H-o-S Working title: Naruto & Sasuke: The Great Crusade Script 46
Chapter 1
Adventure to the Unknown
How can this go Wrong?!
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted from atop the great cliffs of the Valley of the End. His blond hair waved wildly in the updrafts created by the massive waterfall the bisected the valley. His ice blue eyes almost glowed with innate power as he stared down at his long time friend and one time brother. In his right hand, Naruto griped a kuni with all his strength, while in his left he held onto a rolled up bit of parchment. Across Naruto's chest ran a long thin red line. His jumpsuit and black undershirt were tore open to reveal the thin angry mark, but nary a bead of blood gathered at the slashes edge.
Across from him, on the opposite side of the valley, with a shadow overlapping his features, stood Sasuke Uchiha, the once last loyal member of Konoha's greatest clan/ally. In his own right hand, he held a kuni, this one drenched in the blood of his pseudo-brother from when he had struck him to escape.
"You finally caught up … Naruto," Sasuke stated unfeelingly. The negative energy of the curse seal having almost fully taken root in Sasuke's body at this point. He could feel the mind numbing dread that the chakra infused within his body. He knew that it was just driving him towards an early grave, but there was nothing he could do in his current state to fight against it. His will broken thanks to the genjutsu enhanced cask the sound four had placed him in on their journey to Oto.
"Yeah," Blunt as always, Naruto shot a glare at his friend with little heat behind it. He could tell that something was off, and instantly figured it had something to do with the faint black marking that stretched across his friends body. "They're going to kill you," Naruto blurted out. A feeling of dread having dropped into his gut at seeing the marks.
"I know … But I can't help it," Sasuke shivered as more of the marks ran across his chest and face.
"Let me help you, I promis, I'll get you help Sasuke … And you know I don't break my promises," Naruto almost pleaded with his friend. The raven haired boy shook as he tried to fight against the controlling effects of the chakra, but ultimately failed.
"I … I wish I could," Sasuke ground out, surprising Naruto, "But I have to go, I have to. Understand Naruto, I have to get stronger," the raven haired boy said, "If not to outright kill my older brother, then to survive him."
Naruto blinked, and looked on as he saw more of the black inky marks run across his brothers skin. He knew it was impossible to plead with him like this, he knew he was not under his own power. But, Naruto would not be the most stubborn Ninja in existence if he didn't at least try.
"If I have to, I will go with you, Sasuke, and make you stronger," Naruto stated evenly. Sasuke blinked in surprise, but could only look on with a stupefied expression on his face as he tried to comprehend what Naruto had just said.
"You would give up your dream, your whole reason for becoming a Ninja, just to make me stronger?" Sasuke asked, a bit of awe finally able to break through the emotional barrier that is his prison.
"I would burn the village to the ground for the ones I care about, Sasuke, the village is just lucky I like quite a few of the people that live there," Naruto smirked ruefully at his own quip.
Sasuke on the other hand actively blanched at his friends declaration. He had always heard of Naruto's dream to become Hokage, and how he would get the villagers to like him. With that said, he never suspected that Naruto would ever think of burning the place he wanted to lead to the ground. It was so out of character for the boy Sasuke knew, that it had actually shocked him out of his Cursed form and reverted him back into his natural state.
"Why?"
"Do you remember what I had said when we were at Tazuna's house back in Wave country?" Naruto asked with a blunt sort of ferocity.
"Vaguely," Sasuke replied as he tried to dig up the long ago memory of simpler times and bloody mist. "I remember that you said something about the villagers hating you," Sasuke remarked absently. His gaze became a bit clouded as he thought back to that night. "You never explained that by the way, and no one ever said anything about it … at least, not when I was around."
"You remember the tale of the night the Kyuubi attacked, right?" Naruto asked; he looked a bit forlorn at this, like he didn't know how he was going to take whatever it was Sasuke was going to say after his big reveal.
"Yeah, I remember, Iruka said that the Fourth killed the big guy; but he and many others died in the process."
"That's only partly true … You see, when a Biju is killed, it reforms in less than five years, right where it was killed. Now, how many years has it been?" Naruto questioned his friend in earnest, almost willing him to see the logic in his statement.
"Its been thirteen … years … Oh," Sasuke looked at his ex-comrade blankly as his mind processed that.
"Do you know what a Jinjuriki is?" Naruto asked. Sasuke simply shot him a dubious look, as if the word meant nothing to him. Naruto just sighed and fell back on his bum. "A Jinjuriki is someone who is used to seal away a great and terrible power, item, or being. Literally meaning, power of human sacrifice," Naruto looked Sasuke's bewildered self right in the eye, and smiled ruefully.
"Do you know what my birthday is Teme?" he asked.
"Um, no?" the ravenette blurted out.
"Do you know what day the Kyuubi attacked?"
"October tenth?" Sasuke asked, still a little lost on where Naruto was going with his line of thought.
"Okay, now, if that day was thirteen years ago, and I am thirteen, and my day happens to be on the very same day as the Kyuubi's attack … Put in what I said about Jinjuriki's … and what do you get?" Naruto almost sneered at this. The young Uchiha could almost feel the self loathing pour off his ex-comrades body at this point. But, even with the air thick with primal tension, Sasuke did as he was asked by his friend.
"Well, first off I'd say you were born the same day as the attack, you're an orphan, I know that, so your parents died that night, and... and you are something called a Jinjuriki … Which means that you have something sealed inside of you … And if the kyuubi hasn't reformed in the last thirteen years then that means," Sasuke trailed off as he shot his friend a mortified expression. He couldn't believe it. His friend, nay, his brother, had been used as a sacrifice to seal away the great demon fox that had attacked their home so many years ago.
It all clicked then, the way the villagers looked at Naruto, how they treated him, and how Naruto wanted to get above them. He wanted to prove that he wasn't the monster that the fourth sealed inside of him. And in that moment, Sasuke's respect for Naruto skyrocketed almost ten fold.
