For a minute, all I could do was stare at the little white fox that suspiciously took after Noelle’s favourite animal, an arctic fox. It, of course, patiently waited for me to speak first before saying anything else, Idly lolling its head from side to side while it watched me.

Eventually, my mind strung together some semblance of coherence and from my mouth emerged the most eloquent of responses.

“What.”

The singular word was not a question from me, but a statement. I knew exactly what I was looking at and hearing, yet it couldn’t be right. Never in a million years could what was happening be actually what was occurring right now. I was hallucinating and seeing things that weren’t really there. I had actually died while trying to handle the Inversion and this was my mind’s way of spending my last fleeting moments. I was having a vivid nightmare of this day and was actually just still sleeping in my bed.

Anything but this made more sense.

Content with just that for my response, the white fox in front of me began to speak to me once more while my mind desperately railed against what it was that I knew I was seeing.

“Ah, I suppose this must be quite disorienting for you given the current situation. My apologies for being a bit too forward. Let me start from the beginning, a little more properly this time.” Came the same ethereal voice of a confident young woman from earlier. They closed their lilac eyes and seemed to take a deep breath before opening them and starting again, their voice markedly more formal. “Hello Merrick Kandlebern, my name is Rumiko and you might better know me by the name we are colloquially called here on Earth, as a Familiar. I’m here today in both my capacity as a Familiar and as an extension of the Transcendents to ask you a simple question. Would you wish to make a Vow with me?

My breath hitched while the small fox confirmed what I had longed to not be true. It was here to ask me, of all people, to make the Vow and become one of the chosen few to fight the Inversions. To become a Magical Guardian.

“I-what? You must be making some kind of mistake, I can’t, no, I’m definitely not someone who could become a Magical Guardian. Are you sure you’re not supposed to be here for-”

I paused before gasping aloud when a stray thought reminded me of what had just happened, completely eclipsing my worries over what Rumiko’s presence meant. Both Gail and Holly were possibly dead. At best, badly injured and in need of treatment before it became too late. “GAIL, HOLLY!”

I surged upwards from where I had collapsed on my knees before sprinting towards where the closest of the two were, which was in this case Gail. Or at least I would’ve had it not felt like I was swimming through molasses with each movement.

“What the- Why can’t I move properly!? I need to check them, try and patch up their injuries before it’s too late!” The panicked words left my mouth in a jumble. I barely knew the first thing about first aid, but I had to try!

I didn’t know what I’d do with myself if they passed here.

Rumiko, for its part, simply stood up and walked on the air like it was a summer day’s stroll before coming face to face with me, a glint in its eyes and its voice returning to the much more casual confidence of before. “Hmm, I’m quite certain I’m supposed to be here for you. I was watching you for the better part of two weeks after all to ensure you were a good fit. And to think of your friends first even now is a commendable thing indeed, one might even say the actions of a Magical Guardian. Don’t worry though, they’ll be alright for the moment at least. Right now we have about… tenish minutes to talk before it’ll be a real worry again.”

I looked at Rumiko with confusion in my eyes. Watching me? All the time in the world to talk? “What do you mean by that?! They’re bleeding out at best and that…:” I shuddered as much as I could in this state before continuing. “That Inversion didn’t hold back in the slightest when it hit them. I heard bones crack if not break. In what world are they alright?!”

Rumiko hummed lightly as if everything were perfectly fine. “How best to explain this… Ah, I got it.” With those cryptic words, it plodded through the air above and behind me until it was out of sight. Something then gently bit into the back of my head and I felt myself stiffen before I found myself being turned to face something that should be as equally as impossible as Rumiko was.

It was me. I was still where I was before Rumiko had appeared, collapsed onto my knees and exhausted with blood dripping down both from my hands and my ears. I looked even worse than usual and a tiny bit of relief shot through me when Rumiko sat in the air in front of me again and blocked my view of myself so I didn’t have to see this even worse version of myself. I still didn’t particularly understand why they were showing me this however.

“How am I there when I’m right here?”

Rumiko bared its teeth at me at what I think was supposed to be a grin that didn’t look quite right due to it being an arctic fox. “Why, that’s simple. The you in front of me isn’t actually you per say. It is, in fact, your very soul that I’m speaking with right now done with a method unique to this first meeting of ours that utilizes the sheer amount of magic involved in forming this connection. And while this isn’t the normal protocol for the handling of your Vow meeting, I figured you’d appreciate it if time nor your own pain wasn’t much of an issue given your current circumstances and took some leeway to speak with your soul instead of you. Of course time is still moving since you’re only perceiving it to be much slower than it actually is and like I said we only have about what feels like ten, no nine minutes now to talk freely, so ask away any questions you might have while we have time.”

