Dear Readers,
First, let me express my gratitude for your taking an interest in this tale. Thank you so very much! Secondly, my co-authors agree that it would be boring to send our group to any of their original worlds justyet. For the sake of practice, we are first sending them to a story we each know pretty well. We've sent them to the world of an anime/manga called "Elfin Lied". Reference for you purists out there, we're basing this particular misadventure off of the Elfin Lied manga (which Lord Itami insists is the "true cannon").
Now without further adu, I'm going to get to the story now. My co-authors appreciate your feedback more than I do, and that's really saying somthing!
Enjoy!
-Lord Shadus
Chapter One
The sun is shining, glinting off of the early morning dew covering plant life for miles. A small field of grass surrounded on all sides by trees shines like a sea of crystal as the light slowly creeps across the ground. A small bunny hops from the tree line, and munches on some grass. It freezes when it notices two figures lying in the grass, unconscious.
The first figure is ghostly pale, and has hair so short that he's almost bald. He wears pants, boots, and straps of fabric across a scarred torso. His forearms are wrapped, and two strange cylinders of metal hang from his belt.
Next to him two purple eyes pop open. Black rings radiate from the pupils like rippling water, darting around as a man's face slowly rises from the dirt. Spitting out some twigs, he brushes his long, dark red hair from his pale face and stands up fully erect, a black collared cloak flapping in the wind.
Next to them a teal gem shines in rays of the sun. A man's face approaches out of the shadow of a tree revealing a very muscular man with white hair wearing a black over coat with a red under side. "Shit, where am I?" he said rubbing his head.
Suddenly the first man's eyes snap open, and he leaps into the air. He lands in a crouch, one of the cylinders in hand, staring intently at the other two.
The red-haired man's eyes widen, one eyebrow raising slightly. "Damn, you're fast... and your chakras are massive... Are you a shinobi?
Staring at the characters before him the white haired man folds his arms in puzzlement. "What the hell are talking about red head? And you crouching. You seem pretty fast, what are you," he says rudely. Itching for answers he pounds fist against his open hand.
The first man eyes the other two; while one seems aggressive, neither seem prepared to attack. Should he be wrong, The Force will warn him of danger. Slowly he straightens his stance, and clips his weapon back to his belt, "My name is Starkiller, and I am a Jedi." Starkiller looks around him, "Am I on Naboo? The plant-life is very similar."
The red-haired man smiles, with a pugnacious expression spreading across his face. " Nice to meet you, uh... 'Star killer'. My name is Nagato, and I am a shinobi! I'm not sure where the hell we are, though... Hm. There are buildings over there to the south... a village, perhaps. Now I'm not familiar with the village of Naboo, what country is it in?"
The white-haired man scratches his head, "Well I'm sure as hell not where I'm supposed to be, because it's not a wasteland. So just where the fuck am I?"
Starkiller eyes the other two curiously. Naboo is a planet, and a well-known one at that. If these two don't now of it, then it is possible that this planet is not a part of the New Republic, or the Empire. Very curious indeed.
"It doesn't matter," he says, walking towards the other two. "It's nice to meet you, Nagato." He turns to the other, "I don't think you told us your name."
"The name's Adam Blade," Adam grins cockily.
"Nice to meet you, Blade-san!". Nagato turns, glancing at the white-haired man, and smiles. "You seem like a wise person, Starkiller. Do you think we should go to that city over there and get some information?" His expression darkened. "I think it's obvious that we are from very different places. You have strange chakras, and I feel the universe itself tugging it, as if you are in sync with nature... Damn, I have so many questions! Are you a sage? And I'll ask you again, where is Naboo? Is it... another world?"
Starkiller hesitates, "There will be time to talk later, right now we have to take care of ourselves first." Starkiller stares at the city, deep in thought, "I need a moment..."
Starkiller sits cross-legged in the grass, and closes his eyes in meditation. For about a minute nothing happens, and then the dew on the grass begins to float in the air. A few small rocks, and sticks rise up, and begin to slowly drift aimlessly in the clearing.
"What the fuck?!" Adam whips his head around at the floating stuff.
Nagato's eyes popped open so wide you could almost see all four black concentric circles that spread across the front of his sclera. He spoke to Adam without looking at him. "He's... somehow merging his own inner chakras with the natural chakras around us. This seems to be an incredibly high level jutsu... he must be trying to sense the whole planet's life force, or something..."
Blade looks at Nagato, "So basically he is becoming one with earth or something."
