A/N:A/N: Ooooooooooooooh my Goooooooooooood! Alright, I'm sure some of you are wondering why I'm freaking out. Simple. A friend of mine finally badgered me into reading some old comics of hers. Deadpool vs Carnage, to be specific. Seriously, this girl has been pestering me for MONTHS to read the blasted thing she got me, and I kept putting her off. See, I enjoy a good read as much as the next chap, but I don't read comics much.

But seeing as I'm laid up from ANOTHER surgery-bloody heart!-and my internet was out today, she tossed a few comics in my lap. And well, the Carnage one was one of 'em. She literally insisted I'd read so it so...I gave it a go. Here is my verdict. BRAVO!

To my surprise, it was insanely good. With an emphasis on insanity. Plenty of action, just a hint of fanservice in the form of Shriek, good plots, and best of all, plenty of bloody action. Stuff like that really kicks my muse into high gear, ya know? Which brings me to my next point. Carnage. I have never, in all my life, seen such win packed into one comic.

Now, I admit, I've never been much of a fan of him. Venom was always more, well, relateable for me. Carnage? Well, he's crazy. Crazy as hell. Very little chance for redemption there. Venom? He's been done to death. But Carnage...hmm...I smell potential here, folks!

Potential for insanity that is.

Don't even get me started on his host, Cletus Kasady. Look him up on youtube if you don't believe me. And so I thought to myself, hey, why not try to write a crossover with this? I have no hate for Carange-hell, its hard to hate a crazy bastard like him-but I really didn't like Cletus. Anywho, I was curious, and wanted to my forte. And on that note, for those of you aren't aware, Carnage and any and all symbiotes are property of Marvel, yadda, yadda, ya, and I don't own 'em. I only own the idea.

I'm sure you know what to expect here. Those who haven't...

...I highly reccomend that you watch or read some stuff pertaining to the symbiotes as a whole, it, or you're gonna be confused! Barring that, just look at the wiki...and remember, I own nothing but the idea for this story! And on that note, I apologize if its short, but expect big things to come from this story! Needless to say, there's gonna be a few changes, so I apologize if I offend any purists out there and remember...

...this an Alternate Universe theory here! Naruto is older, a fair bit so, than his fellow classmates. Make of it what you will! TIS VERY DARK! I know some are mad that Naruto can't use conventional jutsu, but that just makes him more reliant on the symbiote now, doesn't it? Speaking of which...

...our poor boy gets just a little light in the darkness, this chapter. Aside from that, this is bloody and dark! BEWARE!

"Alone...no. We do not wish to be alone. We wish to be understood. AH! We will create another!"

~?

Rapture

Konoha's night was still young and there was much more death to come.

It was a sad fact that the village didn't know who-or what-had killed Mizuki and Iruka. That Uzumaki Naruto could not be found. Some speculated that the two men had killed one another, others claimed that the horrific "demon" had done the killing, that he was to be blame, and more ignorance so on and so forth. But in that same vein, they had a terrible time of finding him thanks to his new skills; his unnatural speed and agility, that latent talent that allowed it to camouflage itself and move amidst the streets, undetected.

"CONTROL!"

Said slayer was currently thrashing and vibrating wildly on the apartment floor, screaming bloody murder. It grit his teeth mightily, gripped its head, smashed its body furiously into the four walls that had once belonged to Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto was Naruto but he was also no longer Naruto, he was now Carnage and Carnage wanted to kill; keep killing and KEEP killing, until the streets ran red with rivers of blood...

"No!"

It was like trying to swim upstream with a pair of led weights strapped to your ankles. Painful, excruciating, but not impossible. For someone with his sheer, indomitable willpower, it was quite possible. Slowly, painfully the mask parted, a sick squelching sound filling the air as Naruto's face emerged to the world once more, blue eyes blazing like hot coals in his head.

Gasping for breath, he hauled himself upright in the small, dingy bathroom. Bloody red daggers glared back at him from the mirror, but it was his face. His fist lashed out, cracking the glass, knuckles bleeding. Wait. It wasn't blood, just more of this strange creature, writhing and twining around his hand. Healing his wounds.

