Unlikely Survival

Author Note:

This story is being revised and reposted.

...

Not much is going to be changed, things are just going to be explained a bit better, and there will be a bit less mystery.

...

The rating on this story is going to be changed to T

because it will contain adult content such as

foul language, mature situations.

...

There will be darker aspects to the story later, perhaps, if the plot bunnies breed as planned or not planned. -_-* you know how bunnies get in plot season...

Disclaimer: I do no own Naruto, or any of its character, Kishimoto does. I only own my original characters.

Warnings: Language. There are a few curse words in this chapter

Italics are Thoughts

Bold is English

Preface

Once long ago there was a great tree that grew taller than the mountains, containing unimaginable power in its very being. This divine tree not only grew in one dimension but many, its roots intertwined with its reflections, connecting one world to another. One day, in one of these worlds, the power of the divine tree was stolen by a mortal woman who ate the thousand year fruit, taking the power into herself. Without its power, the divine tree began craving a replacement. Kaguya would sacrifice people to the tree to appease it until there came the day the tree was no longer appeased. Starving for its power the divine tree began rampaging, hunting all that had a life to replace the power it had lost in Kaguya's world while the other tree began to wither without its counterpart, its power sinking into its roots in an attempt to balance both worlds. The rampaging divine tree was named the Ten tails and sealed in the sky by one of Kaguya's sons. All the while, the other tree continued collapsing into itself, leaving a large scar in the land itself in the shape of a gaping hole, its sap and power sinking into the ground. These two gaping holes in the ground where the two great trees once were, were filled with water over time. In the bottom of this lake, the great trees roots still entwined, linking both worlds together with the power of the other tree.

475 years later

A young man sighed tiredly as he took a seat at the base of a pine tree, his breathing heightened from exertion. It was clear from his appearance that he had been hiking for several days, and from his gear, it was clear he was a trapper. He paused in mid sip as he felt eyes on him. Slowly turning, he saw a pair of anxious dark eyes watching him from the bushes before the child darted off, her bronze skin and pitch black hair marking as one of the natives of this new world he had journeyed to. The man shook his head in aggravation and got up. If there was a child in the area, a parent or hunting party wouldn't be too far off and the last thing the French fur trader wanted to do was have a conflict with one of the Native tribes because he was seen too close to one of their offspring. With that he swiftly began his descent down the mountainside, heading towards his next round of traps. He looked around as he descended the pines, wary of the larger beasts that lived in this area. It was truly a pain to travel all the way out here and not for the first time the young man thought of bringing a team with him on these trapping trips. The area itself was truly startling in its majesty. It was a perfect ring of mountains, their slopes meeting high creating steep rides and saddles, a circle of a valley, and at its base an enormous lake with a large island in the middle. For some reason, there were no people in this area, and the young man wondered for the umpteenth time why the native tribes avoided such a bountiful hunting ground.

It wasn't until late afternoon that he had made his way to the base of the valley, the shadows already growing long as the sun was eclipsed by the might of the mountains peaks. He swept his long blond hair out of his face as his inquisitive blue eyes scanned the shoreline. Perhaps he should do some fishing before calling it a night. Or perhaps he should just get a bath. It had been several days and it would be first time actually approaching the lake. The water looked crystal clear, and he found his mouth watering to drink some with how clean it was. Stripping his tunic and breeches off, the young man removed his undergarment before wading into the perfect water, marveling as he dove into it's depth. he surfaced with a laugh before proceeding. He continued to swim well away from shore, awed by how far he could see into its blue depths.

He dove once more, curious if he could see all the way to the bottom. As he swam deeper he suddenly froze, a shadow from the left catching his eye and he turned sharply trying to spot what had moved. After a moment a chill that had nothing to do with the water filled his as he looked too and fro searching the water for any fish, minnows, turtles, reeds, seaweed, anything.

