Author Note to any who are interested: Hey guy's, Naruhina-Namikaze here...obviously.
It turns out I'm terribly inadequate at posting regular chapters, and I get new ideas all the time. Too much in my head, some of it needs to come out, hence why this has been written. It's a lot longer than my usual chapters, but I wrote more because I don't know whether I'll continue so I thought you'd all get your imaginary money's worth.
I honestly don't know how this will be perceived, and/or if I will actually continue it, but it's been in my head for a while now and I wanted to put it into writing. So yeah, without further delay, I present to you: Life beyond the Land of Whirlpools.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Stargate. Fuck me I wish I did, but I don't. Sad times. Think of the wonga. *sigh*
Crossover type: Naruto X Stargate: SG-1
Title: Life beyond the Land of Whirlpools - (Title is a work in progress. If anyone can offer me a better one then go for it and I might use it, providing I like it of course.)
Rating: M. Just to be safe. I don't know how gory / sexualised I'm thinking of making this. I do like my naughty words though, so that's a cert.
Summary: Sixth Division Taichou Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto liked nothing more than for a mission to run smoothly. His orders were difficult, but straightforward: "Lead 'Alpha Squadron' through the barren wasteland of Uzushiogakureto thwart the advance of Madara's army into Hi no Kuni, following the collapse of Kirigakure." No matter how much he liked things to go to plan, something always went wrong. How will he and his team cope when they stumble upon the real reason behind the name of the 'Land of Whirlpools'?
+'Shinobi' Identification Certificate +
Name: Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto
Codename: 'Zero'
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Height: 6'1in
Rank/Title: Tokubetsu Jounin / ANBU Taichou / Sennin
Affiliation: Konohagakure no Sato
Allied Shinobi Forces: Infantry Division
Sixth Division Spec. Ops.
Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (ANBU)
Alpha SquadronUzumaki Clan
Namikaze Clan
Mount Myobaku
Chapter 1 – Insignificance
For four long years the world as they knew it had been ravaged by a conflict that was fiercer than anything their history books had ever accounted. The combined forces of the Elemental Nations had fought toe-to-toe with the seemingly immortal Uchiha Madara, and his never ending army of clone soldiers, backed up by the hundreds of un-dead abominations created by Yakushi Kabuto.
Attacks came from both sides, only to be negated by the others defences. The battles were long, arduous, and deadly; yet both sides were resigned to a daily stalemate. Wherever ground was made on one battlefront, it was lost at another.
That was the state of things in the Elemental World, until the Allied command centre in Konohagakure no Sato received an emergency broadcast from the East. It was short, and hampered terribly by interference, but its message had been clear; the Mizukage and her village had been caught unawares by a full-scale assault.
There were no survivors. The Mizukage and what was left of her shinobi force had rounded up what civilians they could find, and barricaded themselves in the communications building. From what those on the other end of the connection could see via the garbled transmission, anyone who could carry a weapon did so.
It was their last stand.
The last thing they saw was the lady Mizukage in heated battle with a dark-haired man gazing at her with black and red eyes. The blood curdling scream she let out as she was engulfed by black flames was cut short by the static that came from the end of the transmission.
The Hidden Village in the Mist – the Mizukage and her people – had been wiped off the face of the map...
"Damn it, Sasuke..." A venomous voice muttered through his porcelain mask as he went over what had occurred during the briefing for this mission.
Tsunade had made his squadron watch the entire recording for full effect during their briefing. Being one of the leading Sixth Division squadrons, they had seen and done things most normal shinobi couldn't even dream of, but even they knew what they were seeing was beyond evil. Revenge wasn't an idea that he had followed at all in his life, but seeing the way that Sasuke's eyes gazed gleefully as the Mizukage burned under his technique made his blood boil. Forget about capturing an S-rank criminal to stand trial for his crimes, he wanted to execute him personally, and he was sure that each and every one of those under his command would do the same.
The way she flaunted the outrageous actions of the Missing-Nin could have been considered to be cruel, or distasteful. But being a Captain in the Sixth Division – the name given to the newly formed Allied Forces 'Special Branch' – and one so close to the Godaime Hokage, Zero knew the meaning behind her display. She wanted an eye for an eye. She was telling him that she wanted Sasuke dead, and should the opportunity present itself, his resolve should be unwavering.
"Something bothering you, Taichou?" A womanly voice penetrated his mask, pulling him back to reality. The soft tones rolled over him, yet he knew that its owner was definitely one not to take for granted as being a 'soft touch'.
"When is there not?" The ANBU Captain held back a laugh before sighing behind his colourless mask.
He glanced over to the petite woman who moved in formation alongside him. The female ANBU member barely came up to the man's shoulders, yet she wasn't exactly what you would label as 'short'. Her curvaceous yet slender physique was amplified by her tight-fitting attire. A sculpted breast-plate protected the objects that were idolised by the male population of Konoha, and envied by the female populace. Only the Hokage herself could boast a more perfect chest...if that was your thing.
Dark-blue hair flowed down the entirety of her back, almost touching the waist of her combat trousers as her rear swayed hypnotically through her perpetual motion. She could feel her Buntaichou's eyes wandering all over her body, caressing her features without invitation to do so.
She really didn't like that.
"Did I give you permission to look at me in that way, Taichou?" The same soothing tone of voice invaded his porcelain mask, but the way it was laced with killer intent caused him to avert his eyes from her faultless body. Unfortunately, his gaze rested upon her eye line.
Orange met pure-white as she turned to face him. Their stares locked in place. Zero couldn't blink as he gazed helplessly into her pupil-less Byakugan eyes. The same could be said for the resolute Hyuga who stared hopelessly into the slotted pupils surrounded by orange-tinted irises.
"Are you two ever going to just take my advice and 'get a room'?" The indifference in the male figures remark was irritating to no end.
"Shut the fuck up, antler boy." They gave each other a bemused look when they realised that they had snapped at him in unison, before looking back over their shoulders to the male who had incurred their wrath. They heard him mutter one word in reply... "Troublesome."
It seemed to spark some laughter among those behind them, much to the scorn of the Taichou, and Fukitaichou. Zero growled loud enough for the two at the back of the eight-man squadron to hear him, shutting them up. Tora merely sighed and looked back towards their destination. As much as she hated to admit it publicly, she really did want them to get a room. It had been far too long...
"How far away are we, Tora?" Zero asked his Fukitaichou as he tried to think of a way to get back at his subordinate with the deer mask. "Maybe I should tell Temari about that girl at the bar the other night?" He mused as he waited for a reply.
"Roughly five minutes or so to reach the coast, then another twenty to cross the water," the Hyuga bearing a pure white mask with black markings resembling that of a white tiger replied curtly as she scouted out the area using her Kekkei Genkai. "I don't see anyone in the direct vicinity of the village."
"Understood" was the solitary word that escaped his lips. "At least we have time to set up a decent defensive position." The man with the colourless porcelain mask with no visible markings of any kind thought to himself as he tried to come up with a strategy to hold the island. This mission was as close to occupational suicide as you could get. Yet that's why his squad was chosen. Suicide missions were their speciality.
Upon seeing the collapse of the third largest military village within the Allied Shinobi Force, the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade, had urged the other Kages to assist in mobilising a force to protect the eastern seaboard around the Land of Fire. The area was almost unprotected as the border forces were so lax in that area. There had been so little threat of attack that Tsunade had redirected most of the border force to the frontlines in the north-east.
