"I guess it's time for me to spill the beans," Cait Sith sighed when they all were back in the living room. For now, they decided to leave the dojo as it is: They could still call some carpenters to fix the damage, and they Keyhole was safe, now that Akane sealed it.
"We're all ears," Nabiki said. "Why is it that you decided to help my little sister...? I doubt it's just mere generosity..."
"Nabiki, don't be so rude to our guest," Kasumi scolded her.
"No, she's right," the cat said. "There's a reason for why I am here... there's a reason for everything."
"Sounds like something Luna would say," Ranma spoke up. She had dropped her Senshi magic, but for now, was still in her female form.
"Well, first of all, let me tell you that I am a resident of a world far, far away from here..."
"Again with this 'other worlds' stuff," Akane muttered. "How does that work anyway? Do you mean you're from another planet?"
"Not quite like that," Cait Sith said. "Your world is just one of many, floating through an endless void known as 'Interspace'. Normally, those worlds would know nothing about the existence of others, but..."
"The Heartless, right?" Nabiki asked. "You already told us."
"Yes, that's right!" Cait Sith nodded. "The appearance of the Heartless shattered the barriers that separated the worlds from each other and made Gummi Ship travel possible.
"Gummi... what?" Leormon asked in confusion.
"A Gummi Ship is a vessel made of Gummi Blocks. They are made of a very special material that allows the Gummi Ship to travel between worlds. Some say Gummi Blocks are the remnants of the walls that once separated the worlds, but no one can say for sure..."
"So, to make it short, you came in such a Gummi Ship?" Ranma asked.
Cait Sith shook his head. "No, I came here by myself." He grinned over to the giant, stuffed doll he had been riding on earlier. "My little Moogle over there is filled with Gummi Blocks, actually. It allows him to travel between worlds, just like a Gummi Ship."
"And you wouldn't need a cockpit or anything like that?" Akane wondered.
"Interspace is not outer space, Akane," Cait Sith explained. "A cockpit would only be necessary by a bigger Gummi Ship... but only because of its velocity. It's similar to why you'd need a cockpit on a jet fighter."
"Okay, I guess I understand," Akane nodded. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here."
"Well... my world is one of many that was under attack from the Heartless. It was also one of the first that learned about other worlds and the nature of Gummi Blocks. See, there have been legends about your keyblade, Akane... They say that anyone who wields it is a warrior chosen by fate who is destined to fight the forces of evil and protect the keyholes of the worlds... See, we always have been a bit curious about why those two worlds were put in plural. But now, since we know how many other worlds exist..."
"And you just took that legend as a reason to find this warrior of legend, so that he can help you fight the Heartless?" Akane asked skeptically.
"I'm not finished. See, there was this man who did a lot of research in regards of the Keyblade... we always called him 'The Scholar'... and shortly after the first Gummi Ships returned with tales from other worlds, he found out that they keyblade actually exists. He then prepared a huge expedition, using the biggest Gummi Ship created on our world, and tried to find it. But... he never returned. All of this happened several years ago."
"I think I get it," Ranma said. "You're trying to finish that guy's job and find the Keyblade yourself, right?"
"Close, Ranma, but not quite correct. See... the Scholar left all of his records and diaries about his research results behind in his study, so we could make use of it. I, along with several friends of mine, never imagined that we would ever leave our world... we didn't quite think world travel was a wise thing to do. But when the Heartless appeared, everything changed..."
He took a deep breath. "They were being lead by an unknown, mysterious stranger whose body was covered with a black cloak. He didn't say much, but it became soon evident what he was looking for, since he commanded all of his Heartless to enter the Scholar's study. It was obvious that he didn't find what he was looking for, because shortly afterwards, he commanded the Heartless to capture every single resident of our town and throw them into a dark jail.
I can still hear his distorted voice coming out from under that hood..." Cait Sith shivered. "He told us: 'If you want to live, you will tell me where to find the man who wrote these...' and then, he threw the Scholar's diaries to our feet.
We tried to explain to him that he had left on a long journey, but he didn't want to believe us at first. Only after he tortured many of the citizens, he believed that we told him the truth. Some of my best friends died that day..." The small cat closed his eyes.