To be put under the constant hateful gaze of the village they both had loved, or love in Naruto's case, was something that Sasuke could hardly imagine. The fact that Naruto wanted to protect those same villagers, defend them against all odds, and even die for them, just made it all the more clear to Sasuke how strong Naruto was. Physically and mentally, Naruto was on a whole 'nother level than his, and it was almost frightening how large the gap was.
"Dobe, the village should bow to you," Sasuke finally answered, after having made the blond wait so long for an answer. "Seriously, you've saved them from how much death? First the Kyuubi, then the invasion, and now my sorry ass!" Sasuke flailed his arms towards the heavens in erratic gesticulations to show his irritation. His face was set in a fierce scowl, one that he had only ever used on Kakashi when he had been over six hours late to a team meeting.
Naruto himself was surprised by the outburst, and the heated gestures and scowl that his revelation engendered from his brother. What surprised him more was the amount of support he received from his supposed enemy on his treatment by the village. It was then that Naruto had noticed that the black marks had receded almost completely at that point. Their conversation having been long enough for the curse to run its course and then recede to recharge.
"Really, you think they should bow to me, the gaki, the brat, who has tormented them for years because of their treatment of me?" Naruto asked, both joking and serious at the same time.
"Yes i'm serious! Those idiots...," Sasuke trailed off as suddenly the air around them began to crackle with purple bolts of unnatural energy. Both could feel a sense of dread and foreboding wash over them as purple lightning washed over the air between them.
"Teme! Get out of there!" Naruto yelled as he also jumped to his feet and ran towards the waterfall. His legs could only carry hims so far, but as he was about to reach it, Sasuke was not far behind him. Both had ended up at the waterfall, as it was the farthest point away from the dark energy that they could get to fast enough. On either sides of the river that fed the Valley of the End, they only looked behind themselves once.
In a shocking display of agility, Naruto leaped across the river. What caused this sudden action was the wicked looking bolt of purple energy that carved its way through the air and right towards Sasuke's back. What neither of the two thought would happen was that the energy would follow them ot the ground and engulf them in sickly purple light.
"Grab on!" Naruto cried as the energy began to burn him. Sasuke screamed as the energy raced across his skin, giving him little pin sized blisters wherever any of the power touched him. He listened to the blond and latched onto him, but what happened next was not something he thought he would ever see.
"I need some of your power fox!" the blond cried out. In an instant a coat of orange-red chakra engulfed Naruto. The thick coat lessened the severance of the powers effects on his body, and in an act of desperation, he pushed the cloak of chakra over onto Sasuke, to try and protect him as well.
Surprisingly, this worked as the cloak fought off the dark energy that tried to harm him.
AS the long bolt of dark purple energy racked over their bodies, with a lessened effect, they were both shocked to see the rest of the purple energy collect into a sort of cloud; one that slowly moved towards them. They were both horrified when the energy swarmed them, engulfed them. It got so thick that they could no longer see the outside world through the purple haze.
"Hold on!" Both boys shouted to each other, though neither could hear the other scream. In a loud cry of ephemeral power and unbridled rage, fear, and euphoric pleasure, a clash of opposing colors assaulted the duo. Around them, they could see the taint of the warp, creatures of shapes and sizes that they had never seen before, of colors they thought impossible, and of genders unimaginable.
Both Sasuke and Naruto drifted through the warp in a ball of demonic energy crafted from the Kyuubi's chakra. Even if it had been a last ditch effort to save their skin, literally, it was now fighting off the insidious effects of the warp, even if they themselves did not know this.
They tumbled and fell through the never ending multicolored realm. In a never ending embrace of torturous light and sound, the duo were exposed to the worst of the warp. Even the Kyuubi no Kitsune was stunned by the depravities visited upon the denizens that thrived in the multicolored hell. It was through sheer luck, and force of will, that the Kyuubi's chakra cloak did not break or shred under the malignant weight of the warp.
"We need to get out of here kit!" The Kyuubi growled out in a panic. "You and the Uchiha brat won't be able to take much more of my chakra; and at this rate, you'll both be dead!" The fox seethed. He was afraid. The Kyuubi no Kitsune was more than afraid actually; he was fucking terrified. They were in a place where true demons, creatures of peoples nightmares, lived and breathed, and did whatever it was they so felt like doing to anything they could get their … claws on.
Even to the Kyuubi, it was more than a great shock that his chakra was able to repel the monsters that dwelled around them.
"Where do you think we'll-" Naruto was cut off as suddenly the world around them jumped five feet to the left. And with an elastic like snap, Sasuke and Naruto fell down and landed in a pile of snow. The two could feel the cold air hit their bare arms and backs, where their cloths had been burned away by the wrath of the warp. They looked around and found that they were atop a mountain, some ways away from a large settlement of some kind.
"Where the hell are we?" Naruto asked in a daze. He disentangled himself from Sasuke and tried to right himself, but only made himself roll over and land face first in the puffy white.
"How should I know!" Sasuke groused as she tried to stand up, he was only successful in making himself dizzy, and puke all over the snow.
The duo's transfer from the warp to their current position atop the mountain was a very disorienting one. Let alone the extreme climate change from searing hot to freezing cold, their bodies were hard at work to keep them alive.
"Kit, keep still, I'll try and get you situated!" The calm voice of the Kyuubi cut through Naruto's drowsiness. Naruto found that he could do no less than follow the Kyuubi's order, as his body was in too much distress to do much else.
"Just lay there for a bit Sasuke … We're kind of jacked up right now thanks to whatever it is we just went through. So take a load off," Naruto lazily groaned as he closed his eyes against the blindingly bright light.
Sasuke hn'd at Naruto, he was annoyed, but not nearly as much as he was glad that the two of them had made it out of their predicament as well as they did. Dressed in the dregs of what was once his house cloths, Sasuke shivered at the cold air and ice that touched his bare skin.
"Can we at least make a fire!?" He asked irritatedly.