In order to give the forces time to set up a military front at the coast, three advance defence teams were dispatched to the most easterly land points, to slow down any attacks that may have come from the east. General Darui's 'Guerrilla Squadron' was sent to the Land of Hot Water; Sabaku no Kankuro's 'Strike Division' was sent to the most south-easterly quadrant of Hi no Kuni; and Taichou Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto's 'Alpha Squadron' was dispatched to Uzushiogakure.
It wasn't much in terms of numbers, but Alpha Squadron was arguably one of the most talented and powerful cells in the entire army. Despite being only Twenty years of age, their Captain was the fourth highest ranking officer of Konoha's forces, and had previously commanded General Hatake's Division in battle on two occasions. His eight person squad was handpicked from the new 'Shinobi' ANBU division, and each member was at least of low-Jounin in rank.
His Fukitaichou, Hyuga Hinata, had been removed from her position as Heir to the throne of the Hyuga Clan the second that she entered the ANBU training programme three years previous, following the decimation of her squad nine months into the war. Of the sixty men and women that were commanded by Tokubetsu Jounin Yamashiro Aoba, only nine returned. From her original Genin squad, only she and Aburame Shino survived. Despite her decision to join the Sixth Division, once her father found out that she had been hand-picked to be a member of Captain Zero's personal attack division, Hiashi gave her the chance to be the heir once again. She declined. Nine months later, her father was killed in the 'Great Naruto Bridge Massacre', leaving her sister Hanabi as Heir to the Clan.
Despite his kind-hearted nature and overly shy attitude towards women, Chōjūrō was a force to be reckoned with. After the events of the previous night, he was the sole remaining member of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū, and one of only a handful of Kiri shinobi that remained in the world. Even though his face was covered by a shark-like mask with the symbol of the 'Hunter-nin' on the forehead, the rest of the squad could feel his suffering.
Naruto had been given the luck of Kami when he was supplied with a shinobi from the 'Medic-nin' division. She may have been fourteen years his senior, but her ability as a medical shinobi was second only to her Sensei, the Godaime Hokage. Shizune had been a vital asset to his team since its establishment, a little over two years ago. Initially, Naruto had asked for Sakura, but she had declined. The War had really changed her.
One of the ultimate weapons within his group was its contingent from Sunagakure. After the initial days of the war, and her effective nature in immobilising Edo Tensei's using her sealing jutsu's, Maki was drafted into the Allied Forces ANBU division. With her ability to incapacitate, and her Buntaichou's ability to reverse-summon their bodies to a realm not too dissimilar to the concept of hell itself – the rogue Edo Tensei, Uchiha Itachi, helped Naruto to create a dimensional realm in which the fires of the Amaterasu burned indefinitely – it made light work of even the most troublesome of enemies.
Upon the death of his teammate, and the incapacitation of his leader, Omoi joined the Sixth Division. It wasn't long before he had been drafted into Alpha Squadron, after a year of leading the Kenjutsu training programme for the rookies. Chōjūrō had told him early on in their partnership that if he had been born in Kiri, he would easily have made it into their fabled group of swordsmen. The admiration Omoi had for his Captain stemmed from his likeness with his Jounin-sensei, Killer Bee; and like his sensei, he would be willing to lay his life down to protect him.
Including himself, three of the squads' members were candidates to become the Rokudaime Hokage, each of which was the head of their respective clans.
Nara Shikamaru was a complete pain in the ass when he wanted to be, but a competent and dependable member of the squad nonetheless. He specialised in his Clan's Shadow Manipulation techniques, and tended to attack from mid-to-long range...perfect for his lazy attitude to his work. The man's intelligence and tactical awareness seemed to be a trait held by all Nara's, many of whom worked closely with Generals and Taichou's across the war torn world. Like his former teammate, Ino, he lost his father in the opening days of the Fourth Shinobi War, and through the aftermath found his way into ANBU.
Despite being the youngest squad member at only Sixteen years of age, Sarutobi Konohamaru was possibly the deadliest on his day, aside from the Taichou of course. He had suffered a hard life. With the loss of his father as an infant, then the old man, even his uncle when he was just a Genin, it was an intolerable time in his life. The first year or two of the war had been straightforward for his team, who tended to stay in Konoha due to their status as rookie Genin. That didn't last long. His Genin squad was ambushed during a marauding mission into enemy territory. Naruto took care of him when he recovered from the critical unit at the hospital. The rest of his unit wasn't so lucky.
Zero definitely knew that he had been blessed with his current squad. Despite the insurmountable weight that each of them held on their shoulders, he wouldn't change a single one of them. Each and every one of them was a specialist in their particular field, and they had enough firepower to counter any force they had come across before. Well, before today anyway. Kami he hoped that Madara didn't attack the island with his full force. Even he wasn't sure if they could hold out very long against an army, even with two chakra powerhouses in his group.
They had been running over the vast expanse of water between the island and the mainland for twenty minutes. The shore was within sight. Naruto's heart sank as he saw the destruction. From his viewpoint the place had almost been completely levelled. It was hard to believe that this was all that remained of the Uzumaki Clans legacy; a pile of rubble and one man who had been burdened as a jailor for a demon.
Solid ground beneath their feet was a welcoming sight for Maki and Shizune, who despite their high precision chakra control, were running low on their reserves. The light glow underneath the squads feet dissipated as they no longer needed to surge chakra into their legs to partake in the nigh impossible task of walking on water.
"Okay, fan out and look for some decent vantage points whilst Saru and I set up our defensive perimeter. And no sloppy work laying the traps...I'm looking at you, Antlers." Zero ordered as all but one of the members nodded in unison before disappearing in various forms of shunshin. The man with deer-like markings on his mask glared momentarily before strolling away idly, muttering something about the nickname he had been given.
Zero and his subordinate donning a mask with markings similar to that of an ape sped through the destruction, en route to the most easterly part of the island. It was such a shame. The landscape seemed so lush and colourful, yet the area directly surrounding the village was barren, nothing short of a wasteland.
"How many do you think you could make, comfortably?" Zero asked the youngest member of his team. Naruto had always thought of Konohamaru as a protégé of sorts, personally teaching him many of his techniques and skills.
"I'd say a couple of hundred with enough chakra to still fight to High-Chuunin standard. Why do you ask?" The gruff broken voice of the teenager replied almost smugly as he gave his Sensei-of-sorts a quick glance. Zero could tell he was puffing out his chest as he spoke.
"Because I'm going to stay in Sennin Modo for the time being, and I'm limited to about forty." That caused an audible chuckle to ignite from the younger of the two, much to the dismay of the older. "Keep that up and I won't teach you Sennin Modo at all." That shut him up.
The duo crossed their fingers in a familiar pattern before chiming out their technique in unison.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Hundreds of figures in ANBU attire littered the narrow coastline as they stood in formation.
"I want a perimeter set up three kilometres off shore. I want nothing to get through without one of you seeing it. If they come, retreat to the shoreline and engage. Is that understood?" The order bellowed out so that all could hear.
"Hai," each of the Kage Bunshin's chimed as they gave the Buntaichou a quick salute, before fading from view.
"Come in Taichou, over." The crackling in his ear signified a radio connection from a member of his squad.
"Go for Zero," he responded as he remained transfixed on the coastline as it bombarded the shore, wave after wave. It had been so long since he had seen the ocean.
"Eer... I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I think I've found something, Taichou." The female voice he knew as his Fukitaichou spoke in a dazed fashion. "I'm in the southern quadrant, over." The static in his earpiece signalled to him that she had severed the connection.
Zero's shoulders slumped, sighing loud and deep enough that his subordinate couldn't help but laugh. He only ever got like this when the Fukitaichou was involved.