I stared blankly at it while I processed its words and realized I wasn’t also feeling the crippling pain I should be from my hands or any of the aches from my makeshift garrotte and being slammed into a wall respectively. My body ever so slowly rotated through the air until I was properly standing and facing Rumiko. Its words did seem to be true, but I still couldn’t help the occasional darting of my eyes to where Gail or Holly laid on the floor.

Eventually, I managed to focus past the surrealness of the current situation and mostly compose myself. Time was limited like this and as impossible as this was, there was still so much I didn’t get about why Rumiko thought that I was somehow Magical Guardian material. Worst come to worse, it was still at least some extra time I had to figure out how I was going to save both my friends. At least, if that was even possible.

I mentally took a deep breath then asked the first question I had on my mind. “Okay questions.” I began. “First of all, what do you mean you were here for me and watching me? I’m not Magical Guardian material, period. And both Gail and Holly are much better choices then I am. So why me?”

Rumiko tilted its head at me and was silent for a moment before it eventually answered. “I disagree quite heavily on you not being Magical Guardian material. What you did when you confronted the Inversion was something I think only a seldom few would be willing to do when it’s not expected of them. You not only did that, but survived your encounter. Of course this feat is far from the only reason this offer is being extended towards you, though I myself am not privy to all the reasons the Transcendents had for choosing you. As for why your two friends were not chosen even with you believing them to be better choices, I can’t exactly say why with them either as I only know what their interactions with you over the past two weeks have shown them to be like and nothing deeper than that. But even if they were…”

It trailed off before they gestured with a paw towards their unconscious bodies. “Well, talking with them wouldn’t exactly be possible, which would leave you as the one potential candidate for the Vow for me to speak to.”

An incredibly slow breath left me and it was only now I realized I wasn’t even needing to breathe like this, it was simply my body, no soul, going through the motions. Which was uncomfortable, though not nearly as much as the thought of me of all people being a Magical Guardian when I was perhaps one of the worst candidates I could imagine for one. I was sure so many others would’ve been capable of pulling off what I had if given the chance.

“But I can’t be one! Because if I am one…” My voice trailed off, unwilling to continue on as flashes of memories of Noelle flew through me. To her, MG’s had been her idol’s and it was her dream, not mine, to become one. The fact I was being offered it when she had perished… It wasn’t right.

Rumiko took much longer to answer this time, seemingly not having expected this. “If… If you truly don’t wish to be one, then I will not press further. Just simply say the words, ‘I do not wish to make a Vow now or ever’ and that will be that. But I do urge you to think carefully on if it’s what you really want. Your present situation is perilous despite the peculiarities of your encounter with the Inversion. I do not believe you’ll bleed out from what I am able to see, though you are still injured. I am, however, not so certain about your friends' conditions and there is much more you could do as a Magical Guardian to help them.”

Its words sent a jolt of realization through me. I might not deserve to become a Magical Guardian in the slightest, but they were capable of the impossible. Their choices were able to truly change the world compared to the vast majority of people where what they did just wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Even Gail and Holly, for as much as I valued them as friends…

I grimaced as the scenes of their grisly fates replayed in my mind. To the Inversion, their decisions hadn’t mattered one bit. Just as mine shouldn’t have in that same moment were it not for whatever fluke had occurred to have the Inversion ignore me, leading to my subsequent takedown of it.

Probably the fault of Rumiko somehow.

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Either way, despite the chances I’d be a terrible Magical Guardian and unable to change the world like the true ones could, if I could at least save my friends… It was such a selfish wish, but wouldn’t that be worth it?

“I hadn’t thought of that. I’m still not sold that I am anywhere being a Magical Guardian, but if it’s needed to save my friends, then I suppose I really don’t have a choice, do I?”

Surprisingly, Rumiko’s lilac eyes widened at those words. “Wait, don’t feel like you’re forced to have to make the Vow in order to save their lives. Their situation is not good, yes, and yours isn’t that much better, but even if you were to not make the Vow…”

It trailed off for a moment before continuing on hesitantly. “It’s not what we’re supposed to do when a prospective MG says no, whether it be a normal Vow or an Emergency Vow like this, but I’ll still be here to help you until either the end of Inversion Upheaval here or until you say those words I told you about. And I’ll do everything in my power to help you and your friends survive nonetheless. For example, I’m quite certain there’s a first aid kit somewhere nearby here that would likely be enough to give your friends a fighting chance even if it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as something you could procure as a Magical Guardian.

