She Who Wears The Crown Of Hell

Black was the colour of death.

A sea of darkness answered her silent prayer, swirling up from the depths of her soul. Black was the color of despair, mourning, grief, curses upon those who betrayed you, hatred toward everyone equally... Too many emotions swirled together within her soul, merging into a single dark current. It had long since dyed itself black.

What was she to do?

The answer came quickly, without conscious thought.

She could do nothing. She had no choice but to let the light consume her.

"I'm sorry..."

The words came unbidden, unthought, leaving her lips in a whisper. They echoed throughout the dying battlefield, disappearing into the distance. Then they faded away completely, leaving behind nothing but thunder. This battle was one she had never been meant to win. And yet, at the last minute, her soul shredded and fracturing, all of it still chose to fight.

***

Wherever Black Rock Shooter looked, there was the same destruction. The sky was a seething mass of light against darkness, the earth crumbling away beneath her feet. This fight had grown beyond her; beyond anyone. A sea of darkness swirled protectively above her, shielding her from the light.

It was all she could do to stand.

At least she was standing. Rock refused to die.

This wasn't the sort of battle where she clashed against Dead Master with blade against blade, or shot bullets back and forth across the stage. Those, especially of late, were simply fun — a game. She'd felt fear, on occasion, but never terror.

She was feeling it now.

She was crying — the experience was new to her, but she understood the feeling. And she knew the cause. She was part of a greater whole; that was what they'd learned, her and Mato, together. The concept of 'self' was something she had yet to fully grasp. It was something she'd needed to learn.

Although it was the force of Mato's soul that held her together, she was near to being complete on her own; she could think, despite the crushing weight of the star above her head. The same was not true of her greater self. Mato was diffuse — she was the ground that Black Rock Shooter walked on, not a person in her own right.

At least, that was how she'd thought about it... for a short period of time, objectively speaking, but it had been most of her life by the time she was dissuaded of the notion. True, she hadn't been... entirely rational at the time...

But now, as their soul crumbled into dust, she realised she'd run out of time. The power of this world, of the entire universe, was tearing them apart. And she had no idea how to stop it. Mato had been the ground she walked on. She still was, and that meant that Rock could see, with her own two eyes, as the only person she'd ever cared for died.

In her mind, she felt as though everything that made her Rock was crumbling along with it, leaving her as simply Black Rock Shooter. That was all she'd ever been, and that was all she would ever be. The world felt distant, because how did you fight light? You couldn't shoot it. She'd tried, when she'd been able to think straight. But the baleful star that sat above them had utterly ignored her efforts.

All she could do was watch.

That was why she was crying. Not because of her failure. She was, for the very first time in her existence, utterly defeated — but that wasn't why she was crying. She was crying because she was afraid. She was crying because she was alone.

And she was crying because she'd never have another chance to see her sister.

It was selfish, and it was stupid, and it meant their mother had been right all along. But she cried anyway.

ooOOoo

Past



"Mato..."

Her bed felt entirely too good. It was soft and warm, and the covers were inviting. She'd never been quite so comfortable before, and she wanted to stay here forever. Her mother's voice was a distant murmur, and it didn't matter.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled. "Just five more."

Her mother laughed. "On your first day as a sophomore?"

"Please..."

"Fine. Just one more minute. Rock's already up."

Mato smiled, stretching under the sheets. She had a vague recollection of her mother's hands touching her hair, but she didn't care. Her eyelids fluttered shut.

She liked hearing her mother laugh. It was a rare thing, and always made her happy. She didn't know how to deal with sadness, and she tried to ignore it. But sometimes, she just couldn't help herself.

She rolled over onto her side, burying her face in the pillow.

Come to think of it, Mom had said something weird. Her sleep-addled mind was struggling to remember. Something about Rock. Something about... something about...

"Rock's... up?"

"Downstairs, eating breakfast." Mom sighed. "How you stayed asleep after that fight, I don't know. She's behaving oddly today. We'll talk later."

"Okay..."

"And no fighting with your sister!"

That statement finally woke Mato up. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and blinked dumbly at her mother.

"Hawah?"

Mom's expression softened, and she smiled. "Good morning, Mato."

There was a time, not so long ago, when the confusion she was feeling would have been a dulled and sickly thing. But today, it was bright and sharp and clear. It cut through the fog of her mind like a knife, piercing the murky veil of sleep. Mato probed her mind, the way you'd test a sprained ankle. There was no sense of anything broken; nothing felt... missing, like it had when Mato had recovered enough to realize she was missing something in the first place. Rock, especially, was still right there. Dulled and distant, but that was always true while she was awake.

"Mato?"

Her mother leaned forward, reached out and hugged her, squeezing tightly. She let go and stepped back, then looked down at Mato, her eyes narrowed. "You're going to be late for school if you don't hurry up."

Mom left the room, leaving Mato to blink in the silence.

She didn't feel tired. She didn't feel flattened. She felt... normal, like she had for months now. Not like something strange had happened.

She looked down at herself. She wore her favourite shirt, which was currently unbuttoned. She glanced at the clock on the wall.

"O-kay..."

