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The young woman’s eyes shot open, she quickly sits up to find herself in an abandoned diner. The windows have all been shattered and replaced with wooden planks that barricade the general area. She gently rests her hand on her face just to be startled by the feeling of a sharp pain shooting across her head, which is tightly wrapped in gauze.
“That was sloppy out there.” a woman’s voice chimes in from a dark corner, nearly startling the much younger woman…She dips her head, ashamed of not only for getting herself injured…but making the older woman worry. Her long red hair comes into her vision drooping over her head.
“I’m sorry Master, Kronii…” the young woman shamefully mutters. The older woman steps out of the shadows. The woman the young lady knows as Ouro Kronii was a mature woman, turning fourty in a few month. The signs of age were visible on the woman, wrinkles were forming around her eyes and mouth. And not to mention the woman's long dark blue hair that was reaching down to her back is starting to grow gray streaks.

Kronii lets out a sigh brfore tossing the young woman a can of fruit cocktail.
“Eat, Irys. You’ll need your strength when we go back outside.” The blue haired woman commands. Irys nods
“Thank you, master…” she almost mumbles before opening the can, pouring the contents directly into her open mouth. She grew up like this since she was rescued by Kronii when she was only nine years old. Her parents on the other hand…they weren’t so lucky. Since then Kronii took the girl under her wing. Now she’s sixteen. And despite everything that’s happened, Kronii somehow managed to raise Irys well enough.
The young woman pulls herself up. A casual gray dress drapes over her slender figure, complimented only by her dark, reddish hair. Her red eyes gleam over to the woman.
“I’m ready, Master.” Irys informs, determination in her eyes. Kronii nods before slightly opening the door. Peering through the crack…
“It’s clear for now, we’ll be able to make it to the clock tower if we hurry.” Kronii shoots the young Irys a fierce scowl. The young woman shows no shift in her demeanor. She was as determined as ever. Kronii pushes open the door, the light of day engulfing the originally dark diner. Both women step out.

Day, however, was just relative to the time…A monochrome sky looms over the two… the same sky no matter what time it was, never getting darker or brighter. And with the light and darkness so interlaced the sky gave the same amount of light as a cloudy day. This doesn't even touch on the destruction as far as the eye can see. Ruins of what was a city can be made out. Giant flowers growing out of the windows of some buildings, giant bones of something growing out of others, and crystal spikes erected from the ground. it was like a fantacy was consuming reality. It was a sickening sight to Kronii. But to Irys, this was normal. Kronii points at a golden building, gears turned all around the structure as though it was made from clockwork.
“The clock tower is just on the horizon. Hurry up and transform, once we’re there hopefully we can put an end to this nightmare.” Kronii commands her apprentice. Irys nods, Both her and Kronii pull out a brooch from their pockets Kronii’s was a sapphire disk with a porcelain plate in the center, roman numeral numbers decorated the outer line of the white disk and golden hands connect at the center, pointing to 6:30. Irys held a heart shaped ruby, surrounded by eight diamonds. four milky white on the left side, and four inky black, on the right side.
“Transform!” Both women called out.

Kronii’s sapphire brooch shimmers before shattering in bright blue energy that enters her body. Her entire body glows and a bright blue hue. Her brilliant bright flesh burned her clothes off her skin. Skin which was completely covered in a magical energy. The energy around her hips forming into a half skirt which pops, the thin blue player energy expelling from the energy away, giving the skirt a black color. The energy on both of her feet form into her shoes, with a wide frill near the entrance of the heel. Each shoe popping, expelling the magic. The magic peels off her legs, becoming black thigh highs, one of which has frills that extend past the skirt. Her sleeves form, popping left and right. Her top cuts off half way almost exposing her breasts, but a white vest like garment drapes down, covering the woman’s nipples revealing the underside of her round breasts. A beautiful blue ribbon appears at her collar. And over her head the magic forms a halo like object with three arms pointing in different directions, that too pops, revealing a silver clock like object. And lastly, the magic starts peeling away from her exposed skin and hair. Removing the gray streaks in her hair, and flattening the wrinkles around her eyes and face, making her look much more youthful

