Black Rock Shooter © Huke
All Characters © Respective Owners.

Prologue: A Dream that Fades into Black

Even though so much had changed in the days when the walls between were torn down, some things would always stay the same. This island was a perfect example.

Several miles off the coast of the recently named Unity Grounds, the island had somehow managed to escape being merged with the other worlds when the barriers were shattered. It was an oddity in and of itself: a desolate piece of land surrounded by a seemingly endless ocean; spires of jagged rock and broken metal creaked ominously; the black clouds rumbled ceaselessly, but gave no signs of rain or lightning. Such a dark and foreboding place had not been seen since the Union, filling those who heard of it with thoughts of intrigue and danger. It was for that reason why she had come to this island in the first place.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her across the checkered ground, her black coat whipping in the wind behind her. She was panting hard; this was a whole new experience for her; she had never known the feeling of the air burning in her lungs, nor the stitch forming in her side. But that was because she was always the one chasing, never the one being chased. Others cowered in her presence and shuddered at the very utterance of her name. But now…now she was the one being chased…she was the one being hunted…and was the one who was afraid.

She bound over a fallen pillar and kicked against the nearby wall to cross a large gap, rolling when she touched the ground and jumping straight back to her feet without losing momentum. She saw a narrow hole in the checkered wall and dropped into a slide, successfully slipping through the gap. Once she was clear, she pressed her back against the wall, tilting her head back, and taking the chance to catch her breath. He winced at the pain suddenly flaring up on her right abdomen – damn it, one of her stitches came loose again. Everything seemed to be going against her today.

It took her a moment to stand back up again, her legs feeling like they were made of lead, holding the open wound in her side and ignoring the blood staining her glove. She was done exploring the island, she thought to herself. She needed to get back to the mainland and warn the others. Maybe if they stood together, they could – wait, she heard something just then…. It sounded like….

She threw herself forward as the wall exploded behind her, tucking and roll then setting herself up into a crouch, leering at the newly formed hole in the wall. The dust of the exploded clouded the attacker's face, but she could see her enemy's outline, as well as the shape of their execution weapon. As the attacker walked closer toward her, she held out her left arm and her weapons – the Rock Cannon – appeared in her grip in a dazzle of blue light.

The attacker charged once her weapon emerged, leaping into the air with their tool of execution above their head. She took aim at the attacker, the Rock Cannon charging its shot and –

Mato gasped loudly as she shot up from her bed, sheets clenched in her hands tightly, sweat dripping from her brow, panting fast like she had run a marathon.

She pressed her hand over her heart hoping to slow it down, taking a moment to let reality wash over. She wasn't on some post-apocalyptic island in the middle of nowhere being chased by a monster; she was safe in her bedroom, her mother was downstairs making breakfast, her annoying little brother was snoring so loudly next door she could hear him through the walls. She was safe.

"Mato, Hiro, get out of bed or you'll be late for school!" Mato's mother, Hana Kuroi, shouted. "If you're late one more time, getting grounded will be the least of your worries! That goes double for you, Mato!"

"Hai, hai!" Mato called back; her brother made a similar noise next door. "Be down in a second!"

Groaning, Mato managed to drag herself out of bed and slide over to the window, sliding back the curtains to let the light in. Mato sighed as the warmth of the sun spread over her body; it looked like it was going to be another beautiful day. But even though the skies were clear this morning, Mato couldn't help thinking about the dark clouds she had seen in her dreams; the rolling thunder that rattled her bones; the feeling of exhaustion and panic. It was all too real just to be a dream...and Mato knew the reason why.

Sighing deeply, Mato leaned on the windowsill, resting her head in her hand, staring up at the endless blue sky. And then she began to sing:

"Black Rock Shooter, doko e itta no? kikoemasu ka?"

BLACK ROCK SHOOTER: NEXUS

Mato reluctantly dressed herself for school today and dragged herself downstairs, yawning loudly into her hand, wishing she could just crawl under her sheets and never come out. It was all because of the dreams she's been having of Black Rock Shooter. Since their fight two months ago, Mato hadn't heard a word from her Other in quite a while; she had almost forgot about her and nearly chalked the whole experience to a very realistic vision. But Black Rock Shooter had been appearing more and more in her thoughts the past week, haunting her every sleeping moment, which was strange because the Other hardly bothered her. It was like she was trying to tell her something….

She took a seat at the table across from her bothersome sibling while their mother was working in the kitchen. As per usual, their father wasn't there that morning; no doubt already away on another business. Mato didn't know why she would have expected otherwise.

