She wasn’t sure how long that creature was staring at her, nor how he had known her name. The girl had just finished talking to that man with blue skin, with eyes of fiery red and a smooth smile. God above, she loved that smile. For every breath she took, the realization settled back in.
The man was a concept. He was time itself, ever changing and moving and she was a human, unable to hold on to his coattails long enough to press a kiss to his lips. He was so kind to her, treating her with respect despite being a creature high above her. What’s more, her own father had meddled with him. The curse ensuing would cause her to be unable to stay by his side and love him forever. It was so cruel, and she felt her heart ache.
If she even held him, her life would begin to drain and she would descend into madness and become nothing.
“I’ve been looking for you, Robin Calatia.”
The girl turned on her heel, shock registering on her face. What sort of creature was this? How could it speak?
“You’re talking… What are you?”
The creature shook out his white body. He was quite small, shaped like a large fluffy-tailed cat with round unblinking red eyes and strange appendages tipped with pink coming from his ears. A golden ring hovered around each appendage. Finally, she noted he had a small smile that never changed or moved. Yet, his voice rang in her head as clearly as her own thoughts.
“Not what, but who. My name is Kyubey, and I have a proposition for you.” The creature sat on his haunches, eyes shutting pleasantly as if he were smiling for real.
“I want you to make a contract with me, and become a magical girl!”
Disbelief shone in her blue eyes. A magical girl… Could magic really make her welcome in Time’s arms?
“What do you mean?” Robin’s voice was soft, and she too sat down so she could see the creature closer.
“A good question,” Kyubey answered, his red eyes opening once more as his large fluffy tail swished like a pendulum in the air. “When you contact with me, I can grant you one wish for anything you want. In exchange I will give you magical powers and you’ll fight monsters known as witches.”
The image of a green skinned wart ridden witch garbed in black came to mind. As if reading that picture, Kyubey lightly shook his head.
“Witches don’t look human at all. They can take on abstract shapes and colors. Magical girls bring hope, while witches bring curses. They feed off of the life force of unlucky humans that walk into their labyrinths. What makes them so dangerous is that normal humans cannot see them. They cause disasters like car crashes and suicides that can’t be explained. As a magical girl, you must defeat these witches.”
Robin sat quietly, thinking over what this could mean for her. She knew how to fight from living with her brother in Hyrule, but now that she had moved into the outside world, she had no need to slaughter monsters or evil kings who threatened her homeland. Inside she found she yearned to fight and feel useful again, to become strong. What could she wish for? Without much thought, she came up with her answer.
“Kyubey, I want to make a contract.” Her voice wavered a little. Why?
“Good! Now, what is the wish that will grant you magic?”
Her breath shuddered in her chest. A soft whisper of hope spread through, and she stalled her anxiety and stared with determination at Kyubey.
“I want to be able to live with the one I love. To love him and protect him like a wolf!”
At first, there was silence. Then, a beam of light grew from her chest’s center, and she doubled over in pain. It hurt! The glow became stronger, and a ripping feeling came forth as the light flew up out of her, solidifying into an orb shape. The turquoise light hovered above her and she finally could move to take it.
“The contract is complete! Your wish has overcome entropy. Now take your power and fight!” Kyubey’s voice rang out, and Robin finally took the warm light into her hands, staring in shock at the egg shaped gem encased in gold. The turquoise gem inside glowed steadily, and her pain was swept away, leaving a sense of power inside her. Yes, she could hold him now. No longer did fear and life hold her back. She was free.
“My dear, you were gone for quite some time. I was worried.” Tony’s voice rumbled through the stormy air, and Robin squeezed out the water from her curls, smiling the whole time. Her first witch had been somewhat of a breeze, and she had received her first grief seed to cleanse her soul gem, restoring her magic and energy. After that, she danced about in the rain, laughing as she could feel hope in her blossoming like a rose.
“I’m fine. I had some errands to run and found myself enjoying the rain. I’m so glad to see you,” She strode forward, wrapping her lithe arms around his thin form. A soft gasp came from his chest, and she giggled impishly. No pain urged her to let go, and warmth flooded her for the first time since she held his hand weeks ago. She moved away, looking over him.
“What was that for?” Tony asked quietly, his face dusted with blushing blue.
“Nothing. Can’t friends appreciate each other once in awhile?” Robin smiled, humming as she swept away to the bedroom to dry herself off. Staring at the silver ring that held her soul gem, she swiped away tears that came to her blue eyes.
“There’s no way I’ll ever regret this.”
One year later, she felt doubt flicker through her.
“Kyubey… Should I tell him? I can’t keep sneaking away like this when he realizes that I care about him more than others.” Robin laid on her bed, staring at her soul gem’s thin dark clouds under the surface. The corruption wouldn’t seem to leave, despite her careful grief seed consumption.
Kyubey plopped down from the shelf above the bed to the mattress, a soft pomf noise coming in protest of the mattress. He stretched, settling himself down beside his contractee.
“Mhm.. I don’t know. You should be truthful to other people. If you don’t tell him, he’s due to find out eventually. Then what can you say?”
Robin lifted her front half from the bed, sitting up to play with the creature’s ears, petting him as he shut his eyes happily.
“I just don’t know what to do, Kyubey. What if he leaves me because of how dangerous my lifestyle is?”
Kyubey said nothing, for he was asleep. Or acting like it. With a deep sigh, the girl laid down and cradled her gem to her chest, staring at the faded light until she fell asleep.