There was nothing, no life, not even a floating particle and he froze as his blue eyes locked with the deepest depths of the lake. He continued to stare transfixed at the sight before him uncomprehending before his eyes slowly widened in utter awe when he finally understood. They were huge, barely seeable considering how far down they were and it once again struck him how freakishly clear the water was, something that once thrilled him now sending a thrill of fear through his body. They were the roots of a great tree, gnarled and twisted like enormous water serpents in the water's depths hidden deep in the lakes depths and mountain's shadows. A shadow flashed in the corner of the man's eye once more and without hesitation he broke the surface of the water, swimming as hard as he could for shore, fear turning his breath ragged as terror burned through him. He saw the shadow out of the corner of his eye again, and then again, and again, each time fast and closer than before. He felt the whisper of something along his ankle and a scream of terror broke the air as he continued kicking wildly. There was nothing hesitant about the next time it grabbed his ankle and his scream was cut short as he was dragged swiftly under the surface, the ripples in the water fading unnaturally fast. The little girl that had followed him into the valley took off up the valley ridge, terror in her heart as she raced home. She had always been warned by her elders of the tribe to never venture to this place for fear of meeting an evil spirit that had taken up residence in the lake down below. She ran in a flurry of tears as she hears something begin to pursue her, a mere whisper of movement across the screamed with terror as she was suddenly whisked away by a shadowy creature. When her tribe searched for her all they found was one on of her little shoes.

525 years later - Present day, Land of the Elemental Nations

It was quiet that evening, the sky fiery and fierce as the sunset on a dying day. Soon the rich purples faded across the sky, leaving only seeping indigo on the horizon. The Anbu patrolman paused on his path around the Lake, to take in the peaceful sight of the summer fireflies flashing and glowing as they flew over the water. The Anbu couldn't help but grin behind his porcelain mask as one flew up to him, a finger already offered to the large glowing bug. It landed for a moment before drifting off across the water once more to join with its fellow lightning bugs.

The Anbu smiled at the bugs, before taking a deep breath, enjoying the fresh scents of water and brush that surrounded him. It was so peaceful, so pleasant. Throughout the years, the man had learned to appreciate the moments like this. After all, with the violence and missions that made up daily life for an Anbu Operative in general, such serenity was far and few in between. Letting his breath back out with a sigh of contentment at the calming sounds surrounding his person's, he couldn't help but think it was such a beautiful night.

All of sudden the lake began to glow from within startling the Anbu from his thoughts and bringing his focus to the lake. The glowing bugs that had been slowly drifting in a lazy manner before, started to swirl in beautiful, but erratic patterns across the water. A wind picked up, causing ripples to form across the once calm water's surface.

Looks like another person is coming through the lake tonight, and so soon too, thought the man. He barely had time to finish the thought before there was a sharp hiss of metal. He had only time for a shocked and panicked look to cross his face before his head left his body to land in the dewy grass, his body crumpling into a heap behind it. There was a slight chuckle from the shadows, followed by a pale man with long dark hair and golden eyes with a slit pupil stepping into the moonlight. Around his eyes were strange purple eye markings, which made his exotic eyes become even more of a focus. Right now though, those eyes were wide open in a clear display of excited blood lust, due to the thick metallic smell of it now tainting the once lovely night air.

"Orochimaru-sama," said a voice from the shadows, a group of four appearing beside him in the dim light.

"Sound four. Report," the pale man answered with a raspy hiss.

"We have located the subjects that you were seeking. A woman and a boy. It looks like the Intel was correct. It also appears that there is one more coming through the portal tonight." Said the leader quietly.

The pale man chuckled, a grim look of satisfaction twisting over his features. "Good. We will wait for our newest test subject to arrive. Once they are through the lake, we will take the boy and the woman with us, along with the new arrival. Tanyu, Juu, go and retrieve Karin. We will need her sooner than we thought."

"Ah," replied both the kneeling figures before they disappeared in a flurry of shadows. Orochimaru smirked as he returned his attention back to the lake. He was so close to immortality that he could almost taste it.

Chapter 1: A Brave New World

Present Day Canada

In the dark of her room sat a young woman named Samira, her knees drawn to her chest with her arms wrapped around them as slight tremors shook her shoulders, at her repressed sobs. The woman's short brown hair was mussed and tangled, in the need of a good brushing as dark bags shown underneath her eyes, from the many nights of little to no sleep.

"Just where is she?" she whispered to the dark of the room. Her best friend had gone missing a few days ago. Samira had been part of the searches and sweeps through the woods that had taken place before the searches where called off suddenly today. She sighed tiredly as tears slips past her eyelids and began making their journey down the sickly pale skin of her lower face. She was worried sick.

'Just where is Antonia?' Thought the young woman.

A phone begins to ring down the hallway from her room, the sound muffled slightly as it bounced through the silent apartment. This drew the woman's attention from whatever morbid thoughts she was having, but the sound didn't bring her comfort. Tightening her hold on her legs, her brown eyes darted to the hallway where the red flash of the phone's light reflected off the dimly lit walls. Soon the phones shrill ringing is cut off to be replaced by a young woman's voice saying cheerfully, "Hey there! This is Samira Cloud! I'm sorry I'm not able to come to the phone right now, but please leave your name, number, and message at the tone and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks!"

