Yuu suddenly awoke lying down on a hard smooth metallic surface, she sat up slowly, keeping her eyes firmly closed.
"It's okay." Laughed a familiar voice. "You're not in the Void anymore." Hesitantly, the small teen peeked open one eye, then blinked in surprise and opened both. She gasped as she saw she was in Strength's world, blazing orange fire filled the sky as long, black metal, skeletal ribbons circled the huge metallic cube she sat on which occasionally juddered and rotated akin to an immense Rubik's cube.
"What, the, fuck?" Yuu breathed, feeling the overwhelming heat of the place.
"I thought having somewhere familiar would help." Strength said, standing behind her.
"Strength!" Yuu squealed, eyes wide. She scrambled towards her Otherself, tackling the slightly taller girl to the ground.
Strength laughed and carefully patted Yuu on the head. "It's good to see you again too." She giggled, pulling Yuu off of her and holding her in the air.
"Where are we?" Yuu asking looking around. "I mean, I know we're in your world, but we were in the Void a moment ago."
"We're inside my mind." Strength replied. "Mato said Black Rock Shooter did the same thing before they merged, I thought it was a good idea. I know a part of you has missed the Otherworld, just like me."
Yuu nodded. "It was my home for so long, the perfect escape, nothing to worry about, just fight and fight and fight." She said.
"I know." Strength replied softly, gently lowering Yuu to the ground. "I was there, in your place. And I don't blame you." Yuu turned away to hide her watery eyes.
"You were so strong and brave for so long until you found this place." Strength said, placing a giant hand on the small teen's should and turning her around. "You made me what I am and I love you for it, I wish it was from better circumstances though."
"Me too." Yuu replied shakily. "But why are you bringing this up?"
"Because this is our merge, when we finally awaken." Strength told her. "After this we will be one, this is our last chance to talk."
Yuu's lip quivered as she flung herself towards the Otherself. "I'm not ready, I thought I was but I can't lose you." She cried.
"Shhh." Strength cooed, stroking the teen's head. "Remember time moves differently in the Void, we have eternities to spend together."
Mato placed a hand on Strength's cheek as they drifted in the Void, rampant beasts that defied biology circled the bubble of reality, unleashing ear-rending shrieks and howls towards them. Blood poured out of the Otherselves eyes, ears and noses.
The pale, pigtailed girl snarled and screamed in their direction, helplessly adrift in the sea of abomination. Pulling herself around her friend to block the impossible beasts from harming her. Just like she had always tried to do whenever they entered the Void.
Trillions of specks sparkled in the vast distances as the Void flexed and breathed over eons.
Mato was driven to madness time and time again, tearing her eyes out at the sight of impossibilities and vile mockeries of existence. Brief respites until they regenerated and started the cycle over again. Throughout everything, all the pain, all the time and insanity. One simple instinct held true.
Protect Yuu.
"So what do we do now?" Yuu asked, laying face up on the warm metal surface of the giant rotating cube.
"I dunno." Strength admitted, laying next to her. "I kinda assumed that things would happen by themselves."
"How long have we even been here?" Yuu wondered.
"Fuck knows, it could be minutes, days, years. Why? Getting bored?" The Otherself grinned.
"It's not that." Yuu said looking over to her counterpart. "It's just, it's just that I can't really think of anything else to talk about."
Strength laughed loudly. "Me neither, I think we've gone over every aspect of our lives in great detail, at least eight times." She replied.
"If we could replicate this, we'd make a killing selling this as therapy." Yuu chuckled.
"Yeah." Strength grinned, scooting over, closer to her human companion.
Yuu reached out and placed her hand in Strength's, it was utterly dwarfed by the huge metal palm. "Are you happy being an Otherself?" She asked.
"Huh? What kind of question is that?" Strength said, looking at the teen.
"One that only you can answer, you've lived as both Otherself and human. Which one did you prefer?" Yuu asked.
"My time on your world was amazing, the colours, the sights, meeting Mato and the others. Just being alive, it was all so incredible." Strength told her. "But..." She added. "It wasn't my life, I felt like an imposter, I am your Otherself I needed to be fighting for you not living your life. So yeah, I loved the human world but I'm so much happier being yours, it's where I'm supposed to be."
Yuu felt tears welling up in her eyes again.
