Chapter 7: Finding the Key

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

"LEVICORPUS!"

The next thing Kakashi knew, he was dangling upside down in midair in his ankles, and he saw a jet of green light hit the spot he had been sitting only seconds prior. He was, however, dropped unceremoniously to the ground but he landed in a crouching position thanks to his agility. Glancing around, he saw Naruto had leapt on his feet with kunai in hand, glaring in the opposite direction of the house. But just as he was about to throw the kunai, Naruto took a beam of red light in the face, sending the kunai away and Naruto sprawling backwards before smashing into the house.

"Naruto!"

"He is alright… Kakashi, look out!"

Kakashi spun on his heels, just in time to see and dodge a jet of green light from the tree line. 'Whatever that green light is, I think I better stay clear of its way.'

Kakashi was, to say the least, utterly perplexed. He sure as hell didn't know what that green light was, ergo he better stay out of its way since Remus seemed concerned about it. And unless Kakashi was mistaken, that jet of green light had come from the same place as the last. Ducking another jet of green light, Kakashi suddenly felt himself side by side with Remus, just as the latter blocked a red jet with his wand. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Naruto slowly getting on his feet, rubbing his head as the others hurried down the stairs, weapons drawn. Uncovering his Sharingan, Kakashi quickly scanned the tree line.

"Remus-san, would you please explain to me what those beams of light were? You seem to know about them, if your reactions are anything to go by."

Remus nodded, wand held high and eyes looking warily around. "What Naruto was hit with was the Disarming charm from my world. And those green jets were…"

"The Killing Curse. I see your reflexes are as great as ever, Lupin. If you hadn't cast that charm, levicorpus,I would have gotten my target, Kakashi Hatake."

As the distorted voice stopped speaking, its owner stopped out from the shadows the trees provided. It was the most eccentric clothing the shinobi had set eyes on. All dressed up in black cloaks with matching hood and a skeleton mask, the shinobi found this opponent utterly ridiculous. Kiba and Naruto laughed outright, Naruto despite having taken an attack in the face. Sai just raised an eyebrow, fingering his tanto on his back while Shino looked indifferent. Hinata stared wide-eyed at the stranger while Sakura's mouth twitched as she suppressed a smirk. Yamato looked doubtful, glancing at Kakashi and Remus. Kakashi seemed to take in every detail of the assailant while Lupin was rather tense, as if waiting for something.

"Monster."

"Death Eater."

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!"

The shinobi stared in unmasked surprise as the red beam of light from the masked attacker's wand rebounded from an energy shield Lupin had formed with a flick with his wand. Both had now their wands trained on the other, neither moving an inch. Deciding now would be good time, Yamato spoke up.

"I don't know who you are or what you want, but you got some nerve to attack us like that. Even though eight of us don't understand the powers you and Remus-san seems to wield, you're still outnumbered. It would be wisest to give up now."

At this the Death Eater just laughed. "That isn't an option. My Master doesn't easily forgive failures. Besides… you didn't think I would come here without an ace up the sleeve, did you?"

Just as the Death Eater stopped talking, twelve men with armour and black swords and cloak stepped out from the tree line, swords levelled at the Konoha shinobi, causing them to curse lightly. The Death laughed again.

"I think it would be wise for you to follow your own advice and give up. You are the ones who are outnumbered. By the way, werewolf, how is your wife?"

Kakashi just glared. "Numbers alone doesn't win a battle. Teamwork does. Yamato, Sai, Naruto…"

"Kakashi! With all due respect… I would like to fight the Death Eater, the first attacker, alone. I know how to fight them and what to look out for when dealing with them. And this… just became personal."

Kakashi glanced at Remus. His entire demeanour had changed in the blink of an eye. There was no longer any trace of kindness in his voice or eyes. Instead his voice had been hard as steel and the air around him seemed to have dropped several of degrees. Add to that, but Kakashi was sure he had seen Remus' eyes glowing amber and thought for a moment Remus had gotten some characteristics that matched that of a wolf. But before Kakashi could utter a word of protest, the Death Eater laughed.