Why did it matter if I felt like I was forced to make it or not? Rumiko was certainly making a big deal out of it and was willing to bend whatever rules governed them a bit if I said no. But what they said had already told me what I needed to do. It’d still be a spit in the face to my friends and to those few in the world like them who weren’t MG’s, but I could stomach that if a little bit of selfishness would give the two of them the best odds.

I’d just have to make sure their lives were saved so that this was worth it. To live Noelle’s dream in her place.

“But if I were to make the Vow, their odds would be even better than just whatever would be lying around in a first aid kit, wouldn’t it? And that’s not mentioning all the Inversions that must already be cropping up outside here. So if it’s to save them, then yes, I’d make the Vow one-hundred times over. What did you mean when said this would be an Emergency Vow though?”

Rumiko glanced at me with a hint of worry in its eyes before it bowed its head in acknowledgement. “You have an admirable reason for wanting to make the Vow, a selfless one. And an Emergency Vow is quite simple. It’s simply a Vow made when the one making it is in some sort of peril. Instead of being in a more controlled or happy environment and usually before a Familiar can truly finalize our judgements on whether or not who we are watching should be an MG. It’s not in any way inferior to a normal Vow, just a different situation. And like I said before, you’ve certainly already proved yourself with your defeat of the Inversion and are very much deserving of this.”

I still doubted its words that me being selected for this was right. Especially if it had seen how I interacted with those who weren’t Holly or Gail and was calling my clearly selfish decision a selfless one. However, I had already decided to commit down this path, there was no more point in questioning it. Probably for the best to refer to them as a she instead of a they too like I had been in my mind.

Though before I did reach that point of no return, there was one last question I had before I delved all the way to the depths of this particular rabbit hole. “What exactly are you? I know you are a Familiar and from all the media I’ve seen, are always beside MG’s in some way, but I don’t really know what that means other than that you’re usually made into cute plushies. Oh and I suppose I now know you’re the ones who handle the Vows too.”

Rumiko smiled in that strange way a fox did while she responded. “Well, the short answer is that we’re spirits the Transcendents have sent over to aid those like you in the fight against the Inversions since they’re unable to physically come themselves to help. We’re your liaisons to the Transcendents, advisors in all matters Inversion, and your eternal companions! We’re even molded by the Transcendents to be as best a fit for our prospective candidate as we possibly can be!” She paused for a moment after saying that, face falling a little in the process. “Well, usually we are at least.”

Molded to be the best fit for a candidate as they possibly could be? Well wasn’t that a little disturbing, even if it did make sense. But it was that last part of what she said that caught my attention. “Usually?” I asked.

Rumiko nodded her head after a moment. “Well, I don’t want you to take this as more evidence that you aren’t Magical Guardian material, but I was originally molded for someone else around three months ago. Only, it didn’t work out for whatever reason. I couldn’t tell you why since I was made to forget them and whatever circumstances surrounded them, but I was in a bit of a limbo state before being assigned to watch over you.”

She took a moment to prance around me before sitting down in front of me. “Of course, I’m more than happy to work with you! Circumstances have aligned once more to force us into an Emergency Vow which means I haven’t been properly calibrated to perfectly fit you, but you’ve more than provided yourself to me already. I just hope that this unfortunate tidbit isn’t something that will cause strife in our relationship.”

Huh. I wonder who Rumiko was originally meant for. A shame whoever they were didn’t end up working out for whatever reason, I’m sure they would’ve done better then me. I didn't particularly mind her not being molded to me or whatever, honestly I felt a bit better about this if she wasn't molded to perfectly fit me.

Our conversation lulled into a momentary silence before Rumiko spoke up again. “Now, I don’t mean to rush you or anything, but let me know when you’re ready to make the Vow. We only have about three more minutes in this perception before your soul will snap back to your body and we’ll have to worry about time again.”

I nodded the best I could in this strange soul state. “That’s alright. I don’t have any more pressing questions and I’ve already decided to go through with this. I’m ready to make the Vow, whatever that might entail.”

Rumiko quite literally jumped up into the air, ignoring gravity as she came closer to my head. “Great! The Vow is quite simple really just repeat what I say after me and it’ll be made, a permanent connection forming between us in the process. Are you ready?”

This truly was so very different from how the shows on this were. I guess that did make sense though. They were fantasy, this was reality.

“I’m ready.” I said, idly wondering at the same time if she’d regret forming that permanent connection of a Familiar and a Magical Guardian with me.