Before Nagato can say anything in response, the objects drop to the ground, and Starkiller opens his eyes. He stands, and turns his gaze to the city, "I looked into the future, and I think I know how to find the answers we want." He points to the city, "Somewhere in there is a girl with long, pink hair. The Force would not have shown her to me if she's not going to be a part of our future."
Starkiller turns to his new companions, "How fast can you two run?"
Nagato clasps his hands together as if in prayer. As a strange whirring noise starts to sound, Nagato's shoulders spread wider and wider as his skin started to break apart and a bright silver material extended from his back. Two prisms of sectioned metal had formed from his body, and suddenly blasts of white-blue light exploded from them. Dust and debris erupt behind him, totally engulfing the other two men. Off in the distance, he can already be seen exiting the forest toward the city.
Starkiller force-pushes the debris off of himself, and Blade before reaching out with the Force to dash after Nagato. Starkiller stops in front of Nagato, and forces him to the ground, "Stop! There's more! We need to be discreet from here on because the girl in my vision had horns. For all we know, everyone in this world has horns, and we'll stick out like sore thumbs!"
Another slightly mischievous smile found its way across Nagato's long, pale face. "I was planning on making myself undetectable and surveying the village a bit." The smile became a bit sheepish. "I should have explained. I can make myself totally invisible and impossible to sense. I can extend this power to you two as well, but you'll have to, uh... ride with me."
"Speed fragment." Shouted Blade from a distance. In an instant a blue blur approached the two men revealing the white haired priest. "Thanks for waiting up. But anyway what do you mean ride?"
"Let me show you." Nagato clasps his hands together once again and a puff of whirling smoke explodes behind him. The smoke quickly clears, revealing a massive dark green chameleon with a long, devilish horn sprouting from one side of its head. The other horn is clearly severed, wrapped to the base with bandages. It's tail is a long, two-headed snake with four blood red eyes and two flickering, dark blue tongues. Two small, bat like wings are stationed on it's back, though they are clearly too small to actually fly with. The same grayish-purple eyes that are in Nagato's head, with 4 black rings radiating from the pupil, are clearly visible on the chameleon as well. "If you guys jump into the chameleon's mouth with me, we will be able to move around completely undetected. The strongest sensor in the world can't detect this summon once he becomes invisible."
Starkiller blinks, kinda thrown for a loop. The only time he's set foot inside a creature was to kill a Bull Rancor from the inside, but to ride inside one...
"Well this is certainly a new one. As long as that bastard doesn't swallow I won't rip him a new one." said Adam stepping up to reptile.
Starkiller glances around at all of them, and sighs, "We're all in the same ship now, so I guess we have to trust each other." He points a finger a Nagato, "Fair warning, if this is some kind of trick, I will kill you, and your pet without mercy."
He steps into the mouth of the lizard, "Head for the beach, and make it fast. All I saw was her head, but there was definitely a beach in the background. She's wounded on the side of her head, so she may need us just as much as we need her."
"I hope you know what you're doing, since none of us have any idea who this chick is..." Nagato's expression is somewhat discouraged. "I've never actually seen a seer before- but from the fiction I've read, looking into the future so vaguely can often turn quite ugly. But if you trust me, I guess I trust you too. Let's go!"
The chameleon presses its feet into the ground, causing it to ripple and crack. A second later it is zooming full speed at the city. Suddenly, the chameleon makes a hard right and dirt explodes behind it. Balancing on the corner of a building, it presses forward and soars through the air toward the beach. Cars pass just 10 or so feet under, drivers unaware that there is a massive lizard containing three otherworldly heroes zooming over their heads. They approach a tunnel, and the lizard flips upside-down and crawls at blinding speed across the ceiling. The sparkling blue water of the ocean approaching, they exit the tunnel and slow down at the sand. Softly, they skid to the water, and a mouth appears in mid-air, all three heroes tucked uncomfortably on top of a massive purple tongue.
Starkiller wipes a dribble of saliva off his shoulder as he and Adam leave the mouth, "Hardly first-class, but it works."
"I swear to me if that lizard of yours takes me on ride like that again I'm gonna cut the other horn off." Blade said shaking his head. Looking opposite of the city Blade scans the beach left and right. "What the hell, I don't see anything."
Nagato, perched on top of the tongue, slides to the bottom and front flips off the tip, planting both feet into the sand and placing his hands on his hips as he lets out a loud bellowing laugh. His laughter fading, he turns toward the sea and starts to completely ignore the other two. A solemn expression takes over his face, and his eyes sadden. "Naruto... thank you for everything you have taught me. Now I know how I'm gonna bring peace to my world"
Suddenly his expression goes from sadness to extreme concern, and he brings his palms together again. "Konan.. I have to know..."