A loud beep sounded for a few minutes and then a distinctly male voice hesitantly spoke, "Hey there… Um, it's Brian… Ah, listen… they… they found her car." At this the young woman's hold on her legs tightened to the point they began to lose feeling and her fingers turned white from the death grip.

Brian had been part of the searches and was a good friend of hers, being her step brother and all. He had been dealing with some of the higher ups since he was a police officer, their father soon to fly in later today. He had promised to let her know the moment they found anything. With the tone of his voice however, her throat tightened in anticipated dread, making it hard for her to breathe as she waited for the man to say anything more. She didn't have long to wait as his voice now chocked with sadness continued in a whisper, "I-It was found in the lake… off of Richmond Bridge. Samira… they can't find a body but… they… don't think that she… made it. I'm so sorry. I wish-" Another loud beep cut him off as his time had run out, but she didn't need to hear anymore.

Tears where now pouring freely as the young woman, Samira, began to shake harder, her face now buried in her knees. Soon a keening wail was heard from her as she grabbed a pillow, crushing it to her as she desperately wished that it wasn't true, that she hadn't just lost her sister.

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Two months later found Samira standing in her old room as she regarded it coolly, dull brown eyes taking in the sparseness of it, the lack of personal effects and color, lifeless and devoid of human touch. Satisfied, she finished putting the last sheet over the wardrobe before closing the door to her room behind her. She hated this place. It held so many bad memories, memories from her childhood, memories about her parents. About fights and cheating and alcohol and death. Loosing Antonia though had been the last straw for Samira though, and she couldn't bring herself to keep the old place any longer.

It was more than a little mystifying. Why had Toni come back? Their family had moved away shortly after Samira's parents had passed away and Tony's family had pushed through the adoption papers. They had known her since she was young, so when her parents had passed away at age fifteen, they hadn't hesitated.

So why come back? Looking over the old items left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Going down the hallway and past the living room she took in the sheet covered furniture as she went before finally pausing one last time to take in her childhood home, knowing that she wouldn't be returning. Content that everything was where it should be and that she hadn't forgotten anything important she locked the old black door behind her before stepping off the porch and down the steps that led to her waiting car below, boxes and luggage easily seen stacked up, blocking out most of the windows of her car.

Getting in, she forwent the radio, instead opting for silence as she drove, the only sounds being heard were those made by the rumble of the engine and the hum of the tires on the wet road. Brown eyes took in the misty coverage of autumn before a soft sigh fell past her lips, her grip on the steering wheel tightening as she thought of how much Antonia had loved the fall. It felt like her heart was tightening in her chest as she drove, knowing that she was going to have to say goodbye before she left.

Soon the Richmond Bridge came into sight and she swallowed roughly, thoughts and emotions a jumbled mess. This was where it had happened. This is where Toni had… Samira took a deep breath as she struggled to control her rising grief as the sound of the tires changed when she entered the new stretch of concrete and steel that was the bridge. It wasn't long for a bridge despite the stunning lake it crossed or the majestic ring of mountains that encircled the lake. In fact it was rather on the short side, but it had been long enough, high enough for her to lose her closest friend when the car had gone flying over the edge and into the still waters bellow.

Samira suddenly jolted when a sudden sharp pain flashed from her leg. She cringed and slapped her leg, grimacing when she spotted the dead ant under her hand. Looking up, her eyes widened at the large shadowy figure standing in the middle of her lane that hadn't been there two seconds ago.

"FUCK!" she cursed, panicked. Without another thought, she slammed on the brakes and turned the steering wheel sharply to the side in hopes of missing the person.

There was a high squealing sound as the rubber tried to grip the wet concrete until suddenly, the car was flipping. There was an ominous crunch as it hit the railing, flying over the edge and into the cold waters down below. The occupant of the car could barely get out a scream as she saw her world go from steady level road, to a swirly chaotic blur, only to then settle on the swiftly approaching greyish blue of the lake, which she could barely see over the dull white of her deployed air bag.

An ear deafening smack was heard as the car hit the water making a giant splash. Samira's head whipped back and forth from the impact and she let out a cry as her head hit something hard and unyielding. Feeling disoriented, she struggled to regain her balance as the car continued to shake and groan as it sank deeper into the water. The sting of the seat belt as it cut into the middle of her chest, which was sure to leave a bruise later, helped bring her mind back into some type of focus and onto the situation at hand.

