Black Flames
Chapter 4
Inner Strength and Defiance
AN:OH MY GOD I did it! Have been meaning to for like the better part of a year but I finally am kicking my own butt! I have a few very neglected stories to continue
Black Flames Disclaimer: As always I don't own any of the characters all of that goes to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei and Gardner Fox-sensei!
Enjoy and Review! =^-^=
"We must act quickly for the sake of your world."
Sakura sighed as she floated around in her mind scape.
"You should be resting," a familiar voice piped up behind her. Sakura slowly turned around with no real hurry in her movement.
"But I am so bored!" Sakura whined to the figure before her. The figure shook her head and sighed as well.
"You have been in a tank for 2 years, you gained a new Justu that is still unpredictable and takes a lot of chakra from your already depleted supply, and there is the fact that you knowingly took Soldier pills in a state that may have killed you. I think resting is important and you will have to deal with being bored," the figure nagged. Sakura slumped in defeat. She knew the figure was right but hearing it from herself made it weird. Inner Sakura smiled at her depressed counterpart.
"I know, I know, I know, but I am too restless to dream and J'onn seems to be keeping me from completely regaining consciousness. They are going against a pretty strong creature and there is nothing I can do stuck in my head!" Sakura growled in frustration.
There was a shift in the mind scape before the pair. They both furrowed their eyebrows. Something was happening in the waking world and it was not good.
The next thing that happened was a bright light and pain took over the both of them. Sakura struggled to keep her eyes open as her inner self fought with all her might. Everything went dark before the pain intensified. It felt like worms trying to burrow into her skull.
There was a rush of mental energy she identified at J'onn push her into consciousness. The room she was in was huge, she could barely see what was happening. There was a film over everything. She noticed the group of people she had come to know in this strange place were next to her and restrained in some sort of platform, and the screaming. All she could hear was screaming.
It took her just a few more moments in consciousness to realize, one it was her screaming and two she was in the belly of some sort of Jelly fish thing.
The pain she had felt was in fact something burrowing in her skin, it was the tentacle of this creature. She looked around wildly again. J'onn was standing in front of this creature. It was almost as if he were next in line for the ride.
"This sweet, Sweet energy. Child your mind is so filling. I have not indulged on such powerful mind in centuries," a guttural voice spoke in her mind and shook her as it did so. Sakura bit her lip and forced back the screams in her throat.
"You must be the Imperium! I can feel the evil welled up inside you. I have not lived through war and heartache to be eaten by the likes of you," Sakura hissed back in her thoughts. She did not trust her actual vocal chords to do anything other than scream.
"Defiance, I like it. It has defiantly help mold that power in you. Yes, continued to fight, it will make destroying you that much more delightful," the Imperium laughed shaking Sakura harder in the motion. Sakura felt the blood leak from her lip as she bit back more screams.
"I know this lingering essence, by chance is this Madara?" the Imperium continued in the joyful celebration. "That fool! He thought other dimensions held what we needed but I went to the cosmos. What now foolish brother? Just an essence of you left behind, what a joke."
"Madara was a parasite like you?!" Sakura struggled against the fatigue in the bones
"A Brother actually, a fool and you killed him. Good for you, and now I will take revenge I suppose by killing you," the Imperium said nonchalantly and dug in deeper into Sakura's mind.
"Sakura, Fight Him!" J'onn yelled, staring in horror at the young girl facing a fate he had seen so many of his people fall to. Sakura steeled herself knowing that she needed to fight for her life or die. She reached out into her mind, searching for her inner counterpart.
She found her much in the same state she was in. The ground had vines wrapping around her legs and burrowing into her body, but she looked more gray then the jet black she had been before. Sakura ran to her finding the mindscape did not have the same hold the creature had on Sakura's physical body.
"What is happening?" Sakura panted out as she reached her counterpart.
"The creature is feeding off my power. I can feel myself fading," she whispered to Sakura. Sakura pulled at the vines trying to break her friend free.
"I will not let this happen, You will not die! I will not let another one of my friends DIE!" Sakura yelled with extreme determination. She pulled and struggled with the vines some more but there was no use. Then she thought of the black fire Madara had so graciously given her. The Parasite that destroyed her world.