Kasumi petted his head like she would do with a normal housecat. "Oh, you poor thing... that must have been horrible."
Cait Sith sighed. "Anyways... we all realized that there was just one thing we could do. One of us had to go and find the only one who could fight these Heartless... the Keyblade Master! We staged a jailbreak, and along with a few friends, I managed to reach the Gummi Ship hangar, which was my old working place. The only vessel that was obtainable was this moogle doll I created myself. Knowing that they couldn't come with me, my friends gave me a few of the Scholar's reports about Interspace travel and the route he had planned to take with his own ship. That was the last time I saw any of them..."
He sighed again. "I visited world after world after world, always following the trail the Scholar had left behind, until one day, I found your world... and here, finally, I found you!"
Everyone was silent for a moment.
"Let me get this straight..." Akane then spoke up. "You want me to come along with you, to help you fight these Heartless and free your world just because some stranger gave this fancy little weapon to my mother?"
"While I don't really know the details, I know from the Scholar's reports that the Keyblade chooses its wielder. And there could be only one... it was not just a coincidence that it found its way here. Maybe that stranger who gave the Keyblade to your mother was even the Scholar..."
"I don't care!" Akane snapped. "I'm happy to help those in need, but... leaving my home world behind and risk my life for people I've never seen in my life? Against an enemy I know nothing about? Not to mention that I'm still a newbie with this thing..."
"Besides, Akane would miss school if she'd leave now," Kasumi added.
"And here I thought that ditching school would be reason enough for Akane to do it," Nabiki grinned.
"Say, how long would it take to reach your home world, anyways?" Ranma asked.
"Possibly several days, if not weeks," Cait Sith said. "I don't really have a map of Interspace, and on my way here, I was pretty much only stumbling around blindly..."
"So you don't even know which way I would have to take," Akane groaned. "Great... Besides, I doubt I could cling onto your little doll without falling off."
"That's not the problem," Cait Sith told her. "I brought a big supply of Gummi Blocks along from home... we could apply them to your sister's big mech unit and..."
"Whoa, whoa, hold on there!" Nabiki shouted. "That Eva is government property, and I can't just attach any unknown parts to it without clearing it up with my bosses..."
"We don't have time to explain it to them," Cait Sith insisted. "And it's not like it would be damaged or anything... Gummi Blocks can attach to any surface, without the use of any tools."
"I'm still not going," Akane said. "I saw what that crazy woman did to Kodachi... do you really think I would risk being dragged away like that? Besides, if I don't stay behind, who's gonna protect my world from the Heartless?"
Cait Sith looked down. "I see..." he muttered. "If that's your final decision, it looks like it can't be helped... you were our last hope..."
Kasumi frowned at Akane when she saw how desperate the little cat was.
Akane sighed. "Listen, I'm really sorry... but would you want me to risk my life for people I never knew?"
"Akane... I risked my life several times for the residents of the Digital World," Kasumi said in a quiet, but very stern voice. Akane had never heard her oldest sister talk like that. "And I never asked for anything in return. I just wanted to help them, because there was nobody besides me and my friends..."
"Same here, sis," Nabiki nodded. "I could have turned down the offer from NERV to become one of the Evangelion pilots... but I accepted, not just because Mom wished it. I wanted to help and protect Earth against the Angels."
"And what do you think I said after finding out I had to be a Senshi?" Ranma asked. "At first, I had none of my former self's memories, so I had no reason to help Usagi and the others. Having to stay in my girl form during all the fights and having to dress up in a fuku and skirt? Yeah right, as if Ranma Saotome, man amongst men, would ever do that... but as soon as I realized how important our battles were, I learned to accept my change and fought alongside my fellow Senshi willingly."
"You always wanted to be like us, Akane," Kasumi said. "To be a hero... now is your chance. Those abilities, weapons and..." She smiled down at Leormon. "Helpers we've been given aren't just tools... they are gifts. And I think we all should do our best to appreciate these gifts by accepting the roles they entail."
"But, Kasumi..." Akane murmured. "I may never come back home... what would Dad say? What would Mom say, if she was still around...?"
Nabiki smirked. "I'd say she would want you to go for it!"