"Once we can move, sure, don't see why not, dattebayo," Naruto mumbled as he tried to breath off the crushing sensation that the warp had left upon him. Sasuke nodded breathlessly and went about doing the same.
The mountain peak that the two Ninja warriors found themselves on was mostly barren, save for a few rocks, the mountain tip's spire, and a slopping cave entrance not twenty feet from their spot on the cold hard ground. A ways off into the distance stood a large settlement of some kind that looked like something they would have found in the Land of Iron. The absolutely hellacious amounts of snow around them even reminded them of the cold as ice land as well.
The duo huffed and puffed misty breaths into the cool air as they tried to regain their faculties. Both were sore and tired from their unexpected journey through the warp, even if they themselves had no idea what had just happened. The horrors they had witnessed were mentally scaring to the duo. They put those thoughts from their minds though as they let their bodies heal. It was not good to dwell on the evil, it led to thoughts best left in the dark.
"What should we do?" Naruto almost moaned out. His chest was bare and the small slash that Sasuke had made was now wider than it was before, it was also an angry red that actually frightened the raven haired boy.
"First, we make a fire, and second I look at the injury of yours … It looks infected," Sasuke growled as he clambered to his feet unsteadily.
"Don't wear yourself out, teme," Naruto chuckled painfully, he coughed as his chest began to get worse. Sasuke frowned in confusion, as he realized that the fox, or the dobe's own healing abilities should be taking care of him right now. The fact that they weren't was actual a point of confusion, but something that could be dealt with later once the blond was properly looked after by him.
"Just stay still Dobe, it looks like you got an infection in that cut," Sasuke groaned as he ambled over to his friend. It was a mystery to the Uchiha on how the cut had already been infected, his Kuni was clean, he made sure of that, and nothing had gotten in the cut before they had... Sasuke ran a hand through his hair as he figured out what must have happened.
"I think something from that hellhole we traveled through somehow got a hold of your dumb-ass, its done I have no clue what to you, but i'm going to have to clean the wound as best I can," Sauske looked at Naruto's quickly paling face and affirmed his resolve. "I'm going to have to cut it open and carve out the infection, and its going to hurt like a motherfucker."
"Bring it on … I can take it, Dattebayo!" Naruto growled out in a faint voice. He coughed as his chest constricted from the pain. Sasuke had to hold the blond down so that he didn't smash his head against the hard stone.
Stop talking and just breath dobe!" the Uchiha brat growled as he took out a Kuni. He then stuck the finger loop in the ground a foot away and preformed a series of hand-signs. With a quick inhelation of air, he fired off a small, but long, stream of fire at the blade of the kuni.
He picked up the kuni and hefted it like a long scalpel. With a few slashes he was ableto successfully open up Naruto's wound and get a look at the infection inside. What he saw almost made him sick.
There in his friends wounds were what looked like fly larva wiggling about. This also pissed him off more than he had ever thought possible. Subconsciously he turned on his sharingan and went about scooping the little bastards out with his superheated kuni. He took great pleasure in ridding the wound of the little blighters.
"Fuck, whatever got a hold of your ass was a sadistic motherfucker. Somehow infected you with some kind of larva shit that was eating you... Good thing I got those bastards out!" Sasuke mumbled. Naruto could only moan in pain and fear at what his friend slash brother said.
"Now to seal your ass back up," Sasuke sighed. He dug through his pouches and found a set of senbon needles, exactly what he was looking for. He took one and curved the end, after he had heated it up with his fire technique, and then used his kuni to whittle a hole in the opposite end. Once the hole was big enough, he hammered the other senbon through it to open up the hole completely. Once done, he cut a piece of his shirt of and tore it down to just the threads. He then took the longest thread and slipped it through the hole in the senbon.
"This is going to hurt like a bitch," Sasuke muttered, just loud enough for Naruto to hear. He then started on sowing up the blonds wounds. It was a slow process, but it was nothing that he hadn't had to do before on any of their other missions.
Once done, Sasuke took his kuni and heated it up again to a red hot color. "Now this … This is going to knock your ass out Dobe, so don't go dying on me!"He growled. He did not lie what he was about to do, but it had to be done if he wanted the blond idiot to live. Without a warning, he took the red hot blade and seared the sewn up wound shut, almost cooking the skin together so that no more infection could get in.
Naruto almost shot up form his prone spot on the ground, his face wrought in a look of abject pain. He screamed, his lips bloody from where he had most likely bit his tongue to keep quite before. But now he had no such restraint as the hot metal seared his skin shut. Sasuke had to knock him down so as to not stick him with the kuni.
"Lay down!" He shouted. He restrained Naruto and quickly finished his sloppy medical work. He sighed and looked to Naruto's face to gauge his reaction. When he saw that the blond was unconscious from the ordeal, he sighed in relief. That would mean that he wouldn't have to go through the pain that came after as his skin tightened up and healed from the torture it had just gone through.
"Now, lets find a place to get out of the cold …," Sasuke muttered to himself. He looked around the peak they sat on and saw that there was a small cave-like opening that went down into the mountain.
The revenette looked at Naruto and sighed. He made a mental promise to keep an eye on the blond. He looked from the hole to Naruto and back again. With a sigh of defeat, he slowly trudged over to the hole to get a better look.
Leaning over the edge, Sasuke saw that it actually was not as steep as he had thought. It gradually descended down into the mountain, into an inky blackness. Creating a flame that sat in the palm of his hand, Sasuke traversed the grade and slowly walked down into the cave.
With each step, Sasuke could feel the cold recede from his body. He couldn't tell if it was because of the cave, the fame in his hand, or if he was coming down with hypothermia from the exposure to the extreme cold. Either way, the cave would have to suffice for a place to take Naruto until he was fully healed.
With his decision made, Sasuke trekked back up to the surface. What he saw when he breached the surface, was not something he thought possible. At first, the last Uchiha was frozen in fright at what he saw.
Standing over his friend was a giant in what could only be armor. It was taller than some of the great summons of the Hidden Leaf, and held a massive sword across its back, a large knife across its thigh, and what could only be some sort of projectile spitting weapon in its left hand.
