A/N: So. The sequel begins. I probably should have given myself a longer break, but...I felt like I was slowly dying, not writing. Just couldn't do it.
I have some questions: 1. How would I know if someone took my work and passed it off as their own? 2. Where could I find someone willing to illustrate a few pics for Bonded? I don't draw anything but retarded looking hearts and flowers :S
On with the saga. Hope you all enjoy.
Theme song for this chapter: Changes by Tupac
New Bonds
Prologue
Konoha, devasted, was rebuilding slowly but surely in the aftermath of Pein's attack. Three months have slipped by since that fateful day. Tsunade passed away, never resurfacing from her coma. Danzo was Hokage and things were less than ideal in the village.
For starters, there were more ANBU units, several patrolling the village daily. Many felt these domestic units were given entirely too much leeway in settling disputes or reprimanding minor offenders. People stepped more carefully now. That was bad enough. But Danzo's influence was felt in every aspect of village life, even the ninja academy. Lessons were intensified, higher-level techniques forced on younger children. The only ones who seemed able to keep up with the new regime were the Uchiha kids.
Those particular children were already talented, but their father, a firm and ardent hater of Danzo, told them in no uncertain terms that they were to pass every class with flying colors or they could join Masaru and their uncle Sasuke. The children, frightened to death of him since 'the incident', earnestly obeyed.
Itachi wasn't doing well. He hadn't been doing well since the moment he'd seen his brother brought back to the village, dead, carried by four ANBU on a makeshift litter. Those who'd been present when he'd seen Sasuke hoped fervently to never again witness anything like the rage and grief that had ensued. This was 'the incident'.
Itachi had gone into a screaming, snarling frenzy, lashing out with Amaterasu, Susanoo and other things people had no name for. Some of the jutsus had undoubtedly been devised on the spot. People physically near him had died before everyone had run away in mortal fear. No one had been able to calm him down. He'd stood over Sasuke's body, striking out at everything that had moved for nearly an hour.
It had been Gaara who'd gotten through to him. Amaterasu had eaten though his sand sphere and was close to eating him as well when Sasuke saw who it was and stopped…barely. He still fought Gaara when that redhead tried to console him, to comfort him. Itachi did not want to be comforted or consoled.
For over a month after the funeral (a hellish, brutal affair for the Uchiha family. They'd buried Mikoto only days earlier) Itachi remained locked in his room, uncommunicative with everyone. Not even Gaara could reach him. Once he did begin speaking again it was in one word sentences. His eyes remained in Sharingan day and night and he spent long hours at Sasuke's grave.
Sasuke's death rocked the village even more than the attack had for one simple reason; everyone knew Sasuke wouldn't be dead unless Naruto was also dead or incapacitated in some way. Naruto was nowhere to be found, dead or alive. It was wildly speculated that something had happened to the blond ninja that the village loved. It wasn't mentioned where ANBU or Danzo supporters could hear, but they were all secretly waiting for the day Naruto would become Hokage. He'd saved their village many times, protected their exiles, was good and pure and noble…They hoped he was alive somewhere.
As a matter of fact, he was…in a manner of speaking.
Kyuubi, driven nearly mad, hardly knew himself. He rampaged through parts of the world that were sometimes uninhabited, sometimes densely populated, but none of it known to the Five Great Nations or the surrounding countries. At some point he'd crossed an ocean. He had no memory of doing so. The land on the other side of the ocean was wild, primitive. The people were little better than animals themselves and ran from the huge god-like fox with his destructive nine tails.
Kyuubi frequently had no control over his own actions. Grief of calamitous proportions, images, memories of that Uchiha took over his mind most of the time. In his coherent moments he wanted to weep at how the roles he and his host had played were reversed. He was the one with the unwanted demon inside him now, one that influenced his mind and actions and was violently hated.
It was sad, really. Kyuubi had grown close to his host after the birth of the kitling. They had been united, comrades instead of enemies. Now, though, Kyuubi wanted nothing more than for the boy to die and leave him alone. He'd managed to visit the chamber in his mind on one occasion.
Kyuubi had crouched outside the gate that had been his own prison. He'd seen his host and worse. He'd seen his jailor, The Fourth.
"So! It is you who prevents me from having any peace," he'd snarled at the young Hokage.
"Hardly. I tried to prevent you being released and instead got sucked in here with my son."
Kyuubi had looked at the figure of his host. "Surely, you can reverse this? Look at him, he is barely conscious! How does he control my mind in this fashion?"
Minato ignored that to address the interesting thing Kyuubi had let slip. He looked up at the blazing red eyes with curiosity. "Reverse? You wish you were trapped inside my son again?"
Kyuubi had looked aside as he scratched behind his ear with a hind paw. "Anything would be preferable to this wretched existence. Anything. I cannot maim and pillage as I wish, I can do nothing but howl in madness."
Kyuubi had vanished from the chamber then. Minato had spent a few seconds staring at the space he'd occupied, his mind working. Then he'd turned to look at his son, who sat against the wall of their mutual prison. Light came in from outside the gate, striping Naruto's face with alternate bars of light and shadow. His head rested against the wall, his eyes raised to the unreachable ceiling. A bar of shadow hid his left eye, but the right was illuminated by the faintly yellow light. The brilliant blue was rendered green as Minato stared at his son's face.