She will. Whispered a voice in my head I thought I’d banished away. I ignored it as Rumiko began to recite the Vow.

But as she began to speak, I didn’t hear a word of what she said, my attention squarely on the ever brightening of the world around me. And in a single moment, the brightness had intensified to the point where all I could perceive was a white light around me.

And then it wasn’t and I found myself lying on my back on a rocky outcropping in the middle of a tumultuous ocean.

I stared at the full moon surrounded by various clouds hovering above in the night sky. Vaguely, there was something in my mind telling me I was just doing something else important. That I wasn’t here a second ago.

Ignoring it, I instead opted to stay peacefully lying where I was where I had no worries to think of. Here, there was nothing that could hurt me. There was nothing to be concerned about. There was absolutely nothing… to…

No, that wasn’t right. There was something more here now that had always existed but was more prominent. And there was something that had always been here that was now missing and had been for far too long.

I sat up while I looked around, trying to figure out what it was that had happened. Around me there were more outcroppings jutting through the top of the sea, standing steadfastly against the constant assault of the waters. Further in the distance were mountainous figures that cut above the horizon, but that I instinctively knew were unreachable. So what was it that was-

I looked down and it hit me about what was missing. Before, there had once been sand and land and things beyond the ocean, not just these outcroppings. So what had changed?

I thought and thought and came to a simple conclusion. I didn’t know why and probably wouldn’t be able to figure that out from here.

Shaking my head, I tried to focus on whatever it was that had become more prominent only to struggle to find anything above the ever flowing ocean that might fit that description. I might’ve never found it if it hadn’t begun to call to me in turn from the depths of the ocean. Beckoning for me to come towards it like a siren might a sailor.

I listened, completely unworried about any danger being here. I instinctively knew nothing could hurt me here but myself after all, no matter how much this place changed.

And so I dived into the depths of the sea without a care in the world.

The cold water welcomed me into its familiar embrace, both soaking and drying me at the same time. I spun around in it as I got my bearings, my gaze after a moment finding itself locked onto where what had become more prominent in this place was calling me from.

Below me in the ocean’s water I saw clearly through was a girl so similar and yet so utterly different from me. Her dark lilac eyes stared into mine as she struggled to swim upwards to breach the surface of the waters, held back from doing so by an entire array of chains. Each were of different make, but all were pulling her down towards the bottom of the sea. A place so deep in this place, that I couldn’t see how far it reached.

She was drowning with no hope of ever escaping the chains that bound her to the depths, yet she still swam with all her might in the vain hope to break through to the surface. Only now, she was reaching for me too with her hand.

I dived to meet her, listening to her call, and once I had reached her I clasped her hand with my own. The instant I did so, the world grew too bright to see once more and I suddenly found myself back in reality where time was now moving normally again.

I gasped as I came to where I was still on my knees, because that’s where I’ve really been this entire time. Pain once more radiated from my hands and aches everywhere else, as did a new feeling spread throughout the entirety of my body that vaguely felt like sleeping muscles that had just awoken. I glanced upwards towards where I had originally seen Rumiko and was greeted by an incredibly different sight.

She was still an arctic fox, but the way she looked was otherwise completely different. Her colors popped onto the world and her face seemed so much more expressive than it had been the last time I had seen her, like she had jumped into the world from a cartoon on TV. Wave like patterns decorated her fur now and her now dark lilac eyes seemed to have a wave constantly swirling around her pupil.

Her grin looked far more natural on her new face while she greeted me. “Merrick! Before anything else, thank you for making the Vow with me and joining the ranks of the Magical Guardians! I shall do all I can to meet your needs as your new Familiar!”

I blinked at her, wanting to ask about why she had changed or what in the world I had just experienced when she began to say Vow instead of repeating whatever it was she said, but I could leave that for later. A later for after I did all I could to save Holly and Gail.

“Rumiko,” I began, pausing slightly at the reminder I was currently deaf when I couldn’t hear my own voice before continuing on. “First, I need to try and save my friends. Where’s that first aid kit you mentioned and is there anything else that I'm capable of now since I’m an, MG.” I said, slowly slightly before saying that I was an MG. That was going to take some getting used to.

Rumiko merely coyly smiled back at me. “Ah, don’t worry too much about the first aid kit anymore. It’ll be good to grab for later, but right now, you’re capable of so much more! It’ll take me some time to sort through everything that I can sense about you now that we’re bonded so I can present it to you in a way that makes sense, but for the moment it’s time for you to learn the truth behind how little MG's are kidding when they say they only need a moment to bring to bear whatever it is they might need for the situation.”