Disclaimer: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…
[Giblet: And we're back!
Gnarl: (Grunt)
Shin: Oh come now Gnarl, most people like Giblet.
Gnarl: (Grumbles under breath)
Lord Pain: In any case, welcome back everyone!
Tak: You seem to be in good spirits.
Zim: Yes! The Overlord must've been pleased by the Almighty Zim's accomplishments!
Tak: (Smirks) You mean getting hit by a stuffed toy that dragged you into the sewers?
Zim: SILENCE!
Lord Pain: In any case, on with the fic.
Jester: As you wish milord!
NU: Dark Lord +
Chapter 7: Orcs Pt. 2…
"Normal Speech"…
'Normal Thoughts'…
[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…
"Jutsu In Use"…
"Demon Speech"…
'Demon Thoughts'…
"Inner Spirit Speech"…
(Goblin Keep…)
Shin frowned as he stood near the Overlord-Heart, rubbing his chin lightly as he considered what he should do next. Calling Gnarl had been fairly useless; as the old Minion-Master had ordered him to do whatever he believed would benefit The Overlord the greatest. Thus Shin was now sitting and contemplating what his next move should be. On the one hand, he could save the girls and capture whatever treasures the bandits had, increasing their master's wealth and following. On the other hand, they were human girls, which weren't all that had to find or obtain from the right slavers, and there was also no guarantee that the treasure these bandits had was even worth the effort.
'Gnarl is supposed to be in charge, yet he shoves this mess onto my shoulders… doesn't even offer a bit of good council, just lets me deal with it all and it's possible repercussions!' Shin thought to himself with a scowl across his face before shaking his head and crossing his arms with a thoughtful frown on his face. 'But perhaps I'm thinking about this too logically, our master was raised among humans, and he isn't vicious or cruel… yet… so perhaps by saving the girls we would gain more favor with the master.' Shin then thought while rubbing his chin and idly nodding his head, then slipped from his perch and walked out of the room, Espio walking out of the shadows and falling instep behind the second in command.
"Made your decision?" Espio questioned and Shin nodded his head only once as he continued to walk through the halls of the Goblin-Keep. Turning a corner, he came into a room where Skoodge was sitting and talking to several other soldiers, all of them stopping as the two greys entered the room. Reaching up, Shin rubbed at his neck before clearing his throat to gain their complete attention, and then slowly crossed his arms behind his back.
"Listen up, a group of human bandits have been spotted up above us in your territory." Shin started and the Goblins didn't really seem to care, a few humans walking into or even over their territory was a common occurrence after all. "Now then, from Tenn's report on the bandits, among this group is what appears to be a group of captured human females, and a chest that is most likely filled with treasure." Shin continued to explain and saw that they were all much more interested now, as they could probably assume that their war was soon to begin, and the first strike at humanity would be a minor blow, but that The Goblins were the first race to do so, and to be among those Goblins, would be a medal of honor in years to come.
"As of our master and Gnarl leaving I was left in charge. Upon seeking council from Gnarl, he decided that I should handle the situation as I saw fit, and as most profitable to our Master, The Overlord." Shin continued while the Goblins started to look at the grey Minion anxiously, though given just how long they had been underground, that wasn't all too surprising. "Now, after deliberating, I believe it to be in our best interest to obtain both the women and treasure from these bandits, preferably unspoiled." Shin stated while stressing the end and a few Goblins faces fell, before grinning as some of them grabbed their helmets.
"Now then, this is not to be a large battle, as there are only twenty humans in this group of Bandits, not including a large one who resembles an Ogre, be wary of that one as he's their leader." Shin continued while the soldiers started to line up before the grey as he marched in front of them. "First and foremost I want those women secured, the treasure is secondary given the wealth obtained from The Tallests, not only that but I'm sure that the Master would be very pleased with us for protecting them." Shin ordered and several Goblins nodded their heads before the young Grey came to a halt, Espio leaning into a wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Take whatever weapons are available, there are no Thrasher openings in that area or I'd say take one and be done with it. However grab your flamethrowers and shock-cannons, and auto-crossbows. I want this human trash dealt with as quickly as possible, and I mean before the Master returns!" Shin ordered and the Goblins gave a cry before running out of the room, leaving the young Grey to let out a breath and rub at his head with a frown. "Why did Gnarl leave me with so much responsibility?" Shin questioned of no one and Espio walked over to his brother grey and placed a hand onto his shoulder.
"Perhaps he has great plans for you Shin… perhaps he has plans for you…" Espio uttered before slinking back into the shadows, while Shin briefly pondered on what kind of "Plans" the old Minion-Master could possibly have for him…
(Forsaken Caves…)
Naruto walked through the caves with a frown on his face, two faeries sitting on his shoulders hidden by his scarf / hood. He muttered to himself as he spotted more larvas ahead, and then threw a wall of fire forward to torch any and all of the insects in his way. It was pretty boring down here, contrary to what he'd believed the Mammoth-Ants actually weren't too hard to kill. But while that was true, there were just so many of them that they could swarm a person very easily. Thus far it had only been because they kept an eye behind them that they hadn't been surrounded by Mammoth Ants. All and all however, killing the Larva so they wouldn't reach maturity and grow up to be more pests was going a lot better.
In fact, the Minions were smashing any the found, though at the moment one was standing on a Larva husk and pointing forward, several other Minions pushing it forward with a "Hut hut hut!" as they went. 'My Minions are totally insane…' The blond mentally decided while shaking his head, and then tossed another Wall of Fire spell forward. Like always the spell burned any and all Larva down the way, before Naruto stopped at an opening at the side with an object sitting in it.
"Ooh, an Object, I like objects!" Gnarl suddenly declared and Naruto snickered before sweeping a few of his excess Minions over to pick the object up. The Minions did so with gusto, four of them quickly surrounding and then picking up the object and easily carrying it, though they swayed slightly from the sheer weight of it. Taking a better look at the object, Naruto frowned seeing an obsidian pedestal with a menagerie of violet runes carved into it, six slots were around the upper portion of the pedestal and there was a strange pattern at the top of the object that looked somewhat movable. Walking over to it, Naruto idly noticed a chest out of the corner of his eye but stowed that away for later, then frowned while looking at the object.
'Those runes look familiar…' He thought to himself before placing a hand onto the object and widened his eyes as a pulse traveled through his body. 'Whoa… this must be an Overlord-Object.' Naruto decided while Tora walked up behind him and looked at the stone object with a deep frown on her face.
"What are we going to do with that thing? It'll slow us all down if we try and take it with us!" Tora noted and Naruto reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a calming breath. Was it just him, or did Tora purposely try to piss him off for no apparent reason? Because surely she wasn't always this annoying, and certainly her father wouldn't put up with such behavior… let alone would Grunge put up with it.
"My Minions will carry it until I find something else to do with it…" Naruto stated simply and then turned on his heel, the Minions following him with the object, as they had nothing else to do with it. Looking around, the blond then walked over to the chest he saw earlier and kicked it open with a frown on his face, wondering how the thing had managed to get down into these Forsaken Caves in the first place. 'I mean it's not like the Mammoth-Ants would bring it down here.' The blond haired Overlord-In-Training decided while looking around inside the chest, then pulled out a few throwing knives which Tak quickly snatched from his hands.
"I'll take those, thank you." She declared and Naruto gave her an annoyed look.
"I can use those as well you know…" Naruto stated and Tak shrugged her shoulders with an amused smirk on her face.
"Yeah, but are you good at it?" Tak questioned with a raised brow and Naruto winced, as he was the worst shot back in the academy, so relented and pulled some gold out of the chest instead.
"Who leaves gold just lying around like this?" Naruto demanded incredulously and Tora rolled her eyes before smirking towards the young Overlord.
"Think of it as a public service, without leaving it around thieves and would be adventurers would have nothing to steal." Tora offered and Naruto palmed his face, Grunge shaking his head, as both girls seemed to want to torment the blond haired youth. 'Is today pick on The Overlord day or something?' The said blond wondered to himself before letting out a breath and pulled out a red potion he easily recognized. 'This is one of those healing potions Sylvanas used when I got hurt…' He thought while slipping that into his pouch and pushed back up to his feet with a frown.