"Eh, you already got up," said Hiro annoyingly. "I though you're too lazy to even get out of bed."

"Shut up!" Mato snapped.

"All right, that's enough, you two," said Hana in a tone of finality, walking over with their breakfast. "Now hurry up and eat or you'll be late. And Mato, please remember to go to the store after school to pick up eggs and vegetables today. I've been telling you for the past three days to do it."

"All right, I get it already," grumbled Mato, getting ready to eat her breakfast when she noticed what was on the plate. "Pancakes with strawberries? You never make these for breakfast. Did something good happen?"

"It's the twenty-six, remember," said Hiro, already stuffing his face in syrupy goodness.

Ah, now it makes sense, Mato thought. Today was the twenty-sixth of November. It was a normal day that didn't celebrate any holidays or birthdays, but this time of year was very special for her mother. Every year on this day since Mato was born, Hana would be in a perpetual good mood, gliding across the house, humming a cheerful song, as she went about her day as normal as any other. The only thing different about today was that Mato's mother would make a fancy dinner that was even bigger than their Christmas feast.

Mato hummed to herself thoughtfully, unconsciously nibbling at her food. This morning she had a strange dream about Black Rock Shooter being attacked, which was weird on its own because as far as she knew Black Rock Shooter was the strongest person in Otherworld. And it seemed like a big coincidence that she would have this dream on the day of her mom's weird anniversary. Mato shook her head; it was crazy to think that Black Rock Shooter and her mom were related at all…but it didn't hurt to ask….

"Hey, mom," said Mato. "What's so special about today? You always look so…happy whenever November twenty-sixth comes around."

"Oh, that's right, I never told you about that," said Hana thoughtfully, coming out of the kitchen with a soft smile on her face. "Well, it happened a really long time ago, back about when I was your age, Mato. Today was the day I met someone very special that changed my life."

"Was it dad?" asked Hiro curiously.

"Well, I did meet your father today, too," said Hana, acting like meeting her future husband was nothing special. "But I met someone before him. I was…in a really bad place at that time…and then she helped me. And every year, I throw a personal holiday so that I never forget her. Sounds kinda silly, doesn't it?" Before either of her children had a chance to respond, she noticed the clock on the wall. "Oh, shoot, you two need to get going or you'll be late for school!"

Grumbling, Mato grabbed her lunch off the kitchen counter and rushed over to the door to head for school. Then she had a second thought and dash back to her plate, stuffing one more flapjack in her mouth before running out. Hey, if it worked for toast, it could work for pancakes, right?

Obviously she was proven wrong when she accidentally ran into Arata and splattered syrup on her uniform. She made Mato run laps around the track field before class.

Mato flopped face first into her desk in homeroom, her calves throbbing, hoping the world would just vanish if she closed her eyes. But as much as she wanted to, she couldn't close her eyes; not because she would get in trouble with the teacher, but because she didn't want to dream again. She didn't want to see Black Rock Shooter.

Reluctantly, Mato pried herself from her favorite sleeping position and sat up straight; her eyes felt heavier now than they did when she woke up. She heard the chair pull out next to her and looked over, relieved to see that her best friend, Yomi Takanashi, was taking her seat…. And she brought Kagari with her…again…yay…

"Good morning, Mato," said Yomi pleasantly until she got a second look at her. "Are you all right, Mato? You look terrible."

"Really?" said Kagari, practically throwing herself on Yomi. "She always looks like that to me."

"Kagari!" Yomi snapped offensively.

Mato sighed. Though the two of them had become good friends these past two months, their relationship was still in the middle of a rough patch. Mato knew that Kagari was in love with Yomi and she felt threatened by Mato. Though she explained to her dozens of times that Mato wasn't interested in Yomi that way, Kagari was still a little defensive and rarely left the two of them alone.

"But in all seriousness, you don't look so good, Mato," said Kagari, actually sounding worried for a change. "You look really pale and you have huge bags under your eyes. You been getting enough sleep."

"No…not really," mumbled Mato. "Been having a lot of…nightmares recently."

"What about?" asked Yomi.

She didn't answer right away, thinking about what to tell them. Like Mato, Yomi and Kagari had Otherselves (Dead Master and Chariot respectively) and both of them had been slain by Black Rock Shooter before she went insane. The unexpected deaths of their Others had nearly destroyed Yomi and Kagari's friendship if Mato hadn't stood up to Black Rock Shooter in time. Though Mato couldn't tell them that; they would both think she was dreaming or she had finally snapped. The only people that Mato could talk about the Otherworld with were her classmate, Yuu, and the guidance counselor, Miss Irino. She needed see them after class, Mato decided. Maybe they could tell her why she's been having these nightmares recently.