"Okay, something's spooked Tora. I'm going to check it out. You meet up with the rest of the squad back at the rendezvous." The pure-white mask of the Taichou bowed slightly to signify he had no intention of waiting for Konohamaru's reply, before he shunshined away to Hinata's location.
"Kami I hope those two get laid soon. All this sexual tension is bad for missions." The dark-haired teen sighed as he set off back to the centre of the demolished village.
It had only been a minute or so since she had severed the connection, but Hinata felt the change in air pressure that signified the arrival of the man she would blindly follow to the afterlife without one iota of hesitation. She raised her head from her crouched position as she pinpointed his location on the other side of the courtyard.
The Byakugan was a beautiful piece of genetic evolution. She had spent so many years admiring him from afar using her Kekkei Genkai, and today was no exception. And what a specimen of a man he was to admire. It would be difficult for any normal person to see much of his body due to the fact he was draped in a white cloak adorned by all those that were considered Captains within the ranks of the mask-wearing special branch. However, no flimsy piece of material would be able to keep her prying eyes away. Not that she needed to pry; she had seen him in his entirety, willingly so,many times before.
That perfectly chiselled torso hidden by a dull, damaged chest plate. Those muscular arms coated in various sealing marks concealed by jutted arm guards. His unblemished face; perfectly handsome by anyone's standards, covered by his imperious pure-white mask with no discernible markings or decoration. All that was on view were his peculiar orange tinted eyes, and long golden hair that shot out in all directions. She couldn't remember the last time he had cut it. When she asked him about it he said it was a memento to his late sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin. It looked like a lion's mane, but she had seen firsthand how something as harmless as unkempt hair could be so deadly.
"Hey, this better be good. Otherwise I'm gunna promote Shikamaru to Fukitaichou as punishment for dragging me out of my way." His irritated voice draped in sarcasm failed to register as she continued to gape in admiration with her back turned to him.
She felt the rising temperature in her cheeks as the fiery blush continued to grow as he sighed in that childish way of his, before slowly walking towards her. She watched as his alluring eyes darted all over the court yard, taking in as much as he could as he walked. Even with the defence perimeter set up, Naruto was always on guard. She would have liked to have thought it was something he had picked up since becoming a shinobi, but she knew that keen insight into danger was a defence mechanism created through his unfortunate childhood.
"You dorealise I can see what you're feeling with these eyes right?" He smirked as her back straightened up, tensing as she realised she had been caught out. "Elevated heart rate, increasing body temperature, and let's not forget the images of me naked." Naruto could've sworn he felt the slightest hint of killer intent weaved into the lust radiating from her when he caught her out.
He fully expected a palm of compressed air to fire directly at his head; that was her usual response to these things. Surprisingly she appeared to ignore his jibe.
"Does anything in this courtyard seem out of place to you?" The crouched kunoichi called out to him as she tried her hardest to reduce her body temperature.
"Straight down to business, huh?" He smirked as he moved to within ten feet of her. "Now that you mention it, the buildings do seem different. They're older, much older. The decor is completely different to what we saw on the eastern quadrant."
The more he thought about it, the stranger a sensation he received. Everywhere else in the village seemed to be completely levelled, but here, roughly one-fifth of the buildings surrounding this square were still standing. The stone used for building materials was completely different to anywhere else. The whole feel of this quadrant screamed antiquity at him. Something was definitely wrong here.
"Maybe this was the centre of the village...and the buildings were reinforced to withstand attack?" He mused as he received a shake of the head from his Fukitaichou.
"I was doing a sweep of the area with my Byakugan and found some abnormalities." With that she backed away from her position, allowing her Captain to see what she had been scrutinising for the past five minutes.
"What the hell is that?!" The long haired blonde yelled in a state of bewilderment and uncertainty.
"It's dead, whatever it is." The Hyuga replied as she looked back at the metallic serpent head sticking out from the dirt.
"Kami, I hate snakes." Naruto groaned as he gazed at the grotesque looking skull. He had never seen or heard of anything like this before.
A flare in the Kunoichi's chakra signalled the reactivation of her Kekkei Genkai. "It appears to be a type of body armour that envelops the wearer. Judging by the physiology I would say it was a human, rather than an armoured summon." The clarification of its species did little to sway the uncertain stare her Taichou was giving it.
"Have you found any others?" He asked as he reached down to touch what he now knew to be some form of helmet.
As he examined it his finger brushed over a soft patch moulded into the side of the helmet, inadvertently causing the metallic serpent head to almost fold away, presenting him with a look at the armours inhabitant. He recoiled slightly at the sight of the skull, to the mild amusement of his subordinate.
"Many, at least a platoon, but they seem to be buried deeper. The destruction of the village was about thirty years ago, so I assume they've been here since." She paused as she glanced over to her main find. "That, is why I dragged you here."
"Maybe they were all samurai or something?" He surmised as he averted his gaze to the left where Hinata's dainty hand was pointing towards. "An archway," Naruto asked, "what's so special about an archway?" It poked out from beneath a pile of rubble at the far side of the derelict square, no taller than a person meaning that it was probably in pieces.
"It's not an archway, it's a ring." Hinata replied with certainty, leaving the serpent head behind, and walking towards the object. "The rest of it is buried beneath all the rubble. Not only that, but it's made of metal, with a completely different architecture to the rest of this village. If you think this section of the village is older, this archway – or ring – or whatever it is, is ancient."
The white mask hidden beneath the mane of blonde hair seemed to contemplate her words, as he followed her along the courtyard.
"Well, my clones haven't reported anything yet. I guess we have time for a little detour." Without warning, Naruto rushed head on at the pile of rubble before him, a mass of chakra in the palm of his hand.
"Be caref –"
"Rasengan!" He screamed as he thrust the ball of energy into the disjointed pile of stone, cutting off the warnings by his subordinate.
Dust enveloped them as shards of rock sprayed the courtyard. Once it cleared, they saw the so called 'ring' in all its glory. "Sorry, you were saying something." Naruto tried his very hardest not to laugh as he surveyed his handy work.
"I was about to tell you to be careful because it is emitting some form of energy, but when have you ever listened to any of my advice." The sigh the masked female gave him was always the same, and Naruto loved it.
"Well, I bought you that lacy number didn't I? I'm sure that was on your advice." Smirking beneath his mask, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto left the reddening Hyuga to closely inspect the metallic ring. Through his Sennin Modo he could feel her body temperature elevating rapidly. She was either deeply embarrassed, or remembering what they did after she tried it on for him, but for once Naruto was more interested in something other than her.
"Baka," Hinata managed to say as she knelt beside him.
"Well, I guess I could always seal it and take it back with us. Though we could leave it for the time being and explore some of these intact buildings. Maybe there are some archives or something." Naruto proposed, inspecting the bizarre symbols etched into the metal. The thing was enormous, nothing the likes of which he had ever seen. It was propped up against a semi-collapsed building. Had it of been in a fully upright position, it would've looked even more daunting.
"Shizune is already doing a sweep in the far left building," His Vice-Captain replied, before setting off towards one of the other intact buildings. Instinctively, Zero raised his hand to his ear, pressing a button on his communications device before hearing a pinch of static.
"Tora, Tonton, and I are checking out some abnormalities in the southern district. Make camp and keep a watchful eye on that ocean. Zero out." A short reply of notification from the remaining squad members, and the white-masked Captain was gone.
His instincts carried him through the structurally undamaged two-floored building that stretched the length of the courtyard. An elongated corridor traversed from one side to the other, with dozens of doors on either side. Most had been burst open, the doors rocked off their hinges. Occasionally there were closed doors, but a gentle push and they fell into the rooms they protected.