After a few moments, chewing on what she'd just heard, Mato stood up and wandered over to the window. She peered outside, and saw a perfectly normal street. The sun was shining, and the air was warm. A couple of children she vaguely recognised were playing in the park, and a dog was sniffing around in their neighbour's garden. It looked like a beautiful day, and it was absolutely, positively not the garden of swords that made up Rock's home.

"Ah... huh."

She frowned. If she'd still been asleep, that would've been the perfect explanation. She sometimes dreamt about Rock, which was different from the more-common dreams with Rock. But she wasn't asleep. And she knew that she wasn't.

Rock... was downstairs?

She walked back over to her bed and sat down on the edge. She stared blankly at the wall, thinking hard. Mom shouldn't even know that name. That was the name that Mato had given her, and Mato had never told anyone else, let alone mom. Yes, sure, they'd both gotten more... alive, but Rock was still someone she only saw in dreams.

She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

Six months ago, Kagari had been screaming her lungs out in the hospital while she was breaking down the door. Kagari hadn't been her friend back then. Definitely hadn't been her friend. But Yomi said, and it was impossible to argue, that her personality had done a complete one-eighty. It was as though someone had taken the person she'd been before, and replaced it with someone... sane. She was a different person. And she'd become friends with Mato, and they'd laughed together, and...

She had, somehow, convinced herself that it was okay. That they were friends. That whatever had happened wasn't that important. But she remembered how strange her dreams had been that month. How tired Rock had seemed afterwards. She'd still been stuck thinking those were dreams, back then, so she hadn't really noticed, but...

"Mato?"

Mato jumped, startled by her mother's voice. She turned around and saw her mother looking at her curiously, carrying a hairbrush.

"I'm fine," Mato replied, waving her off. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." Mom nodded, leaving the room again.

Mato lay back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. What had happened to Kagari, and what had happened to herself, was at least a little similar.

Three months ago, Strength had helped her stop Rock from killing Yomi's otherself. Well, she'd tried to stop her. And Mato could hardly say that wasn't important, when the end result had been her best friend's death. That wasn't something she could just forget. There was still a 'Yuu' in her school, but that girl, however much Mato tried pretending, wasn't the real Yuu. Wasn't her childhood friend. But was a lot more similar to her than the berserker she'd seen through Rock's eyes had been, regardless.

So what was left of the ghost she still remembered growing up with? Mato was still trying to figure that out. She knew, intellectually, that most of her memories were fake… but Strength's friendship? She didn't think that had been faked.

Two months ago, Mato had reached out to Rock in her dreams again, and they'd had a shoot-out... again. This time her friends hadn't come to her rescue, but — in retrospect — the fight had been a friendly greeting. They made a habit of it, because she'd made Rock a *promise*, and Mato was just starting to realise how important that promise had been to both of them. It felt like she'd been right on the edge of falling into oblivion, until Rock had stepped in and saved her.

It was nice to have a friend.

But... It was also scary. Because if Rock was a friend, then... What was she? And who was downstairs?

A shiver ran down Mato's spine.

One month ago she'd told Rock to use words, for the umpteenth time. She'd gotten angry, and they'd fought, and Mato had won. Because Rock had been distracted. Because she was trying to talk when Mato had shot her.

And now, today, Rock was downstairs. Eating breakfast. With her mom.

"I don't get it..."

Mato stared blankly at the ceiling. There was, for some reason, two pillows on her bed. She wasn't sure when that had happened, but it was probably related. When she looked to the side, she saw two backpacks leaning neatly against the wall. She'd bought one of those backpacks when she was shopping with her mom, and she couldn't remember seeing the other one before.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. She needed answers, and there was only one person likely to give them to her.

She got up off the bed, got dressed, and walked down the stairs.

***

Mato's slippers squeaked against the floor as she walked down the hallway. She passed the living room, and continued down the hall to the kitchen. Her mom was sitting at the table, sipping coffee. Her eyes were sparkling, watching the other occupant of the room.

Rock was sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. Mato stopped dead in her tracks. That was Rock, right? She was dressed in Mato's clothes, but she was every bit as pale as ever. Her black hair was tied up in two waist-length pigtails, and her eyes were dark and unreadable. She looked up, and met Mato's gaze.

It was like looking in a mirror, except the person in the mirror was someone who didn't exist.

Mato swallowed. She felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, and put a hand out to steady herself against the wall. She wanted to turn and run, but she couldn't seem to move.

Her mother glanced up at her, and smiled.

"Morning, Mato. Did you sleep well?"

Mato didn't respond. She couldn't. Her brain was having trouble processing this information. Rock was sitting at the kitchen table. She was eating breakfast.

This was impossible.

"Mato?"

Her mother's voice snapped her out of it. She forced a smile. "Good morning, Mom."

"You look a little tired. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm good," she said, on autopilot.

"I see... Well, good. That's good. You must be hungry. Want some toast?"

Mom seemed oblivious to the fact that Rock was in her house, and was cooking breakfast for her. She was acting as though nothing had changed. As though this was normal.

"Sure."

Mato nodded, sitting down across from Black Rock Shooter. She could feel the otherself's eyes on her, and she found herself unable to meet them. Rock didn't speak. Mato picked up her knife and fork, and began cutting her food into many tiny pieces. Anything to avoid having to make eye contact.