Fortunately, Yomi seemed to take Mato's silence as her way of not wanting to talk about it and thankfully dropped the subject. The bespectacled girl opened up her bag and took out a handful of threaded bracelets, some of them finished, others half done. Mato smiled. Yomi loved handicrafts; Mato, Kagari, and Yuu were always getting handmade gifts even if Yuu was still a little shy to accept them.

"Making more bracelets?" asked Kagari interestingly. "Don't already have over a few hundred lying around your house?"

"What can I say, I like making them?" said Yomi, giggling. "I've been thinking of adding on to the original friendship bracelets I gave you guys. Now they have charms. See? This one is for Kagari and this one is for Mato."

Yomi handed her the bracelet; it was woven with blue thread like her original one, but there was an extra weight to it added by the sterling silver charm. It was a star – Black Rock Shooter's symbol; Mato felt a chill run up her spine. She looked over at Kagari, who had gotten a new bracelet made of yellow thread and the charm was a wheel with a crown. Yomi's was green and charm was a cracked skull. Both were symbols used by their Others. Mato was starting to get that familiar eerie feeling again. It was crazy to think that Yomi knew anything about Otherworld, right? It was just a coincidence, right?

Luckily, Mato was saved from having to think about it any further when Yuu walked into the classroom and greeted them happily. Mato smiled again. Yuu had been much happier since she was forced back into the Real World two months ago once she made friends with the three of them, no longer having to fight avoid getting hurt. Though there was still a bit of awkwardness between Mato and her. Mato was still trying to wrap her head around the idea that her childhood memories of Yuu were fake and that Yuu wasn't actually Yuu, but her Otherself, Strength, acting like Yuu.

How did my life turn into one of mom's TV dramas, Mato thought to herself, lying flat on the desk again.

"Oh, Yuu, perfect timing," said Yomi excitedly, reaching into her bag again. "I made you a new bracelet. Here you go."

It was orange with a fist charm; exactly the same as Strength's symbol. Yuu took the charm bracelet, staring at it strangely, probably thinking the same thing that Mato was.

"Thanks, Yomi, I love it," said Yuu, smiling. She walked over to the desk on Mato's opposite side and flopped down in her seat, taking notice that one of her friends was half dead. "Whoa, what happened to you? You look like something I'd scrape off the sidewalk."

"Oh yeah, that's makes me feel so much better," said Mato sarcastically.

"Mato's been having nightmares and hasn't been getting enough sleep," answered Yomi sheepishly when Mato glared at her. "What? We're all friends here. We can tell each other anything."

"Hey, Yomi, about after school," said Kagari, thankfully taking the bespectacled girl's attention away

"So you've been having nightmares, huh?" asked Yuu, resting her head in her hands. "What're they about? After…after Black Rock Shooter, I figured nothing could scare you," she added in a hushed tone.

"Actually…," said Mato in an equally soft voice, checking that Yomi and Kagari weren't listening, "all my nightmares are about Black Rock Shooter. It's like…like I'm her again, or maybe she's me, I don't know. Lately, I've been having these scary dreams about…about Black Rock Shooter, except they're…different…."

"What do you mean 'different'," said Yuu suspiciously.

"It's like…every time I have a dream, it's like in a different place," said Mato. "Sometimes I'm in giant collapsing cities or these weird empty worlds full of ghosts. And sometimes I end up in perfectly normal places like the beach or a grassy plain."

"Well, each of the Others worlds are different in Otherworld," said Yuu knowingly. "I've seen a lot stranger places in the years I was living there. But that can't be the part that bothers you, can it? Were you, by any chance, watching Black Rock Shooter slay one of the Others again. I know from personal experience that she can be really scary when she's trying to kill you – "

"Black Rock Shooter was scared," Mato interrupted, effectively shutting Yuu up. "She was really scared of something; she was running away. I really thought she was going to die – that I was going to die."

Yuu could only stare open mouthed at her, almost wondering if she had misheard Mato. Black Rock Shooter was the scariest in otherworld not just because she was dangerous, but because she was afraid of nothing. She faced giant mechanical spiders, an army of skeleton soldiers, and Yuu without ever flinching and taking a step back. Her fearlessness was deserved, Yuu supposed, because she healed at a rate much faster than any Other, able to be punctured and gored before standing back up second later. Yuu couldn't even imagine what could be so terrifying to make Black Rock Shooter run scared.