Irys’ broach shimmers before the black and white gems break apart from the heart and fly away. The ruby heart shatters in a red energy that envelops the young woman. Her body glowing in a dark red hue. Her clothes burning off leaving a thin layer of energy covering her skin. The energy around her hips forming a tutu-like skirt, with a pop the energy expels revealing a layer of dark and bright red laces, and a cluster of lace at her left hip that resembles a bright red rose. The energy on both of her feet becoming black sandal like heels, the energy peels away up her legs creating a white thigh high stocking on her right leg and a black legging on her left leg. Similarly her sleeves form a white sleeve at her right arm and a black sleeve at her right. Her top shares the tutu motif, a white and black dress-like garment reaches up from the red skirt. Stopping with a quarter of her breasts uncovered but a thin black material reaches up to cover the rest. A dark red pin connects it and the black batwing-like collar that forms around her neck. Four horns grow out the sides of her head, two long and two short directly above. Black on the top and red at the underside. Lastly the dark red energy peels off her exposed skin and hair. Her hair shimmers in a bright red hue like a rose. Her ears become pointed, black and white diamond like shapes form at the back of her head, and her left eye turns a bright blue. The eight crystals return, much larger and float around her shoulders and back resembling wings.

Kronii runs through the ruined terrain while Irys follows right behind her, flying at the same pace as Kronii. Toward the gold clock tower at 5 times the speed as they would if they hadn’t transformed.

It was like it was yesterday. The day Irys lost her parents was the same day her brooch appeared in front of her. When Kronii laid her eyes on it it. She just about broke down. she Hugged the girl practically sobbing.
“I-I can’t believe I found another…another one of us…you can…you can prevent all of this…you’re my last hope.” Hope.it was what kronii would say often wen reffering to the girl. for years the two traveled together to reach the golden clock tower, and to train Irys. In this time Irys really grew to love and respect Kronii.
“Master?” the thirteen year old Irys called out to the woman
“What is it?” Kronii asks flatly. Both huddled around a camp fire.
“What was the world like when you were my age?” she asks boldly. Kronii looked at her in shock. She looked up at the monochrome sky.
“The sky was one solid color. But changed frequently…everything was beautiful. Back then I took it all for granted…but I’ll give anything to see it all again.” she spoke, her eyes teared up once again
“How did the world change so much?” Irys asked again, looking at the black and white squares that made up the sky.
“Things were getting ccomplicated with my friends...we could have all worked it out, but I ran away…when the people I cared about needed me the most...” was all Kronii would ever tell her. Any time Irys asked again it just made Kronii upset…

The two reached the golden clock tower faster than they expected. Kronii pushes the door open, showing no caution, which startled Irys
“W-wait what if a Chrysalis was in there?” Irys asks in a panic
“Don’t worry, I know this place like the back of my hand, hurry before those things show up.” She commands Irys. She hurriedly flies in while kronii shuts the door behind her. The interior was just as magnificent as the outside. Gars shimmering in gold, constantly spinning . The sound of ticking echoes throughout the tower. in the middle of the main room appears to be a giant black bird cage. an attatched chain reached up way too far for Irys to be able to see. Kronii willingly enters the cage.
“Come on! Get in!” Kronii shouts. Sounding more impatient than usual
“S-sorry Master!” She quickly flies in, flustered from the older woman's irritation. Kronii pulls a lever from inside the cage and the chain lifts up the entire cage…Kronii looks tense the entire way up. Constantly looking around…Irys had never seen her so paranoid before.

The elevator reaches to the top of the tower. Once there, Irys was shocked to see a woman floating in the air. Long golden hair flowing in every direction, spreading like she was an angel with golden wings… Her eyes were closed, and with how still she is, it seems like she was completely frozen in time. She had her hands pointed at one another, but in between her hands seemed like some round golden object. Kronii approached the goddess statue like woman, tears dripping down her face.
“It’s been so long Amelia…I finally found our hope…” she spoke, completely aware that the blond haired woman couldn’t respond. Kronii reached out her arm. Grabbing the gold object between Amelia’s hands. And once it was away, the woman's beautiful hair slowly began to droop down, and her body became a victim of gravity. She slowly lowers into kronii’s arms…her head dangling lifelessly… The older woman slowly lowers the blond onto the ground and walks up to Irys…placing the gold object in her hand. Irys looked deeply at it. The surface of the object hada single gear etched in the center. Kronii pushed a button and the gold object opened. It looked like Kronii’s brooch, just no sapphire. Irys looked at it in awe.