The contents of the rooms were strewn across the floor. Most appeared to be offices, though others showed signs of scientific equipment; broken glass and torn up paper everywhere he looked. More importantly, there were skeletons. Everywhere. These people – his people – had been slaughtered at their work stations. Most of them were civilians, that much could be seen from the dishevelled rags that clung to the bones. Occasionally he caught the dull shine of a hit-ai-ite through the derelict furnishings. Leaf markings were few and far between, but the spiral of the Uzumaki was prominent.
He felt a modicum of anger as he looked upon the waste that had once been his mother's native land. Yet, he had known nothing other than Konoha. This place wasn't even a distant memory for him. All he knew of this island was the short paragraph it was given in the history book he kept in his quarters. According to the text that seemingly everyone in Konoha had come to use as their base of knowledge of their former ally, Uzushiogakure had been caught in between a battle between the Leaf and the Cloud. The landscape had been decimated, and the surviving Uzumaki scattered.
The lack of information was always a worry for him, not to mention that the archives on the events were restricted. His suspicions had arisen greatly since walking through this tomb that was once brimming with life. There had been no sign of any foreign shinobi. Aside from those armoured serpents, the dead shinobi were from the old alliance. Yet, that was a matter for another day...
"Ah, here we are." It had taken almost an entire sweep of the building, but Naruto had eventually found what he was searching for. He pressed the palm of his hand against the small spiral etched into a tasteless wall ornament. A surge a chakra forced into the spiral, and a moment later a door opened in the floor. "Tora, found something. I'm in the – "
"I know where you are, dumbass." He caught the sound of her sighing.
"Tonton, you coming?"
"No, Zero-san. I found the medical centre...or at least, what's left of it. I'm checking it out, over." The static signified her cutting her connection.
Naruto waited briefly before his backup arrived. He heard the footsteps echoing down the corridor. The clattering of loose stones grew louder until she was only a few feet away.
"Whatever the Konoha shinobi were looking for when they ransacked this place, I don't think they found it."
"So they missed the gaping hole in the floor?" She humoured. "And what do you mean 'Konoha shinobi'? I thought that all this was the Cloud trying to invade?"
"That's not what the evidence shows. I counted thirty-four Hit-ai-ite, all were affiliated with Konoha or the island," Naruto paused. "If we get out of this alive, I've got some questions for Tsunade."
"H-hai, Naruto." Nervously Hinata fell in line with him, looking down the darkened stair case. He seemed troubled, yet he was trying his hardest not to let it hamper his command.
"This trap door was activated by a chakra seal on that ghastly sculpture. Either they didn't find it, or it needed an Uzumaki signature to open it." It made sense. After all, the Uzumaki clan probably had safeguards in place to make sure that their vital information could never be stolen. "Shall we?" He asked, taking his first step into the darkened stairwell.
Hinata watched as her captain descended into the darkness. She waited a moment before she saw a flicker of light from the stairwell. The first steps of the Hyuga were in total darkness. The wood creaked beneath her, causing her to almost hop down onto the next. The dim light part-way down the stairwell swung as the stale air exited the hidden room.
"Who would've thought this place would still have power..." Hinata found herself inquiring as she dipped beneath the hanging light bulb.
"Probably has an isolated generator..." A voice replied from the void in front of her. As soon as she passed the light, Hinata found herself declining in darkness once again. There were so many steps, and the next light seemed so far away. "...If I wasn't trying to enhance my Sennin Modo, I'd use a fire Jutsu, but I can't see shit down here with these eyes."
"Neither can I," Hinata replied somewhat perplexed. Her Byakugan was active, yet she couldn't see anything beyond her standard perception of the world without using her Kekkei Genkai. "M-my Byakugan isn't working..."
"Well, performance issues affects the best of us," Naruto laughed in reply. But before his female companion could muster up the chakra to fling him head first down the pitch black staircase, he added, "There is probably some seal that shields ocular Jutsu or something. They clearly didn't underestimate Konoha. Don't worry; it'll probably clear up once we get down there...that is, if this isn't the gateway to the underworld." The nervous chuckle sated her desire to hurt him, not her other desires though.
Half-dozen more overhead lights and they reached solid stone. Neither could imagine how far down they had come. Yet the sparse lighting seemed to allow a greater field of vision down here, yet it didn't really matter. Naruto's assumptions were correct. Hinata could see the entire level they were on. Although not spanning as far as the length of the building overhead, the underground facility was massive, clearly encroaching into the area of the square above. Most importantly, everything was intact.
Somehow this intact complex was even more eerie than the remnants of battle overhead. A few offices were littered in between countless rooms full of scientific equipment. The two masked figures made their way to what appeared to be the archives after whizzing through a number of other rooms. Reams of books and scrolls cluttered the shelves of the dust-filled room. No one had been here in a long time, and nothing seemed missing.
"Did you know there would be something like this?" Hinata queried, watching as her Captain ran his fingers along the binds of books on a shelf at chest height. He seemed in a world of his own, taking forever to answer her as he plucked one from the shelf, flicked it open, and began to read.
"Actually, yes. There was something similar in the Namikaze mansion. A hidden room you could say. Inside were the greatest secrets my parents owned. Jutsu, scrolls, seals, and weapons; things like that. I doubt even the Sandaime or Godaime knew about it." As he turned a page, he sighed deeply. "Something else was definitely happening in this village."
"Something like what?" Hinata asked tensely.
"These books seem to be records. The first few pages seem to account S-rank missions, experiments, and technologies I can't even comprehend. I'm sure all of these books have similar things. Considering this stuff was sealed away, I'm assuming this was all happening outside of public knowledge."
"So, you're saying that there is a hidden base...within a hidden village? Why? All this equipment, it doesn't feel right to me." She seemed puzzled, yet all he could do was laugh at her naivety.
"I know you're only a part of the Sixth, as opposed to ANBU, but what do you think we do...well, would be doing if we weren't at war? We'd be completing secret missions, outside of the standard forces...sanctioned by the Hokage I might add. I suspect that this was just another iteration of the same thing. No, what's confusing me is the overuse of the term 'ring' in this script. Most of these extracts seem to have something to do with 'the ring'." The blonde Captain muttered as he continued flicking through the pages.
"You don't think they mean – you know – the huge ring leaning against the other building?" Hinata questioned her own words as soon as she was saying them.
"Come on – no – there's no way they could mean..." He stopped talking when he turned to face her. At first she thought he was gazing at her in that way he did, but she quickly noticed his stare was directed to the wall behind her. "...Or, well, they could be talking about that."
Instinctively she turned, to be greeted with a painting of what appeared to be the thing they had unearthed twenty minutes before. The metallic ring stood in the centre of the square, burrowed into a pedestal of solid stone. Lights were depicted all around the rings surface. The centre was a shimmering blue the likes of which they had seen only looking at the ocean.
"What the – "
"...Fuck," the lady-like Hyuga finished, dumbfounded by the wall hanging in the well-lit archive.
"Grab what you can and put it on the table. I'm gunna try and seal as much of this as I can so we can go over this back at command." Rushed, Naruto began to sack the shelves, picking up piles of books and dumping them on the table in the centre of the room. Hinata was going to argue, but it wasn't the time or the place. Battle was potentially moments away.
Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto filled his tattooed body seals in a matter of moments. Even using what sealing scrolls he had brought with him still left about one-third of the archive left on the table.