Whispering.

"We are in control!" he snapped, unaware that the "I" had become we ever since he'd bonded with Carnage. "We...will not submit!" And now, he'd beaten it back into submission. The symbiote-creature!-was like a wild animal, but it knew the pecking order and receded for the time being. Retreated, whimpering as its host grabbed it by the skull and throttled it like jerkey.

"What's wrong?" the shattered reflection demanded of him. "We did what you wanted. We killed them! Killed all who hurt us! Even the pink one! Sliced her into little pieces...and they'll never know it was us!"

Naruto froze.

"...what?"

"We did it for you!" the symbiote whined. "All for you!"

"Oh, god. What have you...?!" The memory of what he'd done-what he'd let the symbiote do!-crashed over him in the next instant:

Carnage stared down at his handiwork, grinning madly.

"Ah, now that was cathaaaaaartic." It purred, flicking the blood off its claws. "What's wrong? Got nothing to say? Hello? Operator? Anyone hooooome?"

Slowly, painfully, its eyes tracked back to the corpse.

Sakura's dead body stared back at him, her head hanging awkwardly from the ragged strip that had once been her neck, the sheets of her bed rapidly turning scarlet beneath this ever-growing pool of her blood. Part of him gibbered madly at what he'd just done, the other half was glad he'd finally silenced the noisy banshee. Then he did something strange. He chuckled. Softly at first, a slight snicker escaping him as he stared down at the hapless kunoichi bleeding out at his feet.

"Heh...hehe...heheheheheHA!"

Then started laughing.

Naruto fought down the urge to vomit. He saw it all...remembered what he'd done...

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

Carnage stared back at him, serene in its madness. "Because we could. We needed to. You wanted to." His fist ground against the mirror again, shattering the symbiote's reflection even further. Unfazed, it stared back at him, its blank, white eyes and rictus of a grin betraying nothing but simply insanity. His insanity. How had it all gone wrong?! He'd just wanted to learn a simple jutsu! To think that all of this had happened, just because of that simple greed...

"We...I...did not want to kill Iruka! He was innocent! Now his blood is on our hands!"

"We cannot undo what we have done."

Something slammed into the door in the next instant, cutting off his reply-

"Uzumaki Naruto!" a rough voice called! "Open this door! By order of the Hokage we demand that you-

"DIE!"

Carnage went into a fit the moment the Anbu slammed into the room, shaking free from him and assuming control. Hands flicking forwards like knives, skewering the unlucky few that were first through the door, pinned them to the wall in a gross parody of human darts. They, were the lucky ones. They died quickly and didn't suffer. The rest didn't fare nearly was well.

One made the mistake of pausing to look at his impaled comrades; in the next instant, he was missing his legs. His team

He swooped through the three squads as if they were rank genin; cackling.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh, One corpse, two corpse, three corpse, four~!" the symbiote sang merrily to itself as he ripped through them with contemptuous ease, cutting, slicing. "Five corpse, SIX corpse, ohhhhh, seven corpse, eight corpse, no mo-GAH! NOISE! What is that fucking noise?!"

Lightning lit the room a blinding white with a deafening crack of thunder, a peal of agony nearly vibrating it apart. Pain! How long had it been since it had felt this sensation! It remembered the annoying spider, the fire and the noise and the sound, and angry it made it so ANGRY...

"There he is! Get him!

"What the hell is that?!

"The fox! It must be! Its taken control of him!

"Quickly!" Another voice called. "Before he recovers!"

"Hey, hey, hey," he growled, still weak from the pain, "I ain't no fucking fox! Why don't you boys go meet him?!"

In that instant more came pouring. "Nyahahaha!" Carnage bounded upright, moving from walls to ceiling to walls again, all the while tearing into them with a furious yowl Carving, gouging, cutting. Yes! This was what it lived for! All the chaos, the sweet glorious anarchy of it all-

And then, all too soon, it was over.

