(silver dragon at night)
Naruto was currently taking and giving out orders for food but through all his multitasking he saw Caleb grabbing a lot of materials and equipment which made him curious
After telling Yan Lin he would be going on break he went to the basement where he saw Caleb with way more equipment then he ordinarily took with him back to Meridian
Naruto not liking how this seemed looked towards Caleb "ok what are you planning?" he asked/demanded getting Caleb to turn around and as he was about to speak Naruto cut him off "and don't bullshit me if you do I'll kick your ass" he said fully serious if Caleb tried any of his usual crap
Caleb knew that lying would get his ass kicked and was gonna ask Naruto for his help anyway since he needed the extra manpower and Naruto could supply it tenfold easily "there are multiple transports heading to the palace in a few hours they're all carrying food, resources, and possibly weapons" Caleb said making Naruto understand why he needed so much equipment
"We can use all the supplies we can get for the rebellion if we can capture the transports and it'll be a decent blow to Phobos's army" he said telling Naruto the reason why this raid needed to succeed
Naruto smirked at how great this was gonna be as he got to help people, fight, and stick it to Phobos so there was no way he was gonna miss out on this "ok tell me what the plan is and where the transports are gonna be" Naruto wanting to know Caleb's plan and wanted to know if there were any miscalculations on his part because even the most perfect plan could go wrong if there was a single unaccounted variable
Caleb explained that there were three transports one with weapons heading to the palace through the forest, the second one filled with food collected from farms and the sea, the third one was too far out and heavily guarded as it had both weapons and food being delivered to one of Phobos's prisons but only the first two could be hit as Caleb could only stretch the rebellions limited forces so far
Naruto saw that Caleb wanted to strike the transports simultaneously which would have been a good idea if one of the transports weren't so close to the palace where one of Phobos troops could easily see them, it would be better to attack the one in the forest first and send out a fake distress message through one of the blackbirds some of the soldiers had then attack the second one as there would be fewer troops to fight and even though the third transport wasn't a target Naruto decided it would be as he was gonna commandeer its supplies for the rebellion but not alone as the terrain was basically rocky and flat so even with his skills he would be spotted but then an idea crossed his mind on someone who could help
Naruto explained some changes Caleb should have made to his plan which to his surprise he actually listened to, but noticed the anger behind Caleb's eyes which wasn't directed at Naruto at all it was to himself as he could've put his troops in massive danger and they could have quite possibly lost their lives
Naruto saw how Caleb was mentally berating himself and wanted to help "listen, Caleb, there is no perfect plan or perfect strategy all plans aren't perfect but you need to pick the best plan available so there will be fewer people hurt" he said leaving Caleb alone as he felt his friend needed it
(Meridian forest three hours later)
Naruto was currently walking through the forest to a specific location in order to get some assistance on his raid on the third transport
(flashback inside the infinite city two hours ago)
Naruto was somewhat surprised that Caleb found a portal as quickly as he but then realized he may have known about it longer than he let on so that would be another interesting conversation with the rebel leader
Naruto currently made multiple clones and split them up between the two groups which would be heading to the other two transports as his clones could assist in the battles and take more resources back to the infinite city
While most people were shocked by this and seemed to panic a little Caleb had to calm everyone down so when he wasn't looking he slipped away to take on the third transport and with all his clones Naruto highly doubted Caleb would be able to tell the difference of the original being there
(end of flashback)
Arriving at his destination outside a cave Naruto unleashed a strong pulse of his power as if he was signaling something and to his joy, something inside the cave came out and that was Abner the dragon he befriended not too long ago
Abner felt a strong source of power outside his cave and saw it as a challenge on his home/cave so as he was ready to fight he noticed a familiar small figure right outside his cave then immediately calmed down as he saw Naruto who he knew wouldn't want to fight