"Alright that's enough of a distraction, lets keep moving." Naruto stated while walking back down into the tunnels and Tora let out a groan.
"Urgh… how far down do these tunnels go? I mean, how could these things have dug out so much without any of thus ever noticing them before?" She whined and Grunge slapped the back of her head, the Orc girl giving him a hurt look. Rolling his eyes, Grunge crossed his arms and looked around with a frown across his face.
"Stop your bellyaching and just walk. These Tunnels were dug out in a Spiral by the Mammoth-Ants. It's not actually all that long but because of that shape it seems longer than it actually is." Grunge explained and Naruto filed that away, and made a mental note to make a spiral maze in any of his future homes just to piss off any of his would be enemies. 'Then again, do I really want to piss off my enemies before they even manage to fight me?' The blond haired youth wondered to himself before shaking his head and throwing yet another Wall of Fire spell forward to burn the Larva ahead of him.
"How much Mana do you actually have? I know bloody sorcerers who can't use a spell that advanced that often!" Tak demanded incredulously and Naruto merely shrugged his shoulders, as he wasn't too sure how much he had himself. In all honesty, he figured it was a lot because he was bonded to the Overlord-Heart, which in itself was a sphere of pure mana that could constantly regenerate its energy. So, he figured his own mana regenerated quickly, or Kyuubi gave him some, either way he could use spells far longer than he liked.
'I wonder if I should learn more of few more of the basics for the Mage Class, but then again, Gnarl mentioned that some classes could be combined to use multiple different classes as well… so I wonder if a Mage, Rogue, Warrior, and Monk class has ever been developed?' The blond haired youth wondered to himself, preferring the "Light" based naming system for the classes than the dark based as "Sorcerer, Assassin, Barbarian, and Brawler" were all a bit more generalized than those of Light. Shaking his head of his aberrant thoughts, the blond threw another Wall of Fire spell forward and crossed his arms over his chest.
"You seem to be fairly well versed with Fire-Based-Spells." Kara noted from within his hooded scarf as she poked her head out of his hood. Blinking for a moment, Naruto looked down to his familiar to see her leaning her cheek into one hand while Kori poked her own head out at the other side with a wide grin.
"Oh yes! Master learns very quickly!" Kori declared with a nod of her head and Naruto raised a brow while looking at his familiar.
"You do remember I have my Flame-Gauntlet to allow me to use higher tier spells right?" Naruto questioned of the tiny Unseelie and she blinked up at him for a moment before chuckling nervously. Rolling her eyes, Kara let out a breath and shook her head at her rather bubbly friends forgetfulness.
"Forgive Kori, she's excitable and usually forgets some things rather quickly." Kara offered and Naruto merely hummed while tossing a wall of fire spell forward whenever he saw more larvas. "You know, I've never seen someone use Wall of Fire as anything but a defensive spell before…" Kara then noticed mostly to herself and Naruto blinked for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.
"This thing lets me do whatever I can imagine with fire, so I figured a moving wall would burn everything faster than a stationary one." Naruto explained and Kara nodded her head, understanding his logic.
"Interesting, though I wonder if you'll be just as creative with Shadow-Magic." She wondered mostly to herself while tapping her chin with a finger and Naruto reached up and scratched his head.
"Why wouldn't I be, Kara-Chan?" Naruto questioned, and then stopped to shake his head as the familiar feeling from before returned. Kara let out a breath at her blond master's question before turning around to where she now lay on her back while looking up at him from his shoulder.
"Simple, unlike Fire-Spells, which are fueled by Passion, Shadow-Magic is more powerful with a lack of emotion. It represents "The Void" from which all Shadow-Magic is derived." Kara explained with a wave of one hand and a bored tone, Naruto blinking for a moment before looking at her strangely.
"That explains why you seem so… well, "dull" or "bored" all the time." Naruto noted more to himself than anyone, Kori giggling to herself while Kara frowned deeply. "So if that's the case then your Shadow-Magic must be really powerful." Naruto added and Kara shrugged her shoulders, and then closed her eyes as she tried to relax. "But how do you actually use Shadow-Magic? I mean, I figured out Fire-Magic feels sort of warm, so what does Shadow-Magic feel like?" Naruto asked his new familiar and the Unseelie Queen opened a single eye before exhaling.
"It's… heavy… and thick… but like water, you can move with it, but it's always weighing you down and holding you back." Kara tried to explain before quirking her lips to one side with a frown as she tried to think of something that would best describe it.
"So… it's like being in a pool of oil or something?" Naruto questioned and Kara blinked while thinking of the analogy for a moment and then nodded her head.
"More or less, but a little thicker. Feeling out Shadow-Magic is harder than with other spells, but since you're an Abyss-Dragon you should be able to do it like it was second nature to you…" Kara replied while closing her eyes and Naruto frowned while then reaching to his chest and closing his eyes. 'Well that was a lot of help…' He thought sarcastically before feeling the energy around the Shadow-Gem buried in the center of his chest and then held out his hand before himself. 'But then again, I don't think she likes being a teacher, and Garandou is my dominant portion so…' Naruto mused to himself and then widened his eyes as he watched a shadow form in the palm of his hand.
"Whoa…" He whispered while watching as the shadow twitched and twisted around in his palm, before suddenly elongating into a spear. "Oh cool! You can make weapons out of the shadows?" Naruto questioned while turning the spear in his hands Kori oohing as she watched him do so.
"That is most wonderful Master! It took Kara forever to control her powers, and even then, she sometimes crushes or destroys things on accident!" Kori declared happily, though clearly gave out a bit too much information, and Kara opened one of her eyes and looked to the spear with a frown.
"That's not a normal property of Darkness, and that's also not a spear." Kara stated while sitting up and yawning to herself. "That is what I like to call Shadow-Matter, it's a form of Shadow-Magic that's physical rather than ethereal and its best used in the Engulfing-Darkness spell." The Unseelie explained and Naruto blinked before turning the spear around in his hands for a moment longer, then watched as barbs started to form along its length. Blinking for a moment, Naruto then tossed it up and watched as the Shadow-Matter spear faded from existence. Humming lightly, the blond Overlord-In-Training then looked back to Kara.
"Oh… then how do I use Engulfing-Darkness then, Kara-Chan?" The blond haired Overlord-In-Training questioned of his second familiar with a raised brow and she frowned before looking to the forefront of the cave.
"When you find some more Mammoth-Ants I'll fill you in on the basics and help you use it…" She offered and Naruto nodded his head, then turned and frowned as his minions ran ahead of him, one walking on its hands with a grin.
"Done talking to your faerie council then?" Tak questioned of the blond haired youth with a smirk across her face, Naruto giving her an annoyed look before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.
"Better than talking to a snarky Goblin…" He replied pointedly and Tak frowned, Grunge merely rolling his eyes while Tora walked forward and looked down at both of them. Unfortunately for both Naruto and Tak, her looking down on them was because of her height and not a turn of the phrase…
"Hey, that Faerie has been calling you an Abyss-Dragon, but with the way you look I was thinking you were a High-Elf." Tora noted and Naruto blinked before grinning up at her. Quickly reaching back, Naruto removed one of his Tanto and looked at his reflection in the blade. Frowning to himself he pulled back his hood and widened his eyes as he remembered Sylvanas had shown him a picture of herself in her youth, when she had blond hair and bright glowing blue eyes. And so looking at himself now, Naruto couldn't help but feel that he could very easily pass off as her son.
"Cool… but do you really think I look like a High-Elf?" The blond asked with excitement, and then chuckled nervously as Tora raised a brow at his tone. In all honesty, he'd always thought of Sylvanas as his mother, so having something that made him similar to her was sort of nice, and hell, maybe he could even live as long as she could now. 'Well that is certainly a perk to being part Dragon… wait a minute, what about the Dragon-Aspects, what'll they do when they find out about me?' Naruto wondered to himself with a shiver as he'd heard stories of what happened to Deathwing and Malygos, who were their brothers, and could only imagine what they might do to him.