Yuu opened her mouth to say something on the matter when the teacher walked into class. Their classmates immediately took their seats while the teacher turned his back to them to write on the board.

"All right, settle down, we have a lot of work to cover!" the teacher told them.

"Let's go to the guidance counselor's office after class," Yuu muttered to Mato. "We should talk to Saya about this."

Mato said nothing, only nodding to acknowledge the plan as she submitted herself to the humdrum of middle school math.

The blessed sound of the bell ringing nearly an hour later was music to Mato's ears. She had almost fallen asleep twice in the middle of class, meaning she had come close to seeing Black Rock Shooter twice. Mato and her friends quickly packed up their things (meaning Mato just threw everything in her bag) and left the room together. Yomi and Kagari had Japanese Literature next so their group split up at the stairwell, while Mato was supposed to go to art and Yuu had science. But Mato and Yuu didn't go to their classes straight away; both of them went up to the next floor towards the guidance consoler – or the "Dawn Counseling" as Miss Irino's plague so aptly stated.

"Are you sure we should be skipping class like this," asked Mato nervously, looking around as if a teacher were about to jump out and bust them. "People still haven't forgotten about how I went missing while I was in Otherworld, you know."

"Relax," said Yuu plainly. "We're just a couple of troubled students going to the counselor's office for some advice. And if you're still worried, we can have Saya write up an excuse for us."

"Okay…," Mato mumbled uncertainly. "But why are we asking Miss Irino about…about you-know-who?"

"My connection to Strength hasn't been the best since she died," said Yuu, frowning. "I can feel that she's alive like the rest of the Others, but…well, it's really hard to reconnect with someone after something like that. Saya is the only one of us with a direct connection to Otherworld. She can communicate with Black Gold Saw and tell us what's going on over there."

"Well, when you put it that way, it does make sense," said Mato. "But what about – "

She was interrupted when they heard the sound of something smashing on the floor followed by a solid thud. Mato and Yuu turned to where the noise came from, only realizing that they were outside the counseling office.

"What was - ?" Mato started, but Yuu didn't stop and listen.

A panicked look on her face, Yuu grabbed the handle and threw the door open, making a loud slamming sound echo in the nearly empty hall. Both of them rushed inside; Mato gasped in horror. Saya's favorite coffee mug was smashed on the floor, the caffine creating a puddle, and the counselor herself laid helplessly on the floor. Saya looked worse than Mato had ever seen her before: skin as pale as a sheet, sweat running down her brow, and rivers of blood dripping from nostrils.

Mato backed up into the wall, hand over her mouth and her eyes twitching wide in terror. Yuu, on the other hand, rushed to her old friend's side, gingerly lifting the older woman into her arms. It looked even worse up close; Saya looked like she was going to die at any moment. Yuu shook her and slapped her lightly on the face hoping to get a reaction, but Saya showed no signs that she was even aware they were there. Tears of fear were starting to well up in Yuu's eyes, doubling her efforts to wake her up and started screaming:

"Saya! Saya! Please wake up! It's me, Yuu! Come on, wake up! SAYA!"

But the guidance counselor would not respond; her hand fell off Yuu's lap and slapped lifelessly on the floor. Yuu's panicked screeches increased by several decibels.

"HELP! SOMEBODY, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE HELP US!"

Seconds later, teachers started rushing out of the classrooms and appeared in the office doorway. One look at Miss Irino and everyone flew into a flurry of motion. The instructors started cluttering around Saya – one of them left to call an ambulance – and tried to force Mato and Yuu out of the office. Mato allowed herself to be taken away, but Yuu wasn't going so easily. When one of the teacher's tried to pull her away from Saya, Yuu spun around and punched him in the face, breaking his nose. Mato didn't know what happened after that as she was led into the hallway, but it sounded like several teachers were working together to restrain her hysteric friend.

Mato's brain was working in overdrive. Just this morning she had a dream about Black Rock Shooter being attacked in Otherworld and now her only connection to the parallel reality looked close to death. This was too much to be coincidence. Something was happening to the Others, and the worst part was, Mato felt may have had something to do with it.

The mood on the way home from school was a somber one. Mato feet carried her down the familiar path though she herself was unaware of where she was going, her mind in a haze of thoughts. Yomi and Kagari lagged behind her, staring at Mato's back and occasionally exchanging worried glances. Yuu wasn't with them, of course; she had outright demanded that she go to the hospital with Miss Irino, not caring that she was cutting school.