Its armor was snow colored with a depiction of a wolf displayed on the right shoulder pad. A larger depiction of a wolfs head was emblazoned across a large white furred coat. What had stopped the last Uchiha in fear was what it was doing to the blond.
In the monsters other hand was a large metal flask looking container, and it was about to pour whatever it was inside the container onto Naruto.
"Get away from him!" Sasuke shouted with urgent rage!" The giant creature twisted around in a snap quick action that would have shocked the Uchiha at any other time because of the speed. It dropped the flask and, for a second, it looked like it was about to make a calming gesture, but was cut off when Sasuke's chakra enhanced fist collided with the giants head.
The giants head snapped back at the surprising hit, as it was moved by the shear force of physical might the boy had shown. Sasuke then followed this up with a swift kick to the giants chest that sent it back a step.
Sasuke ignored the intense pain in his hand and foot from hitting the monsters armor, and kept at his onslaught. He then round house kicked the monsters weapon out of its hand, he caught the weapon and tossed it over the edge of the mountain peak. The monster tried to grab for him, but the Uchiha slipped under his grapple and punched at his opponents elbow with a kuni he had drawn from his hip pouch.
The knife slipped in between the tough mesh that held the armor together and bit into the flesh of the monster underneath. Sasuke then jumped away, not wanting to get caught by the surprise he had left for the giant. In his arms was now Naruto, in his catatonic state.
"Take this you giant fuck, boom!" With a surprised look up from the monster, the explosive tag on the Kuni exploded and covered the monster in thick black smoke.
"Great Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted just before he launched a massive ball of fire at his opponent. In his weakened state though, that was all he could do. He leaned agaisnt the peak of the mountain, too tired to continue, and prayed to kami that he had taken out the monster. Granted, he knew in his gut that he had only pissed it off if anything at all.
Sasuke slumped down to the ground, his knees having given out on him. He barely kept his eyes open as his energy left him. But what he saw come from the smoke shook him to his core.
There in the clearing, stood now two of the giants. What struck the boy as odd was how the second one was pointing at the first like he was making fun of him or something. What shocked him, though, was the amount of damage not done to the giant by the explosive tag. There was barely even any soot on its armor! The kuni was still stuck in the joint, but it was taken out with a careful hand by the second giant. The two looked the weapon over with something akin to interest. The first made a small gesture towards the two boys, and then back to the weapon. The second seemd to laugh at this and then tried to break it with his fingers.
When he could not, he seemed to grow surprised. He then grabbed each end with his massive hands and tried to break it. It was with a bit of effort on the monsters part that it was able to break the small, in its hands, weapon.
It was at this point that the last Uchiha passed out from lack of energy.
Garviel Loken, Captain of the tenth company Luna Wolves legion, lookedon in wonder at how such a small boy had surprised him. Beside him stood his friend Tarik Torgaddon. The taller Astartes laughed at how a child had gotten a hit on a full blooded Astartes, even managed to push him back.
"What happened Garvi, did the kid knock something loose in that thick head of yours?" Tarik asked in a teasing manner. He had taken off his helmet and was now smirking uncontrollably at the shorter Astartes.
"That was no normal punch Tarik," Garviel said as he looked to his friend. "He actually made me step back, from brute force no less, with a kick to my sternum. How can you explain that?" Garviel asked his friend intently.
Tarik blinked and stared at his smaller friend for but a moment before answering. "Well, unless he's some sort of experiment, then he must have some seriously dense bones and muscles. That's the only thing I can think of. Either way, if we leave them here, they will die," Tarik said.
"Also, did you understand what the little boy had said?" Gariel asked as they walked towards the boys.
"No, it sounded similar to something the Khans have, like their battle speak may be … But other than that, no clue," The big man stated.
Standing at just under twelve feet, Garviel Loken was a monster of a man, but just below average for a Legions Astartes. It was then no surprise that the boys looked like mere babes in his arms when he picked them up. Tarik, being taller of the two, actually stood at an even thirteen feet. Just a bit over a head taller than Garviel.
"Aye, and did you see the wound on the blond one, looks like a patch job, but with what we saw on the ground, it was warranted. I've never seen such larva before, And the fact that the boy had burned them tells me that he's either seen them, or was just as disgusted as we were," Tarik rambled on. "And did you see that power he used? It was like he could summon flame from nothing and throw it around like it was nothing!" Tarik said in awe.
"Yes, we will have to ask him how he does that once we get them taken care of. Both are in need of some serious medical attention," Garviel sighed as he and Tarik began their trek down the mountain.
As they got to the ledge, Garviel handed Tarik the black haired boy while he himself held onto the blond. He then easily climbed down the side to the next outcropping. Tarik jumped and landed soundly next to him. Both made their way to the next jump point and continued on for the next hour.
It was a boring journey filled with small talk and jabs about Garviel's need to get hit in the face by a small child. In response, Loken had flipped the larger man the bird. Tarik laughed uproariously at the gesture and replied in kind.
It was late in the day by the time the two finally got far enough away from the magnetic center of the mountain, they were able to get a better signal through their suits' built in Vox unit.
"This is Captain Garviel Loken, Captain of the Tenth Company, Luna Wolves Legions Astartes. I am here with Captain Tarik Torgaddon, Captain of the Second Company, Luna Wolves Legions Astartes. We are in need of a Thunderhawk transport with an Apothecary on board. We are in possession of two young boys that seem to have gotten lost on the mountain," Once he was finished talking, and Garviel received an affirmative response, he closed the Vox unit down and huddled up next to a sitting Tarik.
"I don't know if he's going to make it Garvi, he's gotten pretty pale...," Tarik stated. He bobbed his head in the direction of the blond boy in his arms. Indeed the boys lips had gone a pale blue color and his wound had become a deathly white color. His skin had taken on a waxy pallor, and his hair had even lost some of its brilliance.