“Robin!”
She stirred. Everything hurt. That witch had been rough, and it hadn’t helped that the messages found in her barrier had told her the truth of magical girls. Her soul gem was literally her soul, taken from her body and kept in a gem. She would die if it corrupted and if it corrupted without anyone to break the gem, she would become a witch herself. At first disbelief kept her from falling down, but when she asked Kyubey for the truth, it was only a confirmation of what the witch said.
She was the egg that would become the same as the very witches she killed.
“Robin! God damn it, answer me!”
The voice was loud, and she wanted to sleep. Lifting her heavy head, she managed to open one eye. The other was caked with blood from the nasty wound on her forehead. Her magic had stopped the bleeding, but nothing had healed yet. Staring at the frothy darkness in her once sea colored gem, she pressed the grief seed to the surface, sighing as the impurities left, minus the clouds that built up along the edges she couldn’t shake. What’s more, they had grown in size from the despair that seeded in her stomach.
Finally, she saw the man she loved running toward her, black coat flowing out like a storm. Above, the clouds rumbled in warning of its storm.
“Robin! God, what happened to you? What’s with that light…?” His concerned, loud voice fell to a hush as he saw what it was, face falling. Right. How stupid had she been? He was Time, for God’s sake, he knew what a magical girl was. They had existed for thousands of years, furthering humanity with their wishes. Then they spread curses into the perfect world as well, tainting what they had once purified.
“Tony… I’m sorry…” Robin rasped, her throat hurting badly after the blows she had suffered. Her magic began to steadily heal her wounds, cleaning up the blood and pain from the worst ones and leaving behind scars on the lesser. Finally she could move her other eye, but she kept it shut since the blood hadn’t been cleaned there.
Suddenly, thin arms wrapped around her, and she felt tears come forth.
“You fool, why did you go and do that for me… I’m better off alone, I don’t want to hurt you. But you are and it’s because of that damn curse I can’t smile at you with my true self.” His voice was ragged, betraying the despair in his voice. Robin only felt worse.
Throwing herself into her hunts, the girl went against Tony’s wishes and let the curse cloud her brain, making her gem corrupt even with the grief seeds she acquired. Time was not on her side, despite its symbol craving a release from the curse that kept them apart, what made him move his hand away when she reached.
After one awful witch, the water flooded the area from the mass destruction it brought. Robin laid in the dirty water, clutching her fully corrupt gem in her hand. She had no grief seeds. This was it. Tears stinging her eyes with the rain, she stared up at the clouds. Before she could let go and let her gem break to become a grief seed and birth a witch, one of loneliness she felt in her wolf heart, two warm hands clasped her own, cradling the gem.
“Don’t.” Came the ragged whisper, and she turned her heavy head to gaze at the man she had fought not too long ago to get him off her tail so she could keep fighting until the world didn’t need her anymore.
“Don’t you dare. I can’t… I can’t lose you.” His voice was hoarse, as if he had screamed all night for her to come back and be safe.
“Tony… I’m sorry. I can’t… I can’t live. Not like this. I will become a witch and curse this god forsaken land… I’m sorry.” She smiled tearfully, but then his hands clutched tighter.
“No, don’t. I love you too much. I can’t let you go, not this time. You won’t curse the world, I’ll take that burden and wait until we meet again. I promise, we will…” His voice broke and she felt him hold her close in that moment, and she cried out in pain, her gem flashing in warning as it crackled. It would be all over soon..
“Wait. Can you do… One last thing for me?” Her voice wavered and she presented her gem to him.
“Please, don’t let me become a witch. There’s awful, horrible things in this world, I’ve known that for a long time. But there are things I want to protect too… I know you’ll wait for me. I’ll come back, but please… “
Tony nodded, a long black clock hand shaped sword coming from his sleeve and he held it to her gem, aiming with reddened eyes. A soft whisper of love left his lips and she smiled, dying as he destroyed her gem with a strangled cry of pain.
She was gone.
The sky was bright with stars. It had been exactly five years since the flood and when he had to put the girl he loved to sleep. Tony walked about the grass field, singing softly to himself as the wind danced about.
“A heart that beats in time with mine
Here in our soundless lives
What world is seen through your eyes?
I’m looking for the girl that said
‘See you again, my friend’
Looking over and over again”
A soft breath left him as he looked around, staring at the stars with shining tears trying to break through. No, he wouldn’t let it. He couldn’t cry for five years, it was too much of a burden. Yes, he was going to take her burden. He would wander alone until she came back.
The twinkling of the stars was a distraction. A soft voice carried on through the wind, and he turned.
“Just look behind
You’re sure to find a lonely person that
Has been crying for all this time
A harsher place
A lonely place
But then
It all changes when you’re holding my hand”
A gasp left him as he watched, bit by bit a girl formed from the light of the stars, wearing a long white dress and no shoes, barefoot. Curls flying about, her blue eyes opened, full of stardust. Robin smiled, seemingly gliding forward towards him as he began to run, tripping a couple times as he stumbled to her, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her curls, everything to prove to him they were together again. He whispered her name again and again as she finished the song quietly and sweetly.
“No matter how you hide
Your feelings deep inside
Remember I’ll always hold you here
Even with these mistakes
No, I won’t break
I’ll be stronger by your side
The tears and all the hate
A sigh I let escape
But this is where we are, you’re here with me
A normal day
We’ll laugh and play
I pray, I pray
Please stay…”