He closes his eyes, and for a few seconds is still. After a few more moments, his eyes open, and are as cold as if he were dead. He practically falls to the ground, and crosses his long legs, planting his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands. "Konan..."
"Little Boy!' Shouted Blade rushing at Nagato with flaming fist. "Don't mourn the dead you idiot-"
Starkiller grabs Adam's arm, and fixes him with a hard look. He then turns his gaze to Nagato, "Nagato, part of the Jedi code is that "There is no death, there is only the Force". I know it hurts you to have lost that someone, but they are not truly dead. They live on through those who still live, and that should be enough reason to keep moving forward."
Nagato's head swiftly rises with a flash of red and purple eyes and hair. "That would have been the last punch you ever landed, motherfucker." He stares with deadly intent. "...Gyahahaha! Just kidding. You should have seen the look on your face..."
Starkiller releases Adam's arm, "Sorry Blade, but that would have been a mistake. I sense that the Force is strong in him, and we cannot afford to fight each other right now."
Nagato looks up over Starkiller's shoulder. "H-hey! Guys cut it out! There's someone coming!"
They turn to see a pair of figures heading onto the beach, both about sixteen years old. One is a boy with short, black hair, and a white button-down shirt. The other is a girl who has short, brown hair, and wears a pink turtle-necked sweater with a dark purple dress over it.
"Well there's something interesting, actual people well I haven't seen a normal person since Cruz." He turned to Nagato and Starkiller and starts getting jittery. In his mind he expresses the desire to start a fight.
Starkiller can sense Adam's feelings, "Maybe later, Blade. But for right now we can't be detected..."
Starkiller walks up to the two new people, and waves a hand, "We're not important, you won't remember us."
A dreamy look comes over their features, and the boy says, "No offense, but you're not that important. We're gonna forget all about you."
Starkiller waves his hand again, "You don't feel like going to the beach today, and so you're going to leave."
The boy turns to the girl, "You know, I don't really feel like going to the beach today."
"Yeah, lets get out of here," she turns, and leaves the with the boy. Starkiller gives a satisfied nod, and turns back to his new comrades.
"Well now that is out of the way I feel like I can get some business I want out of the way." The air around Blade begins to chill considerably fast and the sand begins to freeze over.
For a moment the world feels like time is creeping a bit slower, a sense that danger is approaching. Starkiller leaps backwards in the sand, and draws his lightsabers. Lightning crackles up, and down his arms, "Blade, stop it! If you do this then no amount of Mind Tricks will keep us hidden."
Behind them In the sparkling blue water a flash of pink appears, slowly growing and waving about wildly. A youthful face appears, with wide, innocent eyes staring out from under the waters surface. Nagato, looking back and noticing this life force, does a hard back-flip and skids on one leg across the sand until he reaches the shore's edge. Reaching into the blue, he lifts a naked girl from the waters, her sopping pink hair stuck against her curled up body. He pulls off his cloak, and sets it over her. "Here... there you go. Hey! Starkiller, Adam, I found that-" Nagato's body suddenly lurches forward, and he doubles over, hitting the sand. His hands, as if against his own will, started to clasp together, shaking as he tries to pull them apart. "Fuck... Kotoamatsukami... this power... I can't resist it... RINNE TENSEI NO JUTSU!" Nagato's hair instantly becomes paper white, and his body starts to degrade as if he is aging rapidly. Within a few moments, he is totally emaciated, unable to even stand on his own legs. A bright blue light shoots from his eyes and mouth as his body starts to tear apart piece by piece, layers of his being flying off and rearranging. He lets out a pained scream.
Starkiller jolts as he senses a strong disturbance in the Force, right where Nagato stands. He makes the mistake of glancing in his direction.
"Where the hell are you looking you idiot." Adam points an open at Starkiller and positions his feet for sturdy footing. "Fourth Wave!" He shouts before a massive beam of fire shoots from his palm. "Let's see you do something about this."
Starkiller senses the fireball, and sends a massive Force-Push to intercept it. The two collide, and the explosion leaves a deep crater in the sand between them.
"This is your last warning, Adam," Starkiller glares at him. "Nagato is in trouble, and we still can't afford to draw attention to ourselves!"
