All-important notes to follow at the end of the chapter. Next one is already in the works, but this weekend is mostly shot I might not get it up till next week. Thanks again to all my favers, watchers and reviewers. Cookies for all~ GoneBonkers, since you either don't log in, or don't have an account, I'm addressing your review at the end, cauz I can't PM you, and you had some points.
Roy was surprised when the homunculus tossed down the gun. When he had seen it's eyes turn red for a second there, he had been sure it was going to attack. Part of him expected a trick of some sort. Homoculi were not known for their wise choices in self preservation, after all. "Smart choice."
The monster snarled, crossing his arms across his chest. "Screw you, Bastard."
"Sharp words for someone who just surrendered without a fight." Roy quipped, signaling his fellow Alchemist to begin. Earth rose up in ribbons, wrapping around the blond from the neck down. "No biting, now." Mustang admonished as Armstrong deftly lifted up the stone encased form.
"Wouldn't dream of it." though the tone suggested he had.
"There we go. General, where to?"
"I know where I want you to go..." They chose to ignore the remark as The flame alchemist lead the way towards the central building. There were some decent cells in the lower level, and thanks to his little trip to the gate, he knew how to make it more then adequate for his purposes. One again, he was glad that he had not lost all that knowledge with the return of his eyesight.
Reaching the cell, Roy looked critically at the folding cot and table. Those will have to go. I'm not sure I trust this thing enough to untie it. Don't want to give it anything it can use as a weapon. "Havoc, move anything not bolted down into another room." Havoc snapped a salute and got to work with the help of a few other men. If I need a table or chair I can always just make one, after all..."Alex, you can put our guest down now."
"Yes, sir. Should I release him as well?"
Mustang looked at the blond homoculi, a smirk upon his lips, "No, I think we should let him get used to his new surroundings..." He slapped his hands together and slammed them into the wall. Blue sparks danced around the room as all the surfaces went from a dull gray a darker, slightly reflective one. "That should do it. We'll just let you get comfortable, my friend. I'll be back later."
"Wait! You can't leave me like this! My nose itches! GAHHHH!" The homunculus shouted at their receding forms. As the door clicked closed and blue discharge raced across it he growled, "And you're not my friend!"
Roy chuckled darkly from the other side of the door before striding to his office, "I want all the data we can get on this thing. Photos, eyewitness reports, hell, I'll even take gossip! Just get it for me on my desk in an hour."
Hawkeye frowned, they were still calming down those who had been in the building, not to mention she had no clue how many people had actually seen the beast. "Sir?"
"Fine. Get me as much as you can in an hour," he modified, "I want the rest by the end of the day tomorrow."
"Yes sir!" Hawkeye snapped a salute before turning smartly on her heels to get the required information as the Brigadier General reached his office.
"What exactly are you planning, Roy?" Armstrong closed the door behind them before settling into one of the plush chairs.
"Me? I'm not planing anything." Mustang quickly penned a letter to a certain Ishbalan. He was hoping he wouldn't need the help, but the man's unique talents could come in handy. Unfortunately, it would take a while for him to come. Meaning his meeting with his little uninvited guest would be one-on-one today.
"You hear me! NOT MY FRIEND!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs. He listened closely, hearing nothing coming from the hall. With a self-satisfied smirk, he relaxed his arms and got to work. Exhaling as much as he could he worked on slithering his right arm up towards his neck, dislocating it in the process. He steadily streamed a small amount of chakra from his right hand, weakening his earthen restraints. It wasn't long before his hand was in front of his face. "Gotta...remember...to thank Gaara for teaching...me this...little trick..." he panted, gathering his strength. With a calculated shove he broke large chunks of the restraint away from his chest and immediately focused on the next important task.
Scratching his nose.
It took only moments and the careful manipulation of his remaining chakra to break free. It left him frightenly weak though. As the blond sat on the floor catching his breath he once again had to wonder how the hell he got here, wherever he was.
"Let's see...I was fighting that bastard Pein, right? He attacked..." panic welled in his throat as he thought of the devastation to Konoha, his friends, "No, no, they'll be fine. I'm sure of it. Yeah. Just fine. I got Pein away...didn't I?" He vaguely remembered talking with the Fourth Hokage, learning that the man he had idolized his whole life was in fact his father. "huh. Everything after that's kinda a blank though. What the hell happened? Well then...If I woke up as a giant fox, then I bet I know who has some answers..."
The sewer was much the same it had always been. Poorly lit and wet. Without much preamble Naruto banged on the bars of the cage.
"Ah, I see my jailer has come to pay a visit." The fox grinned, "What seems to be the problem?"
"You know exactly what the problem is! What the hell is going on here?"
"I don't know what problem you could be talking about. Oh wait, could you be referring to your rather foolish attempt to stop that man without my help?" to Naruto's confused look the Kyuubi just laughed, "You don't remember, do you? Delicious!"
"Just tell me already!"
"It's simple, really, You tried to finish off that man with your sorry skills. You failed."The monster grinned, "And now you're paying the price for it."
"What aren't you telling me?" it was weird, even here, the blond felt completely drained. The last time he felt this way speaking to the bijuu, the fox had taken over and almost killed Sasuke.
"Wouldn't you like to know? Feeling a little...weaker then normal, boy?" Kyuubi's eyes slanted, and he gave a mental shove, "Get us out of this mess your foolishness got us into, Naruto, or I will," the fox grinned as Naruto faded, "and trust me, you won't like how I do it."