Naruto had never really regained consciousness. He'd woken up screaming Sasuke's name, doing his best to murder Minato, who'd tried to restrain him. Then he'd become quiet. He sat staring into space, muttering things from time to time. Sometimes Sasuke's name, sometimes sentences or phrases. It had taken Minato a long time before he realized that Naruto was reliving his past with Sasuke in his mind.
It broke the Fourth's heart to see his son so demoralized, so undone with grief. He repeatedly tried to reach him, to get through his heartache. He couldn't. The worst was whenever tears would course silently, incessantly down his boy's face. Minato felt like dying himself whenever he saw this ultimate manifestation of Naruto's loss. It was as if his son's very soul bled.
Part 1- Chapter 1
"Raiden, honey, do you want more pancakes before Aunt Paige drops you off at Victor's?" Piper smiled brightly at the boy in question.
Raiden sat at the kitchen table in the Halliwell manor on this fine morning. He'd been adopted into the family once it became known exactly how the binding potion affected him.
Raiden had no memory of anything before waking up in the playpen three months ago.
He and Wyatt were inseparable. The sisters found him adorable and lovable, so they'd decided to keep him. Especially when it became clear that no memory meant no use of his powers. Wyatt had actually protected the boy from demons of a few occasions. All Raiden remembered of his past was his name.
Whether or not Raiden was a god, they had no idea and didn't care. They never saw him in demon form, though Paige insisted that she'd seen him with wings the night he'd brought Wyatt back. He grew a lot faster than the average little boy but they could deal with that.
"No, thank you," Raiden answered now. Piper stroked his hair lovingly as she turned away with the stack of blueberry pancakes. Raiden watched her emotionlessly.
He was always quiet, always polite, but did not display too much in the way of feelings. Accept when it came to Wyatt. Wyatt sat between Chris's highchair and Raiden as the larger boy swung his legs idly.
Raiden liked these people well enough. They were nice to him. They looked after him. They treated him as one of their own.
But Raiden knew he didn't belong here. He couldn't explain the feeling or how he knew…but this place with its soft people and their supposed battles with 'fierce and dangerous' demons was not where he belonged. Though he couldn't remember it, he knew that there were far more dangerous things out there, that wherever he came from people fought in a very different way.
Sometimes a word or a sound would have him turning, expecting to see…something. Someone. He didn't know. One time Phoebe had brought home a date and he'd bent down to Raiden on the porch, saying hello. Raiden had stared mutely for long seconds at the way his jet-black hair parted in the middle and hung on either side of his angular face. Once it had been a pair of blue, blue eyes he'd seen on a man in the supermarket. Some profanity he'd heard on the television had made him shiver; he'd heard those words in a different voice. A familiar voice.
And then there were the whispered conversations he sometimes overheard between the sisters of his new family.
"What if someone is waiting for him? We can't just keep him," Phoebe had hissed one night.
"Honestly, if someone were waiting for him, they would have come for him by now, he's been here two months," Paige retorted.
"Yeah," Piper added, "I mean he can't be the only one with those powers, he had to get them from somewhere."
"Maybe," Phoebe said. "I just feel so bad for him. I mean we know nothing about the world he's from. What about him trying to find a cure for death? His fear and desperation came through loud and clear to me that day. Is it right for us to rob him of his powers?"
"Phoebe, honey," Piper began in that patronizing whine she had, "We didn't take away his powers, okay, we tried to. Big diff. We ended up taking away hi-"
"Shhh!" Paige had hissed at them. She peeked around the corner of her bedroom, where they were all gathered. Raiden was standing in the hall, in a shaft of moonlight.
"Hi, Raiden! What are you doing?"
"Bathroom," he'd replied in his low voice. And he'd proceeded to go as he'd been planning to do.
He didn't understand what it meant. Had these nice people done something to him? If they had, Wyatt had said anything to him and Wyatt told him everything. They both shared everything. Powers? Did he have powers like Wyatt and Chris? Were they different powers? And what other world? Who was he? Where did he come from?
It disturbed him. The only person he felt completely comfortable around was Wyatt. For some reason he felt like he belonged with the shorter boy. Wyatt couldn't speak as well as Raiden could, so they conversed with their minds.
They were orbed to Victor's after breakfast. Raiden waved to Paige along with Wyatt and Chris as she prepared to orb back to whatever she did all day. Victor waved, too, before turning to the boys. "So," he said as he rubbed his hands together. "What do you boys want to do today?"
"Can we go to the park today, Victor?" Raiden gave a little smile as he spoke.
"Ah, ah, ah, young man, now what did I tell you?"
Raiden stared at him blankly.
Victor widened his grin. "Remember? Call me 'Uncle Victor'!"
"Oh. Sorry. Uncle Victor," Raiden said.
Raiden genuinely tried to please, but some things were harder for him than others. Whenever he called Victor 'uncle' he got an image of sand or a bunch of kids and a red-eyed man with a pony-tail.
Once at the park, Raiden pulled Wyatt to the sandbox while Victor pushed Chris on the swings. Raiden needed some answers.
Wyatt, you know something about my past, don't you?
Wh-what do you mean? Wyatt played nervously with the grains of sand in his hand. Raiden eyed him with cold gray-blue eyes, his heavy slanted brows coming together in a V that was reminiscent of a particular blond ninja.