Nagato screams again, this time even more anguished. "Run away, you fucking idiots! You have no idea the power that is about to be manifested-"
"Silence." Out of nowhere, a hand appears on Nagato's head. A man dressed in a black cloak, like Nagato's, looms over him. "Amazing... you are still alive after reviving me. And your body's still somewhat intact, too... there we go." The man wears red samurai armor over his cloak, a large breastplate with two massive red shoulder pauldrons, and three thick plates hanging from his waist. His hair is blue-black, spiked up in the back, flowing down to his waist. He raises his hand, and Nagato's soul is ripped from his body, a long, disappearing into thin air. Slowly looking back not even bothering to fully turn around, he glances disdainfully at the other two men. "What have we here? Some children playing a game?"
"If you wish for a quieter attack then here it comes. Dean Drive Black Bird!" In an instant Blade was behind Starkiller and was about to release a barrage of fists at Mach 3 speed; but his eye drifted, and ended up catching sight of this new stranger that had appeared.
Starkiller, who had been prepared to blast Adam away with a wave of Force energy, follows his gaze. His eyes widen at the new figure, and his gaze drifts down to Nagato's body on the ground. Starkiller can't feel him anymore.
"Blade... He just killed Nagato."
The man turns around. His baggy eyes are blood red, a single black ring surrounds his pupil. On this ring there are three black commas, circling around the pupil. "My name is Madara Uchiha. And if you two want to dance, then you're going to dance with me!" With a flicker, he appears behind Adam and grabs his shoulder, spinning rapidly. He lets go, sending him flying over the water. Within half a second he is in midair behind Adam and roundhouse kicks him in the back, sending him flying directly at Starkiller. Gently, he falls back to the water and stands on its surface, as if it were solid ground.
Starkiller uses the Force to grip Adam, and gently lower him to the ground, "Adam, he feels almost just like Nagato, but much stronger."
Starkiller steps in front of Adam, and sheathes his lightsabers, "Madara, in case you hadn't noticed, this isn't your home-world. None of us belong here, and our best chance of getting back home isn't killing each other."
"How... formal." Madara frowns. "I prefer being called by sama from whelps like you."
"You have some brass ones talking all high mighty like that. And what the hell have you done with Nagato?!" Adam winced in pain remembering the round house he just received. Then his focus begins shifting towards the girl lying on the sand.
"Nagato served his purpose, one way or another. And that was to revive me. I'm amazed that he was aware he was even under the spell... that should have been impossible." A ghost of an arrogant smile appeared on Madara's face. "Don't worry, child. I won't kill either of you worms... I simply want to test you merit." Madara put his hands together and with a puff of smoke, a large fan appears in his hand. It's solid, non-folding fan, cream-colored with two comma patterns on either sides like Madara's eyes. Shaped like a gourd but flat, it is roughly the size of his torso, and surrounded with a black outline. "I just want to gauge your power, boy. So prepare yourself!" He blasts through the water then the sand directly at Starkiller, spinning the fan with both hands like a massive baton.
Starkiller creates a wave of Force energy to counteract the attack, and calls to Blade from over his shoulder, "I'll keep him busy, get the girl out of here. I'll find you two later!"
Not waiting for a response, Starkiller charges Madara, drawing his lightsabers once more. He has a feeling that this fight must be won at close quarters.
"Magnetic World!" Blade points an open towards the girl and blue aura form around his hand and the girl. In an instant the girl's body flew in the direction of Blade. As He caught her body, he ran off in the opposite direction of Starkiller and Madara. "Don't you dare have too much fun without me."
Madara appears in front of Adam, who is still lunging forward and looking back at Starkiller. He smashes into Madara's chest plate, stumbling back and holding his face. Madara makes a simple hand seal and the ground breaks apart. Thick, dark brown trees sprout from the ground and gently wrap around the girl, carrying her to the side of the beach. Madara makes a few more signs with his hands, and large planks of wood grow out of the branches and form a massive ball around her. "Now can we have some fun?"
Starkiller leaps through the air, and slashes a saber fast enough to graze Madara's chest-plate. He thrusts a hand, and the wooden restraints shatter, "Stop playing around, Blade. Get her out of here so I can get serious!" Starkiller crosses his arms over his chest, the crimson blades of his lightsabers illuminating his face in the early morning light.
His crimson eyes widening in excitement, Madara blinks and they turn a grayish-purple, circles moving out from his pupils. He swings his fan and catches Starkiller's lightsabers, sparks flying as they clash with a screeching hiss. Starkiller skids backward a few feet through the sand, and Madara wastes no time in making another hand seal. "If shes distracting you guys from both taking me on at once... human summoning technique!" The girl disappears in a puff of smoke.
Starkiller flips away from Madara, and lays a hand on Blade. Immediately all pain disappears, "He wants a fight, Adam. What do you think?"