After a moment, she realised that she wasn't going to get away with that. She looked up, and met Rock's gaze.

They stared at each other for a long time. Mato could feel her heartbeat speeding up. She could hear her own breathing.

Then, without saying a word, Rock took a bite of her toast.

Mato followed suit.

Their eyes remained locked.

"Honestly, you two." Mom's voice had a laugh in it. "Why don't you just sit down and eat, instead of making every morning a competition? You're both my daughters, after all."

Rock's eyes widened slightly, and Mato managed to tear her eyes away from hers long enough to look at her mother. She was smiling, and seemed completely unbothered by the situation.

Mato swallowed. "Sorry, mom."

"You're twins. You should be able to at least finish a meal together."

Mato gave a weak nod, processing the extra information, and forced herself to take another bite of toast. She chewed it slowly, swallowing hard. Then, she turned back to her plate. Mom had only made the one piece of toast, which meant plans, but she couldn't bring herself to speculate right then.

There was a part of her, a big part, that wanted to drag Rock out of the house, throw her over her shoulder, and run until they got somewhere they could talk. There was another part that worried that, should Rock ever talk, it'd be in the form of a bullet. And that didn't include all of the parts that had essentially locked up in disbelief. Twins? Yes, she guessed she could see that, they looked nearly identical. But twins?

And why was she wearing Mato's clothes? Why did she even exist?

"Is everything okay?" Mom asked. "You look a little tense."

Mato blinked, then realised Mom had been addressing Rock. She looked up, and met Rock's gaze again.

"At least say good morning to your sister," Mom added. "You two are always fighting over silly things."

They were? That was, they were, but–

"Um... hi?"

Rock slowly raised her fork, pointing it at Mato. She was wearing a smile, and it looked like it hurt.

"Hey." Mato breathed. "Good morning."

Rock kept pointing the fork at her.

"Rock?"

Rock lowered the fork, and leaned back in her chair. "Morning, Mato."

Rock was smiling. Awkward as it was, she was actually smiling. This was doubly impossible. Mato was pretty sure she'd never seen her smile before.

"Good morning, children." Mom smiled, and poured herself another cup of coffee before bringing a plate over. "I made pancakes. Would you like some?"

Mato looked at Rock. Rock looked at Mato. They both looked back at their mother.

"Pancakes?" Rock asked, voice trembling a little.

"Yes, dear. Pancakes."

Rock looked back at Mato, then at her mother, and finally back at Mato again. "I... yes. Thank you."

"Of course, dear. Please help yourself."

***

The pancakes were delicious.

Rock wolfed them down, eating like she'd never eaten in her life before. It made her look a little cute, in an endearing way. Mato, on the other hand, ate a little slower, savouring each bite.

They didn't say anything.

Finally, Mato couldn't take it anymore. "What's going on?" she blurted.

Rock froze. She looked at Mato, then at her mother, and then back at Mato again. Her hands twitched, as though she really wanted to do something more physical than talk, but — thankfully — Rock was smarter than that.

"Oh... uh..."

Mato waited.

"Well," Rock said, sounding like she was forcing the words out, "That's what I want to know. What's going on."

Mato opened her mouth, closed it again, and tried again, conscious of their mother looking on. Really, what she wanted was to grab Rock by the shoulders and drag her out of the house, then interrogate her. She was sure that, if she could get a few minutes alone with her, she could at least get her head back in order. That had been predicated on Rock having any idea herself, however.

"Okay," she said, at last. "Here's the thing. We'll be in eleventh grade starting today. Right? So–"

She had no idea where she was going with this. She'd been planning to ask Rock about the other world, and how she'd come to exist, but it wasn't like she could say that. It wasn't like she wanted to hurt her, either. It was just the– everything– that had happened to her that had left her terminally confused, and it seemed she wasn't alone in that.

"So, um... I mean, we're twins." She glanced at Mom, hoping for some kind of reaction.

Mom smiled, the smile of someone unsure of her daughters' sanity. "Yes, dear. Twins."

"Right, so..." Mato swallowed. "We're both going to school today, right?"

"Yes, dear."

"And we'll both be in eleventh grade."

"You were born on the same day."

"And..." Mato hesitated. "We've always known each other, right? Since we were kids?"

"Of course."

"But... we're not friends. I mean, we're close, but we're not best friends or anything."

"No, Mato." Her mom sighed. "I keep hoping you'll grow out of it. Fighting over stupid things. But you're too much alike."

"Too much alike?"

"Yeah. You're both stubborn. You're both competitive. You're both a little bit... crazy, maybe?"

Mato blinked. "Um..."

"She's got you there," Rock said, finally. It seemed to cost her something, but she still spoke. "I hope we're in the same class."

"It won't even be a joke if we aren't," Mato said, a little desperately. "If we're not in the same class, we'll be in trouble. And, and... we'll have to spend every break together."

"We'll figure something out," Rock said.

"But–"

"We can do this. We'll be fine."

"Okay, but..." Mato shook her head. "This is weird."

Rock laughed, reaching out to touch Mato's fingers. As their mother looked on, she made several abortive attempts, then finally squeezed Mato's hand.

