Author's Note:
Black Mage belongs to the creator of 8-bit Theater (at least this version of Black Mage).
Twilight Town... a town at the edge between light and darkness. Birth place of Nobodies and that town that will witness important events of destiny... although most of the inhabitants are unaware of this.
In a secluded back alley (which would later on become the meeting place of three good friends), a blonde woman stepped through a portal of darkness. She was beautiful... if you don't look into her eyes. Those were empty and cold, like all of those who wear the Slave Crown.
Across her shoulder, she carried a limp bundle... actually an unconscious body that was wrapped with a blanket, so curious eyes wouldn't stare.
General Celes Chere was no native to this world, so everyone assumed she was just a stranger on a journey, or maybe a contestant for the upcoming Struggle contest. That would also explain her unusual attire.
Kodachi was still out cold, blissfully unaware of what was going on around her.
Celes didn't hesitate, left the back alley and followed a certain path along the narrow roads.
When she came across a big, squarish plaza, she walked past two figures that had one thing in common: Both wore tall, brimmed hats under which nothing of their face was visible, except for their round, yellow eyes.
"...and that, my boy, is why you should never hesitate when someone says something stupid. Just fry 'em with a good ol' Thunder... or maybe Fire spell, that doesn't matter. You're still a lil' shrimp... but if you hang around the right guys..."
"S-so you c-could teach me all those spells?" the young boy called Vivi asked hopefully.
The older mage gave him a grin, even though it was difficult to make it out underneath that hat. "'Course I can. Stay with me, and I'm gonna teach you all there is to know about being an evil mastermind... um, I mean, a master magician!"
"Oh boy! I'm so excited!" Vivi gushed. "Can we start now?"
"Well... excuse me for a moment, kid..." Black Mage muttered as his eyes followed a certain swordswoman who was carrying a bundle over her shoulder.
Celes suddenly felt how someone was tapping her back. She turned around and saw a little man with a big hat.
Black Mage grinned. "Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but..."
Celes narrowed her eyes. "Who... are you?"
He made a small pause for effectiveness. Then he cleared his throat.
"I AM THE BLACK MAGE! I CASTS THE SPELLS THAT MAKES THE PEOPLES FALL DOWN!"
"Why are you bothering me?" Celes asked coldly. She knew she had no time to lose. She still had a mission to fulfil.
"Well, I was just wondering..." Black Mage tipped the brim of his hat. "Have you ever been on a pirate ship?
CUZ I'M SEEIN' YER BOOTY THERE, BABE!" he grinned and pointed his index fingers at her... quite coincidentally at her breasts.
Normally, the Slave Crown was created to subdue the victim's personal emotions and thought patterns, making the person a complete slave to those who had put the crown on his or her head... but what Celes did now wasn't really based on logic or common sense. It was an instinctive reaction, deeply rooted in every proud woman's brain.
"BLACK MAGE NO BAKA!"
WHAM!
Vivi looked after the woman for a while, unsure what to do. Then he ran over to where his teacher to-be was embedded in a house wall.
"Master Black Mage... are you all right?"
"I'm tellin' ya, kid, she totally digs me..." Black Mage groaned.
Vivi sweatdropped and considered if he should maybe find another role model. In the distance, he saw Seifer and his gang... Seifer was a strong fighter, and he and his friends always worked together to maintain order in this town.
"Sorry, I have to go," he said and ran after the small group. "Seifer, wait a minute..."
For some time, nothing happened.
"Um, is there a White Mage in the audience?"
Celes entered the huge mansion. It was a pretty new building, with thick rugs on the floor and expensive paintings on the walls. An impressive chandelier was hanging from the ceiling in the lobby. Most citizens of Twilight Town wondered who had commissioned this building. They all knew it had to be someone rich, and that the workers were finished over night. But nobody had ever seen the face of the proprietor.
Celes walked into the library. Just seconds later, she was in a completely white room, where a big table was standing. A dark coat was hanging from a hook at the wall.
A single person was sitting at that table.
Like Celes, that woman had gorgeous, blonde hair, which was piled up in an impressive hairdo. She was wearing a dark blue, elaborate, victorian-style dress with black frills.
She took a sip from the cup that was holding and put it down on the table. She then smiled at her visitor.
"Celes, you hae returned!"
"Yes, mistress!"
The woman stood up and walked around the table. "I take it this is her?"
"Yes, mistress!"
"Good. Put her on the table."
Celes obeyed and put the heavy bundle on the table, where she unwrapped Kodachi's body.