Focusing now on her cracked windshield, she saw the grey depths of the water that surrounded her as air bubbles shoot past her. The heavy metal car, loaded with luggage, was sinking rapidly. The sound of trickling water filled the almost dead silence and she could feel the coolness of it start to soak her shoes. Looking down panic once again filled her as she noticed the water trickling in around the frame of the door, causing the water level in the care to slowly rise. Trying to think of what to do around her panic, Samira was once again hindered as her head began to throb in pain from where she had hit it.

"I-I need to get out," she whispered to herself as some blood began to dribble down the left side of her face and into her eye, which stung like hell and made her unable to see out of that eye. All her thoughts however where paused when a high pitched cracking sound was heard. Samira's eyes immediately where drawn to the windshield where a spider web of cracks where slowly beginning to grow from a central crack as the car sunk deeper and deeper into the swiftly darkening waters. The water pressure, she thought with growing panic as she watched the windshield continue to crack under the growing strain. She struggled against her belt frantically, knowing that her time was running out. Clink. Ping. She froze eyes wide as she stared at the windshield, taking a deep breath, knowing what was going to come next.

Whoosh! The glass finally gave way under the water pressure and she raised her hands in time to protect her face as the glass blasted into the car along with rushing torrents of water. A sharp stinging started up in her arms and chest as the glass hit her in several places. The force of the water pushing her back into her seat leaving her defenseless as it powerfully rushed in, trying to force itself into her lungs and up her nose.

Samira began to thrash wildly in panic, but the powerful torrents of water and still buckled seat belt held her firmly in place. As the car continued to sink, the light from the surface began to grow dimmer and dimmer, turning the once grey blue water to black and leaving Samira completely blind in the suffocating icy depths of waters embrace. I should have hit bottom by now, her thoughts sluggish as her mind screamed for air and her struggles began to weaken.

That's when the car sank past a dark still shape in the water, making Samira tense as she continued to clumsily try to detach her belt. She frowned as she noticed another dark shape pass and she groggy comprehended with a massive wave of confusion that it looked like a giant tree root and that the water was no longer a pitch black, but seemed to be returning to its grey blue state it was when she first entered. This made it easier for her to actually see more clearly and as she passed another shape Samira could defiantly tell it was a giant tree root.

I must be hallucinating, she thought dizzily as her lungs continued to burn for air, there's no way I could survive this. It's too late. Oh well, might as well… she thought before taking in the breath that her lungs so desperately required. She shuddered and jerked wildly at the foreign and uncomfortable sensation of her lungs filling with the water, not even noticing the car starting to drift upward at a faster rate than before. She blinked rapidly as her vision began to falter, spots swimming before her eyes, as she took another breath of water, wild shudders running through her frame before the car broke through the surface of the water.

With a loud roaring sound the water poured out of the broken windows and cracks in the doors. As soon as the water was past her head her body reacted even more violently, trying to make her double over and expel as much of the foul liquid from its system as possible. Samira coughed and hacked as her upper body pushed against the restraining force. Finally done ejecting the glowing liquid from her lungs she sat slumped and shuddering against the steering wheel, utterly exhausted.

At this point a random thought wandered into her fatigued mind, glowing water? But her mind was too tired to puzzle it out. Closing her eyes and taking many deep breaths, she began the process of trying to calm her body and gain some semblance of peace after that whole ordeal. It wasn't until the soft blue light surrounding her began to dim that she opened her eyes and began to become aware of her surroundings as she continued to greedily gulp down precious air. That was when she spotted the figures with dark eyes and bone white masked faces surrounding her.

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Elemental Nations

Morino Ibiki was not a patient man. While he could be when it was required of him, by nature he was generally not so generous. Many could attest to this, seeing as the man was the head of the Hidden Leaf's Torture and Investigation unit. Standing at over six feet tall, with a powerful build, a scarred rugged face, and cold black eyes, he was well suited for his job of wringing information out of his subjects.

The men that where traveling with him however, were greatly testing his limited patience, with their fruitless chatter. The journey had been twenty miles on foot, an easy and fast feat for ninja but still. It was grating on his nerves. Sighing the man shoved his black gloved hands into his pockets, stern face darkening with his growing irritation as his black trench coat whirled behind him in his wake.

In an effort to tune the chattering men out, the irritated man let his mind turn instead to the subject of his current mission. The scarred man's eyes narrowed as he thought back to what the Hokage had told him, about how Orochimaru had broken into the Forbidden Lake and past a very powerful barrier before making off with three of the people who had come from the lake, earlier this week.