"Yes. Yes, it is. A little."

Mato let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. I don't think I can help you with this one."

"Well, if you two have finished being crazy, perhaps we could talk about something else?" Mom said, giving them both a wry look. "Like, oh, say, how you have ten minutes until the train leaves? Or how you need to put on your uniforms? Or, you know, whatever." She gave them a smile. "I'm glad you're getting along better, however."

Rock and Mato looked at each other.

"We'll go change," Mato said.

"We will?" Rock asked.

"Yes." Mato stood up, taking Rock's hand as she led her back upstairs to their bedroom. This was still an absurd situation, but she'd been expecting much worse. For Black Rock Shooter to be punching holes in the walls, for example, or for her to start shooting something. Instead, they'd had a perfectly civil conversation.

Rock seemed uncertain as she followed Mato back into their room. She glanced around, then back at Mato.

"Are we... safe?"

Mato blinked. "Huh?"

"In here. Are we..." She gestured downwards, towards the kitchen.

"Oh. Yeah, Mom can't hear us here."

Rock slumped against the wall, then slowly slid down to sit on the floor. She crossed her legs, and rested her arms on her knees.

"So," Mato said, sitting down next to her. "How did you get here?"

"I told you, I have no idea." She buried her face in her hands. "I woke up next to you, in your bed. Mom told me to get dressed, and then we went downstairs." Her hands twitched. "I shouted a little. Talking feels different now. Like it's... like I'm still fighting, right now."

"Fighting?"

"With you." She gave Mato a tired look. Her eyes, she saw, lacked the electric sparkle Mato usually saw in her dreams. "I can feel you inside my head. If this is what talking is supposed to be, then I don't think I mind it so much."

Mato nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

"No, it doesn't. Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Not really." She laughed nervously. "You won't start beating me up, right?"

Rock looked up, eyes widening. "Beat you up?"

"Or destroy the walls, or–"

"No! No, of course not!"

"Okay, good. Because I'm not sure I could handle that."

"I would never do that." Rock shook her head. "I'm not an idiot. I just want to go back to my old world. I don't care about the rest of this stuff. I never wanted to be here."

She'd seemed to like the pancakes. Mato wondered if she should mention that. But she also thought it might be better to wait until they'd both calmed down.

"So," she said, instead, "You're not mad at me? About before?"

"Mad?" Rock shrugged. "No. Why would I be?"

"You did shoot me... a lot. And I did kind of evaporate you. This is the most we've talked... ever. I thought..."

Rock groaned, tugging at her hair. "We were both idiots. I don't even really remember what I was like back then. Angry? Yeah, I used to be." Her eyes flashed, a slight electric sparkle returning to them. It quickly faded, though even that was concerning, out here in reality. "But mostly I just wanted to get through your thick head. Not that I had any idea who you were, really. I feel like..." She frowned. "Talking's getting easier the more I do it. Is that weird?"

"A little."

"I don't know what's happening." Rock looked down at her hands. "But we're short on time, right?"

"Yeah." Mato swallowed. "We are."

"Then let's get changed."

Mato took a deep breath, and nodded.

***

They got to school without incident.

Nobody said anything when they saw Mato leading Rock through the gates. She avoided her friends, and they got through the principal's speech without anyone thinking them weird. Just a pair of twins; nothing special about that. A few boys did do a double take, but Mato imagined that was because they were cute together.

At least, she hoped so. She didn't actually know. It might be because Rock was scary. An incarnation of violence, scary? Perish the thought. It might be because Rock was pale as a ghost, and looked nervous enough that she might be about to become one.

Truthfully though, Mato had no idea how she should connect the timid girl she was leading around to the Black Rock Shooter from her dreams. 'Incarnation of violence'? No, Mato was pretty sure that was wrong. She was more like a manifestation of... well, Mato couldn't quite say what.

Maybe it was just that she was strong.

Stronger than Mato, anyway.

If she'd been the one to be torn out of everything she knew, dropped in a situation like this and asked to pretend everything was normal, she doubted she'd be able to cope. They were both being quiet, and neither of them knew what to say to the other, but Mato at least had some experience being in crowds and surrounded by people. Rock just looked lost.

"Okay," Mato said, as they reached the class assignment board, and she turned to face Rock. On a moment's impulse, she reached out to fix a pigtail that had gotten stuck in Rock's vest. "There. Now you look less like a delinquent."

Rock stared at her.

"Um... okay?" Mato fidgeted, pulling her hand away. "Sorry."

Rock shook her head rapidly. "No, it's... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I mean, I don't know why I'm here. I just... I don't know where I am." She shivered, indicating discomfort with the entire situation. "School."

"Right." Mato tried to keep her voice light. Minute by minute, this felt more like a train crash in slow motion. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say next, so she indicated the corkboard with a nod. "We should check what class we're in."

She looked around suspiciously, wondering where Yomi and the rest had gone. Normally they'd be ambushing her by now, but she was starting to wonder if maybe they'd caught sight of Rock and fled.

Rock demonstrated her unwillingness to push into the crowd by stepping back and hiding behind her.

"Okay," Mato said, sighing. "Here goes."