"Yeah… too much like a High-Elf actually." Tora replied and Naruto grimaced upon remembering how much Orcs and High-Elves didn't get along. Normally it was because High-Elves could, and Sylvanas readily admitted to this, be very haughty and arrogant. Not to mention they would often think of Orcs as dumb brutes that only knew how to swing a club or an ax. In all actuality that seemed to be as far from the truth as possible given how civil the Orcs were, but then again, who knew what orcs acted like in the lands of Azeroth.
"Anyways, why did you mention me being an Abyss-Dragon?" Naruto asked Tora while replacing his hood over his head and ears, mostly in order to change the subject, and she blinked before frowning to herself.
"I was wondering how you look so normal… most Dragons are huge and scaly, and as dad says most are "Ten tons of muscle with a brain the size of a walnut"." Tora replied with air-quotes and Naruto felt his brow twitch while his eyes flashed a brilliant crimson red, a low growl echoing from his throat.
"Oh really… and what else did he have to say about us?" Naruto asked with an evil grin under his mask, Grunge moving quickly to cover Tora's mouth before she got her father into even more trouble with the young Overlord.
"Not much Sire, but he's never met a High-Born Dragon so it's no surprise that's how he thinks of them." Grunge offered quickly while giving his niece a glare, Naruto frowning while crossing his arms over his chest. However the girl then blinked while looking to her uncle quizzically.
"A "High-Born Dragon" what does that mean? Is it like a High Elf?" Tora asked her uncle curiously and Grunge silently nodded his head. Being a high-born was actually a bit more than just being smarter than other Dragons, but Grunge didn't feel the need or the motivation to explain the intricacies to his niece at the moment.
"Right… but in any case, I'm only part Dragon, as are all the Overlords." Naruto replied and Tora blinked before wondering how it was possible for a Dragon and any other creature to possible bear children given the size of most Dragons.
"But how…?" She started to ask only for Grunge to cover her mouth again while muttering under his breath. Hearing a sudden chattering from up ahead, the group quickly readied their weapons, Kara flying out of Naruto's clothes and hovering in front of him.
"Alright Sire, listen, to use Engulfing Darkness you need only create a ball of Shadow-Matter. That ball will remain stationary and ensnare anything that comes into contact with it." Kara explained and Naruto nodded his head while bringing a hand to his chest to feel the Shadow-Gem's power once more. Mentally copying the feeling into his hand, the blond created a sphere of shadows that had wisps of darkness wafting off of it. Nodding her head, the Shadow-Unseelie Queen then narrowed her glowing violet eyes as several Mammoth-Ants approached them. "Alright, now!" Kara ordered while spinning around his arm as the first Mammoth-Ant approached them, Naruto tossing the sphere forward, where it exploded into a mass of tentacles that flailed out and wrapped around any of the Mammoth-Ants and stabbed into them to hold them still.
"Holy Shit!" Naruto exclaimed with wide eyes, Tora gaping at the ability while Tak flipped several of her Throwing Knives in hand for a moment before quickly tossing five of them forward, nailing each of the immobile Mammoth-Ants in the head.
"Sire, there is nothing even remotely holy about that spell…" Kara noted with an amused smirk and Naruto just continued to gape as the shifting shadows hovered for a moment before fading into the darkness.
"Un-holy Shit then…" Naruto replied and Kara raised a brow before rolling her eyes and floating back onto his shoulder, sitting outside of his hood as she had a feeling that more Ants would be heading their way soon. As she did, Naruto walked over to where the Ants had been, idly absorbing the life-force while trying to shake the awe out of his system. "Wow, that was incredible!" He declared and Tora silently nodded her head in agreement, Tak smirking as she walked passed all of them.
"Eh, Spells like that are best used with an Assassin or Sniper nearby. That way you can kill groups of enemies all off quickly." Tak noted and Naruto blinked before conceding the Goblin Girl's point, though still thought the attack had looked cool.
"In any case we should keep moving. There's no telling what those Mammoth Ants are doing with us down here." Grunge noted while ushering the group forward, Naruto calling his Minions with him as they were searching every which way for treasure and smashing any Larva in their way. Going back to throwing a Wall of Fire forward every now and again, Naruto fell into a routine of such before watching the Minions push on a wall like the one Kara had been behind.
"Do you have anymore people down here?" Naruto questioned and Kara shook her head to the negative, and then blinked when Grunge shoved the wall back, revealing a stone object with red markings.
"Sire! You've found a Health Column! Wonderful! I'll create a Waypoint gate nearby, place the Column and that earlier object you found onto it and it'll be sent to the Overlord-Heart for safe-keeping." Gnarl's voice echoed out in Naruto's mind, the blond raising a brow before sweeping the minions over to collect the column.
"What are you doing? That things gonna slow us down even more!" Tora declared while glaring at Naruto and the blond twitched while wondering why the girl didn't have any patience.
"Just shut up and watch…" Naruto ordered, Tora growling at him even as the Minions carried the Column out of the hidden room and over to the side. A circular platform them seemed to form out of the earth, a three pronged swirl atop it that vaguely reminded Naruto of a whirlpool. 'Hmm… maybe that's what my ancestors used as their symbol…' Naruto thought to himself while the Minions placed the Obsidian pedestal down onto the platform first, then backed up as it was enveloped in a bright light and a shower of sparks.
"Master, you've found our Transport-Generator! I haven't seen that in a dog's age! Excellent, with this I'll be able to send you to the other lands across the world! Though at the moment I fear I'll only be able to send you to Albion." Gnarl explained and the blond haired youth held his Minions back from putting the Health-Column down and looked up with a frown.
'Why would I only be able to go to Albion, Gnarl?' The blond Overlord-In-Training suddenly questioned of the old Minion-Master curiously. As he didn't see a point in going to Albion, beyond it being the ancestral motherland of his family.
"Nothing really, but I felt Albion was the best place for you to go because of the fact it's unaware of most outside nations, not to mention there are only humans there. Though I suppose I could send you somewhere else if you ever felt the need, Albion has a few things we need for our growing empire. As a nation of only humans, their magic is highly limited, but they do have some technology that would be useful to us. Besides that it takes quite a bit of Mana to use, and even the Overlord-Heart has its limits." Gnarl explained to the blond haired Overlord-In-Training and Naruto slowly nodded his head before sweeping his Minions to the Way-Point Gate with the Health-Column.
They quickly walked onto it and set it down, only yelping as it was placed on top of its foot. Two more minions quickly grabbed that one by its arms and pulled it away from the Health-Column, where it then started rubbing its foot. As they did that the Health-Column gave off a pulse before it vanished in a flash of light and a shower of brilliant sparks. Widening his eyes, Naruto swayed for a moment, his body glowing bright crimson, before stumbling to a wall and put a hand to his head as he felt a sudden rush of energy.
"Master! You've acquired a Health-Column, now your stamina, regeneration, and lifespan have increased!" Gnarl declared with a grin in his tone while Naruto groaned lightly, and shook his head to clear it of the cobwebs. As he did however, more silver scales started to sprout on his body, starting at his feet and ending at his shins below his knees, or the scales that started to spread over his chest from the pulsating Shadow-Gem. However Naruto never took notice of this, instead merely pushing off of the wall and trying to re-orientate himself.
"Wow… that was quite a rush." Naruto muttered lowly and then walked passed Tora, who stared at his now scaly and clawed toes with wide eyes. Noticing how no one was following him, the blond haired youth turned his head to look at the others with an annoyed frown. "Hey, c'mon. I thought we were trying to get this done quickly." Naruto noted before shaking his head and continuing down into the caves with his Minions behind him, Tora looking to Grunge and Tak.
"Did he just sprout scales on his feet?" She questioned of both and they silently nodded their heads to the Orc-Girl. "Good, at least I'm not crazy…" Tora muttered to herself before following after the blond Overlord-In-Training with Tak and Grunge closely in tow…
(Konoha…)
Zim was hanging upside down with a wide grin on his face; his PAK was unfolded, the segmented plates folded down with three spider-legs unfolded out of it, the ends of the hooked around a beam. 'I won't allow that filthy stink-beast female to deny Zim! None shall deny Zim!' The tiny Goblin mentally declared while watching Ayane as she walked to her school, a book in her hands and a backpack on her back. Narrowing his eyes, Zim looked from the purple haired girl to the other children walking towards the "Skool" as he thought of it, yet none of them had on backpacks. 'Hmm… why does filthy stink-beast where that PAK when no other humans do?' Zim wondered to himself before shaking his head and twisting forward and flipping into the air.