"I... can see this is all very confusing for you," Cait Sith spoke up again. "Maybe we should all sleep over it, and tomorrow, you can tell me your final decision."
"I guess so..." Akane muttered. She stood up and left the room. "Please excuse me..."
The others looked after her as she walked upstairs, to her room.
"Looks like she has many things to think about," Leormon commented.
"Yes... I wonder if I was too harsh," Kasumi sighed.
"Don't worry about it, Kasumi," Ranma told her. "Akane's a tough girl, and in the end, she'll do what she thinks is best. It took me some time to accept this silly fuku as well."
"I guess so," Kasumi nodded. "Oh well, I guess I prepare a futon for our guest..." She stood up and left the room as well.
"Um... Cait Sith?" Ranma then asked. She still thought it was weird that she could now speak with a talking cat without freaking out. Now if only there was a way to do the same for when she talked to Luna and Artemis...
"Yes?" Cait Sith looked up at her.
"Say, I wondered... that girl who took Kodachi away... for a while, it seemed to me like you knew her. Is that true?"
Cait Sith stayed silent for a moment. "It is true," he finally said. "She lived in my home town, you know? And now... it looks like she's working for that evil man..."
"A traitor, you mean?" Nabiki asked.
"No..." Cait Sith shook his head. "She is one of my friends..."
Ranma frowned. "Do all of your friends attack innocent people and kidnap them?"
"I'd hardly call Kodachi an 'innocent'..." Nabiki muttered.
"Did you see that headband she wore? We used to call it a 'Slave Crown'. The cloaked man who attacked us used it to make innocent people do his bidding. Once they put it on, they lose their free will... and become slaves."
"So that chick wasn't really a bad person?" Ranma wondered.
"No," Cait Sith replied. "Celes Chere is one of the most courageous and sincere person I know... and back on my home world, nobody was as skilled with the sword as she was. It pains me to see her like this..."
"So... you think there are others he has enslaved like this?" Ranma asked.
"I don't know, Ranma," Cait Sith said. "I honestly don't know..."
Akane looked around.
"Where am I?" she whispered. "The last thing I remember is going to bed..."
She was standing on a big, circular platform, which was the top of a tall pillar that was rising out of nowhere. All around her, it was dark. There was no sky, no horizon, not even stars. Just darkness. The light coming from the pillar she stood on was the only source of light.
A strange image was on the floor. It resembled a person she knew all too well... it was Ranma, in his girl form, dressed in his Senshi fuku. The redhead was striking a surprisingly feminine pose that Akane knew she would never put up willingly. She also was surrounded by a few, circular pictures on which she could see the silhouettes of other girls in similar fukus... the Sailor Senshi?
"What is this?" Akane wondered. "Where am I? This is too weird..."
Just then, she heard a mysterious voice coming out of nowhere...
'Don't be afraid... This is only the beginning... You may believe you know everything... But that is a mere illusion... the truth is yet to come.'
"Hello?" Akane shouted. "Who's there? What are you trying to pull?"
'Your inner strength...' the voice continued. 'Give it form... but what will you choose?'
And out of nowhere, three pedestals appeared on the platform. On them, three different objects were placed. Akane recognized a wand that looked similar to a Senshi's transformation pen, a strange, translucent shield with the letters 'AT' on it... and a wooden mallet.
She sweatdropped. "Even I know what this is supposed to represent. The Senshi pen... Magic! The AT field... Defense! My mallet..." She scratched her head. "Attack power? I don't get it... is this supposed to be some sort of test?"
The mysterious voice did not respond, no matter how long Akane waited. She sighed. "Okay, I get it, I have to choose myself... but what will the results be? Will the wand turn me into a Senshi or what?"
She imagined what the AT field would do to her. She knew from Nabiki that the Angels had one and shivered at the thought of transmutating into an Angel.
"I guess I can't be wrong with the good old mallet..." she murmured and reached for the hammer's handle...
She closed her eyes, expecting something surprising to happen, but that was not the case. She was still standing on the same pillar. She shrugged. What did she expect?
'The power of the warrior,' the voice said. 'Invincible courage... a weapon of terrible destruction.'