She pushed her way through the throng, Rock following close behind. Her sister — maybe? Should she call her that? People would think it was weird if she didn't. It was weird if she did. She felt like she ought to stick with 'Rock'.

The first name she found was her own. Class 2-A. She scrawled it on her wrist, then looked around for her sister's. "Do you see anything?"

"I don't see anything," Rock replied. "And I don't know what you're looking for."

"Uh, well." Mato looked around again. "Your own name..."

Would Rock be there? How did this work? She hadn't existed yesterday, but Yuu had managed to sneak into the school's list of pupils without, so far as Mato knew, ever needing to do anything but show up. Then again, maybe Saya had been the one to add her. Maybe that was how they'd ended up in the same class.

"What do you mean?" Rock asked.

"Look, I don't know what's going on," Mato said. "But mom thinks we're both meant to be in school, so you should be registered." She glanced around, hoping none of the other students were paying attention to their conversation. None of them seemed to be. "That means your name has to be on the roll somewhere."

Rock hesitated. "I don't know what you mean."

"I mean, look." Mato pointed at the corkboard. There were hundreds of names, one for each student. She'd seen them at the start of every year since grade school. "It says 'Mato' right there."

Rock frowned. "But I don't have a name."

Mato blinked. "What?"

"I don't have a name," Rock repeated. "Black Rock Shooter isn't a name, it's... it's a title. It won't be on here."

The words were matter of fact, but Mato could tell that they hurt. She could feel it, in fact, a faint pain radiating from the girl whose hand she was holding.

"Oh." She cleared her throat. "Well, then I guess we'll have to find Saya and ask her what to do. Just let me... um..." She squeezed Rock's hand, not wanting to let go. Rock wasn't supposed to be here? That didn't make any sense, and it had taken a confusingly short period of time before the notion of being without her became uncomfortable. She didn't want to talk with Saya at all, if she could help it. And–

Her eyes caught on the board. She turned to Rock, her smile blinding.

"You'd have a family name, right? Kuroi, right? Same as me." She pointed at the board. 'Rock' might not be a name. But Rock's eyes followed hers, and she stared at the board too. "See? Your name is on there. It's just not the one you think it is."

They looked at the bottom of the 2-A class sheet, where some teacher had pencilled in, using blue ink, 'Kuroi Akira.'

"Akira?" Rock whispered, focused on the kanji. "As in, 'The light coming from the sun'? Dark starlight? The dark moon?"

"It's just a name," Mato said, a little weirded out. "It doesn't have to mean anything. It's just... the name that Mom–" "Obviously didn't give me."

She bit her lip, studying her twin.

"Do you want to stick with 'Rock'?" Mato asked, trying to sound upbeat. "There's the kanji for rock, see? It's part of Akira. Or do you want to try something else?"

Rock shook her head. "I'm fine being Rock."

"Okay." Mato chewed her lower lip. "This is still weird," she admitted. And where was Yomi?

There. Yomi's name, in the middle of the 2-A column. She'd missed it because of the odd spelling, but it was there, plain as day. So were Yuu and Kagari, in 2-C.

Mato had mixed feelings about that. Friends they might be, but Yuu and her were... well, they were...

She really should make up her mind one of these days.

"Okay," she said. "Let's go find our classroom."

Rock nodded, and they headed off together.

***

No-one commented on Rock's presence when they got to the classroom. Mato wondered if that was because everyone already knew her, or if they were just being polite. Either way, she wasn't going to push the issue. The day had already been weird enough.

They found their desks, which seemed to be assigned based on name. This meant they were next to each other, and Mato had been a little worried that Rock wouldn't... well…

She'd go with 'fit in'.

"Here," Mato said, pointing at her desk. "Sit here."

Rock sat down, her eyes darting around the room. Mato pulled out her chair and slid into it, then leaned over to tap Rock on the shoulder.

"Try to relax," she said quietly. "We'll figure something out. Just try to survive the day."

Rock nodded, sitting back in her seat. Yomi hadn't arrived yet, and Mato had no idea what would happen when she did. A few of her classmates were doing double takes when they saw Rock sitting next to her, the ones she knew from last year mostly, so whatever mechanism was writing Rock into reality hadn't sufficed to cover all the students. In fact, here was one of them now.

A girl named Yukiko had come in with a couple of friends, and was now staring at Rock with a shocked expression. Mato didn't blame her, but she did wish she hadn't done that. Rock was already feeling pretty nervous.

She took a few steps towards them.

"Hi," Mato said. "Yukiko, right?"

"Yeah." She gave Mato a long look, her gaze lingering on Rock for a moment longer than was necessary. "You didn't tell us you have a twin."

Rock was clearly startled by the question, but Mato kept her face blank. "She was staying with my father until recently. We haven't seen each other in years."

"Oh." Yukiko blinked, then blinked again. She looked away, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"That's okay." Mato smiled, and looked at her 'twin'. "She's a little shy, maybe. I'd like to introduce you to Rock. Yukiko, this is my sister. Yes, it's a nickname; no, you can't call her Akira. I don't think she's ever used it."

"Huh." Yukiko seemed confused, but she extended a hand to Rock. "Nice to meet you, Rock."

Rock stared at the offered hand for a moment, then reached out and took it.