Extending his new Spider-Legs the Goblin grinned at just how well they were working for him. It seemed that unlike his many failed attempts at inventing before, these legs were perfect in both use and make. They hadn't fallen apart, they were strong and sturdy, and best of all they made him look taller! Chuckling darkly to himself, Zim used the legs to climb on top of a building before lunging across the rooftops with a wide grin stretched across his face. 'Do not think for even a second that I will allow you to get away from my wrath Pig-Stink Female! No one humiliates the almighty Zim! No one!' The tiny Goblin inwardly declared while sliding to a halt on a building directly across from the Konoha Shinobi Academy.
Down below, Ayane was content to ignore the world and everyone around her, especially since most people were utterly annoying. Take for instance her Sister, when they were little her sister had always insisted on walking her to school for safeties sake or some such nonsense… one week later Ayane had her puppets take Sakura away for some "Reeducation" as she really didn't like having to walk to school with her. Not that Ayane didn't like school, but she didn't really enjoy flower arranging or tea-ceremony classes as she wasn't interested in becoming one of those crazy assassins who had to sleep with their targets to kill them…
Ayane also had a bone to pick with her classmate Sarutobi Konohamru, a brat of the highest order who spent most of his time trying to "attack" their leader the Hokage. The boy also had it in his head that she was too gloomy and needed help to brighten up, so he'd made it his mission in life to get her to smile… thus far she'd had to reframe from actually hurting the boy, lest she possibly incur the Hokage's wrath. 'Still doesn't mean I have to like it, he messes with my books again and I swear I'm sending him to a nightmare realm…' The purple haired lass thought to herself with a light growl while the puppet Foxx at her waist suddenly looked up of its own accord.
"Come now little 'Yane, if he annoys you so much, then just skin him and grind his body to bloody bits! Bring me blood and I'll make you strong!" Foxx demanded while grinning up at her and the girl frowned while narrowing her eyes and cutting a subconscious Chakra-String she'd created without even thinking. That had been happening very often lately, and as she watched Foxx hang lifelessly at her side once more, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was going crazy. Shrugging that thought off, Ayane then returned to her book without a care in the world.
'Eh, we're all a little crazy sometimes.' She decided with a shrug while continuing her research on Akasuna no Sasori, whom was widely revered as a prodigy of the highest order in his use and creation of Puppets. She'd been researching this one man for quite some time actually, ever since she accidentally came across him in one of the files her father let her read, on the rare occasion that he was home. The Man had something she wanted to make, Human-Puppets, Puppets made out of men and women that retained the abilities and Jutsu of those they were made from…
Meanwhile above the girl, Zim scratched his head while watching the female enter into the Shinobi Academy with a frown. Narrowing his eyes, Zim scrunched up his face for a moment before crouching with his legs and launching himself across the way. Landing on top of the academy, Zim used his legs to walk across the roof before hooking the legs onto the side of the building and lowering himself slightly to look in the first window he could. Unfortunately his target wasn't there, annoying him greatly, as he didn't want to risk being spotted by other humans just to look for her. Returning to the roof with a frown, Zim retracted his Spider-Legs and started to pace with a frown.
'This is most annoying, how can Zim obtain the Stink-Beasts technology if she hides from Zim?' Zim wondered as the obvious method of just going to her home and stealing another Puppet never even came to mind… not that it would've helped given they weren't technically machines but… 'Zim will just have to weight for the filthy Stink Beast… but Zim can't stay out in the open.' Zim thought to himself and crossed his arms with a frown on his face as he tried to figure out how to deal with his conundrum.
'Hmmm… Zim will be here until Zim gathers information for his Overlord, so Zim should find a place to call Zim's own… like the sewers! Yes! And that way Zim can plan out evil horrible things to do to all the human pig-smellies of this pathetic little village!' Zim thought to himself before chuckling lightly, then started to laugh, before finally breaking out into full-blown maniacal laugh, his arms raised high into the air. Soon stopping to catch his breath, Zim looked around to make sure no one saw him, then rushed away with a grin, slipping down a gutter to the ground and rushing over to a manhole.
"You should all beware, filthy Human Stink-beasts, for your doom has arrived! And his name is ZIM!" The goblin declared before laughing once more as he hopped down into the sewers, his laughter echoing out of it as he rushed through the slime incrusted tunnels to find a place to build a suitable lair for his needs…
(Forsaken Caves…)
The group were still walking down through the tunnels, the sheer length of them annoying Tora to no end as her eye was visibly twitching. She was no regretting coming down her, only for the fact that the tunnels didn't seem to have a damn end! Tak was merely picking at her teeth with her throwing-knives, seeing no reason to be so stressed out about the tunnels, as they had Grunge and Naruto to deal with the Ants. Grunge was silently keeping watch, though was also appraising the young Overlords' power. At first he didn't think much of him, but judging by just how much Mana the blond haired youth had he was quickly reevaluating that thought. As for the young Overlord himself… at the moment he was learning yet another Shadow-Magic-Spell from Kara.
Which is why there is a moving shadow slithering in front of the group, the Minions following it loyally before it then stretched upwards into a shape. Naruto then appeared out of a burst of shadows, his grin nearly splitting his face under his mask, while Kara rolled her eyes from his shoulders. The blond was far too amused by such simple spells in her own opinion, shaping Shadows into weapons was far harder, but Naruto took to Shadow Magic like a duck to water, as she had originally suspected he would given he was an Abyss-Dragon.
Kori on the other hand was happily clapping as they came out of the shadows, having never traveled like that before she could honestly see the benefits. Not only did your physical body stay completely submerged in Shadow, making it impossible to be physically harmed, but also it was a faster mode of travel than others. "Most Wonderful Master! Please, would you use another spell?" Kori questioned and Naruto blinked before grinning as he thought about it for a moment, then stopped as they entered into a large opening with a hole in the center. Looking around, Naruto noticed several holes, which had Ants crawling out towards them, then sighed.
"Sorry Kori, but I think we're finally getting closer to the Queen." Naruto replied with a pout, as he actually did want to learn more spells, only to gape as an Ant that was easily bigger than him, standing at roughly six feet tall while still walking on all its legs, walked out with a loud sound… "Is that the queen?" Naruto questioned while backing up and Grunge scowled deeply as he glared at the enormous Mammoth Ants, and then frowned as two more walked out towards them.
"Hardly, those are only half her size and don't have wings." Grunge replied and even Tora gaped at that tidbit of info, having never thought the Queen would be that big!
"Unholy Shit…" Naruto mumbled, Kori and Kara looking at him for a moment before shrugging as they slipped into his hood to hide. Shaking her head, Tak flipped her Throwing-Knives in her hands before giving her young Master a look.
"Master, if I might make a suggestion, use Engulfing-Darkness, then your moving Wall of Fire, That'll deal with the small fries while we deal with the big ones directly." Tak offered while looking on and Naruto quickly nodded his head, Kara and Kori flying back out, though his Shadow-Familiar looked rather annoyed.
"I know I'm not going to like this mission…" Kara decided before spinning around Naruto's right forearm, Kori grinning as she flew to Naruto's right forearm.
"Into glorious battle friends! Charge!" She declared boisterously before spinning around his right forearm, Naruto quickly conjuring Shadow-Matter into his left hand, and a fireball into his right. Throwing his left arm forward, Naruto sent out a bolt of Shadows that quickly exploded into a mass of Shadowy Tentacles that wrapped around the majority of the Mammoth-Ants. The few stragglers quickly charged, but Naruto then swung his right arm, sending a wall of fire forward that scorched through everything in its path while the largest Mammoth Ants were still standing.
"Lets go!" Tora declared loudly while lunging forward and jumping on top of one of the Mammoth-Ants. Grinning, the half-breed held onto the ant as it thrashed about before charging at a wall. Flipping off of it, Tora snickered when the gigantic Mammoth-Ant smashed into the wall, dropping several boulders on to of it. She then blinked as Grunge threw his ax at her, only to turn and see a large Mammoth Ant with the said ax now imbedded in its skull.