"I really don't want to leave this stuff, but I haven't got any more room." Tucking the handful of smaller scrolls into the internal pockets lining his Captain's cloak, Naruto turned away from the archives heading back to the stairwell. "I can always ask Tsunade for a solo-mission to come and retrieve the rest. But for now we better get out of here, we've already spent too long dallying around."
"Yeah, and you didn't even get to see what underwear I was wearing, Tai-chou." His footsteps stopped, body clenched as she all but skipped ahead of him. That same sweet voice again. Kami, he hated the way she found time to tease him even in these situations.
"You're gunna regret that when we get back home." It was a hollow threat, but he liked to say it anyway.
A few moments later, they found their way back to the stairwell. It seemed even more daunting as they looked up the stairs. Half way up they felt a gentle rocking, followed by a heavy shaking.
"That sounded close," Naruto uttered as he reached for his comm. "Saru, come in. Antlers, do you read me?" Nothing but static.
"Shit, you better gear up." Hinata picked up her pace, as too did her Taichou. They began to sprint towards the opening overhead. Within moments they were back into the derelict building. Naruto had the foresight to force some chakra into the seal preventing others from finding the entrance. Yet as he did so, he almost keeled over in agony. "Son of a –" he all but screamed.
"What's wrong?" She may have acted tough, but she was still the same girl underneath; caring.
"Point your Byakugan to the shore. I've just had five untimely deaths dispelled into my brain." Naruto's hand was behind his mask, furiously rubbing away at his temple, before fixing his mask and heading for the exit at his full sprint. Hinata was struggling to keep contact.
"There seems to be thousands of signatures by the shore. I'm picking up living signatures, white-clones, and Edo's. They seem to be in battle, Taichou."
"Saru, come in, over."
"Zero! Where the fuck have you been? We're being overrun here." The unusually tense voice of Nara Shikamaru screamed into his ear.
"If you've been screwing the Fukitaichou whilst we're fighting for our lives, I'm gunna make sure you regret it later," Maki's voice cut in. She was scary when she wanted to be.
All Zero could do was sigh into his mask. "Why do you all think that's the only thing we do...Hold the line. We'll be there in a minute, over." With that they were gone.
Instantly they threw themselves into the fray. Hundreds lined the shores, with hundreds more behind. Zero still felt the presence of twenty-eight of his clones. The Senjutsu enhanced Kage Bunshin's took a lot more out of him when they met their demise. Dazed, he launched a flurry of shuriken at a line of advancing white-clones as another memory flushed into his mind.
"Saru, how many you got?" He shouted over the noise of battle. 'Saru' was only a couple of feet away from him.
"Less than half," the dark-haired youth replied as he cut an onrushing clone in two, "but I could probably make more if we need more time."
Zero nodded, but said nothing in return. Launching another volley of shuriken at a different group of clones, the blonde captain unsheathed the blade he hid underneath his cloak, darting in between two Oto-nin. When the Fourth Shinobi War began, Naruto had felt somewhat aggrieved at taking lives, but now he cut them down the same way he would a Zetsu-clone.
He weaved through the defences of the first, burying the tip of his blade into their abdomen, severing the spinal column as he forced it through. The other came at him heatedly, with a kunai raised above their head. Zero caught their wrist, loosing the knife and using their own weapon to deftly slit the shinobi's throat.
There was no respite. As the limp body of the Oto-nin dropped to the floor, another wave of combatants swamped him. He dropped a couple of clones before they had time to close in, but he couldn't stop the Edo Tensei of a Suna Shinobi from launching a Katon Jutsu at him. The flames engulfed him. The female warrior admired her handy work with those same black eyes all Edo shared, only to feel the tip of a blade at the crux of her neck.
"Too slow," a dark voice whispered into her ear, slicing through her neck whilst simultaneously forming hand seals with his remaining hand. "Gyaku Jigoku Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" The moment he slammed his fist into her back, she was gone, leaving the blank-masked ANBU to admire the flames.
Another attack came from his blind spot, yet with the enhanced awareness provided by Sennin Modo, he was able to counter accordingly. As the tip of the blade passed through his guard, Zero vaulted backwards, somersaulting over the head of the blade-wielding Shinobi. He had to look twice at the porcelain mask to make sure. It looked a hell of a lot like Omoi, yet he could feel that it was only a Zetsu-clone. He dispatched it without a second thought, before activating his transponder.
"Omoi, you still alive out there? I just fought you." Zero asked, backing up to the position of his youngest squad member.
"Yeah, one managed to get through. I'm alright." The reply came in through his headset. Omoi sounded exhausted. Yet, the captain knew that he was nowhere near his limit. He and Chōjūrō had taken up a position at the north of the shoreline. They were formidable opponents with a blade. Even Naruto struggled against them in bladed combat.
"Taichou, I'm picking up a burst of energy from the southern quadrant, over." The calm voice of his Fukitaichou broke in. She had taken the southern tip of the shore along with Shizune.
"What? Did they breach the line?" Confused, Naruto tore away from the battle in order to focus his Sennin Modo on the courtyard.
"I'm not sure. Four life signs just appeared out of nowhere. It could be Madara and Kabuto." Hinata replied.
"Right," Zero affirmed. "Command, this is Zero. Under attack from two thousand plus enemy combatants, what's the defence situation, over?"
"Understood, Zero. Other divisions also reported combat. Defensive lines near completion. Estimate ten minutes, over." The voice of the female from the command centre replied. It would take a little over thirty minutes to get back to the defence line, Zero knew.
"We're gunna retreat then. Tell the central line to expect heavy resistance. Zero out." The connection was severed. With a little fiddling, he changed his communications device back to Alpha Squads frequency. "Okay, listen up. Everyone get ready to retreat. I'm gunna create a diversion. Everyone head for the southern quadrant. We need to clean up the breach before we can evac."
"Hai," their voices replied in unison.
As Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto returned to the fray, he felt seven figures leap away in harmony. All that was left were a few dozen Kage-Bunshin, some of his own, but more of Konohamaru's. Thousands of enemies were staring him down. He glanced across the faces, almost disappointed not to see any sign of Sasuke. Satisfied that his team had reached a safe distance, he loosed what little projectiles he had left, taking out another dozen or so combatants.
He closed his eyes. "Let's finish this off shall we?" As they flicked open, the golden irises had been replaced with white, the slotted pupils somewhat normal once again. "Tajuu, Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" The masked Shinobi screamed. In an instant, legions upon legions of plain-masked ANBU lined up behind him. There were so many that you couldn't see beyond them.
"Um, Carter...this doesn't look like the place the MALP showed. That was more...Hawaii. This is more, Chernobyl. In fact, where is the MALP?" A disgruntled man yelled as he tried to pick himself up from the rubble he had been flung onto. He wore a dark green pair of trousers, accompanied by heavily worn boots, and a sandy flak vest covered in pockets.
"I don't know what to tell you, Sir. According to the data we've travelled to P3X-247," 'Carter' replied hastily, flicking around with the device attached to her wrist.
"General Hammond, do you read?" The tall male asked, holding his hand up to his ear. The wisps of grey in his hair signified his age. He looked suspiciously back into the blue aura that took shape in the middle of the metallic ring.
"Loud and clear, Colonel - We're picking up visual on the MALP, but the signal is so weak that we can barely see anything." A voice replied into the ears of the team.
"Well, that's fortuitous, because we can't see the MALP, Sir."
"General, can you turn the camera back towards the gate?" Hurriedly, the female cut into the conversation.
"We just did, Captain Carter," they paused. "It – It's not on."
