7: There I sat. A small little helmet and a rusty sword. I sat there, behind cover, watching innocent people die. I was only 17 at the time, aka the equivalent of a 5 year old for Guardians. I felt some blood splatter on me. I looked down at my quivering hands. I couldn’t…do anything at the moment. Light didn’t train me for this. He changed. Tears started to fall. My eyes were burning. I was paralyzed in fear. I…didn’t know what to do. I held my horns and curled up, trying to drown out the screams of pain and suffering by screaming and crying. I was just a little kid. I felt the blood from one of my ripped horns drip onto my hand. I checked it. A bullet flew past my head. Holy ####. I could've died just then. I tried to remember Light’s teachings. My mind wandered to the days beforehand, of how he told me to follow my gut and figure it out. “There's always another way” He always told me. He told me to never give up…but he’s given up on me. How ironic. I look down at my feet and see a rotting corpse of what once used to be another guardian. One of us. Another universe, down the drain. I take notice of the appearance. I will end up like one.. I think to myself. My life was over just before it started. I started bawling my eyes out once more. 8: I get snapped out of my flashback by the footsteps of Light fading away. He was leaving. I was still crying slightly. I took notice of my own body. I was sitting in the exact same position as I was in that same moment I was sent back to. I let go of my horns and checked my hands. No blood. I look down at my feet. Nobody was lying dead before me. I hug myself. For the love of Void- why me?! Why?!....all…because…I was…late for work… I feel my eyes getting heavy. I always felt my energy drained after these attacks. I was going to drift off but I was woken up by footsteps. Star came in to check on me. “Cosmo? Oh god..” She noticed me on the floor quite quickly. My tear stained face, wide eyes, horns down and a worried expression stuck out like a sore thumb - especially in the middle of an empty lounge. “Maybe…you should take a break from work.” She sighed and walked up to me, helping me up. “Cosmo, maybe we should get you a therapist…” My eyes widened further. A therapist?! Yeah right! They wouldn’t understand me anyway and tell me what everyone else says. I didn’t want to argue with my friend, not with her. I nodded sadly. I felt cold…really cold… We walked out of the lounge, leaving a broom and a puddle of tears for the next person on clean up duty to mop. I let out a shaky sob, the tears and the memories coming back to haunt me. She patted my back and teleported me back to the gang’s house. I sat on the couch, covering my eyes. Why me… Jeff was sitting beside me. He noticed what was going on but he didn’t know how to help me - he didn’t know how to tell me everything was okay. Jeff has gone through severe trauma as well and we both know it. He has trouble with emotions as well. We awkwardly sit there before I break down. I can feel him shift away for a second. He tried to think of what to do. He patted my back wearily. “What's wrong, Cosmo?” He asked softly. I looked up at him, my eyes blurry from how much I was crying. He looked…concerned for me. I tried to get words out but all that came out was more sobs. He pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back. I blushed out of embarrassment but let him. I sobbed into his shoulder, wetting his sweatshirt. I can hear him whispering stuff to me, probably to calm me down. “J-Jeff i-i’m scared..” I mumbled between sobs. “I don’t…enjoy being scared..” Jeff hugged me tighter. “Me neither…but we all feel scared once in a while…” He sighed. I feel his decently fluffy tail wrap around my waist. I know he’s just trying to be comforting but I’m getting a different feeling from it. Damn malfunction.
9: My ####### head dude…It’s always pounding when I wake up. I groaned in frustration and pain as I sat up. “Mmhg…what…” My hand flops around on my bedside table, trying to find my phone. I finally open my eyes a bit when I don’t feel it anywhere on me. My hands slip under the covers to see if I left it in a pocket or something. As I patted around my body, I soon realized I didn’t wear anything with pockets in the first place. Welp. I spawn my phone in and check the time. 8 am. ####! I rushed out of bed and into the bathroom where Jeff was washing his hands. “Dude what's wrong?” He asked, putting a paw on my back. “I’m late for work!” I yell out frantically. He stares at me for a second, before responding hesitantly. “You…do know that…you’re not going anytime soon, right?” I stare at him in disbelief. “What? Since when?” “One of the guardians told me. They seemed nice.” “...oh.” I kinda just walked away, feeling a bit dejected and useless. What am I if I don’t do my job? I’m nothing. They all call me a ‘workaholic’ - whatever that is. I hate this. I know, it’s a recurring theme in this book, but it’s my perspective so shut the #### up. I slump down on the couch, holding back tears. Joe noticed and kinda scooted away, still focused on whatever movie he was watching. I bury my face in a pillow. gghh…. “Jooee…” I mumbled tiredly, “What’s happening today..?” Joe paused the movie and leaned down a bit, thinking. “Hm…well ...Uh, Brown’s out with his new boyfriend and me and Jeff are gonna hang.” He shrugged his shoulders, his light grey eyes looking a bit soft. I only realized now how…nice he kind of was. I only knew him as the arrogant [REDACTED] farmer. I felt guilty but said nothing. He resumed his movie and continued watching. I closed my eyes, hoping to sleep the day away, knowing that I would have more flashbacks today anyway. Joe kind of scooted closer. I felt his wing brush against my arm. My tail curled around me as I brought my face out of the pillow and stared at the screen. “Hey,” Joe started, looking at me, “‘Y'know you can talk to me about anything, right? I know we’re not exactly on good terms but…Still. We look out for each other.” I glanced over at him. He seemed sincere. Maybe I doubted them a bit…Or it’s just the malfunction. Whatever, I felt…nice for once. It’s nice to know someone cares that’s not my close friends. Speaking of them, I wonder what they’re doing now? I kind of zoned out, I forgot I was still staring at Joe blankly. He got a bit uncomfortable and scooted away again, looking back at the screen. I wonder what Brown’s doing- also what the ####. Since when did Brown find love- He’s the most annoying and clingy person I know…Hmph. I’ll have to have a talk with him later. Mental note - Talk to Brown and beat up his boyfriend. This is still shocking to me. I then finally realized I was staring at Joe for too long and sheepishly looked away. “So…Brown has a boyfriend now?” I asked, my curiosity betraying me. Joe paused his movie once more. “Well uh- yeah.” He shrugged his shoulders, looking indifferent but still caught a bit of guard by the question. I spawned in a tall glass of water and took a big swig of it. I felt really dehydrated. “Who is it? Have you met him?” I kept asking questions, eager to find out. He quickly changed the subject. “So…You can spawn in drinks?” He asked with a bit of a smirk. I knew what he was asking for. “No, Joe, I’m not spawning in liqour for you. I’m not your damn waiter. “Aww alright..” He pouted, crossing his arms. I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, anyway pass over some information - ‘Spill the tea’ as you mortals call it.” Joe almost fell down from laughter. “HAH- I NEVER THOUGHT I’D HEAR YOU OF ALL PEOPLE USE A GEN Z TERM-” I tilt my head. “What's Gen Z? They have slang?” Joe facepalmed and looked away. “You wouldn’t understand if I told you- “I’m a fast learner!” “...Are you sure you want to do this?” “Yeah- also I heard something about Gen alpha?” “...We’re going to be here for a while.” COSMO TURNS INTO A GEN ALPHA REAL?!?!?!???!??!
