts, Lapis nodded in agreement with you.
"Oh yeah, she was very uptight that one." She spoke. Your jaw dropped as you gaped at her in disbelief. She found this look quite funny. "What, you didn't expect me to know? You and I are basically the same person." She mentioned as she poked you in the arm. You stood stiffly still as she said this, and now you were cautious of your own thoughts. She continued to stroke you on the head as she smiled fondly of you. "Out of all of my reincarnations, I think I like you the most." She cued.
You scratched your cheek as you smiled at her rather bashfully. In all honesty, you were expecting her to be a bit more uptight. Your eyes flickered towards the pendant on your chest and you carefully caressed it with your finger.
"So, does this mean I passed the trial...?" You quietly asked. Lapis pulled her hand away from your head and she rested both hands on her hips.
"Of course you did. After all, you managed to find this place in the most ridiculous way possible. But I suppose you were aiming to obtain that power, weren't you?" She spoke, confusing you greatly. Although your excitement for passing the trial dwindled your thoughts greatly. You turned around and you jumped up in glee as you let out a vicarious cheer.
"Yay! I passed!" You exclaimed. Lapis watched you fondly as you jumped up and down. You then turned towards her excitedly, throwing all formalities out the window. "So does this mean I can break Tobio's barrier?" At the mention of his name, a heavy frown fell on Lapis's face and she clenched her fists almost angrily.
"Ah yes, when you broke through the vortex, that is the technique you'll have to use when dealing with his barrier." She spoke, although her voice shook with a hidden rage. You cocked your head to the side curiously.
"Do you not like Tobio...?" You quietly asked. Lapis looked down at her hand thoughtfully. With a flick of her wrist, dust particles formed to look like the white diamond guardian from two hundred years ago. She then held her hands out and black magic formed in her palms in the shape of a mystical bow, and she fired a quick arrow at the dust statue.
Her arrow pierced the statue in the face, sending a chill down your spine as the statue then disintegrated into nothing.
"He almost ended my cycle. What he did is unforgivable." She uttered. You stared at her bow silently as she mulled over this thought. You quietly fiddled with your hands as you thought of a number of questions to ask her, but then one came to mind.
"Did Tobio have to do a trial like this one?" Lapis dismissed her bow, before nodding her head.
"He did. And he failed." Your eyes widened and you looked up at her, desperately wanting to hear the story behind this one. Already knowing what you wanted, Lapis let out a heavy sigh and she walked back over to the stone slab. You could only assume that was her grave. She seated herself on it and she let her leg rock back and forth.
"His trial was a little bit different than yours. The boy you're trying to save, he didn't even get the chance to take the trial because of him." You felt angered by this mentioned fact, and it fuelled your determination to save him. Lapis gestured to the area around her before pointing to the pendant. "We wield the power to control space, and the white diamond guardian holds the power to control time. Your trial was supposed to test you how well you did in dealing with abnormalities in other worlds."
"Yeah, that really freaked me out." You admitted. Lapis smiled at you.
"And you managed it well. Tobio on the other hand," she quickly stopped herself, before choosing her words more carefully. "I suppose the first white diamond guardian was a bit mean with this one." You inched forwards and you sat by her grave stone with a childlike curiosity.
"What happened?" Lapis looked rather hesitant to tell you.
"This really isn't my place to say, but Tobio has forsaken his duties. So it's only right you know. He was shown alternate realities of himself, and in those realities he always dies. He...didn't like that." She uttered and looked off to the side in guilt. You frowned heavily at this.
"He did mention something about that, and it's understandable."
"But that doesn't give him a right to go taking over the other timelines." Lapis angrily interrupted, making you go quiet. "It's lucky for us that he hasn't gained the full potential of a guardian. That is probably why he went after Y/n, to use her power to merge all the timelines into one." She theorised. You stared at the ground and you dug your nails into your legs. Lapis then brought your chin up with her fingers.
"You must stop him. Casting that curse on the pendant was Y/n's fatal flaw. We need you to break it and set him free." Lapis spoke, making your eyes widen.
"B-But what if he-"
"You want to save your friend, don't you?" You nodded your head. Lapis smiled at this. "Then do all you can to free him. Don't worry, Tobio has already been forsaken from the cycle. Your friend will make things right." You breathed in deeply through your nose. You then looked down at the pendant as another question came to mind.
"During that trial, I saw Astro wielding the white diamond pendant. What does that..." as you looked up, Lapis gave you a knowing smile. This greatly confused you. Lapis then stood on her feet and she held her hand out to you.
"You have to go back. We've already wasted enough time as it is." She stated. You accepted her help and she helped you to your feet. She kept a tight grip on your hands, making you look up at her. "I know you'll bring peace to this world. Good luck." You bowed your head thankfully to her and smiled.
"I should be the one thanking you. I'll see you again, won't I?" Lapis laughed at your eagerness and she tapped you lightly on the nose.
"Hopefully not too soon." You giggled. The area around you then became distorted, and you instantly recognised this pattern. You gave Lapis one final wave before the area around you disappeared completely, flooding itself with a white blinding light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the real world, the sounds of birds and nature filled your ears, prompting you awake. You carefully pushed yourself into a sitting position and you looked all around you at the familiar scenery. Stationed around the forest, a barrier had been set up around you with chains acting as the pillars. Your eyes widened in wonder at this, and the barrier soon disappeared into nothing.
"Woah, so cool...." you uttered. You then jumped up to your feet and you clenched and unclenched your hands. Now that you had completed Lapis's trial, 'I'm a fully realised guardian. I now stand a chance against Tobio.' You thought quite proudly to yourself. You looked across the skies and you eyed its green tint distastefully. He was most definitely waiting for you at the castle.
"I won't let you win. Together, with everyone, we will beat you." You whispered. The pendant then glowed faintly on your chest before the scenery disappeared around you. As you left, you failed to notice the disappearance of years of decay on Y/n's grave.