Akane frowned. "It's not thaaat terrible, all I did was punting a few people through the air..."
'Now, what will you give up in exchange?'
The only items left were the wand and the AT shield. Akane pondered it for a while. "Well, I know for one thing that everything that has to do with Angels creeps me out, so I'm gonna choose the shield this time."
As soon as she spoke those words, the voice asked her: 'The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. You give up this power?'
"I already said that, didn't I?" Akane asked, a bit impatiently.
Just then, the pedestals disappeared, along with the items. The whole pillar started to crumble and break away, and a surprised Akane fell down into the darkness... just to land on another pillar.
She groaned and shook her head. "I didn't need that... huh?" She looked down and saw another picture. This time, she saw something even stranger than before. It was her sister, Kasumi... but she almost didn't recognize her. Kasumi had legs that were very animal-like and nearly looked like the hind legs of some beast, even though she was walking upright. Her whole body was covered with yellow fur that reminded her of Leormon. The hair on her head was still in the usual, elegant bow, but it was much more fuzzier than before and resembled a mane. Kasumi also wore Leormon's collar around her neck, along with a top and a pair of shorts, which both looked like they were made of sturdy leather.
"Oneechan, whoever drew this picture of yours has one sick fantasy..." she grumbled.
Just like with Ranma's picture, she saw the silhouettes of other people - or was it creatures - on the sides. Similar to her sister, they resembled a mixture of animals and humans. Were those the other Digidestined, mixed with attributes of their Digimon partners?
'You gained the power to fight.'
Before Akane could utter a surprised gasp, the mallet reappeared in her hand. It was just like her old mallet, but when she held it, it felt similar to her Keyblade...
'There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong,' the voice went on.
"I get it already!" Akane snapped. "Can we now get to the point where I wake up?"
Instead of an answer, something else appeared... it was a strange figure, which appeared in a cloud of sparkling dust. It looked female in appearance, but at the same time, strangely ghost-like and incorporeal. It hovered across the ground, waved around its claw-like appendages and opened its cute mouth as if it wanted to plead for help.
"What... is that thing?" Akane gasped. "It isn't a Heartless, is it?"
The pale blue creature raised its arms and seemed to give her a sad smile... then it hovered towards her and attacked!
"Gah!" Akane shouted and sidestepped the sudden claw slash. "Okay, if that's how you wanna play, fine with me!" She swung around her mallet and knocked the strange creature away from her.
The being stopped in mid-air and turned back around. Its face looked like that of an innocent girl... placed upon that ghastly, monstrous spirit form.
"Still haven't had enough?" Akane asked.
But then, she heard another voice in her head... it wasn't the mysterious voice that had instructed her earlier, it sounded like the whisper of a soul in sorrow...
'Soulmates, a new sister has arrived!'
Akane shook her head dizzily. "Will you all just get out of my head already? Damn, for a dream, all of this sure is messed up..."
And then, other figures like the first appeared, all of them identical in appearance, except for their faces. They were all the faces of young, innocent-seeming girls, but each one was different.
"So you called your friends, is that it?" Akane asked. "Well, I have an information for you: I am not one of your 'Soulmates' and certainly don't plan on becoming your friend, so buzz off already!"
The strange creatures that called themselves 'Soulmates' just giggled and flew at her. She had to dodge several claw strikes before one of them hit its mark and grazed her shoulder. She cried out in pain and nearly dropped her mallet.
"All right, enough is enough... leave me alone, you creeps!" She swung around her mallet and smacked every single one of the Soulmates away from her. And whenever they landed on the ground, their bodies dissolved into the same, sparkling dust she had seen earlier.
In the end, only the first creature that had appeared was left, and when she, too, disappeared, her smiling face was the last thing to turn into dust.
Akane panted hardly. "Just what the heck is going on here?" she shouted. "This isn't really a dream, is it?"
She waited for a reply, but none came. Instead, a strange door appeared in front of her, taller than a normal door, with two big handles on its two wings.
"You want me to go in there?" Akane asked. "Well, too bad! I'm not gonna move one more inch before you don't tell me what's going on. Nu-uh! Forget it!"