I mean your parents, your aunts did something to me. I don't belong here. I'm different and I think you know everything. I thought we were friends, brothers.
We are!
Then tell me the truth. Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here?
But my mom and dad made me promise not to tell. I promised, Raiden. I can't break my promise…
I hate you, Raiden thought coldly. I don't belong here and you know it. If you needed help, I'd help you. You're not my friend. You never were. Raiden turned his back on the blond boy.
No, Wyatt pleaded, I am your friend, I swear, I've helped you a lot! I saved your Papa's life!
Raiden turned to Wyatt eagerly. What? Who?!?
Wyatt didn't answer. His mom had threatened to take his own powers away if he told Raiden anything. He loved Raiden, but he didn't want to be powerless like his dad.
Raiden sneered at Wyatt. You're nothing but a coward. I may not know who I am, but I know I'm no coward.
"You're my father."
Minato turned from his position by the gate at the sound of the hoarse, raspy words. Naruto's eyes, still leaking, were focused blearily on him. Naruto sat with his legs spread straight in front of him, his hands palm up in his lap and his head turned to look at Minato…but the eyes were focused for the first time.
"Yes," Minato came hesitantly toward his boy. "I am. Naruto? Son?"
Minato crouched near one of Naruto's outstretched feet, placing a hand on the toe of one shoe. "Are you with me, Son?"
"Am I inside Kyuubi?"
"Yes," Minato nodded encouragingly, smiling a little. He wanted to keep Naruto anchored, to keep him present. "You've been here three months."
"Why are you here? How…how did you get here?"
"I tried to stop you from releasing Kyuubi, but the seal broke down too fast. Then I was sucked in here with you. Son…are you…are you alright?" Minato asked as delicately as he could.
Naruto's eyes had been drifting over his father's body, disinterestedly taking in the form and figure he'd wondered about back when things used to actually matter. The blue eyes rose up to meet the very same color now.
"If I were myself, I would be dead. This grief kills me…dad." The word was unfamiliar on Naruto's tongue. "It kills me. The only reason I'm still alive is because Kyuubi is in control."
"Oh, son," Minato scuttled closer and drew Naruto's head to his chest. "Please, my boy. Talk to me."
"I can't," Naruto's body began to shake with his sobs. The Yondaime could feel the hot tears against his chest, through his clothes. "Oh, God, Dad…I can't. It hurts so much…"
Minato stroked the hair so like his own. Regardless to what Naruto said, his son was talking. The Fourth remained silent, hoping to encourage him to purge his pain that way.
"I wish I was dead."
"Shh, Naruto, don't say that. You've never given up before." When his son didn't answer, Minato asked quietly, "What of Raiden? Your own son?"
"Raiden?" Naruto picked his head up to look into the face that resembled his own. Minato said nothing, but he saw something flicker in Naruto's eyes. "Raiden…is probably being taken care of by Itachi."
"Are you sure?" Minato queried. "I've lived inside of you, I know what you told him. You didn't tell him to come back."
Naruto was looking slightly more animated than he had been for the past three months. Minato noted the small frown on Naruto's face and felt hope course through him. "Raiden…isn't here?" Naruto asked. Minato shrugged a shoulder.
"Kyuubi," Naruto said quietly.
Kyuubi appeared outside the gate instantly. "Boy. You kill me with your grief, cease it at once!"
Naruto ignored this, getting to his feet for the first time since his arrival. Minato wanted to cheer. "Where is Raiden?"
"Gone. Safe in another world."
"Why isn't he here? I told him to Boom to someplace far away, but I didn't say not to come back eventually."
Kyuubi shifted on his haunches, his tails lashing about in agitation. His long tongue came out to lick his chops. It was almost as if Kyuubi were…nervous. Naruto, fully present at last, narrowed his eyes.
"What did you do? Did you tell him something?" Naruto gripped the bars.
"I only did what I thought best. The kitling is a wealth of untapped power. You underestimate him. His mission-"
"Mission? What mission," Naruto said. His voice couldn't be described as urgent, but it wasn't listless as it had been a few moments ago.
"…His mission to bring back the dead or prevent death. However you look at it."
Naruto turned away from the bars for a moment. Minato saw his son swallowing hard, squeezing his eyes shut. Naruto's hand came up to grab his chest as he sank down to his knees, one hand still on the bars. Minato knew that they were brushing the topic of Sasuke with the word 'death'.
"Tell…," Naruto choked back a sob, forcibly stilled his shudders. "Tell me. Everything."
Kyuubi told of Raiden's mission to prevent his fathers from dying. How he'd never given it up, still suffered nightmares. When Naruto heard the instructions Raiden had received on the day that…on the day when…well, on that day, he stood up. Kyuubi gazed down at him.
"You told my son not to come back here until he'd completed an impossible mission? You stupid ass, I may never see Raiden again!"
Kyuubi, fed up and feeling vastly better now that Naruto wasn't wallowing in misery, leaned down to the gate, his huge face making the two blonds back up involuntarily. "It was on your account that I gave him that order! Look you at what has happened! Your mate the Uchiha-"
"Shut up, SHUT UP," Naruto screamed desperately. But Kyuubi was enraged, he did not stop.