Ibiki scratched his chin distractedly, the rough pull of stubble ghosting across his gloves as his thought turned to the mystery of the lake and it's people. The people that would come out of the lake where always a bit of a unknown whenever they came through, as Ibiki could recall from his youth when he had first been introduced to the top secret location of the lake. He had remembered seeing the waters begin to glow blue and the shadows start to rise from the depths of the lake before a drowned and bedraggled man was ejected from the waters, hacking and gasping as he struggled to stay afloat. That had been years ago, the man long dead.

In fact, all the people that came through had a tendency to die off quickly, though the Hidden Leaf had managed to come up with a few ways to extend their short lives, even if it was only by a couple of months, or years if they were extra lucky. They had never figured out however how to extend these people's lives to a regular hundred year old life span. Most of the time they got only a couple of years at best, despite all the Hidden leaf's years of study and research.

So the question to ask is why would Orochimaru, after all these years, suddenly decide to break into the Lake and steal some of the subjects that had come through?

It's not like they lived long to be interesting or useful test subjects to the insane scientist. It was troubling to say the least that Ibiki couldn't even guess at why the twisted genius wanted the subjects badly enough to come get them himself, if the reports were correct.

Ibiki and the group traveling with him came to a halt when an Anbu agent suddenly appeared in their path. "State your business," demanded the masked man in a monotone voice, holding his sword poised to strike.

"I am Morino Ibiki, Head of the Torture and Investigation Unit. I have been sent by the third Hokage to gather reports of the incident and transport any remaining subjects back to Konoha," he stated handing over a scroll before the Anbu's gaze turned to the men traveling with him.

"We are the barrier squad that the third Hokage sent to replace or fix the current barrier around the lake. We are also to investigate the means that Orochimaru used to bypass the current barrier," declared the leader of the squad.

The Anbu nodded, flash stepping away to allow them to continue. Ibiki returned to his thoughts, but was interrupted once again by the members of the barrier squad continuing on with their gossip amongst themselves, much to his frustration.

"I heard that the Forbidden Lake is a base for top secret experimentation," murmured one man, as he brushed his shaggy bown bangs out of his eyes as his companions gave him a serious look.

"Well, It wouldn't be the first. It is a top secret location. That would explain why Orochimaru came himself to the lake." Said another as the youngest of their group hummed in agreement and nodded.

"Senpai is usually the one sent to take care of the barrier, so this will be the first time that I've seen it.," said the youth as his comrades looked to one another before continuing to talk quietly.

"Well, you'll be seeing it soon enough. We should be getting pretty close," assured the team captain before the men nodded and continued their pointless chatter.

Ibiki sighed in mild relief and exasperation, glad that they didn't actually have full clearance to the topic. Knowing how the barrier squad liked to gossip, it wouldn't have been wise to tell them half of what was going on inside the base. The group stopped short when they realized that through the dark trees before them, a barrier was beginning to glow.

"Crap, that must be it," muttered one of the barrier team before the men sprang into action preparing their scrolls.

Ibiki disregarded them, running directly toward the barrier until he came to a stop before it, his eyes narrowing instead as he observed the fluctuating barrier before him. He swiftly performed the sequence coded needed and bypassed the barrier. Moving swiftly toward the glowing lake, examining in the Anbu that milled around the edge of the glowing water.

Reaching the small research building that was stationed on the edge of the lake, Ibiki stopped in front of the door joining in with all the other eyes that were directed toward the large shadow that was slowly rising from the center of the lake. A minute later an alien looking silver container of sorts appeared, looking like a horseless carriage, only this had windows and a large gaping hole in the front, where a window used to be, judging by the glass still clinging stubbornly to the edges. The sound of coughing and hacking filled the air as water poured out of the odd contraption. A young bedraggled brunette woman was sitting upright in a seat, before she slumped forward, her harsh breaths filling the air, shudders running through her every now and then.

As the light began to dim from the glowing waters, the head Anbu motioned that it was safe and the teams immediately set out over the water to retrieve the brunette from her odd looking carriage. The door behind Ibiki opened and a young medical ninja quickly came out of it, letting the door bang shut, in his rush to get across the lake to the odd carriage and the Anbu milling around the silent young woman. Ibiki's eyes narrowed in curiosity as he heard the young woman's ragged breathing catch as she finally registered the people surrounding her vehicle.