"Don't get too cocky…" Grunge warned before lunging passed her and picking up his ax to attack the next large ant. Naruto sweeping his Minions around behind it where they jumped onto its back and started to stab into it with their weapons. The ant quickly went down, however with its dying cry more of the smaller Mammoth Ants suddenly lunged out of the holes in the walls towards them. Grunting in annoyance, Naruto formed a fireball into his hands and knelt down before pushing it into the ground, causing geysers of fire to rise up in a circle around his body that somehow left his allies completely unscathed… the Mammoth Ants and Larva however were not so lucky, with only a few of the ants surviving the attack.
"That was new." Naruto noted and Kori rolled her eyes while yawning from his shoulder with a smile.
"That is most basic spell in Fire-Magic next to Fireball or Flamethrower, Flame Ring." Kori offered and Naruto blinked before slowly nodding his head and then turned to his allies to see Grunge and Tora killing the last of the Ants, his Minions collecting Lifeforce and more equipment. Looking to Tak, Naruto noticed her staring at him for a moment before she then crossed her arms.
"You really need to stop surprising me with all those spells you come up with on the fly…" She stated while walking passed the blond, Naruto rolling his eyes while absorbing the Life-Force from their kills, only to stop and sway when the sheer amount of it hit him at full force. 'I don't care what Gnarl says, I am never going to get used to that at this rate.' Naruto thought to himself before shaking his head and walking over to look down into the circular hole in the ground below them. Tora and Grunge soon followed them, while the Minions held back behind Naruto as per usual.
"Anything down there?" Naruto asked Tak and she frowned deeply before giving the blond haired Overlord-in-Training a look.
"It's too dark to see a bloody thing down there." She stated flatly and Naruto hummed before reaching a hand up and allowed Kara to hover over it.
"Think you can check for Mammoth Ants?" Naruto questioned and Kara crossed her arms over her chest before vanishing into a shadow and zipping into the darkness of the tunnels below them.
"Those faeries are pretty useful…" Tora suddenly noted and Grunge nodded his head in full agreement with his niece. Tak snorted at that and then reached up to yawn as she leaned back with one eye closed.
"Only if you're the Overlord." She stated, getting a rather scathing look from Naruto, while Tora nodded her head in agreement with her. Meanwhile, Kara looked around down below, checking to make sure no Mammoth Ants were waiting for them, then zipped back up when she didn't see any.
"All clear… but you might wanna torch some Larva before you go down." Kara replied and Naruto nodded his head, forming a fireball into his hand and then sending it down into the caves below in a wave. Once that was done, Naruto slipped down into the hole, followed by the others as he lit up the cavern and started to burn the rest of the Larva that he had missed with his earlier attack.
"There a bloody piles of Larva down here!" Tak declared with wide eyes while looking at a six-foot pile of larva wiggling on top of one another. At seeing this Naruto shivered as he had this thing about insects, mostly slimy ones, and this was really pushing his limits. "And is it me, or are they actually getting bigger?" The Goblin-Girl demanded while Naruto noticed it as well but wisely decided not to comment as he formed a fireball into his hands and tossed it at the pile of Larva, which then exploded in a shower of smaller fireballs, setting a larger area of the Larva on fire to burn the upper ones first, then down to the lower ones.
"I really don't care if they are, lets just get moving and finally put a stop to this stupid Ant Queen once and for all." Naruto urged his companions, gaining nods of agreement, and then walked down another tunnel, still throwing a wall of fire ahead in order to burn through more Larva and any stray ants. As he did, Naruto noticed that the Larva Piles were getting larger and larger, most likely meaning they were getting closer to the queen herself. Soon coming to a circular opening in the cave, Naruto grunted seeing several more large ants, fire ants, soldier-ants, and worker-ants scurrying towards them from out of the numerous holes in the room's walls.
"Is it just me, or is anyone else getting sick of Ants?" Tora suddenly questioned, getting full agreements from her companions as Naruto formed Engulfing Darkness into his hand and threw it forward to hold the Ant's back. Lunging forward, Tora and Grunge started to mow down the ants while Naruto formed a fireball between his hands and then slammed it down into the ground, sending out a ring of fire that burned through the ants that were closest to them. Crouching and lunging forward after that, Naruto swept his minions into the fray while jumping up and started to swing his claws into the annoying ants as he didn't feel like using his Tanto. 'I mean what's the point of having claws if I'm not going to use them?' The blond thought to himself while kicking an Ant back and then stabbing it in the head with his fingers.
Tora moved to evade the ants as they broke out of The Engulfing Darkness, the few remaining being stronger than those that were already dead. 'Annoying ass ants, I shouldn't 've come, this is so much more annoying, I thought we'd be in an epic battle or something, not annoyed by the sheer number of these things!' The Orcish girl mentally exclaimed while jumping as one of the Giant-Ants tried to bite into her. "Eat this!" She declared while jumping up and bringing her falchion down threw its head, then roared while ripping the ant's head from its body. Throwing the head to the side, Tora then twisted on her heel into a swing of her leg, kicking the body of the ant into another one that Grunge lunged at and swung his ax down into its head.
Grunge himself was also a little annoyed with all the ants, but one couldn't really blame him for it. He was more used to using his bow and arrows, while he was competent with axes as most Orcs were, he just wasn't comfortable with them. Rolling back as a Giant Ant tried to bite into his waist, the massive Orc then swung upwards with his ax, slicing cleanly through the ant's head. 'If I only had a gold coin for each ant I've killed today…' Grunge thought to himself as he'd heard stories from other Orcs of gold-coins randomly appearing after they killed wolves and rats and such. Of course Grunge never put much stock in such insanity, but still, the stories they told of amassing great wealth by finding loot that way was pretty appealing.
'Too bad it's all just stories.' Grunge thought to himself while twisting into a low kick to knock an Ant off balance and then slammed his ax into its head. Narrowing his eyes as even more Ants started racing towards them, Grunge was now certain that they were very close to the Queen, and unfortunately that meant that her defenses were going to be even more hellish to deal with. 'Best finish with these pests and get moving to finish this, I don't like being down here…' Grunge thought to himself while slamming a fist into an Ant, crushing it into pulp before lunging into the mass of Ants, the minions following him and jumping onto any in their way, even as an Ant ate one of their own.
Tak on the other hand, was just frowning as she sent knife after knife forward and into the mass of Ants. Not her good knives of course, but the steel ones that Naruto had picked up earlier from the chest. 'Course I won't use my Glass Knives on these insects, not only are they expensive but I'm saving those for something more dangerous than a bunch a bloody ants.' The Goblin-Girl decided inwardly before flipping into an Ax kick to one of the heads of the ants and twisted around, sending four knives flying into the ants and killing one of them. The Minions then jumped onto the ones that were hit by the knives and some even started to collect them and use them rather than the clubs they had or the ant pincers they were using as clubs / swords.
'Well at least that's better than them going to waste…' Tak decided while then flipping over an ant and throwing a knife down into its head with a smirk on he face. She was actually a much better fighter with a sword than she was with her dinky little throwing knives. But she hadn't really thought to bring one or even expected to get into a combat situation on this trip. This was mostly because Gnarl had made her a servant, so she had prepared for any such duties, which wouldn't require her weapons or armor. Instead she had expected to be ordered to do menial tasks and stuff that Naruto didn't want too, not to play the part of a bodyguard.
Admittedly she sort of preferred the role of a Bodyguard, but still… she hadn't planned for such a role so she hadn't thought to bring a better weapon than her knives. Still, she was somewhat ill equipped for her current situation in these Forsaken Caves, but her new "Master" seemed more than capable with his immobilizing spell, Engulfing Darkness, that it didn't really matter. 'Course that will all change when we reach the Queen.' Tak noted with a deep frown on her face as she held four knives between her fingers and started to use them like claws. She swung her arm and then jumped into the air to bring her fist down on top of an unlucky Ant.