"Yukiko," Mato prompted.

"Right." Yukiko looked back and forth between them. "So, uh... you two are twins, right?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Mato laughed.

"You give off a completely different atmosphere. I thought..." She blushed. "Never mind, it's silly. I'll see you later, Mato."

"Sure." Mato watched her leave, feeling weird about the entire conversation, then turned to Rock. "I'm sorry. She's always been a bit of a gossip."

Rock silently shook her head. It was fine, she seemed to be saying. Mato shrugged and turned back to her desk. Yomi had entered at some point, and was staring at both of them, her eyes bulging.

She sighed.

She'd need to deal with this at some point, but right now the teacher was just entering the room and calling the roll.

"Hey," Mato said, leaning sideways to whisper to Rock. "When you introduce yourself, just repeat what I was saying. No-one will care if you're a little off, and it's not as if anyone knows you. I'll help you with any questions."

"I don't understand."

"Just do it."

Rock nodded. The rest of the class went smoothly, though the silence that descended after the roll was filled by the sound of many pairs of eyes turning to stare at Rock. Mato had her hands full keeping a straight face, but she could see Rock's shoulders tense up.

They somehow made it safely through their introductions, Rock stuttering the entire time.

And Yomi kept away, looking as though someone had locked her in a room with Sadako.

At least Rock and Mato weren't the only ones who were nervous.

ooOOoo

Perfectly normal. I had trouble thinking of a meaningful set of votes for this at first, but that may just have been a lack of imagination. Rock's high school AU existence is… so far going well? It is? This is sensible.

Getting back on track, there's actually a lot of actions you can take. Mato has no real plot thread to follow as yet, but now she's got her feet back underneath her she gets free reign to explore this perfectly ordinary scenario.

Here are a few examples. As with every non-meta vote, write-ins are allowed and recommended.

Votes are by task. A reminder: Vote based on what story would interest, not what you think is optimal.

[ ] [Past] Talk to Yomi
Plus: You may get moral support.
Minus: You have to explain yourself to Yomi. She's your best friend, you guess, but very nosy.
- [ ] [Past] And try to play it off.
- [ ] [Past] And go into full detail about the nuthouse that's been your day so far.

[ ] [Past] Bypass Yomi
Plus: You don't need to… actually, no, she'll follow you.
Minus: She will definitely follow you.
- [ ] [Past] Explain yourself while she's following you.

[ ] [Past] Find Yuu
- Plus: Yuu went through something similar to what you're facing, when she and her otherself switched places. If anyone can help you out, it's her.
- Minus: Yuu's otherself, Strength, was your best friend. She's dead, and the Yuu she left behind since is like a warped, funhouse mirror of one of the people you care most for.

[ ] [Past] Find Saya
- Plus: Saya was present for Yuu's entire history, and may have a different perspective. She's unlikely to hurt you.
- Minus: Saya is why Strength is dead. She might be why Kagari was driven insane. She's hurt everyone you care for, and she's a murderer, though no court can convict her.

[ ] [Past] Find Kohata
- Plus: You just need someone to talk to, and Kohacchi will do. She's one of the few people who have a recollection of Yuu.
Minus: Kohacchi is a friend, but that's all she is.
Plus: And you're okay with that.

[ ] [Past] Write-in
- Just to remind you that these are allowed and recommended. I won't always do so, but I always allow them.

Present



Consciousness returned slowly, in fits and starts.

At first, she was aware of her surroundings in bits and pieces. Her body was warm, but she couldn't feel any part of it. It was dark, but not completely; she could see a faint glow in front of her. There was a dull throbbing sound, like distant thunder.

She tried moving her limbs. They were heavy, but they responded to her movements. She opened her eyes.

"..."

A large, five-pointed star hovered above her. It was so close she could make out every detail of it, including the cracks in the surface. The center of the star was a tiny black dot, and it was surrounded by a ring of blue. The edges of the star were red, yellow, green, and purple, but those colors were blurred together.

She remembered.

The end of the world had caught her unprepared. They'd been at home, in the living room, studying. Hiro had just left to play with some friends, and she'd been talking with Rock about what they might do once they finished high school. Rock had spotted a golden pillar of light in the distance, and then–

And then, without warning, the world had ended.

Her memory grew fuzzy after that. She'd seen something huge in the sky, and then... what? Yuu's voice? And then... and then...

...and then...

"Ngh!"

Something snapped inside her head.

Her vision cleared.

She was lying in a desert, on a broken field of obsidian glass, on her back. She took stock of her own body; she seemed to be in one piece. She looked up at the sky. It was daytime, but the sun looked strange. Blue, and larger than normal? A blue so hot it hurt to look at.

The ground beneath her was hot. It was like being buried in an oven. She started to sit up, but immediately regretted it.

"Ugh..."

Her body, now that she could feel it, was sore all over. It was like she'd run a marathon, or gotten beaten up really badly. It was also like she'd spent the last week sleeping in bed, only to wake up with a hangover. Not that she'd ever had a hangover, but she imagined it would be like this.

Was that it? Would she die here, in this strange new world? She turned her body carefully, squinting at the haze on the horizon, but there was nothing but desert in sight. If she was stuck out here, she'd be in serious trouble.