"I think you're right Tarik. I just hope we're wrong. No one should die this young, and besides, we need answers. Like where they came from, how they got there, who they are, and how that boy did what he did," Garviel said seriously. He wanted to ask the two boys a host of questions, but if they were to die, then that would just be a pipe dream at best.
"Besides, if that boy can take you by surprise, then think of what he could do as an Astartes!" Tarik stated with a massive grin. He laughed at what he imagined Garviel's face to look like under his helmet. "And ya'know, I was regretting coming up here with you in the beginning Garvi, but after all this craziness, I'm glad I went on that hike!" Tarik laughed again at some joke in his head.
Garviel just sighed and shook his head at the laid back Captain of the Second Company.
Minutes went by before Tarik said anything else. HE was too busy inspecting the boy he was carrying to do much else anyway. But what he said did bring a curious eye from his friend.
"Garviel, look at this … It looks like some sort of tattoo on the kids neck," Tarik gestured to the raven haired boys left shoulder. It looked like three asterisks arrayed in a triangle pattern. It was very odd, and didn't look like any sort of tribal tattoo that either Astartes had ever seen.
"What do you think it could be?" Garviel asked.
"Maybe some sort of ownership mark? Or some kind of status symbol?" Tarik guessed. Neither man was knowledgeable enough of the two boys' past to give a definitive answer.
"Let me check this one over to make sure there isn't one on him too," Garviel went about looking the boy over, even going so far as to flip him over in his arms to get a more extensive look.
"Well?" Tarik asked when the Captian of the Tenth was done.
"Well, no marks that I can see, but the boy is covered in hundreds of different scars, burns, and other signs of past injury. Did you notice anything like that on him?" Loken asked.
"Hmm, yeah, he has a few scars, but mostly around his arms and legs. There was one on his back and a couple on his chest and abdomen. He has a lot of little puncture hole type scars littered across his body, but I couldn't tell you what they're from unless I actually saw the weapon that caused them," It was not often that a battle scare could confuse the Second Captain, but when it did happen, it was worth noting. Garviel nodded in understanding of his friends words,
A few minutes later, their ride off the mountain side arrived. The boxy shape of the Thunderhawk circled overhead fro a minute or so before it touched down on the opposite side of the outcropping from them. The transports liveries were that of the Seventh Company, Serghar Targost's company colors. Garviel grimaced behind his helmet at the sight of the Seventh. He respected Serghar for his laurels in battle, but he did not like how the man conducted himself off the battlefield. He was blunt and tactless when talking with almost everyone, including their Primarch Horus. It was a wonder that Serghar was even alive after some of the words he had traded with the mighty son of the Emperor.
"Looks like its the Seventh to the rescue again brother," Tarik snarked happily. He knew of Garviel's dislike of the Company's captain, and liked to rib him about it whenever possible.
As ther two of them got to their feet, warning klaxons rang out from the front of the transport. Pressurized gas escaped from the release latches on the door just before it was lowered by the crew inside. From within a group of six figures walked out. The first two were Apothecaries, one of the Seventh, and the other from the Second.
"Brother, here!" The Captain of the tenth waved the two healers over quickly.
"What is his condition Brother?" The Apothecary from the Seventh asked with a slight edge, like he really didn't want to be there right then.
"Hypothermia, slash wound that seems to have been infected by some sort of warp based pathogen. And some other injuries that need looking at. The other is exhausted and also suffering from hypothermia," Loken informed them. He quickly handed the boy off to the healer while the other went and took the black haired boy from Tarik.
"Alright, everyone back on the ship!" Serghar Targost commanded with a stern demeanor. His helmet-less head showcased his blunt features and closely cropped black hair. He waved everyone towards the loading ramp, though he spared the Captain of the tenth a special sneer, and quickly got them all buckled in for takeoff.
Once the ship had settled down at Cthonia planetary control. A hive city that resided at the polar north of the planet. Once they had touched down, Garviel, Tarik, and their charges were taken to the closest infirmary. Once there, a long list of tests and checks were wrought about on the two young boys.
The blond was diagnosed with some form of warp infection, one that was thought to have been almost entirely eradicated by the other boy. The fact that this was even a possibility shocked the two Apothecaries. Being infected by some warp born disease usually left the inflicted with a less than one percent chance at survival rate. The fact that a mere child had gone about litterally carving the disiease out of the blond was surprising, the fact that he had done it so thoroughly to have staved off most of the disease was even more awe inspiring for the Astartes.
"Are we sure these boys are human?" The Apothecary from Seventh Company asked with uncertainty.
"I'm not entirely sure, but it would be a good idea to run a few blood tests to make sure. Match them up against all known varients of Humanity," Tarik commanded with ease.
"And make sure they are not warp tainted … We don't need a mutant on our planet," Serghar Targost stated with disgust at the thought of a warp mutant defiling their homeworld.
Loken shot Tarik an appreciative glance before he shot a glare at Serghar from behind his helm. Just as Serghar was about to leave, a Housecarl rushed into the room with a look of panic on his face.
"Second Captain Torgaddon, Seventh Captain Targost! His Lordship Horus Lupercal wishes to meet with you both in the stratagem!" The average sized human bowed roughly to the two giants in armor. He waited for their reply to their 'father's' summons.
"I will stay here and look over the boys, Second Captain," Garviel bowed his head in difference to his friend and senior Brother.
"Very well, take care of them Garvi, we don't want to lose them do we," Tarik asked cheekily to his Brother Captian. Garviel just sighed in mock annoyance and waved the laughing man out of the infirmary.
Tarik, Serghar, and the Housecarl left the room at a fast pace, their destination the Startagem aboard the Vengeful Spirit which floated in orbit over Cthonia.
As time moved ever onwards, Garviel could tell that the Apothecary working over the blond was becoming slightly paniced. His movements became jerky, his feet tapped at the bulkheads, and his helmet would slightly jerk from left to right as he worked over the boy.
"Apothecary, what is wrong?" he asked the healer.