"I think we've seen something like this before, Sirs. Remember the time we ended up at the alternate gate in –"
"Carter! I thought we were never gunna talk about that?"
"Yes, Sir -" Abashed she shied away. "But I think that could be the cause. It would explain why we ended up here and not with the MALP, but we're at the correct planetary coordinates."
"Oi," the ranking member of the team sighed, rubbing his head vigorously. "Alright, we're gunna check this place out for a couple of hours. We'll dial back as planned, O'Neill out."
"Understood, Colonel. Hammond out."
As the radio signal died, so too did the connection in the ring. The blue haze disappeared quickly, just as a light would go dark at the flick of a switch. The male looked back at the metallic ring, seemingly analysing it with as little expertise as he had. "I didn't even think a gate could work in this condition," He stated more than asked as he looked at the damage it had taken.
"Provided that there's no damage to the capacitors, and there's nothing blocking the event horizon, it should work, Sir." She replied whilst trying to help another team member off the rubble-filled floor. At most she looked mid-twenties, beautiful face, with short cropped blonde hair, and a strange weapon slung over her shoulder.
"Ouch," the figure she was helping complained as he managed to get to his feet, "thanks, Sam." She nodded as the mop-haired figure replaced his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Whereas the other male looked physically fit, this one was much leaner with a non-military look about him. "Well, I don't think the MALP did this place justice." He said jokingly, looking around the courtyard.
"Looks like a bomb hit this place. I doubt there's anyone around." The seasoned male stated, checking the extremities through the sight in his weapon. "Wait, do you feel that?" He asked. There was a low grumble, a shaking that he felt in his knees.
"This could be the result of seismic activity. We could be feeling aftershocks." The diminutive female answered dutifully.
"No, they definitely feel more like explosions."
"O'Neill, I do not believe we are alone." The final member of the quartet stated. He was much larger than any of the others, with a bizarre marking in the centre of his forehead.
If Hinata was a betting woman, she'd have said he was both taller and heavier than the Raikage. He also carried a similar skin-tone to those native to Kumogakure. Omoi seemed to note that too. Yet the most peculiar thing about him was the weapon he carried. Whereas the other three seemed to bear the same misshapen metallic kunai throwers, the other figure looked more like a monk, plodding along using his staff.
"Yeah, I'm with ya Teal'c. I definitely feel like I'm being watched." The man known as 'O'Neill', seemingly the team leader, agreed. "Daniel, go check out one of those buildings. See if you can decide if we're gunna have a Goa'uld problem on our hands. Carter, go with him. I'll sweep the perimeter with Teal'c."
They began to separate into two groups, one heading for the most intact building within proximity of the square, the other heading for the outskirts.
...
"I can't understand a word they are saying," The woman wearing the mask with the pig-like markings queried, "but the leader is clearly the guy with the greying hair, and he appears to have given some orders."
"More importantly, how the hell did they get here? We're in the middle of an island, and they just appeared here out of nowhere." A confused voice stated. Another female, except she did not wear a mask. Instead she had chosen to partake in the act of wrapping her features in bandages. All you could see were her eyes and the slit that opened slightly when she spoke.
"It's something to do with that metal ring, I'm sure of it." The acting Captain noted as she watched the two groups walking towards their objectives.
"They don't look like Shinobi, but those weapons look pretty dangerous to me. Yet, one thing's for certain; they're definitely military of some sort. Not only do they have the equipment, but they walk in standard formation, weapons at the ready for battle at any moment." Shikamaru added.
"Well, we can't allow them to enter that building. That's where Zero and I found the information about the ring." Hinata replied.
"What do you propose?"
...
"You're surrounded. Relinquish your weapons and we'll cause you no harm." A distant voice boomed over the courtyard.
"What? Daniel, did I just imagine that?" O'Neill asked confusedly. "It sure as hell wasn't in English."
"I do not believe it was Goa'uld." Teal'c added.
"No, you're right. I think it was Japanese or something akin to Japanese." The male in the glasses stated, trying to wrap his head around the odd dialect. "I think they're asking us to surrender."
"I'll only ask you once more; relinquish your weapons and we will cause you no harm."
"Like hell," O'Neill shouted as he rushed back to the gate. When he cocked his weapon, it reverberated with an audible crack. "Carter, prepare to dial home."
"I can't! There's no DHD."
"But the MALP said there was one." O'Neill complained, only for it to dawn on him the gravity of their situation. "Son of a..."
"It's probably buried underneath all the rubble," Daniel bemoaned. He didn't carry one of the larger weapons, Hinata noted. That made him the easiest target.
"I don't know what to tell you, Sir." The woman in the group was in conversation with her Captain. It appeared as though they were arguing about something.
"Looks like we're gunna have to fight our way out." They were making no attempts to escape.
"This is your last warning." The tone was sharper, the message short and sweet. Hinata noted that the leader and the female team member both held their weapons aloft, seemingly looking down the sight to try and find a target. The monk-like figure held his staff at his waste. A charge of electricity danced around the fatter end of the staff as it appeared to open.
"Hold on, Jack. I've not spoken it for a while, but I can speak Japanese." The last member of the group was clearly not part of the military, Hinata noted. He held a weapon in his hand, but did not direct it anywhere. Judging by the way he looked at the leader, he was trying to calm the situation. Amused, Hinata heard him speak once again. "We mean no harm. We explorers from a land away far."
"What do you know; one of them can speak our language. Albeit his pronunciation is appalling and he can't formulate sentences properly." Shikamaru joked with a worried tone. The order was about to come, he could feel it. He was just waiting for the word from his superior as he clenched the sharpened kunai.
"Sorry, we can't take the risk right now. Now."
"Ah, Daniel," Colonel O'Neill caught the words in his throat as he felt something pressing against his neck. Instincts kicked in, but he found himself completely incapable of moving. His joints had seized. He couldn't even pull the trigger on his weapon as he looked at the two masked figures stood in front of him, holding Daniel at knife-point.
Adjusting to the feel of a blade against his throat, he also noted the pressure in his side. Glancing to his hip he saw another crouched figure holding a sword that was pressed tightly into his kidney area. Even if he could move, he'd be dead before he could even try to loosen the grip of the person stood behind him.
Looking around he noted the severity of the situation. A lone figure stood behind Carter. Even Teal'c hadn't managed to escape. Two masked figures crouched at either side of the big Jaffa, the tips of their blades crossing around his neck. One was a slender design, much like he expected from a sword, but the other was oversized, misshapen, and looked like it could cleave a tank in half.
At the head, Daniel stood facing them. One dark-haired, wiry male wearing one of those peculiar masks stood at his side, holding his hands out in front of him bizarrely as he appeared to inspect the handgun in Daniels hand. A female stood on the other side of the Doctor. She had the strangest eyes. O'Neill found himself gazing, captivated by those weird, pupil-less eyes.
"State your business or we'll kill one of your team, take the rest of you back to Konoha, and hand you over to the Torture and Interrogation division." The greying Colonel straightened up as she spoke. She was the one who was speaking before. To think that she was the commander of this strange fighting unit. If he wasn't a word away from death, he'd have laughed.
"We are explorers, like I said yesterday. Through the Stargate we came, ended here." In a roundabout way, Daniel Jackson tried to answer her questions. It had been years since he had spoken this language, and just to make it more annoying these people spoke a strange dialect.
"Stargate...what the hell is a Stargate?" One of the masked figures stood by Teal'c shouted. O'Neill could tell by looking at him that it was a guy, but the voice was deeper than expected.