"Time to wake our sleeping beauty," the noblewoman grinned and made a waving gesture with her right hand.
Kodachi blinked. "Where... where am I?"
"You are in my house, sweetie! I am Countess Arlene, and this is my servant, Celes... may I ask for your name?"
Kodachi sat up in surprise. This woman was also a member of nobility, therefore a kindred spirit. "I am Kodachi Kuno of the noble house of Kuno in Nerima," she said with a bow.
"Nerima?" the countess wondered. "Where is that?"
"In Tokyo, Lady Arlene! Japan."
"I see..." The countess had never heard of that town or country before, but she didn't ask any further. "Do you remember what happened, dear?"
Kodachi frowned. "I... I recall fighting the accursed wench Akane Tendo..." She growled. "She wanted to keep my Ranma-sama for herself!"
"Oh! I take it this 'Ranma' is your fiance, then?"
"We are meant to be..." Kodachi gushed dreamily.
Countess Arlene grinned. 'A lovesick fool... those people are easy to control.'
But suddenly, a confused expression appeared on Kodachi's face. "But... I also recall my darling Ranma... and he changed... into that red-haired harlot!" She clutched her head. "Can it be? Can they really be one and the same person? But she used those dark magics against me... maybe she confused my mind... and then, there was this demonic cat..."
Raising an eyebrow, the countess looked at Celes, who gave her a slight nod.
"You poor, confused girl..." she then said. "But don't be afraid, I will help you. Please, feel free to stay in my manor for as long as you wish."
"Thank you, my lady! Say... where are we, anyway?"
"Why, this is Twilight Town," Arlene smiled. "Never heard of it?"
"No... I can't say I have..."
"Well, that doesn't matter. Perhaps, if you are feeling better, I could show you around town. But for now, you should sleep."
"But I am not tired," Kodachi protested.
"Yes, you are!" the countess said and raised her hand. "Sleep."
With a soft groan, Kodachi closed her eyes again and fell back into Celes' arms.
"She will do just fine, Celes!" Arlene smiled. "Take her downstairs... after I provided her with a little crown of her own, she will be much easier to control."
"Yes, mistress!" Celes said, picked up Kodachi's body and carried her out of the room.
Countess Arlene sat back down on her chair. "That will teach that hag Maleficent to meddle in my affairs," she said to herself. "And my beloved brother wouldn't want her to become too powerful, either. Now there's only one thing left to do..."
She took another sip of tea, then she smiled wickedly.
"My dear Cait Sith... you have been elusive for far too long. From now on, you'll be mine..."
Akane blinked and woke up. She groaned as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Man, what a messed up dream..." she grumbled. "A monster with my face? A mallet that turns into a keyblade? I really should have dinner before going to bed..."
After getting dressed, she wanted to go down for breakfast. Then she stopped herself. Holding out her hand, she concentrated on the Keyblade, and her weapon appeared in her hand.
"What is it with you?" she mumbled while closer inspecting the finely crafted weapon. "What is it you see in me? Why didn't you choose one of my sisters, or Ranma? Is it because they already have a destiny to fulfil?" She chuckled when she caught herself thinking about destiny, the very same way she had never understood when hearing it from Kasumi or Ranma.
"I don't have to do this," she told herself. "It's my own choice..."
Cait Sith had talked as if it was her destiny to wield the Keyblade, to fight the Heartless and protect the hearts of the worlds. She hadn't believed it at first... but now, all she could think about was going on an adventure that brought her to new worlds even Kasumi and Ranma had not ever heard about before. According to Cait Sith, they normally were even more unreachable than the ruined remains of the Silver Millennium, up on the moon, or the Digital World, which is only accessible for Digidestined and Digimon.
She was curious, and proud. She always envied her sisters and fiance that they could be heroes... well, here was her own chance. All she had to do was to seize it.
"Who am I kidding?" Akane grumbled. "Destiny or not, I definitely would turn crazy from curiosity if I stayed behind. "Heck, I'll do it, crazy dream or not!"
She raised her Keyblade and smiled. "You're gonna help me against those Heartless, am I right? You chose me, after all, so you wouldn't want your carrier to go to waste."
She chuckled to herself. Here she was, talking to a weapon as if it would understand everything she said...
She willed the Keyblade away and went downstairs, where she found Kasumi and Ranma sitting at the breakfast table. Leormon was sitting close to Kasumi, eating his Digi-Munchies from a bowl... a delicious treat for Digimon Kasumi had created herself.
"Morning, Akane," Ranma muttered, never stopping eating.
"Good morning," Kasumi smiled. "Did you sleep well?"