"-Is dead and you are to blame! If he can be brought back, that will be worth the kitling's absence, you selfish gnat!"
Naruto screamed, his hands over his ears, trying to shut out the words, the memories, the pain. His face was red from the force of his screams. Minato watched in silence. He privately thought Naruto needed this confrontation.
"You gave not a thought to the kitling in all this time, but now you worry you will not see him again?! He could have been back and killed with his Uchiha sire for all the notice you took! Now you dare chide me for doing what you were too stupid to do yourself? Your mate took measures to keep you alive, your 'son' does the same and there you sit, driving me mad with your puling. Stop your caterwauling!" Kyuubi thundered.
Naruto was vomiting in a corner of the cage, moaning.
"Were you half the man you think you are, you would get over your grief. You would wonder where the kitling is. You would live. Or did you think the Uchiha sacrificed himself so that you could become…this?" Kyuubi snorted, the wind from his muzzle ruffling the hair of Minato and Naruto. Kyuubi waited a few moments, letting his words sink in. Naruto lay curled on the floor, turned away from his father and his 'host'. When Kyuubi saw that Naruto would not be responding, he vanished. There one moment, gone the next.
Minato did not approach Naruto, feeling the next move had to come from him.
Kyuubi came from that little 'meeting' feeling restored. His former host was no longer only thinking of his lost mate. His new thoughts of the kitling, of Kyuubi's words, served to cut the grief and allow Kyuubi to assert control of his own being again. He unfolded himself from the ball of misery he'd lain in for the past few days and stretched. He growled, roared, howled in glee.
He was back.
Gaara didn't usually go with Itachi to Sasuke's grave. He remained home with the children. He was the only functioning parental figure they had at the moment. Tonight was no different. He'd given them dinner, helped them with academy homework and put them to bed by the time Itachi fell into the house.
Actually, there was something different tonight. Gaara, though deferential when he needed to be, diplomatic when the occasion called for it and understanding of his lover's tragedy, was a former mass murdering Jinchuuriki. Changed he might be, but he did not put up with bullshit for extended periods of time.
And he hated being ignored. Especially by Itachi.
Gaara stood by the sink, drying a bowl he'd just washed as Itachi came in, ignored him, and went upstairs. Gaara placed the bowl in the cabinet, took off the smock he wore to protect his clothes and went upstairs after him.
Itachi was just closing his door when Gaara reached the top of the stairs. The sound of the lock being engaged could be heard loudly in the dark hall. Gaara drew his knee to his chest and slammed his foot into the door, demolishing the lock and a good portion of the jamb. He pushed the battered door open.
He saw Itachi standing in the middle of the room, half in, half out of his shirt. Moonlight silvered the floor in patches, but most of the room was shrouded in darkness. Itachi's eyes glowed like embers.
"So," Gaara said conversationally as he closed the door behind himself. The thing didn't shut completely, broken as it was. "How long is this going to keep up?"
"Get out."
"Get out? I helped pay for this place, this is our house, our room. How long am I expected to sleep on the couch while you engage in self-pity?"
"I said get out! You have no idea what I'm going through."
"Don't I? Did you forget that I lost my brother, too? I loved him, Itachi, it hurt me. You were there for me, you helped me. Why can't I be there for you? Why are you pushing me and everyone else away? It's not just me who needs you, your kids need their father, Itachi."
Itachi had gone still, listening, or so Gaara hoped. Gaara took a step closer, holding a hand out to the man he loved.
"Talk to me, Itachi. It will help, I promise."
"I don't want help. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want the pain to go away. It's all I have left of him. The more it hurts the closer I feel…to him. He's gone," Itachi was crying now. "He's gone, I lost him, I didn't protect him…but while my heart bleeds for him, I feel like he's here. Don't," Itachi seemed to choke for a moment. "Don't take that away from me."
Gaara had to bite his lips to keep from crying himself. His eyes blurred, anyway. To know that Itachi was deliberately flogging himself with guilt and memories of Sasuke to keep the pain fresh! He swallowed so that he could speak.
"I can't help you, then. And I obviously mean nothing to you. No one means anything to you, only your dead brother. You have twelve kids who love and need you. Well…fine. I'm gone. I'm leaving, Itachi. Does that mean anything to you?"
Itachi looked at Gaara. Then he turned his back on him. Gaara's face screwed up in his own pain for a moment.
"Okay. I see that it doesn't. I'll leave in the morning. If you change your mind about wanting me in your life, you have until then to convince me. But come the morning I am gone and I'm taking your kids with me. They'll be better off with someone who's actually alive."
Itachi had turned his head slightly toward Gaara at the mention of his kids…but he didn't protest. Gaara spat at him in disgust.
Gaara spent the night on the couch as he'd been doing for the past few months; Itachi wouldn't allow any intimacy. He didn't even let Gaara sleep in the same room with him. Gaara didn't sleep. Every sound had his nerves winding tighter and tighter, hoping it was Itachi coming down the stairs. He entertained wild fantasies during the night of Itachi throwing himself at Gaara's feet, begging him not to leave, of Itachi saying he loved him, that he couldn't live without him.
The sun came up. Itachi did not come down. Gaara, who had his and the children's things packed already, left with them before midday. The kids did not complain and Gaara did not look back.