Meanwhile, Naruto used his Shadow-Step to move through the ants and then lunged up out of them with his arms pointing upwards. Swinging into a spin Naruto used his claws to slice through several of the ants before narrowing his eyes dangerously. 'Insignificant worthless little wretches… it's time for all of you to die like the worms you are!' Naruto thought to himself darkly even while his eyes turned a deep burning blood red. Lunging forward with a roar, Naruto ducked low and swiped his claws upwards, ripping right through the head of a Giant-Ant before kicking off of the ground and spinning into a powerful kick that sent the Giant-Ant flying back into the group of ants closest to Tora, knocking them all over.
Landing on all fours, Naruto stayed in a low crouch while a low growl echoed in the back of his throat. Breathing in and out deeply, a deep black haze started to form around Naruto as he glared at the ants furiously. 'I hate this, these stupid ants just don't stop coming and coming and coming! Urgh! I want to end them all once and for all! I'm gonna rip them all to shreds!' He thought to himself in a demonic roar as he lunged into the fray, using Shadow-Step to pass by their defenses he quickly twisted into a spin and brought his hands down and into two ants before twisting in place and sending them both flying away. Ducking with a curse, Tak then looked up with wide eyes to see Naruto roaring loudly, then crouch on all fours and move with unreal speed.
The blond haired Overlord-In-Training swung his arms wildly, slicing through any and all of the ants in his path before flipping up and bringing his heel down on top of one of the ants, smashing it in a spray of gore. Seeing a Fire-Ant heading towards him, Naruto formed a fireball into his hand which he then formed into a shield as the fire-ant sent a fireball at him. Flicking his arm back, lightning collected in his palm as he swung his arm, a Lighting Whip arching out to lash at the ant, sending it flying back into a wall where it was instantly smashed. Growling low in his throat, Naruto formed lightning into either hand before twisting on his heels and started to swing both Lightning Whips into the many Ants around him.
"Is that normal?" Tora asked as she moved over to Tak who mutely shook her head with wide eyes as the blond jumped into the air formed a fireball into both hands, which he then slammed together. Roaring loudly he then came back down onto the ground and slammed his locked fists down into the ground, sending out a wave of fire that burnt through the last of the remaining ants and even melted some of the rocks near by. "So then… I'm guessing that is the true Power of the Overlord." Tora mumbled in shock while Tak just gaped in silence while Naruto gripped his head with a pained growl.
'Urgh… my head… it feels like an orc is tap-dancing on my brain!' The blond thought to himself before taking several calming breaths, his eyes paling before returning to their original azure hue. As that happened the black and crimson haze around his body began to fade, leaving the blond tired as he fell to his knees. 'Just what the hell was that? I've never had my temper flare up so badly before…' Naruto thought to himself before holding up a hand and pulling the Life Force from around the room into himself, groaning as he felt the amount enter him. 'Still not used to that.' He decided inwardly and then slowly stood up, a hand still clutching the side of his aching skull.
"Uh… Master? Are you alright?" Tak questioned worriedly while walking towards the blond haired Overlord-In-Training and Naruto looked at her with one eye.
"Fine…" He growled out in a groan and then shook his head and turned towards the opening at the end of the room. "Now lets go deal with the queen and get the hell out of here." Naruto grumbled out while walking waving his hand to recall his Minions, the browns rushing to their master loyally while Tak looked to Tora and Grunge.
"You as worried about that as I am?" Tak questioned and Tora nodded her head with wide eyes, Grunge merely grunting as he walked passed them and followed the young Overlord. Looking to one another for a moment, Tak and Tora then followed the older Orc into the Queen's chamber to see Grunge and Naruto looking at the far wall. Following their gaze, the girls widened their eyes upon seeing a twenty-foot long, ten foot tall ant with wings barely visible on its back, and was partly obscuring what looked like a massive egg-sack, its massive eyes glaring at them as it let out a screech.
"Well… at least it shouldn't be able to move with that stupid…" Naruto started to say only for the queen to move its legs, pulling itself free and then flapping its wings rapidly to rise into the air… "Me and my big mouth…" Naruto muttered before looking to either side as dozens more ants headed towards them.
"Bloody Hell!" Tak declared while Tora and Grunge cursed, Naruto grunting as he swept half of his Minions to either side.
"Tora, Grunge, split up and help my Minions deal with those Ants, Tak you're with me against the queen." Naruto ordered quickly before cursing and rolling back as the Queen spat out a wad of green acid at him. The acid made contact with the ground where he had been instead, and quickly started to dissolve the rock and dirt into a puddle. 'Note to self, do not let any of that shit hit me…' The blond haired Overlord-In-Training mentally decided to himself, before cracking his neck and fingers with a frown on his face. "Alright Queeny, it's time for you to go down!" Naruto declared while forming a Lightning Whip in one hand and Shadow-Matter in the other.
Quickly hurling the Shadow-Matter at the Queen, Naruto managed to catch her in a flail of shadowy-tentacles. "Now Tak!" Naruto ordered and the Goblin-Girl didn't need to be told twice as she started to throw her Knives at the Queen, some of them only just barely managing to pierce into the Queen's thick exoskeleton. Swinging his own arm, Naruto sent a Lightning-Whip at the Queen, only to frown when she didn't seem to be as affected by it as her smaller subjects had. 'Not surprising given her size, but I thought with her immobile and in the air I'd have the advantage…' The blond thought to himself before widening his eyes as The Queen managed to break free of his Engulfing Darkness.
Cursing Naruto then ducked out of the way of some poison before rushing at Tak and tackling her to the ground before some would've got her as well. Turning to look at the Queen, Naruto grabbed Tak into a hug and rolled with her out of the way as she tried to take a bite out of the two of them. Quickly springing back onto his feet with a disorientate Tak at his side, Naruto narrowed his eyes onto the Queen as she turned back towards them. However, Naruto looked around and rolled back into a small opening, far too narrow for the queen and she was left struggling to bite into them threw the narrow trench as Naruto took a momentary breather.
At the same time Tora and Grunge were dealing with the smaller ants, the brown Minions helping even as some of them were eaten. "This isn't good! There's way more ants down here than anywhere up above!" Tora declared while twisting into a kick, then saw a shield laying to the side and rolled over to it. Grabbing it with her left arm, Tora then twisted around, bashing the old shield into the face of one of the ants before narrowing her eyes as they continued to approach. 'Oh great, and I was excited about coming down here…' The Orcish Girl grumbled inwardly before twisting her Falchion into a reverse grip and lunging into the fray of Ants once more.
At the other side of the room, Grunge was experiencing much the same, only he was using his two Axes to quickly slice and cut his way through any Ant that got too close to him. However when he saw several Giant-Ants heading his way, the large Orc grunted before throwing one of his Axes at the Giant-Ant, piercing its head while a Soldier-Ant bit into a Minions leg and then dragged it kicking and screaming into the wall. 'No doubt as food…' Grunge noted to himself while kicking an Ant away and slicing into another, then lunged over to his other Ax and ripped it out of the remains of the Ant as he found himself being quickly surrounded by their sheer numbers.
As this was happening, Naruto ducked under an Acid bolt from the Queen, still hanging onto Tak before rolling under the Queen, causing her to look down and actually fall forward. Flipping out behind the Queen and sliding into a crouch, Naruto then raised a brow upon seeing the Queen pushing herself back up. 'I honestly didn't think that would happen…' Naruto thought with a blink of his eyes, and then noticed that the ants had taken out the majority of his Minions. "Kori! Kara! We could use some extra magic here!" Naruto declared and his two familiars quickly flew out of his hood, Kori looking around before grinning widely.
"Burn them all! Burn their flesh to Ash! Seer their very souls to the core! And let their dying thoughts be the sight of glorious flames!" She declared before zipping into the fray while setting her body on fire and ramming into the nearest Ant. It had the affect of the ant panicking and ramming into its brethren, quicly causing a chain reaction of them ramming into one another wildly. Watching on with a grin, the Flame-Unseelie covered her mouth while chuckling, before suddenly rearing her head back and laughing loudly to herself as she watched on with wicked amusement… Both Naruto and Kara blinking owlishly when she did so.