"I will not let you die!" Sakura opened her eyes filled with rage and the will of fire she would not let go. Black flames shot from her right eye and warped themselves around the vines. The vines hissed and fizzled under the unrelenting flames. A deep growling filled her mind scape but Sakura did not bother with it. The flames lapped up the rest of the charred remaining vines and her counterpart slumped against the ground. The black flames fizzled out of existence with nothing more it was allowed to consume.
"I thought those flames didn't stop until all was burned before it," Inner Sakura commented.
"I decided that it would not and it didn't. It is my jutsu and I will learn to control it. No I suppose it is time to deal with the other one." Sakura nodded to her inner self and smiled at the already darker tone she was taking. It would take more than some creature to destroy the strength inside.
Sakura opened her eyes and smirked at the smoke that was billowing from the creature holding her.
"What have you DONE!?" the creature screamed and shook Sakura violently.
"I decided to fight! And you bit off more than you could chew!" Sakura yelled this time knowing the pain would not cripple her. She pulled her arms together grabbing hold of the tentacles burrowed into her skin. Eyes burning with rage and anger locked on to what looked like the brain of this creature, and she let black flames engulf it.
Gurgled screams filled the room! All the invaders reached out screaming as well to their leader. It retracted its tentacles from Sakura's skin and dropped her to the ground. Sakura winced at the impact but kept her eyes on the creature. She out of only will sent another blast of fire at the creature.
"Die and take all your goons with you," Sakura panted. J'onn was at her side pulling her away from the melting screaming mess that had become of the creature.
"No!"
"Master!"
"AHHH!"
Muttered scream echoed all around. Sakura heard a commotion and the bright light of day explode into the room. Hawkgirl had created a sunroof and the invaders did not like it. They screeched and began to melt to similar puddles like their leader.
Sakura couldn't move, she had nothing left as the factory started collapsing around them. J'onn lifted her into his arms and flew out of the dying building. The rest of the group followed eager to leave this place of death.
"So How did we end up in that mess?" Sakura asked J'onn quietly not really able to be much louder.
"We were preparing to rescue Superman and Hawkgirl but we were lured into a trap. I am not sure how you came to be there. We had left you with a friend of Superman that Batman knew. Once we all came too, an invader that Superman identified as a government official had you in his arms. He offered you to the Imperium and the rest you were aware of," J'onn explained.
"I wonder if Superman's friend is ok?" Sakura pondered.
"YOU LEFT HER WITH LOIS!" a yell came from the group that had gathered away from the destroyed factory full of goo bodies.
"yes we are in metropolis and she wasn't going to be of any help. I figured Lois would have it handled. I also didn't know that these things had any interest in her. I was surprised to see her there too. Superman, I am sure Lois is fine," Batman explained as he tried to calm Superman down.
"How can you know senator carter was an invader. How can I trust anyone now," Superman sighed defeated. J'onn walked close to the group as Sakura tried to reach out for Superman.
"Trusting in people can get you killed but that is also a very lonely place to be," Sakura whispered. Superman sighed again.
"I am going to find Lois, after that we have a world to put back together." He flew off leaving a quiet group in his place.
"I will take Mr. Speed Freak here a start in South America," the Green Lantern said taking charge of the situation. Batman and the others nodded and began splitting into teams much like they had already to clean to up the mess these invading creatures had made.
Sakura sighed, there was nothing left in her. No way she would be able to help them at this point. It was gonna be a long road to recovery and building up her strength but she hoped this amazing group of people would still be around.
J'onn felt the warm tear fall on his chest. Sakura silently sobbed in his arms. The adrenaline was dying down and the moment allowed reality to sink in to the young girl. She was weak and far from home.
"Do not worry. I will watch over you as you gain your strength. You forget I have see you before this, I know what you are capable of and you will become that person again," J'onn reassured trying to calm the fears building inside the young girl.
"Thank you J'onn," Sakura whispered. "I think I am going to sleep now. Do not worry if I am asleep for few days. I have reach dangerous levels of chakra and it will take me time to regain them." Sakura slumped against J'onn's chest again. The was not going to be much that could wake her this time.
AN: Well there you go. Finally updated and I hope you guys liked it!
Please Review!
TTFN Ta Ta For Now!
Tigress-of-the-Grove