The young medic called at the Anbu agents to get out of his way so he could see his patient and they reluctantly parted for him. Finally making it to the edge of the circle he stepped forward and in a soothing voice tried to coax her to come out. "Don't be afraid Miss. My name is Taro. I'm a medic. These people are just here to protect you. We need to look at you to make sure that you're alright, ok?" During his talk he had carefully crept forward and opened her car door as he finished.

Ibiki took in the tensing of her shoulders and the way her eyes darted around, confusion and wariness clear in their depths, while her face remained blank. "Where am I?" she demanded in English, making no move to leave the car.

The medic halted, blinking at her in mild surprise from the steel he had heard in her voice. Her eyes bore mercilessly into his and he had to hold back the urge to swallow uneasily. At least they knew what language she knew how to speak. Changing tracks quickly, the medic began to speak in English back to her, "Well, you had an accident miss-"

"Yes. In fact, I should probably be dead. But that doesn't change the fact that I want to know where I am," she said calmly as her eyes carefully took stock of the people around her, her eyes lingering on Ibiki for a moment before returning to the young uncertain medic before her.

"Ah, please miss, you need medical attention-"

"I don't want any medical attention. Hey! Get away from my car! All of you!" Ibiki snorted and moved toward the door of the research building that was behind him, feeling amused at the poor medic's plight as the young man started to protest.

He was sure that the young man was going to have one hell of a time trying to explain to the brunette that she was in an entirely different dimension with no hope of getting back home. Missing a beat in his step Ibiki speculated on the new thought that just hit him, Perhaps it's for the knowledge that the people possess. Falling easily back into his rhythm as if he never faltered, Ibiki ran with the thought, for it would definitely explain Orochimaru's suddenly renewed interest in the forbidden lake.

It was true that even though it had been difficult, the Hidden Leaf had gained at least three full languages that were used as code by Anbu Black Ops, both spoken and written, one of the main codes being English, which was what the young woman had been speaking in. Ibiki's thoughts trailed back to the days he had been forced to learn the odd language, before rubbing his forehead and giving a tired sigh. No, that couldn't be it.

From the brief report, Orochimaru had taken a young woman, a boy and the boy's mother, killing two other subjects that had come from the lake and taking no documents with him, making it highly unlikely that that was the man's objective. Perhaps the rest of the detailed reports would help, with that thought he moved into the building, looking for the director of the facility.

Ibiki found the man with ease a few seconds later, as the facility wasn't that huge, and now he sat in a small chair in front of the older man with a frown on his face. The man in front of him, known only as the Director, had short cut black hair with speckles of grey throughout and a long narrow nose with a pair of black rimmed glasses perched at the top. His face was long and came to a point at his chin, but at the moment was haggard with the stress the week had brought. Giving a sigh of weariness his grey eyes met Ibiki's stare head on and began his report, something Ibiki had to respect the man for, since the Director didn't flinch or cower at his intimidating stare.

"The barrier was breached without detection at 23 hundred hours, give or take thirty minutes. We later found several patrol members dead, mostly having their heads severed. We weren't made aware of their presence however until another young woman had come out of the lake. By then, they decided to act, reaching her before we could get to her, with the other two subjects in tow, the mother and her child," said the graying man.

"The mother and her son?" asked Ibiki with a frown.

The Director nodded grimly, face drawn. "Yes. They killed two other subjects."

"You mean two subjects that had come out of the lake previously?" Ask the head of the T and I with a frown. If the man would just stop calling the people 'subjects,' they could probably get through this conversation a bit faster. The Director nodded, lips tightening, though sadness could still be seen in his eyes.

"Yes, an older man and a teen boy." Ibiki frowned deeply as the man continued speaking.

"They were killed on the enemy's way out of the building, so we're not sure if it was subjects in general they wanted for experimentation or if it was specific to the three that were taken." The Director said with a grimace.

Ibiki hummed in thought, ever present scowl unchanging, "Any patters regarding the people that were taken?"

"Well, I suppose all of them where on the young side, and all had recently come out of the lake. The woman and her son had come out of the lake a couple of days before the attack, and the other subject they took had just come through. None of them had begun treatments yet to prolong their life spans. Do you think there's a connection?" asked the Director.

Ibiki's frown deepened slightly, "Of course. To what purpose though?" he murmured before sighing in frustration as he scanned the report in his hand. There seemed to be more questions than answers. "You say that there were six raiders in total?" Ibiki confirmed.

The Director nodded, "Yes. There were four main fighters, Orochimaru, and a young red haired female that didn't participate in the fighting, instead staying near the taken subjects."