Wait, no.

"Hm?"

Mato sat up, wincing at the pain, and scanned her body in increasing disbelief. A scar on her torso. Twintails that reached to her shoulders. She looked close to her usual self, but–

Wasn't this Rock's body?

"Huh?"

Her face worked through a number of expressions before finally settling on worry. Where was Rock, then? Had she been injured? Was she okay?

"Rock!" she shouted, though it turned into a cough.

No response.

Mato stood up, taking care to avoid putting stress on her damaged body. She walked around a bit, looking for her sister — thinking that, perhaps, they might have swapped, and Rock might be unconscious somewhere. After all, that was the sort of thing that happened in stories like this.

The star followed her around, hovering behind her like a loyal pet. In a different story, she would have immediately named it.

But this wasn't a story.

This was reality, and Mato was far too distraught to spend time worrying about a random flying pentagram. The desert stretched endlessly before her, and she saw no sign of anything else. No walls, no buildings, no roads, no signs of civilization of any kind. There was no sign of Rock anywhere. No-one else, either, and she felt a sucking void inside her chest when she thought about what that was likely to mean. Mato's face crumpled as she slumped to the ground.

She was going to die here, wasn't she?

***

It took time, while she sat with her knees hugged to her chest, for Mato's mind to settle down enough that she could start thinking clearly again. She had no idea where she was; and no way of getting home. She had no food or water; and while Rock had never needed any in her otherworld, she had no way of knowing if that was still true here, or for her. Rock had certainly appreciated meals as much as anyone.

If this had been the her of months ago, then the depths of despair she was feeling would have led her to push it all on Rock. She'd long since decided never to put herself in that position again. Instead, she forced herself to think calmly, taking stock of her situation.

What had happened?

Maybe... maybe this was just another world. Maybe her family and friends were all still safe at home. She would get back there somehow, and then everything would be okay. She could go to college, find a boyfriend, have fun...

The star made a soft sound, almost like a sigh.

That was the problem with wishes. They didn't work out. Or rather, they worked out perfectly, but only in your imagination. You always ended up with something else instead. Like a sister.

She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down.

Resources. What did she need? Water, obviously. Food would be nice, too. And clothes. And shelter. And... and... and...

She'd need to build a fire, first off. Without fuel, she'd die of exposure. Without water, the desert would kill her only a little more slowly.

What did she have? Rock's hoodie, which was just an exaggeratedly large copy of the one her dad had given her when she was ten. It covered her body, but not much more. A bikini, and cut-off shorts — she was stuck in Rock's fighting costume, instead of one of the far more sensible outfits her sister preferred nowadays.

A whole lot of black glass. She glanced at the plateau she was sitting on, and wow, that was a lot of black glass. Probably obsidian, which was meant to be really sharp. If she could break some off, she thought she could make a weapon from it.

And... Rock's powers? Maybe?

Mato opened and closed her hand experimentally, but nothing appeared. She tried again, making sure to keep her movements slow and deliberate. Still nothing.

The star made another sound, and Mato looked up at it. It floated in the air above her now, motionless. Its edges were glowing faintly, but it was otherwise unresponsive.

She looked back down at her hands, frowning. "I don't understand."

Because, yes, she had a star. Mato got on her knees and crept closer to it, while the star obligingly descended for her to examine. It was definitely hers; it even had five points. But it was pitted and shot through with cracks, nearly opaque in places. Each point held a separate color, though the colors were bleeding together in a way that — she rubbed her eyes — should not have been physically possible, for separate objects.

Mato stared at it blankly, then reached out a trembling hand.

"Hey..."

The star let her touch it, and she gasped softly. It felt smooth, like stone, but it was warm and strangely alive. She ran her fingers over it, tracing its shape, feeling the slight give of each crack. It was solid, but it felt like it was vibrating gently under her fingertips. She traced the lines of it with her thumb, marveling at how it felt. It was beautiful.

"You're amazing," she whispered, turning to look up at the star again.

The star seemed to glow brighter at that, and she heard a faint buzzing noise. A single crack faded away under her touch, though when she tried to move her finger, it was as if she was pushing against a wall. She quickly grew exhausted, and when she pulled away, the crack reappeared.

"What are you?" she asked, staring at the star. "Who are you? Why do I have you?"

The star buzzed again. It was as much a feeling as a sound, though she felt unsure if there was a sound at all.

"Are you... part of me?"

She touched the star again, tracing the cracks. She frowned. "I'm not sure what that means, but... if you are, then do you know where Rock is?"

The star buzzed again.

"Oh, come on!"

Mato scowled at it, then shook her head. She couldn't take any more of this. She was tired, confused and scared. She wanted to go home, and her stupid star wouldn't answer her questions. Couldn't, probably. If this was anything like Rock at all, then its shape held implications.

She reached out to grab it, but it flew up into the air, hovering above her like the flame of a lighthouse.

"Stop it!"

She scrambled after it, but it hovered out of reach.

"Why am I this weird?"

The star floated lazily around her head, circling her like a bird. She felt a faint sense of amusement, counterpointed by her own frustration.

"You're not weird! Stop treating me like I'm crazy!"