"So you want to fight me alone, werewolf? Sure, why not?" The Death Eater got into a duelling position. "Come. Avada Kedavra!"

"Stupefy! Reducto!"

The shinobi watched in slight awe how the two first jets of light collided before flying of in different directions and how the last of Remus' reduced a large boulder behind the Death Eater to pebbles. But if they had looked surprised, it nothing when both Remus and the Death Eater turned into some kind of smoke, Remus being white and the Death Eater black, before they took off, gliding up and round the trees as if they were snakes as they glided round the clearing with decent speed. Not so fast that the jounins couldn't keep up if they wanted, but enough to make the younger ones slightly dizzy. Especially with the dazzling lights that occasionally erupted from the fighters' wands. But the shinobi soon got other things to think about as the men who had come with the Death Eater attacked.

----

To say Remus was shocked would be an understatement. He had thought he was the only one of his kind around in this world. And yet here he was, battling a Death Eater. And a skilled one at that. So far the Death Eater had evaded every jinx and curse Remus had used while Remus had nearly been hit with a couple of Stunners and one Killer.

'Moony, unless you want to end as a carpet on a floor, now would be a good time to help.'

Moony growled angrily. 'I can't, you blasted human. Battling your stubborn mind for control over this body took almost all of my energy. It wasn't easy when I on the same time had a little fun with that nosy grey hair's mind. I had to do both things gradually. Unfortunately I wasn't able to able to find out what I wanted or do something serious when the grey hair is concerned. But since I have used most of my energy, I can't help you. You are on you own this time around, human. Don't get us both killed.'

Glancing into the clearing, Remus saw that shinobi was losing ground. Slowly, but surely. The men destroyed Naruto's clones almost as fast as he produced them. Remus was sure his mouth had hit the ground below him when Naruto had created twenty clones in one go. It was also pretty impressive how both Kiba and his dog could spin so fast in midair, Sai producing lion like creatures from a scroll. Yamato and Kakashi were both fighting two opponents, their ANBU training kicking in as both seemed use their weapons more creative than the others. Kakashi had, unless Remus was going blind, bound his arsenal of kunai and shuriken into some sort of sharp whip while Yamato had made a spiked club. But where the wood to it came from was something Remus didn't dwell on.

But he still stopped on a tree branch when he saw Hinata taking a kick to her face, causing her to fly through the house wall. But he was in for another shock, quickly forgetting everything about attacking the culprit. Sakura had apparently decided she wanted to play some baseball. The balls were her opponents. Her bat: A tree. Remus was sure he was gaping like an idiot when he saw Sakura pull up a tree with roots with her fists before smashing the one who kicked Hinata with a well aimed vertical slash. Afterwards she used the tree to hurl her own opponent through the air, causing his cloak to fall off.

Remus' face contorted in disgust as the smell of rotten and burned flesh bombarded his sensitive nose.

'Hold on… that's right! I didn't pick up their scents before now! But that must mean...'

"You don't have time for looking the other way, werewolf! Crucio!"

Remus let out a small scream of agony as the Death Eater's curse got him straight in the chest, sending him off the branch and towards the ground. He hit the ground with a heavy thud. Letting out a loud groan of pain, he glared up at the Death Eater a couple of trees away, laughing gleefully.

'Think that was funny, huh? Then I better repay the favour.'

Remus send a Body-Bind curse at the Death Eater, who laughed and side-stepped the curse. Bad move. Remus smirked slightly as he undid the rope on one of their traps by pointing at it with his hand, causing a medium sized branch to clip the Death Eater on the ear, sending the Death Eater to the ground. But much to Remus' shock, the Death flipped in midair and landed safely before sending another Cruciatus at Lupin who managed putting up a weak shield that took the brunt of the Curse. Albeit slower this time, Lupin was soon engaged in duel again, bombarding the Death Eater with jinxes and curses while staying clear of the volley his opponent sent his way. But he noticed with small satisfaction that branch had damaged the mask.