In an upstairs window, Itachi watched them leave. He placed a finger on the window pane, tracing Gaara's form through the glass.
Raiden sat in the car, his seat belt fastened, looking out the window at passing strangers. Wyatt sat miserably in his booster seat next to him, Chris in his car seat on the other side of Wyatt.
"I'm sorry," Wyatt spoke tearfully.
"No, you're not," Raiden answered without looking around.
"I hope you boys aren't fighting," Victor said over his shoulder.
Wyatt had to work at not crying. He knew he was older than Raiden at two years old, but Raiden was a good head taller, making Wyatt feel as if his friend were the older one. Especially since Raiden was so smart. He hated crying in front of him, it only made him feel younger.
Raiden ignored the sniffles. He was trying to remember his past, something, anything. All he got for his troubles was a headache. Back at Victor's apartment he ate his lunch in silence. Wyatt kept sneaking looks at him.
"Time for your nap, boys!"
Raiden rolled his eyes. He hated naps, but this family insisted on them. Wyatt and Chris seemed to actually need them. To Raiden they were a colossal waste of time. He did not feel tired at all. As a matter of fact he routinely felt as if he were capable of much more than the idle lifestyle he lived now. Once he'd tripped and fallen down the stairs, tumbling head over heels. The sisters had shrieked and rushed to his side, patting him, rubbing him, cuddling and snuggling him. He hadn't been hurt at all and couldn't understand what their problem was.
Wyatt and Chris were put down in the playpen. Raiden was tucked in on the couch. The two Halliwell boys dropped off almost at once. Raiden closed his eyes and pretended to sleep as he usually did. He tried hard to remember something about himself.
For a wonder, he fell asleep.
Minato and Naruto grit their teeth and squinted at the maelstrom of chakra that whipped through the interior of Kyuubi's mind now. It had started almost as soon as he'd left after speaking to Naruto. The two blond men had to retreat deeper inside the cave going to the back where there was some protection from the flaming, wildly turbulent chakra.
"What's happening?" Naruto asked shakily when he was able to speak. He gazed toward the entrance of the cage where the chakra was a living embodiment of devastation.
"This is his normal state of being," Minato said. "He's regained control of himself."
Naruto had been looking at the chakra visible in the distance. Now he looked at his father. "Why did you seal him in me? Why did you do that to me, dad?"
"To combat Madara. To give you a chance to kill him. He's very powerful, Naruto, more powerful than any ordinary ninja."
"Yeah, well, I don't think your plan would have worked. I don't think I can beat him. I think only Raiden can. Their powers are similar. At least, one of Raiden's powers is similar."
Minato stared at his son thoughtfully. "You agreed to let Kyuubi go if you were able to save Sasuke." He said the name deliberately. Naruto flinched horribly, hunching his shoulders and gasping…but he looked at his father.
"Yeah. I did."
"Why? If Sasuke lived, wouldn't you want to be with him? Releasing Kyuubi is no small matter, Naruto. I can only imagine what the Nine-Tails is doing now."
Naruto turned away from his dad to stare at the wall, his hands on his hips. Sasuke's name was a knife to his jugular. God. God, please. He took a breath.
"Yeah, well. I had a back up plan. If …he…was saved, then he could put Kyuubi back. He has that power as I'm sure Madara had. Or has. I'm sure Madara has no idea Kyuubi is released or he would have been controlling him all this time."
Minato raised his eyebrows, impressed. So his son had had a plan in place even in that desperate situation? He moved to stand by his son, curious. "Do you have a plan now?"
Naruto glanced sideways at his dad. They were roughly the same height. His dad was maybe an inch taller. Definitely slimmer. "Maybe. It would need Raiden, though. That's the only thing that can control Kyuubi besides Sharingan. More like Kyuubi's feelings for Raiden control him. But I can't reach him."
The Fourth repressed his smile of admiration. His son did have a plan. He was damned proud of his kid. "And…why would you reach him? Do you want out of this place, Naruto? I thought you said you wanted to die."
"I do want to die. But I want to be there for my son more. Kyuubi is right, I am a selfish fuck."
"I believe the word he used was 'gnat'."
"He…," Naruto pounded his fist against the wall, bent his head, grit his teeth. "Sasuke. Sasuke…wouldn't have wanted me like this. I won't be okay, ever, not ever again. But I can live for our son."
"I see. How do we get in touch with Raiden?"
"We?"
"Yes. We need to get you out of here. Can you exert any force over Kyuubi?"
Naruto seemed to try. "No. It's like trying to move a mountain outside of Sage mode."
"Then Raiden it is. What do you think the boy will do?"
"I don't know. Kyuubi says he's a wealth of untapped power, so maybe he can do something. You know what, none of it matters because I can't reach him."
"Why not?"
"Because he's too far away! He off behind God's back somewhere. I've tried reaching him when he was gone before…it was awful."
"But space means nothing in these kinds of situations."
Naruto turned fully to his father. "What do you mean?"
"You're not traveling the distance physically, so don't think of your mind as traveling the distance to reach Raiden. Only visualize the boy, your son and send your mind to him. To Raiden, not through space."
Naruto cocked his head, considering. "Okay. I'll try." His father smiled encouragingly.