"Well, I had a strange dream..." Akane muttered while she came to sit down at the table, making sure not to step on Leormon's tail this time.
"Where are Nabiki and Cait Sith?" Akane asked.
"Oh, Nabiki is in the Evangelion hangar," Kasumi said. "She said she wanted to try out those Gummi Blocks Cait Sith had talked about."
"That means she's actually let us use the Eva?" Ranma asked while gulping down the rest of his breakfast. "Who would have thought it?"
"I guess it's mainly because she's curious," Kasumi said. "As we all are. Unknown worlds out of our reach, suddenly accessible through the use of strange blocks... I haven't been this excited since I've been in the Digital World for the first time."
"So you decided?" Leormon looked up from his bowl. "We're gonna go?"
"I would never let my little sister leave by herself," Kasumi smiled. "I'm sure Tai and the others will understand."
"I already talked to Ami this morning," Ranma spoke up. "She has scanned the Heartless we fought and found out that they really are made of hearts, hearts that somebody lost to the darkness. I told her that we were going to find out where they came from, and that I'd have to leave for some time... she didn't ask any further questions and said that she'd tell Usagi and the others. I guess it's good to know that they trust me with this..."
"You really want to come along?" Akane asked. "You are serious about this?"
"Hey, I'm not gonna let you go by yourself to fight a bunch of creeps we barely know anything about. After all, they are a threat to Earth, and since I'm the princess of the Earth, it's my duty to make sure they stay away, right?"
Akane couldn't help but grin. Before becoming a Senshi, Ranma would have rather died than saying words like this. It's funny how something like destiny could change people...
"So, where's Cait Sith?" she asked.
Cait Sith was leaning against his moogle doll, which was still standing in one corner of the dojo. He breathed heavily... even though he knew that he didn't really have any lungs to speak of.
"I made it just in time..." he murmured. "Now isn't that irony...? Celes always told me I'd never find the Keyblade master in time before this body's energy would run out, and here I am..."
He closed his eyes. "I can really count myself lucky that nobody was able to find my real body on the control console... it was a good idea to keep the control room a secret even from my friends. The Slave Crowns would have forced them to tell everything to the cloaked man, and I'd never have a chance."
He forced himself to stand up. With wobbly limbs, he climbed up on his trusty moogle companion. "C'mon, old buddy... we should at least thank Akane, no matter what her answer is going to be. If anything, this at least proved to me that the Keyblade Master exists... which means hope is not lost for my people."
He slumped down on the broad shoulders of the moogle, while the stuffed pet waddled out of the room.
When she saw Cait Sith entering the room, Kasumi let out a gasp of surprise. "Oh my! What happened to you?"
"My... my power is running out..." Cait Sith murmured. "I never told you, but... this body is actually a robot, controlled by my true self from a secret control room. The power cells were supposed to last a very long time, but the journey through interspace took too much power out of me... and now I don't have much time left. Akane... have you make up your mind?"
"Yes, I have," she nodded. "I'm going to help your people."
A smile appeared on the robotic cat's face. "That's good to hear... hopefully we'll meet once you get there... if they don't find me first, that is. In that case, we still might meet... only that I'd wear a Slave Crown that time around..."
"Don't say that!" Ranma shouted. "Hang on there, we'll find the way to your world soon enough."
"I know you will..." Cait Sith murmured. "You are all... chosen... ones..."
"Cait Sith?" Akane asked in an alarmed voice when his voice grew weaker and weaker.
"My... power has almost run out... I'm sorry I couldn't help you... find my world... but listen... if you ever reach a world called Traverse Town... then try to find a man called Leon... he'll be on your side..."
He let out a groan that sounded half-mechanical, and his head slowly tilted to the side. "Goooooood luuuuuuuuck myyyyyyy frieeeeeennnndss..." he managed to utter, before his voice died down and his body slumped over like a lifeless doll... which it now was.
"Good luck to yourself, Neko-san..." Kasumi whispered while picking the cat doll up and holding it in her arms. "Whoever you are in real life, we know that hidden within this plushy frame, there was a good-natured soul..."
"Hang on there, buddy," Ranma muttered. "We'll be there soon."
Akane just closed her eyes and sighed.
"You know what, Mom?" Nabiki muttered. "This stuff is really something else... I bet you'd have given anything to have blocks like this back when you constructed the first Evas, huh?"
The huge Evangelion Unit did not respond. Nabiki smirked and put another, orange-colored block on the metal leg, next to the others. Just like the others did, it stuck to the surface smoothly and remained in place firmly.