"The ring. Look. The thing by building." Daniel pleaded. He noted that the blade around his neck wasn't as tightly held as the others. 'They know I can speak their language and the others can't.' He thought as he saw the apprehensive looks in the faces of his teammates. "It allows travel between worlds."
"Let me get this straight. You expect us to believe that you travelled here...from a different planet, through a giant metal ring?" The woman asked. Confusedly, she glanced over to the guy stood on the other side of Daniel. He appeared to shrug.
"It is known." Daniel replied. Despite the masks, he could see them all looking at him. Either he wasn't saying the right things, or they outright didn't believe him. "Look, I'm saying you. We came here through that ring. We won't hurt you."
Waiting silently, the woman in the masked measured what Daniel had been saying, and with a swift hand movement, her unit stood down. "Tell your team this: If they try anything, we won't hesitate in killing them. You can tell us all about the bullshit story you've told when we get back home. You picked the worst possible time to come here." She turned away from him, disappearing like a ghost. The man in the glasses looked twice, but completely lost her.
"She's on the roof," Daniel turned to Captain Carter's voice. Her outstretched hand was pointing to the far end of the courtyard, where a solitary silhouette stood on the rooftop. Nodding, the glasses wearing male looked back to his teammates.
"Put the guns away, I don't think they're going to hurt us. They seem to be preoccupied." Daniel pointed as three more disappeared from the courtyard. All that remained was the male stood besides Daniel, another stood besides the Colonel, and a final figure, their face covered in bandages, positioned in between Carter and Teal'c.
"I take it you had a lovely conversation whilst we were all getting a nice shave, Daniel. Please, do enlighten us as to why our lives suddenly aren't in danger." O'Neill lambasted as he flexed his arms. Whatever was stopping him from moving had disappeared.
All the military training he had received over the years ushered him to lift his P-90, fire a few rounds into the guy besides Daniel, and see how they fared against the others. Yet, something was stopping him this time. Assuming that they were hiding on the rooftops outside of their vision, they had managed to get the jump on the entire team, in less than the blink of an eye. Their movements were inhumane. They were outmanned, out skilled, and on a completely different level. Sure, a P-90 could beat a knife, but he doubted that the bullets were even fast enough to hit their targets before someone managed to slice his neck.
Resigned, he placed the weapon over his shoulder.
"Because, well, they said they wouldn't kill us. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think we could do anything about it if they did want to, Jack." Daniel surmised as he took a couple of paces away from the male at his side. At first he thought he'd stop him, but after the first steps he didn't seem to follow. "These people are clearly warriors, and judging by their attire and their dialect, I'd say they were some form of Ninja's."
"As in, 'sneaking around at night wearing black pyjamas and assassinating people' Ninja's?" The Colonel began to laugh as he looked over the three figures. Two wore peculiar masks, the other was bandaged seemingly from head to below her attire. He assumed it was a woman considering that the figure was wearing a dress of some sort. All three seemed to wear some form of plated armour over their torso, with similar garments on their arms and legs. Each had a pouch tied around their legs, and two carried a knife in their hand. The male stood beside himself carried a sword, but noted a knife in his other hand.
"It makes sense, Jack. We've come across various societies on our previous missions. Understandably many of the worlds take up an Egyptian heritage, but we've seen Viking, Mongolian, and Mayan communities too. I guess it was only a matter of time before we stumbled on something like this." Daniel addressed the laughs of his commander in his book-worm fashion.
"So what, we're in the middle of Japan? I don't see any wooden dojo's or Samurai or anything."
"Samurai? Are you allies of theirs?" The masked man with the thick black ponytail spoke. They couldn't understand what he said, but they all clearly heard him say 'Samurai'.
"There are Samurai on this world?" Daniel asked his captor. "We were talking about our own planet. Samurai died out hundreds years ago."
"Yes, they are a member of the Allied Forces. But can you stop with this 'other planet' business for the time being...I'm trying to formulate strategy and you're throwing me off with that crap." The overbearing male seemed more bored than anything else.
"Well, I love standing around all day talking in a language I don't understand, but how about we get going? If we don't find the DHD then I'm gunna miss my weekly Television show."
"In a minute, Jack." Daniel batted away the grumbles of the aging figure, turning back to the masked man once again.
"What is she looking for?" He asked quietly whilst he pushed his handgun back into its holster. Since the moment that the masked woman had disappeared, Daniel Jackson had been drawn in by her. These people were surrounded by mystery.
Visibly, the guy sighed. Behind the mask, Daniel could tell the guy was probably pulling some pained face. His shoulders sunk as he heard the words of his native tongue escape the lips of the person wearing the glasses. For a moment Daniel felt like he was going to get his throat slit, but he seemed to somewhat reservedly answer his question.
"We're in the middle of a warzone. Those rumbles you're feeling is our Captain holding off an army. As soon as she gives us the signal, we're moving to the shore."
"The shore? We near the coast?"
"No, we're on an island. Did you not know that?" The more Shikamaru conversed with him, the more he was starting to believe his crazy story about being from another planet. These people appeared to be complete clueless, or they were just putting on an exceptional act. Either way he knew he had the measure of them. If they tried anything they could be dispatched with little effort.
"No idea. As I said, we came through the Stargate. This is the first time we've been here. And what do you mean, an army? How is one person holding off an army?" Daniel had a feeling that his ability to speak the tongue was slowly coming back to him, but the more he understood the words, the less he actually understood.
"Hey, do you mind letting us in on your conversation?" Jack was pissed, that much Daniel could see. If there was anything Jack hated more than being in a sticky situation, it was being in a sticky situation without a clue about what was going on.
"In a minute, Jack. I'm trying to get some information."
"Your friend seems a bit worried. The other two seem to be a lot more level headed though." The masked man glanced over to the aging soldier. He could tell just by looking at him that he was about one minute away from firing his weapon in frustration.
The muscular monk-like figure was difficult to read. There was a look in his eyes, one that seemed to know something that he wasn't letting on. He could be an issue due to his size, and that strange staff, but he was sure Maki could match him with speed. The woman was a bit of a mystery too. She didn't appear to take any notice of the situation. She was more interested in the thing wrapped around her arm, and the metallic ring leaning against the half-destroyed building. Shikamaru hadn't noticed it until now, but there was a perfect circle burrowed into the ground and wall behind the ring.
"That's just Jack, he just doesn't want us to end up getting killed in our sleep or something." That stifled a laugh from the bandaged woman. Daniel didn't quite know how to take that, but he left it for the moment. "He wants to be on our way. We need to find a device so that we can go back home. If you help us we can be out of your hair and you can go back to your battle."
"Sorry, I'm under orders. Besides, I don't know how we can help. This village has been deserted for over twenty years. We've only been here an hour." Shikamaru stated as he felt the static in his ear. He looked towards the rooftop his Vice-Captain had suddenly vacated. Taking a few paces away from the rest of the group, he began to speak hurriedly into his communications device.
"Um, is that guy talking to himself?" O'Neill scratched his head as he looked at their captor, seemingly having a conversation with the inside of his mask.
Before he could receive an answer, the ground shook fiercely. A plume of dark smoke rose into the clear skies directly behind the northern building in the square. It took a few seconds, but the blast wave washed over them.
"What the hell was that?" O'Neill queried as he looked into the sky. His first thought was to go for his weapon, pulling it from his shoulder as three of the four 'ninja' landed in the square besides them. Their sudden arrival didn't perturb him. That cloud looked suspiciously mushroom-y...
"That was our cue; time to move." The pony-tailed figure tore himself away from his mental breakdown just long enough to remember that there were civilians with them – well, non-shinobi at the very least. "How much do you weigh?"