"Good. Here, sit down." He and Naruto sat facing each other, cross-legged. "Close your eyes. Empty your mind of everything but Raiden. How he looks. How he sounds. What he smells like. How it feels when he's near you, your love for him. Call forth his image as completely as you can." Minato watched Naruto's intent face, his voice low and soothing.
"Have you got the image?" Yondaime asked.
"…Yes…"
"Now send your mind directly to that image, as if he were right in front of you. Put some force behind your sending, son. Reach him, let nothing stop you."
Naruto frowned in concentration. He called up Raiden's image in its entirety. He gathered his mind and launched it at this image with all the force he could muster. A small grunt escaped him at the effort.
"Uzumaki Raiden," Naruto thought. "You come home right this second!"
Raiden was sleeping deeply, dreamlessly, when the words crashed so loudly through his skull that he woke up with a start. He sat up as if catapulted from a canon, his eyes wide. Uzumaki Raiden, he thought incoherently. I'm Uzumaki Raiden.
The image of a big blond man had accompanied that message. The blue eyes, the voice…my daddy!
Raiden suddenly remembered everything. His daddy had been about to be killed, he, Raiden was on a mission to save his daddies, to prevent death and here he was wasting time!
Anger descended on Raiden as he stood up. Chakra exploded off of him, waking up Wyatt and Chris and bringing Victor running. They all stared in fear at the little boy who had purple lightning and streaks of fire curling around him. Wyatt threw his shield around him and Chris as Victor lunged for the phone.
Raiden Boomed so hard the couch snapped in two.
Wyatt, Chris and Victor stared for a moment as displaced wind blew their hair about. Then Victor finished punching in Piper's cell number.
Raiden landed where he felt his Daddy…except his daddy was nowhere around. He was in mountainous territory and in the distance he could see…
"Oh no," Raiden gasped softly. Big Fox Daddy was there, maybe a mile or two away. He was currently ripping up the ground, bodies flying everywhere. Raiden could see him clearly from this distance, see all of him. "Daddy," he whispered. The big head swung towards him, eyes wide and eager. The large teeth were exposed in a feral grin.
Kitling!
Where's my daddy?
Here…with me. You may see him if you wish, but I am in control now.
…Show me…
Raiden felt Big Fox enter his mind. He felt slightly dizzy from the experience…and then he was in some big, wet room with a huge gate in front of him. A seal held the doors shut. Raiden looked around curiously as the orange chakra swirled all around him, over him. It made seeing anything a little difficult. "Daddy? Are you here?"
Naruto and Minato ran forward. Naruto knelt so he was on eye level with Raiden, grabbing the bars as he pressed his face to them. "Raiden. Thank God you're alright. Where have you been all this time?"
Raiden looked from his father to the other man who looked like him, but different. Then he looked back at his daddy. He looked …older. Like something had hurt him bad, like he was broken in some place. Raiden's eyes ran over his daddy's body looking for the injury as he answered.
"I was…on Wyatt's world. They did something to me, took my memory."
Naruto gripped the bars tighter. "Did they hurt you?"
He's seeing me but his eyes look weird…like I'm not really in front of him, Raiden thought. "No. They were good to me."
"Okay, son. You're here now and that's all that matters. Raiden, we need you to do something for us."
"Daddy, who is that?"
"This," Naruto said as he turned to look up at Minato, "is your grandfather. My dad. The Fourth Hokage."
Raiden stared up at him with bright interest, suddenly smiling. "But you said he's dead, Daddy! And here he is, oh, Grandpa how did you do it? How did you beat death?!" Raiden grabbed the bars now, too, eager to hear the answer to his mission at last.
Minato liked this child his son had created. He smiled at him as he bent down to look into the round eyes. "I didn't. I left an imprint of myself on Naruto's mind when he was a baby. I was to come out if the seal were ever in danger of breaking."
"I guess it broke since you're here and Fox Daddy is out. You're still dead then?" Raiden asked sadly.
Minato nodded.
Raiden looked at his daddy thoughtfully. Naruto braced himself, seeing the questions coming. "Daddy, why are you here? Can't you get out?"
"No, I can't. I need you to put Kyuubi back in here where he belongs," Naruto said as he ignored the first question.
"Put him back? How?"
Minato spoke up. "I can repair the seal if Kyuubi were put back inside this cage. But I can't put him in myself, nor can your dad here. You'd have to take control of Kyuubi's mind in order to do it."
"Take over Fox Daddy's mind?! I can't do that!" Raiden was shocked at the idea. Fox Daddy's mind was way too big for him to control. Raiden had never controlled so much as a fly.
"Please, Raiden, just try?" Naruto begged.
"Okay," Raiden said doubtfully. He screwed up his face.
How did one control another or take over their mind? Wasn't that like Genjutsu? Something he sucked at? Raiden concentrated.
Minato watched the black chakra build and swirl, combating the orange chakra he stood in. The black swelled until it filled the place, until no orange could be seen. Naruto stood up, a smile starting to spread.
Suddenly Kyuubi was there, standing behind Raiden. He lowered his head to the startled boy. Raiden wasn't even as big as Kyuubi's nose.
"What do you think you're doing, kitling?!"
"Uhh, trying to put you back?"
"You do not have that power. Only a full-blooded Uchiha wielding Sharingan has that power. Or a Senju like Hashirama. You are neither." Kyuubi snarled a grin and was gone.