---

Kakashi cursed as he dodged another blow from one of the attackers. The fact he hadn't heard, smelled or just sensed them set him off. And his growing frustration was not abated by the fact that Sakura had taken down Hinata's opponent and damaged her own or him having chopped off the head of one his opponents with his made-on-the-spot whip.

'Add to that that those goons are still going strong. Their attacks are still as fast as when we began and equally powerful. There is something fishy going on here. Whoa!'

His remaining opponent's sword had suddenly flames dancing along the blade and he barely managed to duck the attack. Unfortunately, he was disarmed in the progress and the tips of his hair singed slightly. Growling, he charged his Raikiri and in the next moment, pierced his opponent's chest where the heart was located. The next thing Kakashi knew, he was flying through the air and over the railing as the one he just thought he had killed backhanded him. Standing up and shaking his head, he took the quick, yet slightly painful break to see how the others were faring. Team 8 were pretty much out cold, Shino being the exception as he seemed to hold two attackers at bay with his insects.

Yamato was clobbering one of his opponents while the other had lost his head and arms as Yamato had planted a couple of explosive tags on him.

Sai and Naruto was, amazingly enough, working as a team. Naruto fought the attackers with his Shadow Clones with Sai covering his back from the air.

Venturing a glance in the direction of the two duellists, he barely dodged a stray jet of red light. Deciding now would be a good time as any, Kakashi jumped into the fray once more, just as another curse from the Death Eater hit the house, instantly setting it ablaze.

---

Remus let out a scream of fury as the Death Eater's curse set the house aflame. 'This has gone on long enough. Time to end this!'

That thought firmly in mind, Remus pulled back his wand as one would with an arrow, summoning as much energy as he could before jabbing it forward with a yell.

"Torden!"

The power of the spell sent the Death Eater flying backwards and out of sight as the sound of a peal of thunder hit the shield. Ignoring his aching muscles, Remus took off towards the now burning house, hitting one of the attackers in the face with a Stunner. But he got a shock as he came side to side with the one he had just hit. Before Remus knew what was going on, he was flying through the air, all oxygen knocked out of him by a kick to the chest. Even with his vision having black spots, he saw several of the armoured men run away in the direction the Death Eater was sent flying.

Groaning as he stood up, Remus saw Shino and Sai bring out Hinata from the burning house, Yamato checking up on Kiba while Kakashi was giving out orders.

"Naruto! Use your Shadow Clones to scout the area. Those guys might be in the neighbourhood and attack us again. Do not engage in combat. Sakura: Tend to Hinata first, then Kiba and Akamaru. The rest of us will manage."

Seeing Remus walking towards him with unsteady steps, Kakashi was by his side immediately, supporting him.

"Are you alright, Remus-san?"

Remus winced with each step he took. "I have been better. I think I have sprained my ankle. No worries though, I recover fast. But… I think you better get on my right side. My left shoulder hurts."

Kakashi quickly got to the right side, eyeing the wand dangling loosely from Remus' hand with concealed awe and worry. 'To think such a stick could be so dangerous. I suppose there are more than meets the eye about Remus-san. But the one he fought worries me. Speaking of which…'

"Remus-san, how did you know that Death… Ea?"

"Death Eater."

"Death Eater. How did you know he or she was there? We shinobi are trained in sensing enemies. Our sense of smell and hearing are higher than average humans and we can sense what we call chakra signatures. Some people are capable of masking and suppressing their chakra but most shinobi with more experience than a chuunin will still sense an enemy. The fact that we didn't sense them coming at all is a bit disturbing. So did you get some training more advanced than us since you picked up on this Death Eater and we didn't?"

Remus let out a weary sigh. "No, I haven't undergone training like that at all. I only picked up on impending danger because his or her timing slipped. I guess he, or she, Apparated every time the fire crackled a bit in order to cover the noise. Moments before the Killing Curse was fired at you, I heard the fire giving a crack that was just a bit too long. When I turned around on the stairs, I saw a wand tip going down and I had to think fast.