Before Naruto could even think that this was wrong, that it should be stopped, their ruined bodies were there, laying dead at his feet. Now he wanted to weep. He could feel his sixth sense screaming, now, insisting that danger was approaching, that he needed to flee, had to run, get out of here, escape. He couldn't control himself. Not yet. Not like this. It was impossible.

In hindsight, the answer to his problems was simple. If Konoha could not have him, then no one could.

"NO!" Carnage roared! "We will not allow you to kill yourself!"

"We are not killing ourselves." Naruto muttered wrapping up the bodies in red webbing. "We are leaving."

He felt a rumble of pause in his mind. Then came the laughter.

...we agree! We will behave, for now. There is nothing for us here. But elsewhere...yes! Such beautiful carnage...!"

"We do not like that name."

"Too bad. It is what we are."

Naruto paused considering. What did he owe the village? Nothing. No, less than nothing. The title of Hokage hadn't appealed to him since he was a boy-not with the way he'd been treated. He could count on the fingers of one hand those who had been kind to him, and two of those people probably wouldn't understand what he'd done, why he'd done it; nor that Iruka's death were a tragic accident. But the other's wouldn't see his acts for what they were.

He was a monster. And a monster had no place here.

But to leave meant that would be alone again; completely, wholly, utterly alone. He didn't want to be alone. And yet there was no other way about it. Ayame-chan and Teuchi-chan wouldn't understand why he'd done it, why he was doing this. That shy Hyuuga girl wouldn't understand, either. But maybe, just maybe there was one who could? No, no, she wouldn't. Unless...

Carnage offered him a thought; an idea, just a kernel of information. "Unless...?"

And, remarkably, he seized upon it.

"Why the long face?"

He didn't answer; the quiet creak of the swing was the only reply. She frowned.

"Hey? Kid! I'm talking to you!"

"I failed again." the boy despaired. "I always fail."

"Then just try harder." she said.

He snorted. "I AM trying."

...hey, you like dango?" She wasn't sure what compelled her to ask it, but she did.

The boy looked back at her, sad and alone. A flicker of hope shone in those blank blue eyes.

"What is dango?"

Tap-Tap-Tap.

"Go...'way. 'S'late...!" Mitarashi Anko groaned quietly in her bed as she woke from the memory/dream, trying-and failing horribly to ignore the incessant rapping noises beating upon her window. But the sound did not cease; if anything it grew louder; became more and more insistent. Resolving to ignore it, the special jonin buried her head beneath her pillow. It was then that the taping sound stopped. Good. Perhaps, had she been paying attention, she might've noticed the figure at her glass door, the long, clawed hand pressed imploringly against the frame.

Aaargh!

In a way it was a sick-ha!-blessing that she'd caught the flue this week, that she was safely inside, ensconed in her warm blankets whilst all hell broke loose outside. In the chaos, no one had thought to inform an ailing kunoichi of the danger; thus, she remained blissfully unaware of the chaos raging outside with the storm. Of the insanity in the streets. The slaughter. The carnage. No, she had no idea what had come for her this night.

She had no way of knowing...

...until the menace made itself known.

"Psst!" A strange voiced hissed. "Anko-chan! It is us! Let us in!"

Growling, she rolled out of bed, uncaring for her state of dress. The ebon nightgown she wore would've had most men standing at attention, but not this one, not the intruder at her door.

"I TOLD you, I'm trying to sle...sle...

Words betrayed her as she finally opened those sleep gummed eyes to find herself staring at a monster.

All scarlet and black, tall and thin, covered soaking wet against the rain, its white eyes menacing and curved, fangs open in a soft hiss. It looked at her pleadingly-hands splayed against the transparent door. Everything about it spoke of death and despair and it was looking at her with those eyes, those awful, terrible eyes...

"What the hell?!"

"No, wait!"

She was about to reach for a kunai when the impossible happened; its face peeled back! She watched, mystified as that horrific visage melted away, exposing the deep blue eyes, whiskered cheeks, and damp blond hair she'd always known. All of her thoughts and doubts froze. Shattered like so much glass. He looked so afraid, so frightened; something had scared him out of his wits, and he'd come to her. What on earth had happened to him...?

"Help...us...!"

Horror dawned in those hazel eyes.