The star buzzed again.

"Fine!"

She sat back on her haunches and crossed her arms, glaring at it. Then, she smiled. Very well; this had definitely cheered her up. Five points to the star.

"Okay! Let's... um, what should I do anyway?"

The star dropped back down to hover in front of her, and she examined it again. It was beautiful, but something told her that if she broke it, it would be disastrous. So, instead, she reached out and stroked it gently with her fingertips. It felt a little like tickling her own cheek. She giggled.

"Hey!"

The star buzzed again, and Mato frowned.

"Am I doing something wrong?"

The star floated up and down in midair, then side to side.

"You don't know either, huh."

Mato sighed. She was starting to feel like she was talking to a dog. Or a parrot. She looked down at her hands, then at the star, and then back to the desert. Her options, truthfully, were few. She needed water; she was definitely starting to feel a little thirsty, though the desert was surprisingly cool for a, well, a desert, and Rock's body would last longer than hers could have in this situation. That much she was sure of.

She needed her sister, but if Rock had been nearby then she would have found her already. Rock and her couldn't truly be separated, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be lost, or hurt.

"Well... I guess I'll just have to go looking for help, then."

The star buzzed.

"No?" Mato looked quizzically up at it.

It buzzed again, as if in alarm. She felt a tugging sensation deep inside her chest. It was subtle, but it was definitely real, and it wanted her to look behind her.

Mato turned to look behind her.



There was a small hill, rising from the desert floor. It was covered in rocks and gravel, but it was two or three stories tall. And it was moving.

Mato's heart leapt into her throat. She stumbled backwards, tripping over herself, and fell heavily onto the ground. The star floated down beside her, hovering in place and buzzing quietly.

Slowly, Mato pushed herself up onto her elbows. She wiped away a few stray tears with the back of her hand, and took several deep breaths. It was moving, not like an avalanche, but like a living thing. She could see movement between the stones, as if it was breathing.

"Is it alive?"

The star buzzed again, and Mato frowned.

"Yeah. Let's hide."

She crawled away at an angle from it, keeping low to avoid being seen. The ground sloped upwards towards the living hill, and if it had eyes, then she'd be spotted immediately if she tried to walk. The star seemed to agree, floating along as close to the ground as it could manage, buzzing softly. Mato didn't spare the time to try interpreting its sounds, but she was certain that it was happy to follow her lead.

She moved as quickly as she dared, until she was out of sight behind a boulder. There, she stopped and crouched down, panting. She peeked out at the — troll? — trying to ignore the lump in her throat.

It was a good twenty meters tall, easily. At least thirty or forty wide, as thick as a house. Its skin was a dull grey, mottled with patches of darker stone. It had no hair or fur, but, as it moved, she saw a mouth full of pointed teeth. There was even a single eye, which was watching something in the distance.

It looked to be passing her by. Mato crawled into the tightest crevice she could find, pulling her knees up to her chin. She pressed her face against them and shut her eyes tightly, shaking.

She stayed there for a long time, trying to breathe calmly and evenly. Eventually she felt the star push its way into her hoodie, curling around her shoulders. She started crying again, but managed to keep it quiet.

After a while, Mato opened her eyes.

It was still there. The monster had stopped some three hundred meters past her hiding spot, and was showing no signs of movement. She swallowed.

Silence.

ooOOoo

Twinkle, twinkle, little star. Won't you tell me what you are?

You might be curious about the origin of the pictures, and why there's no attribution. Simply put, these are AI-generated paintings made with my own software, on my own computer; you can find a lot more through my signature. So I guess this is an art quest now? Though don't rely on that always working.

The pixel art AI can also be seen on Pixray, which you can experiment with yourself.

Same rules apply as for the other vote. Write-ins are allowed. Votes can be combined in any sensible fashion.

[ ] [Present] Find a better hiding spot
- [ ] [Present] In the exact opposite direction of the rock giant.
Plus: The giant is unlikely to look that way, right?
Minus: The landscape is torn up, and scraggy, yet doesn't look good for hiding.
- [ ] [Present] Behind the closest dunes
Plus: They're close, and would easily block sight-lines.
Minus: There's nothing behind there except more sand.

- - [ ] [Present] Then go to sleep once you feel safe. You're getting exhausted.
- - [ ] [Present] Then study the star. There has got to be more to it.

- [ ] [Present] By following behind it
Plus: This is such a Rock thing to do, and it looks slow. It might be going somewhere.
Minus: Mato would be scared out of her wits, and has no idea how quickly it can move. It might only look slow.

[ ] [Present] Run away
- [ ] [Present] Towards the hills in the distance.
Plus: There's some form of life.
Minus: Dead trees, probably.
- [ ] [Present] Directly away from the rock giant.
Plus: It might be less likely to notice.
Minus: All that's there is desert.
- [ ] [Present] Downhill
Plus: There's always water downhill.
Minus: In a normal world. You don't know if that's true here.

"Hide" and "Run away" are not your only options. They're only the most obvious ones. And, while I included some example subvotes, it is quite impossible to list even just all the obvious ones.

Get your planning hats on. There's a desert to survive, and a sixteen-hour moratorium on votes. I'll answer any questions as I get to them.