"Greetings Naruto it is nice to see you again" Abner said truthfully though sounding neutral but he secretly enjoyed the boy's company even only after the one meeting "it's good to see you again Abner how have you been?" Naruto asked happy to see his dragon friend once again
"I'm fine Naruto though I am curious as to why you are here" Abner asked as he doubted the only human he liked would come here for pleasantries
"I came to ask for your help" he asked gaining the dragons interest and curiosity as to how and why someone like Naruto the human who had the gall to face him needed his help for something "what would you need my help for?" Abner asked ready to help the human he considered a friend "the rebellion is low on supplies and there's a transport carrying enough supplies to assist the rebellion and I was wondering if you could help me" Naruto asked knowing it was a lot to ask of the human-hating dragon
Abner normally would have left the humans to fend for themselves but since this was Naruto asking he would help but it made him feel a little better that it would piss off the pansy ass prince who he hated more than all other humans for what he did to the once great land
"Naruto I hate all humans, well except for you" Abner said smirking at the ninja "but for you to ask me in assisting the humans that I hate makes you either very brave or very foolish to ask me this" he continued seeing Naruto's downfall expression which confirmed his belief Naruto didn't want him to do anything he didn't want to and hated having to even ask his friends to do things they didn't want to do "but I shall help you as you are my friend and an opportunity to piss off that bitchy prince is too hard to miss" he finished saying with a sadistic smirk on his dragon face
"Great let's go" Naruto said walking in the direction towards the transport but was stopped by Abner's tail and looked back at him curiously "we aren't walking"Abner stated confusing Naruto as Abner's tail wrapped around him and placed him on Abner's back which surprised him as he knew a lot of animals that had to much pride in themselves to allow anyone to ride them unless they truly earned the right "were flying" Abner said taking off to the skies
Naruto couldn't believe how amazing it was to be flying through the skies, he has been up in the sky before but it was only due to using his rasenshuriken as it acted like a helicopter's blades making him ascend to the sky but that was nothing compared to this
Abner has never let anyone ride him ever but seeing the look Naruto had made it worth it, he couldn't explain the feeling he had when he was around him it could be that Naruto was such an amazing person, and shared the same pain as all dragons for being seen as different, or even saw him as more than a friend possibly family
Abner stopped being lost in thought and looked back at Naruto "do you enjoy flying Naruto?" Abner asked as he recognized the look of pure excitement in Naruto's eyes "yeah I have been trying to learn how to fly but it's really difficult" Naruto said sadly as it would be a while before he would be able to fly and feel the strong wind against his face but was brought out of his thoughts as Abner suddenly dived down and landed then looked at him suddenly and curiously "you are able to fly?" Abner asked surprised by the human's statement as he didn't have wings "well kinda I don't have wings but I have a technique that can kinda do it" Naruto explained while laughing nervously
"Show me" Abner asked very curious to see such an impossibility and couldn't believe it till he witnessed it himself
Naruto closed the eyes and revealed his rinnegan to Abner who was surprised and focused his chakra around himself and lifted himself slightly off the ground by only a couple inches
Abner was amazed by not only Naruto's small ascend but the change in his eyes "your eyes have changed why is that?" Abner asked still looking at his eyes as they seem to hold a vast amount of power and made him wary of the mysterious power behind the eyes as his instincts basically screamed danger
Naruto explained the history and powers the rinnegan gave its users and when he finished telling Abner the tale he looked like he couldn't believe what he was told
'This-this child has such an incredible power yet he doubts his own skills and thinks he needs the assistance of others' Abner thought as most people who came into contact with such power usually craved more and harmed whoever stood in their way 'he is either very humble or doesn't think very much of his own skills' he finished thinking then thought to how he could help his human friend but pushed that thought aside as they had gotten sidetracked from getting to the transport
(a few minutes later)
Naruto and Abner were currently hovering right above the transport but when they got there they did not see the ordinary guards who did transports what they saw was a dozen guards two gargoyles, and finally…..two black and grey creatures that closely resembled dragons