"So lemme ask you." Strength said, propping herself up with her elbow and looking at Yuu. "Once the merge is complete, what do you hope to become? What type of Otherself?"
"I want to be able to protect Mato, something big and powerful so she doesn't have to fight so hard." Yuu answered without hesitation before adding "She's my best and oldest friend, she's always been there for me. Fuck, she flew halfway around the world just because I asked for her help. She bailed me out of so many bad relationships, helped me through university and stood by us two and Saya even after what we did to her and Black Rock Shooter."
She closed her eyes and sighed.
"I love her. I really, truly, love her. After everything she's done for us, I want to repay that."
"I think you're ready." Strength said softly.
"Huh? Ready for what?" Yuu asked, sitting up.
"To become an Otherself." Strength replied, smiling at her.
"I thought you didn't know what to do?" The teen asked.
"I didn't, but when you were talking I could feel your life energy, just like mine and Mato's. You are almost there, then it clicked. I share my life with yours and you do the same." Strength said, still smiling.
"That's it?" Yuu asked in surprise.
"I think so, our energies would combine and we would become one." Strength told her.
"I'm not sure I'm ready." Yuu said nervously.
"You are, the way you've been talking, your feelings, they're screaming out. You just need to follow your instincts." Strength replied, gently.
She stood up and helped Yuu to her feet, they stood face to face, close enough to feel each others breath.
"Is it gonna hurt?" Yuu asked, thinking of when Mato started to share her energy with Monica.
Strength shook her head slightly. "No, we are the same. You and me, two sides of the same being. Sisters." She smiled.
Yuu leaned forwards slowly and planted a soft kiss on Strength's lips. "Thank you for everything, I'm really going to miss you." She said, stroking the Otherself's cheek.
"I'm gonna miss you too." Strength replied sadly. She wrapped Yuu in her giant hands and embraced her tightly.
"I love you so much, remember that." She said as she allowed her life energy to flow into Yuu.
"I love you too." Yuu cried, doing the same.
Particles of light drifted lazily into the air from both of them and started to swirl around them, slowly at first then faster as more specks joined them. Soon enough, both of them were engulfed in bright white light, a hurricane of swarming energy surrounded them pushing against the air and creating a shock-wave that blasted out into the orange fire surrounding the metal cube.
"Focus on your desire." Strength said, her voice barely audible as they both started to dissipate into the air.
Suddenly the hurricane stopped, the air collapsed back in on itself and bounced off the solitary shining figure standing in the centre with a huge explosion. Yuu's skin split open as immense metal hands burst through, her extra arms unfolded from her back and her stockinged legs flaked away as huge metal talons formed out of the bones beneath, raising her up by a full metre. Her short black dress became plated in metal, her, now metal, hood extended itself over her face covering it in an unnaturally black shadow leaving only her mouth and a pair of flaming orange eyes visible.
With a roar of pain, her mouth split open into a wide, crazed grin, large steely fangs burst out of her skull, filling her gaping maw with razor sharp, needle-like teeth.
Yuu fell forwards, standing on all six limbs, her tail grew to become twice her body length.
Finally, she pounced forwards, throwing her head back and unleashing an earth shaking roar of triumph and rage.
Mato stared at the transformations Yuu's body was going through with a mixture of horror and amazement. She had been pulled out of the bubble of reality by several... Things... Which were now using her as their plaything. Her best friend was obviously going through immense pain and she didn't want to see the tortured expression on what little remained of her face but she couldn't tear her gaze away.
Beast Machine. She thought to herself, desperately trying to ignore the fact that she was being turned inside out.
Beast Machine occupied herself momentarily with chasing her own tail before quickly becoming bored, her feral mind calmed itself as Yuu regained her senses. Concentrating, she managed to quickly revert the changes on her body and in half a second she was standing in Strength's world looking like herself.
My world now. She corrected herself.
I guess that was it. She thought.
With a little effort and a lot of reluctance, she pulled herself out of her mind and into the tiny bubble of reality hurtling through the Void.
Keeping her eyes closed, she reached out to find Mato.
The pale girl grabbed Yuu's now human hand and pulled herself towards her friend.
Thank you. Yuu signed before twisting the two hemispheres of the reality anchor, deactivating it.
Together, they floated aimless through the realm of unreality towards an ever growing dot of light in the distance.