"His body is fighting the disease … at an extraordinary rate as well, but he is losing the battle against the virus. His body is producing an larger amount of anti-bodies than it should be able to, but with the insane reproduction rate that the warp based infection has, it is out fighting the boys immune system. I have also determined that both the boys are almost fully Human, there is a bit of deviation in a fer of their chromosomes, but it is still within the acceptable parameters for human reproduction nad induction into the Astartes ranks. Granted-"
"Brother Captin, the raven haired one is awake!" The other Apothecary exclaimed as the boy he was looking over had suddenly swiped at his face with barely restrained rage.
"What did you do to him!" The boy screamed. He had an accent that Garviel had neverh eard before, but his High Gothic was almost perfect.
"What are you talking-" The boy looked at the healer and glared at him balefully, his rage actually surprised the man and stopped him mid sentence. It was like looking his primarch in the eye while he was in a rage. The amount of killing intent the boy was release was almost physically palatable in the air.
"Naruto! What did you do to him you monsters!" the boy growled. His hand flashed to his thigh and pulled out another of the same weapons he had used on Garviel earlier that day.
"Put the weapon down boy. We don't want you getting hurt," The Apothecary from the Seventh growled.
"Steady Brother, he does not know what is going on," Loken sighed as he clasped his helmet. With a quick jerk,twist and lift, he removed his helmet. The boy seemed to look on in shock at the face under the mask.
"What are you!" He yelled, his rage still rolling around in his eyes for all to see.
"I am an Astartes of the Luna Wolves Legion, Captain of the Tenth Company. You are currently located in one the Infirmary's of Cthonia's most northern Hive city. You and your friend were in critical condition, myself and my friend Tarik Torgaddon, Captain of the Second Company, took you in and have provided you with care here. Might I know your name?" Garviel asked with a peaceable tone of voice. The boy snarled and almost seethed with anger but seemed to control it rather well.
"My name, is Sasuke Uchiha, Shinobi of Konohagakure," He growled.
"And your friends name?" he asked.
"Naruto Uzumaki, also a Shinobi of Konohagakure, and the only person to ever understand me," the boy, now named Sasuke stated with venom dripping from his words in excess. He apperently hated giving out information. But in light of being held by three of the same giants that had first walked away from his fireball unscathed, he felt it was wise to relent to their demands.
"Do you know what happened to your friend?" The healer from the Seventh asked with trepidation marring his tone.
"We were in a clearing back home, not a few miles from our home village, when this massive purple haze with arcs of energy running through it appeared. We tried to run form it, but a bolt of energy tried to hit me. Naruto I guess saw this and tackled me out of the way, but it was for naught as it entrapped us and began to burn us. At first I thought we were going to die, but when naruto called on this red energy it began to protect us. But that seemed to only piss off the miasma like cloud because it came over us end took us away form there and into some weird hell like place where creatures of all shapes, sizes, and genders preformed terrible horrors on what I think were people...," Sasuke shivered at this. Garviel and the rest of the Apothecarian were enthralled by the boys story, as it made it sound like he and the other boy had been taken to the warp in their physical bodies, and not been attacked.
"How did you survive the Warp?" The apothecary from the Second Company asked with fervor.
"The what? Warp? Seems apt... But the only reason I can think of is because of that red energy Naruto called on. It continued to engulf us as we traveled, but we didn't go for much longer as we soon ended up on a mountain, and wer found by one of your kind."
"One of our kind?" Both Apothecaries asked. Confused on this, they looked to the Captain for answers.
"Ah, you mean when I was trying to check over your friend there, yes, you reacted rather brashly," Garviel said with a self depreciating sigh. "I've never had a citizen strike me with such strength before, I must commend you on that by the way," The captain rubbed at his chin in remembrance of the incident from just hours before.
"YOU!" Sasuke shouted in surprise. He looked at the man in awe, as he had thought the one he had harmed would be angry with him; not praise him for his ability to land a hit.
"Yes, I, but please, what happened to your friend, his wound where di he get it?"
"Heh ad gotten it from me, but!" He shouted when he saw the disapproving look on Garviel's face. "It was only a thin little cut when I gave it to him. It was only after we left that hell-hole that I noticed how it had changed. I checked him over, cut the infection open and dug out the putrid flesh I found. I dug it out with a superheated Kuni and then cleaned the wound as best I could. I went about sealing his sorry ass up the best I could. That's about the extent of what I could do for him."
Garviel looked at the boy with an appreciative eye, as he knew the boy had saved his friends life with his quick thinking. He knew that he would have to ask about the supposed red energy later, but first he had to take care of the blonds imminent demise.
"Zarkar, how is the blond looking?"
He's in bad shape sir; like I told you, he is loosing his fight agaisnt the disease, he needs some sort of emergency measure taken or he will die. The only things I can think of are if we preform an emergency augmentation process on him. If we go about it in reverse order, and leave the major augments for last, he would have the greatest chance of survival."
"What do you mean!" Sasuke asked with a heated glare. "What's wrong with Naruto!"
"He's dying boy, and if we don't do anything soon, he will be too far gone for us to help!" Zarkar growled at the boys disrespect. Being of the Seventh Company, the Apothecary was not one for disrespect.
"You said this Augmentation thing could save him, right?!" Sasuke stared right into Garviel's eyes intently, as if reading his very soul. It put the Captain off somewhat, but it solidified his resolve at the same time.
"Yes, if we preform the procedure in revese order, and implant the Astartes organs first, he would be able to utilize their increased healing factor to help rid his own body of the pathogens. The only concern is if he body would reject them," Zarkar growled in irritation, not at the boy, but at his ineptitude to know the exact outcome of his patient.
"Do it."
Everyone there looked at the raven haired boy in surprise. It was against what they thought he would say, thinking that he would want some sort of lower class healing method, instead of what the Apothecary was suggesting.
"Why?" Garviel asked.