Nabiki gave the layer of Gummi Blocks a solid punch. They still felt like rubber, but they were pretty resistant, and nothing would make them budge.
Satisfied, the Evangelion mechanic in-training smirked. "I wouldn't even need Akagi-sensei's teachings to put these things in place," she said. "Now all we have to hope is that those things actually do what they are supposed to do..."
She had also fastened a few of the gun-shaped Gummi Blocks to the Eva's arms, as well as a cockpit-shaped Gummi to the front side.
"I was already wondering how he wanted everyone to fit into my Eva," Nabiki muttered. "My own cockpit is cramped enough as it is, with me inside... but with this thing, everyone will be able to come along."
She then sighed and leaned back against the soft layer of Gummis on her Eva's left leg. "Say, Mom... am I doing the right thing? I know Commander Ikari and Akagi-sensei would never agree... which means they would also never allow me to take you along. Therefore, I'll have to steal government property to help Akane on her own quest... I know you never wanted us to become criminals, and you always were mad at me when you found out about my bribes, blackmail and so far... but then again, you wanted Akane to have the Keyblade, didn't you? So what is it you want me to do? Stay at home like a good girl... and prevent Akane from ever reaching those other worlds? Or go with them... and steal something that never belonged to me in the first place?"
Unit 04 let out a soft growl.
Nabiki smiled. "Yeah, I thought so... do what you feel is right, gotcha! But, Mom... what about you? We're gonna use you to travel between worlds... and maybe many of these Heartless will attack you. We never asked you for your own opinion... do you even want to come along?"
Unit 04 let out a short series of grunts, which could be interpreted as laughter.
Nabiki snickered. "No, I doubt they're gonna be worse than any Angel we've encountered... but listen, there's one other thing. I feel... kinda bad that we have to leave everything here on earth to Shinji and the girls. Do you... do you think the kids are going to be fine?"
Another growl, this time a bit deeper.
The middle Tendo sister sighed. "Maybe they are stronger than they seem, but... honestly, Shinji is an insecure boy who has to work under a father he hates, Asuka is an egomaniac who never likes to work with others, and Rei never allows anyone to see her feelings... I know I'm not exactly Wonder Woman myself, but do you honestly believe that those three are going to save Earth?"
She listened to her mother's next word, before nodding. "All right... if you say so, I will trust them. But, I still don't like it to leave them behind..."
And then she went back to work on her new project 'Gummi Eva'.
At lunch, Nabiki was finished and went back up to her sisters and Ranma. They told her about what happened with Cait Sith, and Akane also told the others of her unusual dream.
"So, the question is... are you really, really sure about this, Akane?" Nabiki asked. "Once we leave, there's no turning back. Last chance to back out... do you still wanna try to find Cait Sith's home world? For all we know, it could take us weeks, maybe even months..."
"I will," Akane said. "I promised him to do this, and I won't let him down. I already asked Ranma and Kasumi, and they told me they would come along... so all I'm asking is: Are you certain about this as well, Nabiki?"
"Well, yeah, it took me some time to really come to a conclusion, but since you need me to get out there, I don't really have a choice, do I?" She smirked. "And if any Heartless out there wants to have a piece of my little sister, they will have to go past me first... me and my Eva Unit, that is."
Akane smiled. "Thanks, Nabiki... and thanks to you as well, Kasumi, Ranma! I know I've never done anything like this before, but..." She summoned her Keyblade. "When you all started your own adventures, you had to learn a lot as well, right? And now that I know you want to come with me, I'm ready to learn everything I need to know."
"Shouldn't we wait for father and Uncle Saotome to return?" Kasumi asked. "And tell them what we are about to do?"
Leormon huffed. "Knowing those two buffoons, they stay away until they know it's safe to come back..."
"Leormon, it's not nice to speak of our fathers like that," Kasumi scolded her partner.
"What I would like to know is, do we even have enough food for such a long journey?" Ranma asked.
"How typical, all you can think about is food," Akane grumbled.
"Hey, a guy has to eat," Ranma defended himself. "I'm just saying, it's probably gonna be a long journey..."
"A journey? Where are you guys going?"
Ranma turned around in surprise. "U-ucchan? Wh-where did you come from?"
The Okonomiyaki chef gestured over her shoulder. "The dojo was open. I made a delivery in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd come for a visit. So, what were you talking about, Ranchan? Where are you going?"
She then looked at Akane's Keyblade. "Hey, what's that you got there, Akane? A new weapon?"
Akane sighed. 'Of all times, did she have to come now?'