Raiden turned back to his daddy and grandpa with a shrug. "Told you," he said glumly. Then he perked up. "Papa! I can just go get Papa and he'll fix everything."
Naruto's head fell against the bars, his eyes closed. Minato laid a hand on his son's shoulder.
"No, Raiden. You can't." Naruto's voice was barely audible.
"Why not? I need to go to him anyway, who's going to take care of me while you're in here?"
"Raiden," Naruto began.
"And I don't know why Papa isn't here anyway. You guys are always together. Remember when you guys used to always do that boring thi-"
"He's dead, Raiden! Oh, God. He's dead, your Papa's dead, and he's not coming back." Naruto seemed to be having trouble breathing. He gasped as Minato rubbed his shoulder in sympathy.
Raiden stood rooted to the spot, his chakra dying away completely. Had Naruto picked his head up then, he would have seen the same look on Raiden's face that Sasuke had seen before he'd been taken by Madara.
Minato did see it though. He surveyed the whitened features, the darkened eyes, the blatant rage with keen interest.
They'd killed his Papa. His Papa was dead while he was living with Wyatt and his lying, memory-stealing family. Dead. Dead. His Papa was dead and gone and his Daddy was trapped inside Big Fox.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Not coming back. Ever. Dead.
Raiden turned and screamed as loudly as he could, chakra blasting out of him so that his father and grandfather were blown backward, the orange chakra obliterated.
Kyuubi had halted his killing spree while listening to the conversation in his mind. Now he whined shrilly as he felt like his head exploded. Blood gushed from his nose as his tails wilted and tucked between his legs. Kyuubi howled in misery.
Two miles away where Raiden stood, mentally communicating with his father and Kyuubi, the boy opened his eyes. They were red, with vertical pupils but he did not complete the transformation. Only his fangs and claws were evident.
Raiden Boomed.
Paige paced up and down at Victor's. "This is such bad timing."
"Tell me about it," Piper said. She held a crying Wyatt, trying to console him. "Zankou just took control of our house, The Book of Shadows…now Raiden has gone."
"Oh, honey, don't feel bad," Phoebe consoled. "He was never really ours to begin with. We need to focus on getting the manor back before Zankou uses the Shadow."
"I know," Piper said miserably. "It's just…I thought he liked being with us. I mean look at Wyatt, he's devastated."
Paige stopped pacing. "Alright enough. We need to get to Magic School and think of a plan. Let's leave the boys h-"
A loud clap of thunder had them all screaming, but Wyatt stopped his tears and scrambled out of his mother's arms. He stood next to the swelling black sphere of energy.
Raiden appeared. He looked at the three women, at Victor and then finally at Wyatt, who stood next to him. The adults gasped at the changed eyes, the fangs.
"My Papa is dead. I'm going to bring him back and you people are going to help me," Raiden declared.
Piper righted herself. "Oh, no you don't, young man. You don't give me orders. You-"
Raiden made a brushing away motion as he folded Piper to someplace that wasn't in the vicinity. Paige and Phoebe stifled screams. Wyatt looked on fearfully. Victor muttered something, but those red eyes turned in his direction and he shut up as he sank into a chair.
"Wyatt said you can bring back the dead if you go back in time," Raiden said to Paige and Phoebe's frightened faces.
Wyatt laid a hand on Raiden's arm. Actually I said they used a spell and I don't think they can do it on your world. And nobody can be brought back from all- the- way- dead.
So you're talking to me now?
I'm sorry about your Papa. But I don't think they can help you.
Wyatt didn't answer him. He looked at the two remaining sisters. Paige was the first to recover her voice.
"Where have you sent Piper, you little brat?"
Phoebe nudged Paige without taking her eyes off of Raiden. "Try sensing her."
"Oh, right," Paige said. She closed her eyes. She snapped them open again a second later. "Antarctica?! You sent Piper to Antarctica, you little-"
"Well, hurry and go get her before she dies of hypothermia," Phoebe screeched. Paige orbed, her mutinous face glaring at Raiden. Raiden couldn't care less. He was still waiting for an answer. Phoebe came to sit in front of him.
"Oh, Raiden, sweety. We can't alter the natural order of things like that. We reverse deaths sometimes, but only in the case of ourselves not other people…not usually. And your Papa is on a whole other world, I don't think we can help you." She stroked Raiden' s face gently.
Raiden turned from her and skewered Wyatt with his gaze. Wyatt flinched. "It's you then, just like I knew it always would be. You are going to help me, Wyatt Halliwell."
Wyatt nodded, eager to prove his loyalty to his best friend.
"Show me that witch you said could bring back the dead," Raiden said.
But she was in the TV. I'd have to find that show in order to conjure her.
Then do it!
Victor doesn't have a TV.
So we go to your house, what is the problem?!
I can't enter there, evil has control of the manor. Wyatt wrung his hands miserably, hating to fail Raiden when he was so angry.
Raiden turned to Phoebe. "Why can't you people go into your own house with demons in it? They've been in your house before with you there."
"Oh, well see, my sisters and I have been careless, we're sort of divided at the moment. That allowed Zankou to take control of the Book of Shadows and so the manor belongs to evil now. No good being can enter there."