"Well since has a pair brass ones to try and get in my and fight me I guess I'll have some fun. Power Fragment on." Blade cracks his each individual knuckle on his fingers. In an instant the sand freeze's over up to the water edge. "This is going to be fun."
Looking down at the scratch on his chest-plate, Madara's brow furrows. "Maybe you do have a little bit of power, eh?" He rapidly smacks his hands together in a flurry of seals. "Mokuton no Jutsu! Deep forest emergence!" Massive tree trunks erupt from the ground shattering the frozen sand, rapidly growing toward Starkiller and Adam. The trees engulf the entire beach, surrounding the other two men in a huge forest. Madara backflips and lands on a titanic trunk. "Let's make some coal then, shall we? Katon no jutsu: Magnificent Flame Destruction!" Blowing on his fingers, he spews a massive stream of flame, engulfing most of the forest. Massive pieces of charred wood fall toward Starkiller and Adam as the forest begins to burn down around them.
Starkiller pushes out a wave of Force energy, sending the charred pieces flying away, and extinguishing most of the fires nearby.
"A cheap trick," Starkiller taunts, though this use of the Force is new to him. But he doesn't let himself become afraid, fear has killed thousands of Jedi over the Eons. He closes his eyes, and lightning crackles down his arms again. He channels it into his lightsabers, and the result is breathtaking. They grow twice as long in length, and the blades hiss with red lightning. When Starkiller opens his eyes there are flecks of gold in them.
He whirls his blades in a flurry of motion, and decimates the trees closest to him. He grips the remains with the Force, and hurls the car-sized logs at Madara.
Quickly reacting to the log flung at Madara, Blade seized the opportunity to for a magnetic barrier around Starkiller in preparation for launch. "Get ready. You're going in after the log" he says in a way only Starkiller can hear. "We're going to need to close this gap if we have any chance." In a short second Starkiller was propelled a good distance directly behind the log to the point of being hidden.
Madara chuckles. "Not enough! Compared to a real fight to the death, this is nothing but a game!"
He rushes forward, pressing together his fingers again. "Dragon flame release song!" He blows on his fingertips, releasing a fire blast that shapes itself into a dragon's head. The dragon blasts through the log, reducing it to ash.
Starkiller continues to approach the dust cloud, and suddenly Madara emerges from it and grabs him. Reaching out, he begins to grab Starkiller's lightsaber. With a harsh, hissing squeal, the lightsabers start to deform, as a half-moon of light appears around Madara's body. The light sucks away the crackling lightning-infused energy, sparks flying as the energy spirals away. Within a few moments, both sabers have become nothing but handles.
Starkiller glances at his sabers before hooking them back to his belt, and he grips Madara with the Force. He lifts him into the air, and smashes him face-first into the wood at their feet.
"Now listen..." SMASH! "Very..." SMASH! "Carefully..." SMASH!
Starkiller lifts him into the air again, and pins him splayed to a tree, "That girl is important to us three if we're going to get home. And while you're playing your childish games, she's bleeding out wherever you sent her."
The calm in Starkiller's voice starkly contrasts with the raw fury in his eyes, "Give me a chance to heal her, and after I'm sure she's safe I'll fight you to the death if that's what you want..."
"I dont think you understand..."
Madara's expression did not reflect his situation.
"You cannot hold me with this power, don't you see?"
Once again, the sphere of light begins to appear around Madara. He falls to the ground, causing it to quake slightly. He raises his fan, and a burst of energy surges forward and knocks Starkiller off his feet, causing him to fall to the sand. Madara appears in front of him, blasting sand all around them.
"Graviton!" Adam Gives off a thumbs down towards Madara's fan. A red glow forms around the weapon increasing its weight thousand times it normal weight. In mere seconds Adam closes the gap between him and Madara. His fist a blaze, even hotter than first time, Blade throws a heavy punch to Madara.
Madara winces. Quickly realizing that his gunbai fan has become insanely heavy, he grudgingly swings it. Just barley, the tip collides with Adams stomach. The incredible gravity of the thing knocks the wind out of Adam and sends him flying back. "You're a durable one, aren't you?"
Madara throws the gunbai, and it lands on Adam with a loud thud. Slapping together a few hand seal, Madara grows a few thick trunks of wood and pulls Adam under the sand. "You can keep the fan- you can't use its power anyway. But no matter how durable you are, you need air. If you don't come up soon, that will be your grave, child."
Turning to Starkiller, who is quickly trying to get to his feet, Madara blinks, and his eyes return to their original crimson shade. "Go ahead and rescue your friend before he gets squashed. I won't interfere."