Glancing around, Lupin took a deep breath before exhaling.

"As for you not being able to smell them… I think it has something to do with their cloaks. One of them lost their cloaks and I was bombarded with smells that was rather unpleasant."

Kakashi swore under his breath. "Damnit. When the ones who could still fight took off, they took their friends with them. Nothing was left behind. Not even their swords."

As Remus was about to reply, he fell to his knees with a scream, his left shoulder feeling as if it was on fire. Kakashi was in business mode instantly.

"Sakura! We need some help over here!"

Sakura was by their side instantly, gently helping Remus sitting down so he could rest against a rock. "Where does it hurt, Remus-san?"

Lupin ground his teeth in pain. "Left shoulder. On fire." As Sakura was about to make preparations for getting Remus out of his shirt, Remus gave a strained flick with his wand, making his left sleeve rip itself off. Sakura gasped when she took in the damage.

"Remus-san, you have been fighting with a dislocated shoulder."

Lupin bit back a cry of pain when he shrugged. "I suppose it was because of the adrenaline. At some point I took a powerful curse to the chest and I was knocked down from a branch. I guess I landed the wrong way. How are the others?"

Not sure whether she believed him or not, Sakura took a deep breath. "They will be fine. In either case, we need to put it back in place. Kakashi-sensei, would you please hold him still? Remus-san, this is going to hurt. Are you ready?"

Trying to smile, but ending up with grimacing in pain, Remus nodded. It barely took five second from Sakura took a hold and to the shoulder was back in its socket, but that didn't prevent Remus from letting out a scream of pain and he unknowingly dropped his wand to the ground.

'Bloody… one would think that after years of having your bones and muscles change and relocate themselves a couple of times during the month, you would get used to something like this. But I suppose that would be too much to ask.'

In that moment Naruto came bounding back from his scouting. Kakashi nodded at Naruto, silently telling him to relay his report. Getting his breath back, Naruto spoke.

"They have hightailed, Kakashi-sensei. No sign of them in 2 miles radius in all directions from here."

Remus frowned and he slowly stood up, his wand forgotten. "Are you sure? No signs of the Death Eater?"

Naruto was confused. "Death Eater?"

"The one I was fighting." Remus pointed to the northwest. "My last spell sent him or her flying in that direction."

Realization dawned on Naruto's face. "No, I didn't find any person that way. But… I found this, about fifteen feet from the clearing."

Remus swore mentally as Naruto held out a green scroll. 'Damn. That means the Death Eater is still out there.'

'I told you that you are too soft, Remus. You need to drop your morals and be prepared to kill in this world.'

Ignoring his inner wolf's comment, he snapped back to attention as Naruto began reading from the scroll. Lupin was on Naruto's right while Kakashi was on the left of the boy.

"Shinobi of Konoha: If you read this, it means you have beaten my servants and they have failed a simple mission. I will have to punish them for that. And then I will come after you in person. It seems that if you want something done, you have to do it yourself.

Yours sincerely,

Portus."

Remus' eyes went wide when the last word was spoken and signs appeared on the scroll, making it glow bright blue. 'This is a...!!'

"NARUTO, MOVE!"

Kakashi and Lupin reacted on the same time, mimicking each others' movement. One hand grapping one of Naruto's shoulders and yanking him backwards while the other hand took a hold of the scroll, intending to throw the scroll away. Unfortunately, they only got to yanking Naruto backwards and they still had a firm hold on Naruto as the two men felt a strong pull somewhere behind their navels, dragging Naruto with them.

It was only then Remus realized he no longer had his wand on him.

'Death Eaters… portkeys… what is going on?! And I don't have my wand! How can this get any worse?!'

Naruto could only think two things at the moment. 'What the hell is going on here?!' and 'I think I'm going to be sick!'

Kakashi sighed inwardly. 'And that was that vacation. Why can things never be easy, just for once?'

In one moment Naruto, Kakashi and Remus were standing there, the next they were gone, leaving behind stunned teammates as they were swept away to an unknown destination.

End chapter 7