"You know… she's so cute and bubbly all the time that I actually forget she's still evil…" Naruto noted mostly to himself and Kara nodded her head in agreement with her master, before glaring at the Ants where Grunge was.
"Enough of this…" Kara grumbled irritably before zipping towards the ants and formed several blades of shadows over her arms. Swinging her arms, the Shadow-Unseelie sent several blades out, the blades of darkness cutting through the ants like a hot-knife through butter. Floating over them with a stern expression, the Shadow-Unseelie then formed a sphere of Darkness into her hands before twisting around and throwing it up into the air.
"Let fear take you as your soul burns away!" Kara uttered darkly as the sphere of Darkness began to glow with a sinister light before suddenly swirling down into the mass of ants, creating a horrid fiery wind that burned the ants while tearing their exoskeletons apart, Grunge quickly rolling out of the way with wide eyes. Watching on with a shocked look as his Familiars showed just how powerful they really were, Naruto reached up and scratched at his head.
"I didn't know they could do that…" Naruto noted before cursing as the Queen very nearly bit his head off of his shoulders. Looking at her with a frown, Naruto released Tak who quickly lunged over and out of the way as the Queen charged at the blond haired youth. Running at her, Naruto ducked down and avoided her teeth before stabbing his claws up into her underbelly and dragged out two long deep gashes out of her, scowling as she shrieked but didn't go down. Rolling forward, Naruto quickly turned towards the Queen while picking a rock off of the ground with narrowed eyes. The Queen lurched forward in her charge, ramming into the wall where her Egg-Sack was and causing it to fall away and reveal a Mana-Pillar and Health-Column.
"Well that's a happy coincidence…" Naruto mumbled to himself before frowning when he noticed that he was running extremely low on Minions at the moment.
"Sire! I'm opening a Minion and Waypoint Gate at your location! Use them wisely and take that Ant-Queen down!" Gnarl's voice suddenly rang out and Naruto mentally grinned while summoning out more browns and sending them for the Mana-Pillar first. 'More magic will definitely help me take this bitch down.' The blond thought darkly, then watched the Queen turn towards him with a shrieking sound. Forming a Fireball into his free hand the blond then sent several small bolts at the Queen to get her attention, clearly pissing her off from the shriek of fury she produced. Lightly flipping his rock up and catching it in his hand, Naruto then threw it into the air as the Queen spat out another Acid Bolt.
"Kawarimi-no-Jutsu!" The blond declared, vanishing in a plume of smoke as the rock took the impact of the acid instead. Reappearing above the Queen, Naruto landed on her back and she quickly tried to shake him off, only for the blond to grin as he swung either arm, instantly slicing off her wings. The Queen gave a cry as he did and fell to the ground heavily, her legs spread outwards as Naruto smirked. Sweeping two of his Minions at the queen he had them jump onto her and start stabbing her with their weapons, mentally thanking Kami he still had two with actual weapons left. However, the blond then grabbed onto the Queen's Antenna as she quickly got up and spun in place, throwing the two Minions away.
Just as she did, the four Minions who had been carrying the Mana-Pillar got it to the Waypoint Gate, causing Naruto to shudder, as new energy seemed to fill him. 'Oi, I'm seriously never going to get used to that…' The blond thought while quickly sweeping the four Minions back to the Health-Column to collect it as well. Grunting once that was done, Naruto held on for dear life as the Queen thrashed and bucked in an attempt to throw him off of her back. 'I don't think so Queeny, this pest is hanging on!' Naruto thought to himself while quickly looking around in order to check on Tora and Grunge.
Currently, Grunge was hanging back under Kara, slicing any of the Ants that managed to get close while the Shadow-Unseelie cast spell after spell in order to destroy as many Ants as she possibly could. "Do these things ever stop?" She had to wonder with a frown and Grunge merely grunted while kicking an Ant back, Kara bringing down a spear of Darkness that pierced its head. Taking a moment to exhale a quick breath, the two looked around, expecting more ants but were pleasantly surprised to find that they had finally stopped coming.
"Looks like we only have the other half and the Queen to deal with now." Grunge stated before he and Kara heard more of Kori's wicked laughter, the Shadow-Unseelie both mentally and physically grimacing when she did.
"No… I think Kori is having more fun than she should…" Kara noted while turning, then palmed her face upon seeing her friend spinning in a ring on the ground, still on fire, before quickly rising up into a flaming pillar / tornado… to put is mildly, it was a hell-storm. "Yeah… she's really having way too much fun with this." Kara noted as Kori's flame-Pillar swirled and spiraled around the ants, Tora running out of the way and over to Tak as the somewhat insane Unseelie girl managed to destroy pillars of rock with her attack. However rather than keep an eye on Kori, who could very clearly take care of herself, the group looked to Naruto as he held onto the Queen's Antenna as she continued to Buck and thrash.
"Well, just one more piece of business to deal with." Grunge noted and Kara nodded her head before spotting the Minions placing the Health-Column they had collected onto the Waypoint-Gate, Naruto glowing as they did so, yet the young Overlord then held up his hand and called on all the Life-Force of the downed Ants into himself as well. When he did, his body continued to glow before giving off a sudden pulse that spread out of Naruto and then out across the world itself. Being so close to the blond, Kara instantly picked up on the pulse of power and swayed in place for a moment. Naruto himself grit his teeth before slamming his head forward into the Queen's, causing her to stumble forward and ram into a wall, yet the young Overlord-In-Training did not fall off.
Instead, scales quickly started to sprout over his hands and fingers before fully covering his forearms, while the scales on his chest also started to spread, now reaching up to his neck and down to his naval. Gritting his teeth, Naruto then growled low in his throat before raising a clawed hand into the air, the blond then swung it down into the Queen at the base of her head. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto then felt around inside of the queen's head for a moment before gripping what he assumed was her brain. Placing a foot at the back of her neck, the young Overlord-In-Training then kicked off of the Queen while ripping her brain out in a shower of gore.
Landing in a crouch while still clutching the Queen's brain, Naruto crushed it in his hand before throwing the remains to the side and brushing off his hands. Silently watching the Queen sway in place for a moment, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest as she then fell down onto her side, numerous spheres of Life Force forming over her when she did. Holding up a hand, the blond called that bit of Life Force into himself as well before turning to the Queen's Egg-Sack and threw a wall of fire at it as well, torching it and producing even more Life Force. However, Naruto then saw the scales growing at his forearms and widened his eyes.
'Scales!' He inwardly demanded while loosening his gauntlet to look at his arm and then ran a finger over his silvery scales. Shaking his head, and hoping that it was just a trick of the dim light in the caves, Naruto then took several calming breaths. 'Yeah, calm down… then boil Gnarl in hot oil if he doesn't come up with an excuse if this is normal for Overlords and he didn't tell me…' The Overlord-In-Training thought with a scowl across his face, only to shake his head and exhale an annoyed breath. Looking to the Life Force from The Queen's Egg-Sack, Naruto absorbed that into himself as well, and then walked over to Tak and Tora, who looked shocked.
"Excellent work Sire! That so called Queen didn't stand a chance against true royalty!" Gnarl suddenly declared while Naruto stopped and looked up with a slim frown as he tried to adjust to the over abundant amount of Life Force suddenly being contained within his body. "Now hurry back Sire, we still have much to do and little time to do it!" Gnarl then ordered and Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before turning and waving Kori and Kara over to himself, the two Unseelie quickly perching themselves on his shoulders when he did. Grunge on the other hand walked over calmly, placing his axes at his sides while crossing his arms over his chest.
"So… what now?" Tora then asked and Naruto motioned for her and the others to follow him as he walked towards the Waypoint gate.
"Now we head back to see your father and give him the good news." Naruto replied rather simply while walking into the Waypoint Gate without sparing them another glance. Stepping onto the Gate, Naruto could feel The Overlord-Heart in some way, but mentally pictured the Orc Village and suddenly vanished in a shower of sparks, quickly followed by the rest of his group…
(?)
On a remote Island to the far north of the island nation of Nami-no-Kuni, a glowing green eye opens upon feeling a sudden pulse. A male figure pushed himself up and then moved his feet off of his bed as he rose up to his full height. Their people had come to these lands a long time ago; they were members of a splinter sect of the cult known as the Auchenai in Azeroth. They were Necromancers and Warlocks unlike the rest of their kind, and much like the Auchenai, many of them were of a very "dark / evil" alignment.