"Abner what are those things?, they kinda look like dragons but they're not" Naruto said not judging by just their appearance but their magic they didn't give off the same feeling Abner did
"Very perceptive of you Naruto they are not dragons"he said sounding weirdly appreciative "they are beasts known as Wyvern's they are commonly mistaken as dragons" he said sounding angry "they are mindless beasts whose only instinct is to kill and destroy, it's maddening to me to be roped in with them and an insult to all dragon kind" he finished wanting nothing more than to rip them to shred's
Naruto could understand how he felt as he was roped in the same circle with the nine-tails as he was seen as the beast itself during his childhood Naruto could only imagine what the wyverns did to the dragon's reputation seeing as they are very similar in appearance, he could only assume it wasn't pleasant and filled with bloodshed for both the dragon's and wyvern's
Naruto saw that they were vastly outnumbered but he could use shadow clones to take out the soldiers easy but that left him and Abner with a set of gargoyles and dragon's Naruto hadn't fought a gargoyle before but seen how they fight the wyvern's on the other hand were a completely different story even though they were big they looked extremely versatile meaning they would be quick and being able to fly made them all the more dangerous
"You ready Abner?" Naruto asked and his question was answered when Abner literally dived towards the transport
Naruto's plan went off swimmingly leaving only the gargoyle's and wyvern's left to fight
"Hmph four against two seems unfair" Abner said looking at the enemies before them "yeah for them" Naruto said making a clone then both he and the clone made giant rasengans that hit the gargoyle's effectively sending them a good distance away knocking them out now only leaving the two wyvern's who had been giving them an evil glare since the beginning of the fight
Naruto noted that they didn't interfere with any of the fight's as they were planning on both him and Abner to wear themselves out so they would be easier to kill
Naruto and Abner rushed the wyverns knowing them being split would be wise as they were wild animals who relied solely on instinct which could be dangerous if they weren't careful
Abner looked at the wyvern in front of him with hate as it was due to these creatures that the number of dragons was so low, so many of his kind gone because of these wretched animals
Naruto saw look in the wyvern's eyes as it circled around him he saw that it wanted to kill him and enjoyed the thought of devouring his flesh and blood
It lunged at Naruto's back thinking it would be the best place to go for the kill and as it made contact expecting to feel soft flesh and blood it's claws were meet with a wooden log confusing the creature as to what happened to his prey and it's question was answered when a fist made contact on its face sending it a feet away and as it got up it saw that its prey was the one that made the attack
Naruto saw that even though it was focused on killing him it had enough reason to know where and when to strike so that made it somewhat easier to predict as it would be focusing on his vital points and places where his defense was weak
The wyvern was angry and looked towards Naruto with hate and charged at him blindly
Naruto waited for the wyvern to get closer and when it was only a few feet away he made a rasengan and hit it directly in its face and as it made contact the flesh and bone of the wyvern's face began to twist and tear shredding its skull and face instantly killing it
As the lifeless body of the wyvern dropped to the ground Naruto looked towards Abner's fight and saw that both creatures had made a decent amount of damage on each other but that ended as Abner used his razor-sharp claws and separated the wyvern's head from its neck
Naruto felt unsettled as he saw the satisfaction on Abner's face as he killed the wyvern and couldn't help but ask "Abner what's the history between dragons and wyverns?" he asked wanting to know as when he spoke of them earlier he said it with much hate and anger
Abner calmed down and let out a sigh as he knew this would come "centuries ago humans and dragons lived in peace and harmony that is until the wyvern's attacked us, both humans and dragons it was a battle unlike any other but in the end when things started to settle down it was the humans who attacked us after everything they saw us as they saw the wyverns mindless beast" Abner said growling a little as he explained the history of bad blood between the three races
"So the dragons who weren't killed ventured off to the other realms only a few including myself stayed and from that moment on there have been only a few humans worthy of being befriended by dragons much like yourself" Abner said finishing the story