Raiden stared at her. "Are you serious? I need to get in there with Wyatt. No demon is going to stop me." And before Phoebe could protest he folded the three of them to the manor porch.
"Oh, my God," Phoebe staggered. "Look, Raiden, honey, you can't-"
Raiden held up his hand towards the door. A blast of wind had the door crashing inward and Raiden calmly followed. Phoebe and Wyatt watched from the ruined doorway as Raiden sent black balls of energy swirling with fire and lighting at every demon he came into contact with. Raiden went up stairs. Yells and curses could be heard. Explosions sounded. Furniture crashed.
Raiden appeared next to them, startling Phoebe badly. "It's done. Is this your book?" he held the Book of Shadows out to her.
Phoebe noted that Wyatt had entered the house. That meant the manor was on the side of good again. Which meant the Book was and if Raiden was holding it…
"You really aren't evil, are you," Phoebe said wonderingly as she took the book. "How'd you enter the manor with all those demons, then?"
Raiden ignored her. He went into the house after Wyatt. The other boy was in the solar, the TV on, telepathically flipping through the channels. Raiden watched. Phoebe came in and sat down on the couch watching the two boys.
It's not here, the show's not on!
Now what? Ask your aunt if she knows the show, I need that witch, Wyatt!
I can't talk to her like that.
Fine, give me her image.
Raiden looked at Phoebe who cautiously looked back.
"Phoebe," Raiden said. "I need to find someone. I'm going to show you a picture of her." He nodded at Wyatt.
Raiden received the image Wyatt sent to his mind and sent it to Phoebe, trying to be as gentle as he could.
Phoebe still flew backward against the couch cushions as the image of the woman danced in her mind. Raiden eased up. Phoebe gasped, opening her eyes to stare blankly at the ceiling for several moments.
"That is impossible," Phoebe panted when she could speak. "She's a fictional character."
"I've seen you and your sisters deal with fictional characters, people from books, people you made. Help me. Where can I find her?" Raiden was desperate. His daddy's wounded eyes kept haunting him. Raiden had to fix this at all costs.
"You have a point there," Phoebe conceded as she sat up. "I guess, if the show isn't on right now, you might find it on DVD. At the video store."
Raiden turned to his friend. "Wyatt, take us there."
Wyatt orbed them to the place where they rented Barney videos for him and Chris.
"Well," Naruto said when he'd regained consciousness. "That went well."
Minato was also picking himself up from where he'd landed, deeper in the cage. He rubbed his head, finding the fact that he was corporal very interesting. Well maybe not corporeal, but able to feel pain. He paused, listening.
Naruto was listening as well. Kyuubi was howling bloody murder. Naruto managed a smirk. Raiden had fucked up Kyuubi's head some kind of way. That sort of made him feel good.
"What is the nature of the boy's powers?" Minato asked.
It was a tough question. Naruto answered to the best of his abilities.
"Had you told me that before, I would have told you the kid couldn't put Kyuubi back," Minato said wryly.
"Why's that?"
"His are physical powers, purely Ninjutsu. Much like yourself. He'd have stood a better chance knocking Kyuubi senseless than controlling his mind."
"Hey, that's an idea! Lemme call him back so he can-"
"Absolutely not. He'd end up ripping this world apart, going head to head with Kyuubi. The boy is too powerful to let him use his powers without careful supervision." Minato eyed Naruto sternly.
"You really think Raiden could rip the world apart?"
"Without trying," Minato said quietly. "Good luck raising him."
"Gee, thanks dad. Well, he's gone again. Boomed. I can sense it. Damn. He…seemed upset. I wish I knew what he was up to."
Minato snorted. "Seemed upset? Kyuubi might never recover from whatever snit Raiden was in that caused him to do what he did. Wherever he is, let's hope he is alright."
"Yeah, it's just…I'll probably be stuck in here forever. With you."
"That's a distinct possibility. Do you mind?"
Naruto smiled wanly.
Wyatt, Phoebe and Raiden made it back to the manor. Phoebe held the DVD in one hand as she cued the DVD player. Wyatt turned on the TV.
Paige and Piper orbed into the solar just then, coated with ice and shivering uncontrollably. The boys and Phoebe turned to look at them.
"You are in big trouble, little boy," Piper said to Raiden. Her teeth were chattering so bad that the words were nearly unintelligible. Paige merely stood in one spot, shaking like a leaf. Her hair was frozen in stiff spikes.
Raiden conjured a ball of fire in his hand. The sisters squealed, drawing together. Raiden stretched the ball until it spanned from one hand to the other and threw it at the women. Wyatt watched as the fire turned into a fiery ring that swept around the two sisters, enveloping them in deep heat without touching them or the floor. Paige and Piper sighed orgasmically as they thawed. Phoebe, sitting on the floor in front of the TV, clapped her hands in approval.
Raiden motioned to her. Phoebe turned back to the TV and put the DVD in the player. The FBI warning came on, then the disc menu. Wyatt flipped through the episodes telepathically, searching for a scene that had the witch in it.
"There," Raiden said excitedly. "There she is!"
Wyatt stopped the DVD, freezing the scene while he concentrated. The woman on the screen swelled from the TV, emerging head first until she stood in the solar, looking around curiously. She turned and saw the two little boys.
"Oh, hi, there," Willow Rosenberg said pleasantly.