"Interesting," Ibiki muttered before glancing up in curiosity as a large splash was heard outside, along with a wail of wind that hadn't been there before.

The Directors eyes narrowed and he lifted the blinds to the window, taking in a sharp breath at the scene unfolding in front of him. Ibiki's eyes widened slightly in surprise as well at the scene, before something happened that normally didn't around the Head of the Torture and Investigation Unit Leader, a quick deep chuckle left his mouth. "It's always so interesting to see what they do, isn't it Director?" said Ibiki, amusement clear in his voice as the Director's shoulders tensed.

"Not anymore. That's a bit on the new side though," said the graying man, his attention on the young woman who was currently struggling in the grip of two Anbu, with another standing in front of her wet and cringing in pain as he cupped his manhood. After all, it wasn't every day that one of the people in the lake had enough energy to fight back.

"Hold her steady," snapped the young medic at the Anbu as the young woman continued to flail wildly, curses being snarled across the water. What made the Director and Ibiki frown however wasn't the fact that the young woman was struggling so violently; it was the fact that the water under the Anbu team was starting to roil and whirl, as the wind picking up. The Director headed back to his desk with a weary sigh as he began going through paper work with a frown as Ibiki continued to watch their prisoner flail with unease. A storm was now beginning to brew in the previously tranquil night, the deep rumble of thunder growing closer.

"You seem to know what's going on? With the weather?" asked Ibiki as the Director looked up for a moment before looking back down to finish writing something.

"Yes. Since all subjects that come through the lake have no chakra to begin with, they have no elemental affinity, or I guess you could say they have a complete affinity for every element. Because of that, most can manipulate natural energy without meaning to when they first arrive, especially when they are upset or feel threatened." his tone distracted as Ibiki's eyes widened in surprise, not only at the information but at the Director's lack of concern.

"I'm assuming that that's most of the time," Ibiki muttered with a frown. If he had drowned in a lake and appeared in a random location we would be very upset as well.

"Is this a normal occurrence?" he asked with a gesture to the clouds as the Director make a noncommittal sound before standing to restack his paperwork before looking up, his attention once more returned to Ibiki so that he could flash Ibiki a grin. It was at that moment a bolt of lightning struck the ground next to their building, causing Ibiki to dive for the floor. The Director let lose a hearty laugh as Ibiki continued to curse from his spot on the floor when another bolt of lightning struck.

"I guess you could say that," the Director said with a chuckle as Ibiki shot the other man a glare.

….

It had been disconcerting for Samira when the young medic had approached her speaking Japanese. In all honesty she could understand and speak Japanese just fine, but she had just had been through a bit of a traumatic experience and wasn't feeling inclined to speak in his language any time soon. In all honesty it was probably for the best, she realized as the masked militants dragged her kicking and screaming across the lake, her assailants walking on water as easy as you please to her awe and mild terror. (How the hell were they walking on water?!) It meant that they had no idea that she could understand them and she got the impression that it was common for them to be able to speak Japanese in front of others without anyone being the wiser of what was said with the lack of censorship or tact in their words as they talked about her to her face in manners that were either rude or shocking. In fact she was learning a lot from their unrestrained conversation as it flowed around her, the men dragging her towards a large compound.

"Should we put her in with the other one?"

"Sure why not. The old woman is going to be dying soon anyways, she's been here for more than six months. Maybe she can get the new one to become more compliant after speaking to her. I don't want her kicking me again. And don't let her bite. One of them did that to Boar once and their change started too soon and they died since the medical staff wasn't ready to initiate it yet. Boar got double shifts for two months for not being careful enough," said the senior of the two masked militants as they dragged Samira along who was currently breathing hard with fear and anger. She snarled in fury when something was suddenly jabbed into her leg from behind and she turned to find the medic with a syringe jabbed into her leg.

Her fury peaked and there was a sudden flash of lightning from the heavens that struck the tree besides the group with a terrifying boom causing everyone in the group to curse, yell, or in the medic's case, run off screaming leaving the syringe in her leg. She snarled again and began shaking the appendage to shake the syringe free from her skin as the guards rushed to get her to the bunker. She glared after the medic with hate and another bolt struck where he had been before he managed to dive into a building for cover just in time. She continued to hurl every profanity she could think of across the clearing in the young man's direction as her guards finally reached the bunker before shoving a door open and dragging her inside, weaving down the hallways with mildly practiced ease. Medic out of sight, she directed her ire towards her guards who began cursing in Japanese at her bad temper. Finally reaching their destination the two called out in relief as a young woman in a lab coat met them at the door of a cell they were dragging her towards.