Naruto was shocked not knowing what to say as the history of dragons reminded him of his story he was blamed for the nine-tails actions and the nine-tails didn't even do them as he was controlled by the masked man who was truly to blame
Naruto looked towards Abner with a neutral expression "Abner I understand how you feel, to be viewed as a something your not by others" Naruto said remembering all the looks and glances he got as a kid "but you can't just think everyone is the same I mean look at me I'm human and you gave me a shot" he said remembering his friends Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, Neji, Tenten, Shino, Lee, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, Asuma, the Konohamaru corp., Ebisu, The third, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and even Sasuke who kept him from falling into the darkness they kept him from falling into the depths of despair
"So what am I supposed to do? just openly trust all the humans who approach me, the same humans that killed my kind?" Abner said feeling intense emotions and was shocked by what he heard Naruto say next "no you shouldn't openly trust everyone, but you should at least give some of them a chance not everyone is distrustful if they were I wouldn't have had the friends I had and you wouldn't have me" he said with a small smile
Abner couldn't stop the shocked expression on his face as he stared at Naruto's reasoning but let out a sigh of defeat as he knew Naruto was right
"So can you help me bring this to the infinite city?" Naruto said referring to the heavy transport "cause I would do it myself but ya know it kinda heavy" he said smiling nervously
Abner sighed and motioned for Naruto get back on his back and as he took off he picked the transport up with his feet
(outside a cave entrance to the infinite city)
"Caleb this raid turned out great" Aldarn said with a joyful smile "and that new recruit Naruto, he is a game changer for the rebellion with all his skills and abilities the war is finally in our favor" he continued looking back towards the multiple copies of the person they were talking about
Caleb knew Aldarn was right but also knew that they shouldn't rely solely on Naruto or the rebellion would surely fall as they would be as overconfident as Phobos, he then remembered when Naruto asked him what it is he fights for and what it was that makes Meridian worth protecting and it stumped Caleb as he couldn't figure out what he meant
Caleb's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a loud flapping sound which sounded somewhat familiar to him
"Dragon!" a random rebel shouted out making everyone look to the sky and see a white dragon with gold highlights
"Everyone arm yourselves!" Caleb said getting his men ready for battle with the powerful beast
As the dragon landed dropping a transport in the process the mighty beast seemed to just look at the group of humans as if he were judging them
"Hey Caleb!" Naruto's familiar voice said from behind the dragon surprising and shocking the rebels
Caleb coming out of his shock looked towards Naruto "Naruto did-did you tame a dragon?" he said unable to compose himself and find the words that would fit this particular situation
Naruto could literally see the irritation on Abner's face due to Caleb's remark of him being 'tamed' "Caleb this is my friend Abner" Naruto said referring to the irritated dragon staring the rebels down "and can you please tell your men to put down their weapons?" he asked and Caleb heeded his request by ordering his men to lower their weapons but saw the unease they all had
Caleb was wondering why above all else Naruto would show up with a dragon of all things until he noticed the thing the dragon carried and upon further inspection, it looked like food and weapons meaning that was the transport he didn't go after
Deciding to speak about this at a later time Caleb and Naruto along with the rebels and Abner entered the cave to get to the infinite city
(a few minutes later)
"Food for everyone!" Caleb said throwing food up in the air for all the people of the rebellion who cheered
"We need many more victories if we're to turn the tide on our oppressor so eat well tonight!" he said as many people rushed towards the barrels in order to get as much food as possible
Caleb jumped down from the podium and was greeted by his best friend Aldarn "Caleb do you have any more of that ugh Chocolate from earth? you know for the little ones" he said as Caleb looked passed him and saw some kids in makeshift armor made from household appliances
"I'll bring back more tomorrow" Caleb said smiling
"Here" Naruto said pulling out some bars chocolate he happened to have and as soon as the kids caught a whiff of the tasty treat they were on him faster then he could blink
Naruto talking a moment to look at the kids brought the ninja some joy as he was able to make those kids smile, but seeing this also brought on a sad memory to the blond as he remembered being in a similar situation to these kids when he was their age as he rarely got any good food