Daniel looked at the man, torn between his bewilderment at the question, and the large explosion they had just felt. "Um, about 170, why?"
"And the big guy?"
"Teal'c? 250...I'm not really sure. What's all this about?" Daniel contemplated as he felt a slender hand slide around his waist. A glance to his left and his nose squashed onto another one of those strange masks. He couldn't see their face, but judging by their height and build, he suspected a female.
"Woah," Daniel craned his neck to see O'Neill struggling with the lanky shinobi besides him, the two swordsmen were propping up Teal'c, and the bandaged female held onto Carter much in the same way the other woman held onto him. Before Daniel could say anything they were already in the air. The speed with which they flew towards the rooftops made his stomach turn, yet he said nothing.
In a few moments they were well beyond the courtyard. Everything was a blur in front of him, but the blue was getting more and more pronounced. At a glance he could see the others moving at either side, with the ponytailed figure moving a dozen or so metres ahead. The wind whistled past his ears, but it still allowed for the explosions to seep in through the periphery. The cacophony of noise seemed to be getting further away, which the archaeologist could only assume was a good thing.
Moments later and they were stationary once again. The sudden halt in movement almost made Daniel lose his lunch. Yet, he managed to fight the urge due to the magnificent image in front of him. Crystal clear water expanded for miles, before abruptly ending at what seemed like a curved wall. It seemed to stretch as far as his eyes could see.
Before he could say anything, he once again found himself having to apologise for his friend, "God damn it. If you're gunna do that again, at least warn us before you make us a puddle of mush." Colonel O'Neill bemoaned to the deaf ears of his captors-come-saviours as Teal'c rocked by his side, the only thing holding him up was his staff-like weapon.
"Hai, hai, sorry," The ranking officer of this band of ninja held up his hands almost apologetically as he turned once again to Daniel. "There's no way we can carry you all over the water. You'd best find your ship or whatever you came here on."
"I've already told you, we came here through the Stargate. We have no boats." Daniel was growing tired of explaining this, yet the ponytailed male was clearly too sceptical to even contemplate the possibility of their story being true.
The low rumbling was catching up to them. The ten-strong company turned to look back at the dishevelled island. All they could see above the derelict buildings was flames. Every few seconds another explosion went off, adding to the blaze of ash and flame. As they watched on, two blurs shot along the rooftops, heading towards them at breakneck speed.
Before the aging Colonel could order his unit to raise their weapons, they had already arrived. The dry dirt kicked up around them as they appeared, almost skidding to a stop directly in front of the man Daniel had been using as an interpreter.
The woman he remembered just by the sight of those strange eyes. Had he ever seen eyes like those before, he couldn't tell for certain. He also recognised the tiger-like stencil on her mask. She held herself well. There was definitely the air of a leader about her, yet she seemed to pale by comparison to the man besides her. Whereas all the others in the group wore the same style of plated armour, this figure wore a somewhat ragged cloak, coupled with an imperiously white mask. What probably started as a white cloak was dotted with singes, slices, and blood splatter.
There was so much blood.
But that wasn't what worried Daniel. No, it was his eyes. At a glance they looked normal as any eyes would, but there was an unmistakable orange glow coming from them. It was almost like a...
"Okay, okay, no time for pleasantries. Everyone bunch up, I've only got enough chakra to do this once." The gravelly voice of what Daniel could only assume was the commander of this unit cut through the atmosphere with a bored urgency.
"What did he say?" Carter asked as the masked soldiers all seemed to hurried form a tightly packed circle, leaving the three humans and one Jaffa in the open.
"Come on, you too. I'm not going to leave innocent people to die here. Besides, from what my Vice-Captains told me, we have things to discuss." His voice called out to them once again. "Oh, and try not to puke on my cloak."
Whatever fears Daniel was having were put to the back of his mind when he heard the cries from behind them. It happened suddenly, but hundreds of people had come out of nowhere. The cloaked figure was seemingly defenceless, unmoving in his rigid stance as dozens of people moved to within attack range.
They were seconds away before they heard the defeaning 'tap-tap-tap' of gunfire. Daniel looked to see O'Neill on one knee, his eye looking down his red-dot sight as he fired a number of short bursts of bullets at the onrushing army. Teal'c wasn't far behind, firing a few bursts of orange energy from his staff. In a few seconds, a dozen or so enemies dropped to the ground. After their initial press, the enemies had halted at a safe distance, yet the Colonel still picked a few of them off.
"Well, those weapons are a lot more effective than they look." The unmistakably droll tones of the pony-tailed ninja wearing a 'deer-like' mask cut over the weapons fire.
"Hurry up Jack!" Daniel screamed as he began running towards the circle of soldiers.
"Yeah, yeah I know. He said something like 'come with me if you want to live', I get it." He yelled as he ejected the expended ammo clip from his P-90, jamming another one in there before firing once again. "But I'd like to show these guys we're not gunna be a pushover if they try anything!"
Carter and Teal'c seemed to follow Daniel, with O'Neill a couple of steps behind. With a small bit of jostling, they managed to get themselves into spaces within the cramped circle.
"Hold on!" "Hold on!" The female Vice-Captain screamed moments before Daniel translated.
From his position, Daniel could just about see the cloaked figure. It happened in a split second, but he saw the man go up in a golden blaze. His coat was on fire. His mask was on fire. Hell, his unkempt hair stood on end as if it was the flames, licking the atmosphere. The flames were so bright that he couldn't keep his eyes open, even with his glasses protecting him.
The roaring flames washed over him like a heat-wave, only from them to subside almost as quickly as they had appeared.
When he opened his eyes he was amazed.
All that he could see in front of him was a hardened wall of mud and stone. He had to crane his neck just to see the top. It came over him just as quick this time, but Daniel couldn't stop himself. As he wretched on the heavy-trodden grass, the others around him sighed as they backed away to a safe distance.
"Wow that felt worse than the first trip through the gate." Colonel O'Neill joked as he watched Daniel drop to his knees. Carter was doing a similar thing, but she had managed to keep her dignity. Teal'c was the same as always. He wasn't even sure if the Jaffa had ever been through something that could make him hurl.
Yet he was more concerned with the dozens of people that were now surrounding them. He noted that most of these ones didn't wear the strange masks, but there were still a couple who had them. A lot of them looked like kids, no older than eighteen at the most, and they all seemed to wear some form of flak-jacket.
Their approach was halted as the cloaked blonde raised his hand in the air. The signal was enough for the four dozen people surrounding them to simply, leave. Jack watched on blissfully unaware of what he was getting himself into.
"Now, let's find somewhere nice and quiet to hear this crazy story of yours." The white masked blonde noted as he stretched out his limbs. Daniel couldn't help but notice that he wasn't on fire, and that his eyes were an azure so blinding that it made him think twice about what he saw before.
Author Note: As I said, I don't know if I'll continue this or not, so it's dependent on the feedback I get. I just wanted to get it out of my brain for the time being. Also, you'll notice that it's an extra long chapter – also because I don't know if I'll continue. But yeah, there you have it.
There will be a back story to all of this, I can assure you. How come they're Japanese? What's the deal with enhanced humans? The serpent guards buried near the gate? What about the hidden laboratory with all the 'mission notes'? Does Teal'c know more than he's letting on? You have questions, I got answers. Haha.
Well, if you enjoyed it, reviews are always welcome. If you didn't, then you must have some literary taste. Don't forget to check out 'Shadow' and 'Darth Avarus: the Protector'.
Thanks for reading.