"You said that the organs are apart of a procedure right, something to do with Astartes right?" The boy asked. Garviel nodded, surprised at how he had put that together. "And you said you were an Astartes. I may not be the smartest kid from my graduating class, but I know what the word Augmentation means … What you want to do to Naruto would turn him into one of you, wouldn't it?" Sasuke asked, his eyes empty, like the void. His deductions left the Captain and Apothecaries surprised, even a bit shocked. The child had quickly deducted what the procedure would do, and what the end result would be, something that most of those that came to join the legion didn't pick up on.
"Yes, yes I am, and yes, it would turn him into one of us, but to what extent we do not know. Nor do we know if he would survive the full procedure," Garviel, Captain of the Tenth Company Luna Wolves said with utmost certainty.
"How much pain would it cause him?" The boy asked.
"Like his whole body was on fire, and his bones were melting in his skin," The Apothecary from the Second said with muted honesty.
"Then he'll survive," Those simple few words perplexed the three astartes. It must have shown on Garviel's face, for Sasuke looked at him and smirked knowingly. "He's been through hell before, had himself set on fire, encased in ice, and blown up too many times to count by himself and others. It would take someone of your strength ripping him apart to actually put him down, he's just too damned stubborn and thick headed to die otherwise," Sasuke chuckled at the end, as if apart of some inside joke the rest of them were not apart of. The Three Astartes looked between the two boys, and contemplated his words.
"Alright, Zarkar, get everything ready," Garviel said without hesitation. Both Apothecaries stared at him from behind their helmets for a moment, but complied and quickly went about getting everything in order. Garviel stood next to the black ahired boy so as to stay out of the healers ways.
"We will move to an adjacent room, there we can watch over the boys progress and you will be able to your rest," The Captain of the Tenth told the boy with heavily accented authority. All he got out of the boy was a very low 'Hn' that sounded more like a grunt than anything else. The giant of a man went to help the boy down, but was surprised when he just vaulted off the high table and landed on the ground in a crouch. Captain Loken gave a low huff in surprise, but said and did nothing to show it. He simply motioned for the boy to walk towards the door that led out of the room.
Garviel quickly put on his helmet after that and signaled for one of the Legion's Psykers to meet him in the viewing room. He also alerted said Psyker to cloak himself so as not to be seen while in there.
With his orders received and met with approval after a bit of explaining, Garviel closed the channel and met the young boy outside. He was leaned against the opposite wall, hands in what remained of his pant's pockets, with a scowl on his face. He looked rather serious and thoughtful, something that wasn't out of place on the child's face in the time that Garviel had known him.
"Shall we go?" he asked.
"Hn," the boy answered with what could be considered gusto. With an inaudible sigh, the Luna Wolves Captain led the revenette onwards towards their destination. They went left down the corridor, and turned left to enter a small access way that led to a short flight of stairs. Garviel took his time putting in the access code for the door, as to let his Battle Brother to access the room from the opposite side. They took their time walking up the large steps, as it proved a bit difficult for the newly conscious boy to scale them. The duo came to another door, this one needed the Tenth Captains own genetic signature to open, as it was a secured room meant for staff and Legions Astartes only. Once the door had cycled, and let him know that the room was occupied, something that Sasuke did not realize, or did not pay attention to.
The duo walked in and closed the door behind them. Sasuke took up residence close to the glass window that overlooked the Infirmary slash impromptu ICU. Garviel scanned the room promptly in search of his friend. There, in an unnaturally dark corner sat his Psyker brother. Garvi noted that the boy shot a confused look towards the corner, his gaze lingered for but a moment before he turned away and towards the window.
"He subconsciously knows I am here, but it seems his conscious mind does not percieve me. Interesting boy Captain Loken," The Second Company Librarian mused over the Vox network. Garviel Loken chuckled to himself silently; he knew for a fact that this child was different, in so many ways.
The Tenth Captian took up a spot just behind Sasuke and to his left. His large hand engulfed the boys shoulders as he watched the Apothecaries prep for Naruto's surgeries. Loken sighed almost inaudibly at the sight of such a drastic measure. He knew it was to save the boys life, but it seemed so out of the ordinary that the whole event just burned itself into his mind.
"Captain Loken," Sasuke muttered lowly to the giant suddenly. Loken looked down at the boy, half expecting his gaze to be locked on his face. What he got was a boy who was looking straight ahead and not flinching in the slightest as needles and other instruments were stuck into his friend.
"Yes?" He asked the boy.
"There is someone sitting in the far corner of this room. They are under some sort of shroud … I cannot tell if they are friend or foe, Should I be provoked, I will defend myself from them," The boy stated factually. It was not a threat, nor a promise, just a statement of universal fact.
Garviel and the Librarian were both shocked by the boys words, not for his threatening, but for his acute ability to sense the presence of a hidden entity; and not just any hidden entity, but one hidden by use of the Warp.
"How did you know there was someone there boy," Asked the Librarian as he came out of his hiding spot. Sasuke, though a bit shaken by the sheer size of the man, did not give any indication of fear at being put on the spot.
"I have been taught from a young age to notice things out of the ordinary. And when a shadow that shouldn't be as dark or as deep appears in a room, one has to wonder at its purpose," Sasuke smirked. Both Astartes' blinked at the explanation, as it was not something they had expected from such a young boy. Garviel was more surprised as he had felt the strength behind the boys punch before, but to know he was taught the art of stealth, coupled with his strength, struck the giant as fearsome indeed.
"If you knew I was here, why not confront me?" The Librarian asked.
"I did not know if Captain Loken know you were there, so I played it safe until his was between me and you. He is much bigger, and sturdier, than I … And covered in armor. Granted, that doesn't always help," Sasuke smirked at some unknowable joke in his mind. Both Space Marines could understand the boys logic, and were astounded by his forward thinking mind.
"Though, if it were Naruto in here, you might have ended up with a new hole in the wall," Sasuke chuckled. He turned away from the other giant and back towards the window. From this viewpoint Sasuke, Loken, and the Librarian, were able to watch as the two Apothecaries went about cutting the blond open.