Naruto was brought out of his thoughts when Caleb tapped him and motioned for him to follow and as they walked to another portion of the infinite city they saw Abner curled up in a resting position but it was hard to tell if he was sleeping or not
"Ok you need to explain how you tamed a dragon" Caleb asked as Abner's eyes suddenly opened revealing pure white eyes with a black slit
Abner was quick to rise as he walked towards Caleb and looked him down ready to do something drastic if he continued being ignorant "listen to me human I am not some pet that can be tamed, I am a dragon" Abner said angrily as Caleb looked to be a combination of shocked and afraid at the dragon's presence
Naruto seeing how bad this could go down if someone said the wrong thing got in between his dragon friend and his idiot rebel leader friend "listen we all need to calm down" Naruto said successfully calming the dragon down but Abner still glared at Caleb
Caleb didn't know how to approach this kind of situation seeing as this kind of situation didn't seem natural but considering who started it made some sense
"Ok Caleb this is Abner and Abner this is Caleb" Naruto said trying to break the ice between the two
Abner just looked at Caleb, not at all impressed by what he saw, Naruto described a leader someone who was willing to put his life on the line for his people Abner expected someone worthy of his friend's praises but from what he saw thus far Caleb just seemed like another dense human
Caleb was completely terrified at that very moment as he was face to face with a creature that could kill him in an instant but under all that fear was anger as he felt so insignificant from being in the presence of both Naruto and Abner even without magic Naruto seemed to be superior to Caleb in every way from planning to strategizing and even fighting which he thought he excelled at
Getting out of his own thoughts "so why is he here? is he gonna fight for the rebellion?" Caleb asked seeing as there had to be a reason for Naruto to bring the dragon here
Naruto thought of this before but thought it should be his choice so he looked towards Abner as if asking 'what do you wanna to do?'
Abner closed his eyes wondering the cause and effects of the choices he was given "hmph give me some time to sleep on it" Abner said going farther into the infinite city so he wouldn't be disturbed in his thinking and would be far away from the humans
Caleb was instantly annoyed at this and looked towards Naruto "Naruto do you know how helpful it would be if we had a dragon helping the rebellion? we need something like that!" Caleb said and the moment he finished he was instantly knocked on his ass as Naruto punched him right in the face
"You seriously need to think about what you say he has a name it's Abner and it's his decision, not ours" Naruto said walking away but stopped for a moment and looked back at Caleb "and if I find out you tried to threaten him or even tried to hurt him in any way he'll be the least of your worries" Naruto said leaving his treat hanging in the air
Caleb just got up and rubbed the spot he was punched as he had gotten punched by Naruto so many times his body just seemed to adjust to it
(During the rebel's celebration)
"Double the guards on every delivery into the castle and on every lookout!" Cedric said to the guards in his human form
"What went wrong?" Phobos asked mildly angry
"They knew our routes" Cedric said surprised that him being gone for so little time made the army more predictable for the rebels "and the boy was seen at each location I don't know how but he was, also my lord I can't look for the princess and monitor the army traveling between worlds" Cedric said displeased he hadn't been able to kill the guardians yet
Phobos wondered if the boy was using astral drops but pushed that aside as he knew Cedric was right being in both worlds dampers his generals effectiveness "our movements are anticipated our supply routes interrupted how do I find the spy among them?" he asked needing to find the source of the rebels wellspring of information while looking at his staff thinking they all were spies and should just execute them just to save him the trouble
"Spread a rumor" Cedric said getting Phobos interest at the prospect of his idea "pretend something extraordinary has been found by one who doesn't know it's value if a rebel comes looking not only do we trap him your suspicion is confirmed" he finished unknowingly stopping the prince from murdering the whole kitchen staff
Phobos liking his generals plan smiled as it would save him time on looking for a new kitchen staff and getting someone to clean the bloodstains off the castle floors would be too much of a pain
"Good and I know just the object to lure their leader into the open" Phobos said remembering a certain object that was taken and used against him a long time ago
(a few hours later)