Starkiller's eyes have changed; the pupils are pure gold, and the ring around them has become the color of blood. A cruel smile comes over his features, "He can take care of himself, you on the other hand..."
Starkiller lunges for Madara, and grabs him. He holds a hand over his chest-plate, and suddenly he's encased in what appears to be red lightning. Madara can feel the strength being sapped from his body as both his chakra, and his life force are being drained.
"I've been paying attention, Madara," his voice is cold, and smooth as velvet. "The woods that you've made... I have never seen the Force used like this, but do you know what you've done? This entire area has become a strong focus for the Force, which is fine by me."
"You Think you can hold me You bastard?" blade opens one of his hands. It starts omitting an orange glow that from above looked like a tiny dot. "This gonna be hot." Raced the thoughts in his head. A large colomn of fire bursts clear out of the sand where blade was causing a crater of hot molten rock to form with Blade in the middle. "That was weak you piss ant."
Madara's face oddly becomes happy. Smiling like a demon, he looks at Starkiller. "Don't you get it? Chakra and the Force are more or less the same. If you can manipulate it... so can I. Heaven earth mirror change!"
The red lightning-infused aura leaves Madara's body and possesses Adam's body instead. "I will stop this battle now. If I go any farther, you both will defiantly die. Now... do you want to see where she is? Then follow me."
Madara dashes into the water, and sprints across the surface, as if it were solid ground. Eventually he is just a speck to them. He calls out from the distance: "Come on, you two! Follow my lead!"
Starkiller growls under his breath, and cuts off his Force-Drain attack. He takes several deep breaths, and his eyes return to their normal gray color.
"Adam, I know exactly how you feel. I want to crush that arrogant bastard under my heel, and feed him his guts. But right now he knows where the girl is, and that's all that matters. If he's willing to lend his power to us so we can get home... well, then we really have no choice right now. Lets go..."
Starkiller dashes after the ninja, wondering at the strange powers he possesses.
"Hmph, what an asshole but I guess that's how it has to be." as he walks towards the water everything around him freeze's under his feet creating a path of ice along the water following to men in the distance. For some reason Blade felt hesitant to walk to continue walking forward, But he had no other choice.
All three went quite far out onto the water. They reached a misty area, and to the other two men are surprised to see that there is a second Madara waiting for them here. "Hello there, Starkiller-san and Adam Blade-san. You have made it farther than I thought. You even put up a decent fight againt my wood-clone."
But Madara's arrogance is one of his most influential traits. The three commas in his eyes meld together in an almost kaleidoscopic design. He quickly focuses his energy, and ethereal blue flames begin to appear around his body. They condense into a ribcage that quickly grows into a demonic skeleton, with four arms and two horns extending from it's chin. This guardian deity is supposed to go through a couple more forms before reaching it's perfect stage, but in a rush Madara forces it to develop fully. A massive cloak of energy wraps around it and morphs into a samurai's robe and a huge, demonic mask, shaped as an angry face, with two braids of hair framing it. Two more massive, plated arms seem to float behind it's normal arms, ready to grab and destroy any obstacle.
Looming at very least 100 feet above the three men, two white, soulless eyes open and look down. This gigantic, ghostly samurai is full of a deep, heavy, almost sick energy that the others know they cannot win against. No point in attacking, they just stare at it as Madara strolls up to them. He reaches out with one black-gloved hand. "Join me. If you try to defy, I will swing his sword, obliterating both of your tired bodies as well as that entire city behind you. Starkiller... we are kindred souls, are we not? We both know hatred, but join me, and you'll never be betrayed..."
Standing next to the giant deity's foot, all three men look like ants. Madara waits for their answers.
Starkiller raises an eyebrow, "Size means nothing to a Jedi, Madara. I admit we are similar in our own way, but right now all I care about is getting home. You have the girl, meaning that you're holding all the cards."
He takes Madara's hand, "I will work with you, but I will never work for you. I sense we will all need to rely on each other if any of us are to get through this." Starkiller releases Madara's hand, turns to Blade, "Agreed?"
"Well I say all and well for working with the bastard, but working for him is not my cup of tea." Blade walks up to Madara, and begins to shakes his hand. "Don't mind if my hand feels hot but not releasing this heat is making me boil over." The water around Blades feet is steaming making the mist around them a bit worse than usual.
"It's size is so large because I simply couldn't condense this much power into a size similar to ours. But I guess I'll let you little whelps join me." Madara pauses, and soaks in this feeling. Right now, he can kill both of these men, and there is quite literally nothing they can do about it.