"Naruto?"

He tapped softly at her window in answerment. "Please, we don't have much time! They are hunting us! Let us in!"

"For cryin' out loud...this is my day off!"

"PLEASE!"

Anko didn't hesitate; her hand fumbling with the catch, catching him as he half-walked-half-stumbled inside. That was when she saw the kunai. Wedged solidly in the blond's back by some unknown assailant, should've been deadly. But when he reached around and plucked it out. The strange red-black material slithered around the wound, healing it instantly. The teenager groaned, twitching slightly in her arms. Something was clearly wrong with him; the Hokage needed to see this-

"No!" he snapped, as though having felt that very thought. "You cannot take us to him! He will not understand!"

"What on earth happened to you?"

"We are different." He muttered, trying, failing to stand. "This...we cannot get it off of us!"

"Whoa, you're going way too fast." she propped him up with an effort, grunting. "What is it?

He hissed, spitting the name like it was venom.

"Carnage."

"Alright, start from the beginning...

And he did.

Part of her had always empathized with the kid; she knew what it was like to be cursed for every breath you took, to be hated for something that you weren't. He'd understood her, too. They were outcast, shunned and reviled by those they served, despised despite all they did. Kindred spirits, of a sort. So, instead of listening to the increasingly vocal voice in her head, screaming that she needed to get AWAY from him, Mitarashi Anko stood her ground and heard him out.

By the time he had finished his short, grisly tale, she found she wasn't angry with him. Nay, she actually felt sorry for him. Pitied him. Here was a boy who'd struggled all his life to do the right thing, and a single night of violence had dashed his prospects, his goals, his dreams, all of it to ashes.

"We have done terrible things." he said, standing. "We have killed; we must leave."

"And you came all this way just to tell me that. Why?"

He blinked, as though it were obvious.

"Anko-chan has always been kind to us." A pause. "We," his cheeks seemed to color, "Always enjoyed eating dango with you."

For some strange reason, Anko actually felt tears gather in her eyes at that. Worse, she actually felt...sad? What? No! Presposterous! Her mind railed against the prospect-rejecting the immediate conclusion. He was like a kid brother to her! It wasn't as if she'd miss him...that much...ah, balls...not crying! NOT! Defiant to the end, she chewed her lip and refused to let it show.

"But before we go, we have a question. Will you come with us?"

"Kid, I wish I could, but...

It was the wrong thing to say.

Carnage's mask closed around Naruto's face, tucking it away from the rest of the world. For a moment, just a moment, she thought he was going to kill her, too. By some miracle, he didn't. But the pain she saw in that young face, the agony before the mask hit it, hurt more than any blade.

"And what do you owe this place!?" he snapped, spinning away with feral hiss. "Nothing! It treats us- you!- like trash! No, less than that! We are nothing to it! Useless, wasteful, disgusting pigs! It is a poison to us! Venom! We HATE it! It takes everything from us! Even...even you! They deserve to burn! They should burn! YES! That is what we will do!" Those eerie white eyes locked on the outside, its mask parting in a snarl. "We will kill them all! WE-

Whatever else he might've said dissolved as Anko stepped up and grabbed him from behind. Before Naruto or Carnage could protest she spun him around to face her and shoved his head between her breasts. No mean feat, considering the seventeen-year-old was nearly a head taller than her. But it had the desired affect. He sputtered madly, arms flailing. She only held him tighter. Stupid. She felt like a fool. He was hurting and he'd come to her for comfort...who was she to push him away?

"What are you doing?!"

"You poor kid," she whispered, stroking his head. "Why didn't you tell me you were hurting like this?"

Carnage hissed. "We are not hurting! We want revenge!"

"I'm not talking to you, Carnage." she growled. "I'm talking to Naruto. Let me see your face."

The mask slid away with a soft squelch.

"Anko-chan?"

"I'll do it." she said, more to herself than to him." I"ll go with you." She had to. She realized that now. No one else could; She'd seen the hurt in those eyes, the pain-without someone to guide him, to reign his impulses in, Naruto would descend into Carnage and become little more than a killing machine. He was better than that. She was better than that. If she was to be his anchor, then she would; she would keep him from losing his grasp on sanity, from turning into another Orochimaru. Even if it cost her very life.