She crossed her arms and turned her back to the door. But even after a few seconds, she started to feel silly. The mysterious voice wouldn't answer her, no matter how long she waited. And the door really was the only way she could take.
"Fine..." she grumbled. "But this better lead me to a large buffet with a first-class meal, understood?"
She reached for the handles and opened the door.
She blinked. Nothing had happened, or was she seeing things?
But then she realized that she was still standing on a pillar, but it was yet again a different one. The door had vanished as well.
"Not again..." she groaned. "Fine, what do we have here...?"
Not too surprising, the image on this pillar showed her sister Nabiki. She was clad in a strange, futuristic costume that made her look like one of those Knight Sabers from that Anime, what was the name again, Bubblegum Crisis? But at least she could tell that she had never seen something like that in real life.
But then she noticed the similarities to the suit Nabiki was clad in and her Evangelion Unit. The head part wasn't as monstrous, as that was the part where Nabiki's face looked out of a sleek-looking helmet. But she had the Eva's gun in her right hand, and a knife in her left hand.
"Makes sense..." Akane muttered. "Kasumi looked like she has merged with Leormon on her picture, so Nabiki logically has merged with her Eva... but that still doesn't make any sense..."
She took a closer look. "I should have known... those other guys up there are probably her fellow pilots Shinji, Asuka and Rei, in suit that look like their own Evas... But what does it all mean?"
As if it wanted to reply to her question, the mysterious voice spoke up yet again:
'The more you search for answers in your soul, the further your soul heads away from what it once was...'
Akane blinked. What was that supposed to mean?
She gasped, when all of a sudden, the same glittering dust the Soulmates had turned into reappeared and hovered through the darkness as one single cloud... and it flew right through her.
Akane gasped when she felt how SOMETHING within her was touched... and then the dust was past her and hovered in the middle of the platform.
The cloud began to grow in size, and at the same time, seemed to solidify... until, in the end, a new creature stood in front of Akane.
The all-new Keyblade Warrior gasped when she looked up at the towering form of the monster. It looked scary and translucent, just like the Soulmates, but... there were strangely twisted forms in the middle of the misty main body, and it had a total of four long arms that ended in wicked claws. Unlike the Soulmates, it also had a pair of stilt-like legs that stepped down on the surface of the pillar. And its face...
"What... what is this?" Akane shouted. "That face... that can't be... mine?"
But it was true. Staring back at her from the twisted body was her own face. It may be pale blue and surrounded by a shimmering mist, but it was unmistakably her own face.
All of a sudden, Akane turned angry. "So you want to look like me? Fine! But I'm gonna show you that I am me, and nobody else will be like me. I have my body, and I have my soul... and whatever strange Heartless or Soulmate or whatever you call yourself are, I won't let you take away my heart either!"
Just then, the huge creature with her own face stepped forward on its spindly legs and smashed its giant, clawed hand down on the floor. Akane jumped up in time and used that moment to run up the arm, which was much broader than the creature's legs.
With a loud yell, she jumped up and twirled her weapon around. And in a flash of light, the mallet transformed into her Keyblade... and the weapon once again was part of her body.
She aimed at the creature's face which seemed to mock her by giving her a sly smirk... and then, she slashed right through it, leaving a red, glowing scar on the face.
Akane landed back on the ground and turned around. Several cracks had appeared around the gaping scar, and then, her mirror image cracker apart as if it was a true mirror... and underneath, she could see a strange symbol. It was a pale blue swirl, resembling a vortex, or a twister... but no matter what it was, it only added to the creepiness the creature emitted.
Akane pointed her Keyblade at the monster's head. "Stay out of my dreams! FIRE!"
The bright fireball flew out of her weapon's tip and flew into the middle of the weird emblem. The whole monster staggered backwards and finally stumbled down to the ground... where it dissolved into the same dust as the Soulmates.
Akane grimaced when her legs got covered with the dust. More and more dust appeared and threatened to swallow her whole.
Akane struggled and flailed around with her arms, legs and the Keyblade. "S-stay away from me!" she yelled. "Get off me... get off... GET OFF!"
Suddenly, she couldn't see anything at all.
'And don't forget...' the mysterious voice called out to her one last time.
'You hold the mightiest weapon of all.'