"However, I'm glad you accept! So lets get out of here and I'll show you where the girl is. He starts to move, then stops and rasies his gaze to the samurai. "This is the perfect Susanoo. Pure destruction incarnate. One slash of this sword can level mountains. Just remember the fear that this instills if you ever think of betraying me."
Madara, activating his purple eyes, uses his hands clapped together to summon a massive green bird, with four wings and the same eyes. It's beak looks like a massive drill. "Hop on, kids."
"Well there is something I have do first before set one foot on that bird of yours" Blade walks a good ten feet between him, Madara and Starkiller. A massive wind circles around Blade for at least thirty seconds before he turned around to face the bird. "That feels a lot better. I have to say any longer and I would have roasted your birds back. He then hops onto birds back and waits patiently for the other two. "Let's just hope this is a smoother ride than that lizard."
"Agreed," Starkiller leaps onto the bird. "Madara, please take us to the girl."
Flapping its four massive wings, the bird takes off. Soaring above the clouds, they approach the city at incredible speed. Slowing down at a small wooded area a ways from the city, the creature sets its claws into the ground and skids through dirt and rock to the entrance of the forest. They hop off the bird, and begin to walk through the trees. The plant life becomes denser and denser as they get closer to the heart of the forest. Quickly they arrive at a solid wooden wall made of trees. Madara makes a lazy one-hand seal and the wall opens up a large doorway for them to pass through.
Coming into a huge green clearing, the first thing they notice is what appears to be another Madara, sitting on a wooden stump. His face looks extremely unamused, and he appears to be surrounded by other Madaras as well, only these ones are scattered throughout the clearing and none of them are quite in one piece. From behind the Madara clone, a girl with pink hair pops out with a playful smile. "Nyuuuuuuu!"
Starkiller walks around Madara, and heads for the girl, "Don't take this the wrong way, but it's still too early for me to trust you, Madara."
He kneels in front of the girl, and cradles her face in his hands, laying his thumbs on her temples. He narrows his eyes, on alert for an attack.
"... Interesting... I sense power in her, but it's suppressed... by her. Why though?"
The girl cocks her head at him, and then holds his head like he holds hers, "Nyu!"
Blade tilts his head to side in puzzlement obviously not understanding what the hell was happening. "Please inform on what just happened so far. Also is the only thing she says is Nyu. Because if that's the case how do we understand her?"
Momentarily Madara ignores Blade. "Oh really? You sense power in her huh? I didn't notice when she was slicing up my clones."
Frowning, the clone disappears. The real Madara absorbs his information, and turns to Blade. "You see, that wound she had taken to her head really mucked up her brain. But don't be fooled- underneath that childish personality is a cold, hateful killer. I saw this briefly when she... uh... yeah." he gestured to the chopped up wooden clones.
Starkiller pulls his hands back, and stands, "Fantastic, our best hope is absolutely crazy!"
"Nyu!" She spies Adam, and runs over to play with his hair.
"Well I can't say that I'd be surprised that if she was a killer. I came from a place where it's impossible to go through life without getting your hands dirty. Even the young get their hands dirty." He cross his arms and tries to be patient with young girl playing with his hair. "So what now?"
"Considering that town is full of practically nothing but weaklings, I'd say we'd be safe there. When we were sparring on the beach, I was able to put almost the entire city under Genjutsu. We really just need to find a place to stay... I say we go find a nice house and 'convince' the owners to give us room and board. What say you two?"
Starkiller nods, and then he takes a good look at all of them, "... We might also want to do something about our clothes. Those two on the beach weren't dressed anything like us, it might draw unwanted attention."
"I don't know about you two but I'm already covered." Blade pulls out a case from his pocket. It revealed a pair of fake reading glasses. He replaces his shades with the new pair and shoves the shades back in his pocket. He then reaches to his said to pull out a strange book with a cross on it. His hand brushes across hair making go from a spiky stand up position to a downwards look. His attitude and tone had both changed to match his serious but caring demeanor. "As you can see I am a wandering priest. As a wandering priest no on will question my appearance since they have no clue on what priest from other locations look like. I don't know what you two will do think of something."
Pressing two fingers together, Madara is enveloped in a puff of smoke. When the smoke clears, a beautiful, buxom woman with long, blue-black hair and a silken black dress stands in front of them where Madara was. Despite her proportions, she has an extremely youthful appearance. She smiles and winks at the two men.
Starkiller raises an unamused eyebrow, "I guess I can make do with a shirt, or a jacket. What I'm worried about is... Nyu over there. That cloak might make people stare, the horns too."