“This is a device that amel-...that woman laying there and I developed…it’ll allow someone to go back in time… twenty five years from now…” Kronii speaks plainly.
“T-twenty five!?” She blurts in shock… “Wait! Why couldn’t you and her use it?” she asks, looking at Kronii feeling a tad intimidated.
“This…was used with the last of that woman’s life…and to be frank, there could be complications if I encountered my past self…you on the other hand weren’t born yet…so you’re the logical choice.” Kronii states as a matter of fact…Irys gazed into it in wonder…but then she realized…
“Wait…you’re not coming with me?” she asks, her eyes getting misty at the thought of leaving the woman…the same woman who raised her…Kronii let out a sigh
“I can’t go with you…” Kronii informs her regretfully… “and once you make the leap in time…that pocket watch will shatter. So you’ll have no way of coming back.” she continues…
“K-Kronii I…I can’t do this without you I…” Irys starts becoming emotional…Kronii knew it would be like this. She sighed and handed the young woman a notebook
“I’ve spent years planning this out Irys…anything you could ever want to know is in this notebook…I know it's scary…but I need you to do this…” Kronii holds Irys’ hands. Holding the notebook into her hands with the time machine…

“Well, isn't this touching?” a woman's voice echoes from behind Kronii. The blue haired woman felt her muscles freeze in fear…she turned around seeing a cloaked figure, long strands of pink hair drooping down from the hood accompanied by a menacing grin and a scarlet eye that pierced the dark shadow the hood casts and a scythe over both of her shoulders. The cloaked woman snaps her fingers and from the tips a dark energy escapes the pips of her fingers, making the shape of a butterfly. Suddenly from in between the gears bug like monsters try to crawl their way into the building.
“Chrysalis!” Irys calls out in fear. Kronii clicks her tongue and kicks Irys back into the cake, the door forcing shut. With the flick of her wrists two swords appear in her palms as she takes a defensive stance
“Hurry! Use the time machine!” Kronii shouts at irys. The young woman looks around. The Chrysalis are crawling all around the clock tower, reaching toward her and her master. There was no way the both of them could handle this many, much less Kronii alone.
“YOU’LL DIE!” she shouts in defiance, her tears flowing out. Kronii turns to Irys
“DO IT NOW! YOU’RE OUR LAST HOPE!” she shouts to her…Irys grits her teeth before pushing the button…the hands slowly start spinning backwards. Each number on the face of the object glows white and like Kronii promised, the device falls apart in Irys’ grasp, leaving nothing but a vortex of magic and spinning hands rolling backwards on glowing numbers.

The cloaked figure lunges toward Kronii, lifting the scythe. Kronii manages to block the sharp blade, but the scythe manages to cut one of the bars of the cage…Kronii quickly kicks the woman away and runs to her. Keeping the cloaked figure from the cage. Irys on the other hand is just starting to notice that her hand is getting sucked up by the fortex of magic. It’s only a matter of time till the rest of her body is swallowed up. She watches in fear for Kronii. A flurry of strikes from the blue haired woman. The blades slashing at the air but all are blocked effortlessly by the cloaked figure’s scythe.

“NO MATTER WHAT!” Kronii shouts to Irys, which half of her body is swallowed by the magic vortex
“YOU HAVE TO PREVENT THIS! AND I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!” Kronii shouts. Wiping away the tears in her eyes, leaving only fury increasing the speed of her slashes at the hooded figure and even teleporting around the figure, but to no avail. The figure knew where she was going to show up and managed to block each of her strikes. The cloaked figure quickly grabs Kronii’s neck. Irys lets out a gasp her vision is starting to become hazy but she could see…all too well that the figure had raised her scythe and swung it at Kronii's neck. The woman’s long locks drop to the ground followed by the shape of what could have only been her head

“KRONIIIIIII!” She screams, her eyes swollen and red but the only thing she can see is a pure orange sky…a few white clouds that look like fire thanks to the noon sun…she falls from the sky, taking the time to cry while she falls down to a river directly under her. A magic energy begins enveloping her. Protecting her while she slams into the river. A geyser of water shoots up from where she landed…

Maiden of Hope, IRyS

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