"Really?" it was little more than a whisper.

"Really. she nodded.

"Really, really, truly?"

"Yup."

"Really, really, really-

"Naruto!"

His smile was like a ray of sunshine. Had he planned this all along?

"Thank you, Anko-chan! We have gift for you."

Anko frowned. A gift?

"Give us your hand."

Reluctantly, she did.

"Okay...what are you doing?"

"Just a moment." the blond answered, flustered. "We...we are not sure how to do this, yet. Ah...now, how do we...ow. OW!"

Naruto/Carnage seemed to wrestle with itself for a moment, gasping in pained agonies, as though waging some great internal battle. Eventually the blond must've succeeded; because a portion of the symbiote leapt from his hand and into hers. A piece, just a tiny piece, but the more she looked at it, the larger it seemed to grow. Before her eyes it morphed from the bloody red black to an eerie, dark violet. Almost purple in color, it crawled across her hand like a glove, clinging to her skin.

Naruto smiled, looking as awed as she felt. "It...worked?" Then, louder, "It worked! We did not think...

Instead of terror, she felt only disbelief. "What are you...?"

"Sh, it won't hurt you. Don't resist."

"You say that, but-whoa!"

It was like an out-of-body experience as she watched -felt!- it move across her right arm, claiming her limb for its own. For her. It. Us. Almost like a second skin it laid claim to the rest of her body; writhing across her in slow, sensuous circles, claiming her bountiful breasts, stomach, thighs, and all the rest, flowing across her like water. She had just enough time to yelp before it swallowed her face-swadling her visage in a mas that was and was not that of Carnage.

"Hello."

Something brushed her mind, then. Touched her. An alien presence, ancient in its origins, yet at the same time infinitely young. A flicker of something she didn't understand, only that it felt the need to be close to her, a deep, primal need to live. Childlike in its desire to do so, to survive, to BOND.

The reflection that stared back at her was genuinely frightening; because it reminded her of Carnage. The eyes were smoother, more slanted, and there was no gaping maw of teeth, just a featureless mask, but the cold streaks of inky black against the violet, the sensual way it clung to her every curve, the way she could feel it...

"What did you do to us?" she frowned, knowing something was wrong with her speech, yet unable to understand. "We...what are we?"

Naruto preened.

"We gave you our child. Made you stronger. Better."

"What is...what are we?" she repeated in disbelief. "Kid, what is this thing?"

Impossibly, his grin grew.

"Rapture."

A/N: Aaaaaaaand there we go! Renegade Older Naruto, with a very loose grasp on sanity as a whole...and add Carnage to the mix. Nooow, he's out of the village! With Anko, no less! Because, come on let's face it, I like Hinata but she's been done to death. Anko's probably the only one that WOULD empathize with him, at least hear his story. Now she's got a symbiote of her own, "Rapture" an amusing little name I thought of myself, and wham! They've flown the coop!

THE SYMBIOTE MADNESS HAS BEGUN!

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly? And of course enjoy the preview! Expect me to follow canon? NOPE!

(Preivew!)

Naruto/Carnage cocked his head.

"What are you offering us?"

A only smiled.

"I've already stated the terms."

"You have. But you also know of our...tendencies." His voice hitched slightly, gazing absently at his still-bloody fingers. "You are not the first to try and sway us to your side. To seek our...gift since what we did in Wave. You may be the last." The simple way he said it would have put a lesser man on his guard, but the dark-skinned shinobi simply scoffed.

"And why is that?"

"Because we are considering your offer." came the reply as the creature bounded off the wall. "You offer us everything we want. Sanctuary from Akatsuki, solace, and the chance to control ourselves. Among...other things.

The Raikage grinned.

"Do we have a deal, then?"

Carnage simply hummed. "Hmmm...we might go back to Wave. Haku-chan is still waiting for us there...

A had the distinct feeling that this guy wasn't entirely right in the head..

R&R! =D