"Oh thank god you're here Hana, this one doesn't know how to stay still." He grunted in effort as Samira struggled to rip her arm free. The man strained against her with a groan of effort.

"Fuck! Why are they always so fucking strong?!" he complained as the woman, Hana, used a code on the door.

"We think their planet is actually larger than our and has a higher gravitational force due to having higher mass and density. Or maybe it just spins faster than ours, but either way, they have a higher gravity then our, meaning their bone density, muscle strength and muscle density is naturally a lot higher than ours. That, and the fact that none of them can rely on chakra for anything, meaning everything must come from their own strength since they cannot augment and enhance their muscles joints and bones with chakra." She said easily as she finished the code sequence and opened the door, Samira still struggling.

"Fuck! I didn't ask for a book Hana!" he grunted as he and his comrade began to drag her into the cell, two cots available inside.

"Well, you asked," she quipped back dryly as they attempted to drag her inside. Samira was having none of it and promptly raised both legs to catch either side of the doorway since her captors were already holding her weight up off the ground.

"Dammit! Would you stop struggling and being a pain in my ass!" yelled the talkative one as his partner grimace at the strain. Samira's response was to slam her forehead into his, breaking his mask and sending the three of them tumbling to the ground. The young woman in a lab coat rolled her eyes at the ensuing scuffle before leaning into the room to look at the elderly woman who had sat up from her bed and watching the scuffle with confused eyes.

"How are you doing today Mrs. Welsh?" asked the medic conversationally in English ignoring the fighting people on the floor as the elderly woman grinned back at the familiar face.

"I am doing well Ms. Hana. Is that a new arrival?" she asked the three people continued to scuffle. Hana nodded with a rueful grin.

"Yes, something like that." The scuffle finally ended with Samira getting thrown into the room before the door was slammed shut and locked with hurried motions and wild curses from her guards.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE! OPEN THIS DOOR!" roared Samira as she proceeded to kick the shit out of the door that barred her way.

"Samira?" came a voice from behind the young woman, causing her to freeze before whirling around in alarm. The old woman that sat before her had purple hair and hazel eyes, and was abnormally thin, almost brittle looking. Samira continued to frown at the woman in distrust, mind struggling to reason out as to why this woman would know her name. After a moment the woman smiled though she could tell that it was partly pained with sadness.

"I know I have changed a lot, dear, but i thought that you would recognize me at least a little. Samira's stomach dropped at the familiar voice as she continued to stare at the woman in silence. It took another minute before her brain finally realized where this woman's familiarity spung from and Samira's eyes widened as she sank to the floor with shock.

"There's no way," she whispered, her tone hushed with realization, shaking hands coming to cover her mouth in shock. The older woman's grin was pained once more.

"It's me," she whispered as Samira swallowed due to the suddenly dry mouth.

"I don't believe you," whispered the young woman as the older one flinched, purple hair falling to shadow hazel eyes.

"When you were ten I sent you to the principal's office for leaving a prank in Mr. Jones class," she said as Samira's eyes began to water. Within a moment she was across the room clinging to the older woman with desperation.

"Mrs. Welsh." she sobbed as the older woman hugged her back with equal ferocity, tears falling from her hazel eyes.

"Where have you been?! You've been missing for over a year," Samira finally demanded as she pulled back to hold the other woman at shoulder's length as she let her eyes rover over the older woman, taking her greatly changed appearance.

"I think it's safe to assume that time passes differently between our world and this one. Over on this side of the lake, it has only been about six months," she said as Samira's eyes widened with shock.

"What do you mean when you say 'this world?'" she murmured in shock as the older woman grimaced briefly in pain. At Samira's worried look the older woman shot her a strained smile.

"I have much to tell you and little time. To be honest, I'm probably going to be dying soon despite our Host's efforts to slow my death. I need to tell you about the nature of these people and this facility and what to expect, and in the end, it's going to be up to you for how you will handle this world," she said as Samira stared at her in horror. Understanding that now was not the time to interrupt, Samira gestured for her old school teacher to speak and all too soon Mrs. Welsh was explaining to her what little she knew of the bizarre new world that had traveled to.

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"Kabuto," called Hana.

"Yes, ma'am?" called the young grey-haired medic as he straightened his glasses.

"You have some reports to finish up. Get back over here," called the young woman as Kabuto hurried to obey.

"Yes, sir. Right away," said Kabuto as the spy hurried across the water with a slight smirk. Lord Orochimaru might want to know about this.

…

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