"Do you think he will survive this Captain?" The Librarian said.
"I do not know Librarian Falkus," Garviel said, his uncertainty was substantial, and blatant on his face for all to see.
"He'll make it. Like I told you earlier, Naruto is too tough to die. His stubbornness won't let him quite, not without a knife in his hands," The child's certainty surprised the two Astartes. It was not often that one heard such faith in another. It was, for the Astartes, to see such trust in another outside of their own ranks.
"What is this boy to you, child?" Librarian Falkus asked. He had, in the time between their last conversation and now, removed his helmet. His face was worn, like an old cloth beaten against the wind for far too long. His eyes were a stormy gray that radiated power immeasurable. His chin was squar, his cheeks gaunt, and his brow high and wrinkled from long hours thinking over difficult subjects.
Sasuke personaly thought he looked like a slightly younger version of the late Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Just with a broader face and less hair.
"Naruto?" He asked.
"Yes."
"He is … The only one to have ever understood my pain," He said, which confused the two Astartes. "We are both Orphans. His parents died when he was born, and mine were killed by my own brother," Both Astartes were shocked by the last revelation. "It is because of this shared pain that we are as close as brothers. If we didn't have each other, we would both be dead a hundred times over," Sasuke said with a confusing smile.
"Why would your brother kill your family?" Asked the Librarian. Even as the words left his mouth, he knew he had said the wrong thing.
"My brother didn't just kill my family, Falkus, he murdered my whole clan. A clan that was over two hundred strong, and filled with fighters more than twice my own strength and skill. HE butchered them, in cold blood, right before my eyes, and said it was to test his power," Sasuke seethed with a blood rage. He kept his rage under control, though, thanks to the thought of what would happen to Naruto if he snapped.
Librarian Falkus, and Captain Loken of the Tenth both blanched heavily at the thought of one of their own ever killing their Brothers. It was an alien thought to them, one that felt rancid on the tongue, even without the words being spoken. It was something that twisted their guts and made their Humors run rampant. But to think of whitnessing their whole legions destruction right before their very eyes, and then be told it was for a simple act of testing ones power, they felt ever sicker at the very idea.
"How have you not gone for vengeance against him?" Loken asked, his voice trembled as he spoke, but he kept his tone even and unbroken.
"I did, but he," Sasuke pointed out the window at Naruto. "He, he stopped me before it was too late. He pulled me back form the edge. If not for him, I would have become a monster."
"Truly, you are like brothers then," Falkus said with an awed air.
"Not even by blood or oath, and you defend each other, and save each other," Garviel spoke with simple awe at the heroism shown by the two boys.
"Save each other?" Sasuke asked with a snort. "I owe that idiot my life, there is no saving each other, he saves me, and I just make sure he doesn't kill himself!" Sasuke chuckled derisively at that. Both Luna Wolves blinked in surprise at the admission. They then smiled indulgently and went silent for a time.
The group of three watched as the two Apothecaries worked tirelessly over the Blond boy. They first introduced the Secondary heart, and placed it under the left breast after they had moved the first over under the right. The next to be implanted was the Ossmodula. It was placed behind the lungs. The Biscopea was next, and it was placed directly under the left heart. The Apothecaries seemed to argue for a few minutes, but seemed to agree on something before they restarted their prodeedure.
Two small organs, called Haemastamen were placed directly on the blonds hearts, both inter-weaved into the circulatory system to aid with his healing. Next was the Larraman's Organ, this was also doubled and placed under both hearts. Then with a quick hand, they sealed up the incisions and turned Naruto over.
Sasuke stared as all this happened, he glared and memorized each and every cut, suture, implant, and position of each and every organ. Out of the two Astartes present, only Garviel Loken, Captain of the Tenth, noticed this taking place. He looked down at the boy and raised a brow behind his helmet.
"What are you doing Sasuke?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Just watching," Sasuke said, though Garviel knew it was a lie. He did not press, as it would be irrelevant once Falkus took a look within his mind.
AS they turned back they witnessed the Catalepsean Node being placed into the back of Naruto's head. Sasuke's eyes widened, but showed no more emotion than that. Next a trio of implants were sorted into Naruto's head. The Occulobe, the Sus-an Membrane, and the Lyman's Ear, were all introduced. The Sus-an was placed right above the brain, at his crown, while the others were moved deeper into the recesses of his brain matter.
After a quick check to for infections and other odities, they stitched him up and flipped him back over. They cut him open once more and implanted one more organ, the Multi-lung, right over the lungs.
"Are they finished?" Sasuke asked as they saw the two Apothecaries stitch the blond boy back up and wash him down.
"No, there are more organs to implant, but for now, what has been implanted will aid him in his recovery. He will soon begin the transformation into a full on Astartes. Which brings us to a new predicament," Garviel looked from Sasuke to Falkus. "Falkus here needs to talk with you young Sasuke. Do you know what Telepethy is?" Garviel asked suddenly. Sasuke shot him a surprised look, but nodded.
"Yeah, I read about it in one of my clan's directories. If I remember, there were some people that had the ability to go into someones mind and search out memories to figure out the truth. Is that what Fakus here can do, go into my mind?"
Both Astartes were surprised by this, not just for the foreknowledge, but for the fact that he even knew what the giant could do. What perplexed them though was his lack of fear at his mind being invaded.
"I've had my mind invaded before. It was after the Massacure of my clan, so...," Sasuke shrugged. He knew it was irrelevent to keep information from them at this point, the fact that they had technology centuries beyond anything he had seen, and people like the Yamanaka Clan at their disposal just cemented one simple fact in his mind. If he lied, in any way, shape, or form, he would be dead sooner or later. And Naruto along with him. He would not jeopardize their chances just because of his arrogance, or his pride. Truth would save them in this instance, or nothing else would.
"Oh? Is that right?" Falkus asked. The large man took off his gauntlet and handed it to Garviel. With a gentle grace that belied his strength, he placed his hand upon Sasuke's head, and entered his mind.