Of course, like many splinter sects they were different from the original group, admittedly not by much, but it was as clear as their green eyes that they were. And that was because unlike the so-called "Death Priests" they sought out knowledge about The Void. Some Eredar, or rather some Man'ari as was the proper name, also lived among them in search of knowledge on the true nature of The Void. Many of their people had Void-Walkers as their companions for obvious reasons, and they seemed especially pleased with their station among them, given their master's great interest and respect for The Void. However that was not for the here and now, now, now something was amiss, and as he walked out of his home, the old man felt a shudder run through him as a Void-Walker "Void-Lord" appeared in the center of the village looking into the distance.
"Elder! The Void-Walkers are acting strangely!" A female Draenei declared while sliding to a halt before him, her own eyes just as green as his own. That trait was unusual for Draenei; normally blue was the only eye-color a person saw unless they were infected by Fel-Energy. However, it was merely their constant close proximity to their Demonic companions, The Void-Walkers, which caused their eye color to turn Green.
"In what way?" He questioned of the young female and she looked over to the Void-Lord worriedly as it gazed into the distance. Looking around with her, the elder raised a brow seeing more Void-Walkers, Void-Callers, and even Void-Wraiths from their group looking into the distance as well. 'They must sense something… has our search for them finally come to an end?' The Draenei Elder wondered to himself before looking back to the young Female.
"They have stopped doing anything and just stare at the horizon." She replied and he slowly nodded his head before walking over to the Void-Lord, the female falling in step behind him.
"Lord, why do you gaze so intently?" The Elder questioned and the Void-Lord didn't bother turning towards him as it replied.
"Can you not sense it? The Void sings in cheer… The Heir to the Abyss rises, his power grows." The Void-Lord responded while raising its arms up, the Elder reaching up to stroke one of the tendrils falling from his bearded face.
"I see… so a White-Dragon yet lives?" The Elder questioned hopefully, and the Void-Lord silently nodded his head. A small smile made its way onto the Elder's face as he realized their search for the mythical "White-Dragons" was finally coming to an end. In times long since passed they had learned of a Legend of a great race of Silver / White Dragons. The White-Dragons were said to generate and control the very power and nature of the all-consuming Void. When they had learned of this race of Dragons, they had of course decided to seek them out, as they too wished to use the powers of the Void as their own. That had been hundreds of years ago, and now their quest was finally nearing its ultimate end.
"Gather everyone together, a White Dragon lives and we shall leave soon bring this journey to an end." The Elder stated with a hand on the girl's shoulder and she nodded before running off, The Void-Lord's eyes flashing.
"Do not think much, the Dragon is but a Hatchling. He is not yet aware of the true depths of his powers." The Void-Lord suddenly intoned while looking to the ancient Draenei whom arched a brow. "But do not worry, though he is the last of his kind he is not alone… and I believe that it would be wise to trust him and put aside all prejudice for other races. This Overlord seeks to reunite the "Dark Races" of the world against the growing forces of the Light." The Void-Lord replied while the elder Draenei sneered at the mention of the word "Light". It wasn't much of a secret that the Auchenai hated the light with a blind passion that bordered on the psychotic, and they didn't exactly like the Light much either given they quest to learn more of The Void.
"But what do you mean by "Overlord", and what Dark-Races?" The Draenei questioned and yet the Void-Lord vanished into the shadows, and thus leaving the Elder with more questions than he had answers for…
(Orc-Village…)
Naruto appeared in a shower of Sparks, and felt a momentary disorientation as he walked off of the Waypoint Gate and back into the village to see Gnarl and Gron waiting for them nearby. Looking at his arms, Naruto felt a twitch as he hadn't been seeing things in the caves, and he did have Scales on his forearms. 'Did Gnarl know this was going to start happening to me? And if he did, why didn't he tell me sooner? And, I know I'm a Dragon-Kin and all, but I'm an Abyss Dragon… so why the hell are my scales Silver instead of black?' Naruto wondered to himself before turning to glare at Gnarl as he and Gron approached the blond youth.
"Sire!" Gron called out before giving a curt bow, making Naruto feel more than a little uncomfortable, as he wasn't used to such respect. "You have the gratitude of my people and myself for aiding us in our time of need." Gron stated and Naruto reached up and lightly scratched the side of his face.
"It's no problem…" Naruto offered while Gron straightened back out and Naruto turned to see his Minions running out of the Waypoint Gate to gather around him.
"Oi, where have you slugs been? There's no Lollygagging in the Overlords armies!" Gnarl declared while glaring at the group of Browns, who tried to look as innocent as they could. Shaking his head, the old Minion-Master then turned to Naruto with a grin on his face. "Sire! You're looking well. I'm happy to see you unharmed." Gnarl noted aloud only for Naruto to grab him by the back of his cloak and lift him up to face him with a deep frown.
"Right… then care to explain what this is exactly?" Naruto questioned darkly while showing the visible scales that had formed at his forearms. Seeing the rather angry look in his Master's eyes, Gnarl chuckled nervously for a moment while looking to the side and trying not to sound too fearful.
"Uh, well that's actually a really interesting story… and it's more Doc's duty to explain it too you." Gnarl replied and Naruto brought the old Minion-Master up to face him as his eyes turned a deep blood red… "B-But don't worry sire! I'll have Doc meet up with us at the Naga-Sector of the Underworld!" Gnarl said quickly and Naruto frowned to himself before deciding that was fine and dropping the old Minion Master onto his ass. Landing with grunt, Naruto rubbed at his sore bottom while Tak, Tora, and Grunge walked out of the Waypoint-Gate behind Naruto's Minions.
"Father, the queen is definitely dead! And our people won't have to worry about those ants again any time soon!" Tora declared with a toothy grin on her face and the old Orc rolled his eyes while looking at her.
"So I've heard." He noted before looking at Gnarl and Naruto as the old Minion-Master picked himself back up. "Well Gnarl, while I am grateful to you and the Overlord for what you've done for us, we clearly won't be of much help to your armies until we can get some more crops growing, we'll at least send word to the Naga that your heading their way." Gron offered to the aging Minion-Master and Gnarl nodded his head. "And… I would also like to offer Tora and Grunge's help, since my Daughter wants more adventure in her life, I'm sure she wouldn't mind traveling with The Overlord on his quest." Gron added with a strange look to Gnarl that the old Minion-Master instantly recognized, causing him to grin widely.
"Now wait just a damn minute! Don't I have a say in this?" The said Orcish girl demanded loudly, Tak grimacing and grabbing her ears from the volume, while Grunge shook his head with a frown. However, the Orc then looked at his brother and his frown deepened as he could easily tell what was going on. 'He's planning on Tora being a gift to the Overlord, not surprising, and probably prudent given what I just saw him do to those Ants down there.' Grunge mentally decided, though that still didn't mean he had to like it, as he re-crossed his arms over his chest silently.
"No Tora, you don't." Gron replied with a flat tone that brokered no arguments while the Orcish girl huffed and crossed her arms with a scowl. Rolling his eyes for a moment, Gnarl then snickered while grinning up at Gron.
"That is an acceptable offer given the circumstances Gron. But for the moment, I would ask if you would allow us to stay here for the moment and rest. I'm sure that my Master is very tired from his ordeal in the caves, and we'll leave bright and early for the Naga on the morrow." Gnarl questioned, Gron nodding his head as he lead the Old Minion-master away, Naruto grumbling to himself as he followed behind them. 'Gnarl, don't think our talk is over yet… I still want to know why you didn't warn me about this happening…' Naruto wondered to himself with annoyance, as he highly doubted many creatures were into the whole scaly look, and he didn't like this kind of surprise…
As the group walked away, none of them saw a pitch black creature with a violet aura appear, jeweled bracers covering its forearms as it watched them go. Slinking into the shadows the creature followed them unseen by any who would alert them of its presence. After all, the Abyss-Dragon needed to be protected from threats in his own kingdom, and what better creature to protect it than The Void-Walkers?
TBC…