With a sigh Naruto opened his eyes. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Kyuubi knew a lot more then he was letting on. The thought that Pein was still a threat to his village... No, no, he was after me. If I'm not there, they'll be safe, from him at least.The ninja had more pressing things to worry about then his home, though. He pulled himself to his feet and started the arduous task of feeling along the walls for a weak-spot. Naturally, he started with where the door had been, only to find it as smooth as the surrounding walls.
"Maybe letting myself get caught and thrown into a locked room wasn't my best idea." He deftly searched the whole room to no avail. He had thought, foolishly, that these new enemies would throw him somewhere he'd easily be able to escape. Naruto did have a lot of experience getting out of locked, ninja-proof rooms, thanks to some differing opinions on what constituted as 'resting'. Eventually the blond found himself back at where a door was supposed to be. Experimentally, he shoved on it. "Damn... " Suddenly blue electricity crackled across the wall and across his hand. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt, though the teen warily took a step back. Could be some kind of exploding tag?
The section of wall vanished, leaving Naruto to blink dumbly at the man with cold, calculating eyes. Crap!The blond quickly dove, aiming for the space between the man and the wall, attempting to get out of the room. He heard a snap, and suddenly he was on fire.
"AHHH!" blinded, he continued his mad lunge for freedom. When he felt someone grab his hair and yank him back, he whipped around and threw a punch that defiantly connected before he skidded across the floor. "Who the hell do you think you are? Fucking Sasuke? That HURT!"
Roy mentally cursed as he rubbed his jaw. The little beast had a heck of a right hook, even when it couldn't see where it was aiming. He felt a bit like a fool, thinking that Armstrong's alchemy would be strong enough to hold onto a homunculus of unknown abilities for long. The again, it had only been an hour. He looked over at the pile of gravel, frowning, definitely thought it would have taken longer then that at least. Little bastard could have gotten away if I had waited any longer.He was ridiculously grateful that Riza was not here to see his mess up.
"I see you don't waste any time, homunculus." Mustang calmly entered the room, watching as it wreathed in apparent pain. He shut the entrance to the room, locking himself in in a calculated risk.
The monster ignored him, instead coughing out "Who the hell do you think you are? Fucking Sasuke? That HURT!" Blue eyes glared at him, still watery from the pain.
Who, or what, is Sasuke, I wonder? The Alchemist quickly formed a table and two chairs with a simple hand-slap. I'd like to see you try to use one of these against me,he thought, looking critically at where the furniture rose out of the floor seamlessly. He dropped the folder he had been carrying on the table. "Have a seat."
The blond eyed the new additions to his cell suspiciously as he stood slowly. He poked at the chair, "Big deal, I've seen better..." he muttered before taking a seat. "Well?" He glared.
Roy took the other seat, not much of a power play. What is this guy, an idiot? He flipped open the folder, revealing a photo of the homunculus from earlier that day. He watched as the fake-boy looked at the photo. He said nothing as he studied the bright blond hair and startling blue eyes. The headband was a little odd, with it's metal plate and odd symbol. Idly he wondered what it meant. The homoculi looked at him, and Mustang realized that the marks on it's face, which he had taken for healing cuts, or maybe dirt, were neither. Huh, they look like whiskers almost.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" It asked, pointing at the picture.
"Why don't you tell me."
"How the hell should I know?"
"Are you saying it isn't you?" The blond flinched ever so slightly, "That's what I thought."
"I...I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're a terrible lier, you know that? Besides which I saw you change." The man who had finished off two homoculi sighed exasperatedly, "Fine, let's try something else. Who are you? Or at least, who are you supposed to be?" Blue eyes just watched him suspiciously."Am I supposed to guess then?"
Well, given his abilities to transform..."Envy?" No reaction. "You're to active to be Sloth, and you're not fat enough to be Gluttony...Lust? No, I don't think a pathetic runt like you could be Lust." He noticed a flash of anger in the eyes, "Greed or Pride maybe?"
The prisoner looked away, grinding it's teeth, "You know I have no clue what you're talking about, don't you?" he growled, eyes flashing red for a second.
Roy smirked, "I've got it. Wrath."
Ok! here's the fun explain-y notes...um...Ok, totally got distracted by the tv. Where was I?
Ah, GoneBonkers raised some good plot points, and I'm sure other people were like "waaaa?" over the same things as well, so, here's a quick response.
Naruto's not one for giving up without a fight, so I know his surrendering seems totally OOC, even if he's completely out of weapons. I have been dropping hints at this, but I'll come out and say it, he's also got like, zilch chakra. Rock Lee level almost. Except for the Kyuubi's, that is. That bastard is still going strong. So, he surrendered in the hopes of having enough time to rest and recover (Yeah, didn't help though). Going against unknown weapons, exhausted, he would have been caught anyway. At least this way, he was awake for where he was going...
Yeah, Riza probibly would have shot him...at least two or three times...before they decided to capture. But that would have been a head-shot, and honestly I don't know if Naruto would come back from that...(What do you guys think? Seriously, I want to know. I mean, broken neck, pulped heart, SURE, but bullet to the brain? Can he grow back missing limbs I wonder?)
As for how he got there, yeah, we'll get to that, eventually. Kyuubi's holding out on sharing the information with me.
Oh, and I am TOTALLY going to have to steal calling Naruto Fishcake at some point...if that's ok with you.
In other notes, this story has the potential to get seriously dark. Fair warning. My mind is...not always a happy place to be, and, well, Naruto's healing powers and current situation...kinda tempting. We'll just have to see what happens though.