The silence between them was almost nerve-wracking; it felt like an awful repetition of the events from two months ago. Sharing one more worried exchange with each other, Yomi and Kagari sped up their pace so that they were walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Mato, not that she seemed to notice.

"Are you okay, Mato?" Yomi asked worried. "You don't look so good."

"No…no, I'm fine, don't worry about it," mumbled Mato feebly.

"Don't try acting tough around us," said Kagari seriously. "You're as white as a sheet; I'm almost scared you'll collapse in the middle of the street."

"I'm telling you, I'm fine," said Mato stronger, but just as halfhearted. "I'm just worried about Yuu and Miss Irino is all?"

"I don't blame you," said Yomi, nodded. "If I had seen something like that, I would feel a little faint too."

"I overheard the medics when they were carrying Miss Irino out of the school," said Kagari, frowning. "They have no idea what's going on with her. Aside from the bloody nose, she seemed perfectly healthy; no drugs or injuries. I heard one medic say that she might have had a mental breakdown, but I don't think that causes bloody noses, does it?"

"I have no idea," said Yomi. "It really is quite scary to think about. Yuu was really upset. I just wish we knew what happened to her."

Mato knew what happened to her: it was Black Gold Saw; something happened to her in Otherworld and now Saya was affected just like Kagari, Arata, and Yomi months ago. But, Mato remembered, when their others died, her friends just collapsed with no damage to their physical health. Though she couldn't rule out that Black Gold Saw could possibly be dead, it did make Mato wonder if something worse could have happened to leave Saya in such a state.

Mato's thought continued down this line of thinking until they reached the point where they reached their separation point. Yomi and Kagari had offered Mato to walk with her the rest of the way home, but Mato turned them down; she wanted a little more time with her thoughts. Her friends gave her one last worried glance before walking down the road to Yomi's house. Mato waved to them until they disappeared around the corner and let out a huge sigh. She felt bad about making her best friends worry, but there was no way they could understand what she's going through, especially not when it concerned physical manifestations of their feelings in an alternate universe; Kagari thought she was weird enough already.

Mato turned and continued walking home alone, staring up at the clear blue sky. By now, her mom was making her special anniversary dinner. At least there was something good about this overall rotten day, Mato thought. Compelling herself to forget her terrible day, Mato closed her eyes and began to sing once more:

"Black Rock Shooter, doko e itta no? kikoemasu ka?"

"I can hear you."

Her eyes snapped open, nearly tripping over her feet when the monotonous, yet frighteningly familiar, voice responded to her song. Mato stared straight ahead as someone emerged from one of the alleys. Her mouth ran dry and her eyes wide in permanent shock. She knew who this person was; she could never forget. The lengthy coat of a midnight-blue color, the stitches that ran across her abdomen, and her eyes – those piercing-blue eyes that could burn with a glance. Mato took a step back, trembling, only able to mutter the girl's name:

"Black Rock Shooter."

"Mato," said Black Rock Shooter calmly, slowly approaching her Real Self; Mato staggered backwards. "Mato, you have to listen to me. You are in danger. Everyone is in danger. You have to come with me."

"B-B-But how?" Mato stammered, taking another step back. "You can't be here. You should be in Otherworld. How did – "

"We don't have time to explain," said Black Rock Shooter impatiently. "There's something much bigger than Otherworld going on. And as it stands, we don't have the strength to handle it yet. That's why we need your help. Please, come with us and we'll explain everything."

"But I don't – you can't – I – " Mato sputtered, having no idea how to think or act in this situation. Though, for a moment, something did strike her odd. "Wait…what do you mean 'us'?"

Mato took another step back and her back connected with something solid yet soft. Craning her head back, Mato's jaw dropped as she stared into the eyes of the monster that constantly haunted her nightmares: Insane Black Rock Shooter. By now, Mato was sure her brain was starting to malfunction, not even trying to understand how Black Rock Shooter and Insane Black Rock Shooter could be separated into individuals. But what really drove her over the edge was the chibi-version of Black Rock Shooter lying on top of Insane Black Rock Shooter's head, looking down at her with a blank look.

"Ga!" Chibi Rock Shooter said, waving.

"I know you're confused right now, Mato," said Black Rock Shooter calmly. "Just come with us and let us explain."

"Okay…okay…," said Mato slowly. "Cloud you Just…give me one moment…"

Mato's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed on the ground; the three Rock Shooters stared.

"That went about as well as I expected it to," said Insane Black Rock Shooter.

"GA!" shouted Chibi Rock Shooter, holding her arms in the air jubilantly.

(Insert Black Rock Shooter theme song)