"IT'S A GIRL!" Blade shouts and his jaw drops, eyes form hearts and there is this weird feeling that money was spilling from his mouth. He rushes up to Madara dropping the girl on his back. As he approached Madara he kneels one knee with his head faced to the ground. His hand is holding a bouquet of roses. Suddenly it feels as if spotlight was focused only on Blade and Madara and everything else was pitch black. "Would you go on a date with me?" He utters with his head still facing the ground and loud enough for Madara to hear and from there it was silence.
Madara blinks the beautiful, innocent eyes he has taken on. In the deepest, manliest voice he can muster, he croaks out his answer. "Of course I will, darling!"
Starkiller's jaw drops, and despite the seriousness of the situation of their immediate whereabouts, he wants to double-over laughing. Especially when Nyu pulls some grass from the ground, and mimes Adam in front of Madara. "Nyu nyu nyu!"
Adam is too horrified to move. Amused, Madara leans forward and touches his face gently. "You are a cutie, aren't you? Don't worry, when we get to town you can take me out somewhere really romantic! Okay, sweetie?" Madara makes his voice particularly gravelly on the last part, and with an extremely demanding tone.
In the inside Blade feels as if he soul had committed suicide. It was clearly reflected in the quickly wilting rose in his hand. Blade gets up walks to the nearest tree, places his head against the trunk with his head facing the ground. "SSSSSHHHHIIIIIITTTTTTT." He mutters as an imaginary water basin hits the top of his head.
Starkiller blinks, and forces a straight face back onto his features, "An... Interesting disguise, Madara. Though... that voice will give you away in a heartbeat."
Starkiller feels something, like a gut instinct, "I think we need to go that way." He points in a direction just to the left of town, "I can't explain it, but..."
Laughing deeply, Madara raises a feminine eyebrow at Starkiller. "You talk as if we are going infiltrate an enemies base. This is obviously a place full of weak people. I sense power in the distance, but its hard to peg... either way, I think we will be fine. And if anyone wants to fuck with us..."
Looking at the other two men, he smiled. "Like I said. We will be fine. Lets just get somewhere safe before too many people notice Nyu-chan, and her little cat ear-horns." With this the four exit the forest, walking toward the city.
Meanwhile, on the beach that had served as a battlefield not long ago, a tall figure appears. He wears a red robe, with a hood pulled over his head. The robe seems to be made of a strange material, as the threads could be seen coursing with some kind of strange energy. Kneeling down to a sandy area, now closed off by crime scene tape, he feels around and finds what he is looking for. Ripping it from the glassed sand, he pulls out Madara's gunbai fan.
A small, blue-violet haired girl stands next to him, wearing a black dress and white collar. She tugs at the red, glowing robe. "What's that?! Is it gonna help us find them?!"
Turning, a worn but young face is revealed. The red robed man has black sclera and bright yellow irises, with cat-like slits for pupils.
"Sure, Nana. Sure it will..."
Two more figures appear behind them, side by side. One wears a black cloak that hides almost all his features, and wisps of black smoke sneak out from under the hem. The other has long black hair, which matches his clothes. He wears a trench coat, t-shirt, pants, biker boots, and fingerless gloves. A Katana is tied to his hip, and he wears an easygoing smile.
"C'mon Litch!" The second man strides over, and ruffles Nana's hair, "It's no fair that you get to use two! We each agreed to one champion apiece, and here you go breaking the rules."
He bends to look Nana in the eye, "Hey there, Nana. It's nice to be seeing the outside world, isn't it?" He gives her a very friendly smile.
Nana smiles brightly. "Yes! I'm so eager to please papa!"
The Litch turns and looks at the second man, Shadus. "She isn't my champion, but... I couldn't stand seeing her locked up in that cage, all her murderous power going to waste." He scowls. "Humans are utterly pathetic. Hardly any power, yet they find incredible ways to abuse it."
"On the contrary I find it fun to watch them abuse and destroy each other with it. Though I do find it a breakthrough when they final use it in a constructive way." Itami walks walks up to Litch and carefully examines both him and the girl next to him. "Well this surely has been an interesting start. For a first fight I expected a more decimated beach given Blade's unruly and unexpected behavior. But there will be plenty time for things like that."
Shadus rubs his head, "That may have been my fault... Starkiller has a habit of trying to always keep a level head, even in a rage. Sorry Itami..." Shadus creates a picture of Blade from thin air, and hands it to Nana, "Be very careful around this man, he's very weird."
Having said this, Shadus creates a wineglass filled with blood, and takes a drink.