"Ok I need to ask why he's coming with us?" Naruto said referring to the very nasty diabolical smelling pasling known as Blunk following them back to the human world
"Because without him I wouldn't be able to find portals and I can't exactly go to the girls because they would either hold it over my head or get on my nerves paying him is much easier" Caleb said completely serious as his experience with dealing with the girls has never been pleasant or easy
Naruto knew the girls could be unique in their own way at times but that didn't mean they wouldn't help Caleb or didn't know when to get serious because to him they would adjust and be ready for whatever came their way, push came to shove they would be ready to help
Seeing the portal up ahead they all entered and the moment they got to the other side they see the girls looking less than pleased at the three of them "you guys when you find a portal your suppose to tell us" Will said sounding not at all pleased
Naruto like any other man alive did what he had to do in order to not be on the receiving end of feminine fury he passed the blame onto someone else and that so happened to be Caleb and seeing as how he messed up so often when it came to women this may as well have been karma
"I had no idea about this he just needed my help I didn't know anything about the portal till I saw it" Naruto said pushing Caleb in front of him and Blunk to act as a meat shield
Caleb couldn't even turn around to glare at Naruto as Will and the other girls gave him a glare that could melt ice
(two hours later)
Naruto and the girls were currently eating lunch while the girls also probed Naruto for information about the status of the rebellion
"How are you not exhausted? you were up all night" Hay Lin asked curiously as to how he seemed no worse for wear
"Due to my training I can go a few days without sleep and still be at the top of my game" he explained knowing there were people who even though had less stamina than him could do it longer like his sensei and shivered at the training it took to accomplish with pervy sage who would always attack him right before he slept, it took almost a week before both his body and mind adapted and he could get a good night's rest
Will's attention was drawn away from Naruto to a poster on the cafeteria wall with a poster on it "hey what's that poster over there?" she asked the girls wondering if they knew
Irma, Cornelia, and Taranee let out displeased grunts and noises "Drama night" Irma said "every year four groups of kids oh I'm sorry losers put on these mini-plays on a theme" Cornelia continued "all the parents and grandparents come it's a whole big loser thing" Taranee said "more like a lame fest" Cornelia said finishing the conversation until a literal ball of energy given human form showed up
"Great news I signed us up for drama night!" Hay Lin said happily getting shocked and displeased looks from the other girls and curious look from Naruto
"Sounds like fun" Naruto said as he was able to see how certain special effects and costumes were made when he was protecting Koyuki Kazahana so he thought using what information and skills he gathered to help and assist Hay Lin would be kinda fun
(same time at Phobos palace)
"Captain of the guard I have remarkable news the seal of Phobos has been found" Cedric said to the general along with two soldiers
"The seal after all these years?" the general asked both in shock and curiosity
"It was near the outpost at torus filney I want one-hundred riders to bring it back in three days time safely back to the castle" Cedric said getting a nod from the general "what I have just told you must not become general knowledge" Cedric said with a barely noticeable grin as he saw the two soldiers looked like they were going to blabber the information as soon as they left unknowingly putting Cedric's plan into action
Phobos looked at the situation blanky unconcerned that his army easily seemed to blabber about information and that there might not be a spy just incompetent guards who couldn't keep their mouths shut
(back in the infinite city)
Abner was currently lying down resting but still aware of his environment still considering if he should help the rebellion or not
The dragon was taken out of his thoughts as he sensed someone coming as they got closer he decided to play it safe and pretend to be asleep as he didn't want to give the other humans an actual reason to fight
When the person was in view he lightly opened his eyes and what he saw made him relax a great deal as it turned out to be a little girl with bright orange hair peeking out from behind one of the many pillars thinking she was successful in hiding from him and for that he almost broke from his act of sleeping just to laugh
The girl approached him which made the dragon slightly curious and impressed by the child's bravery as he made full-grown humans tremble in fear as they got closer to him the child, however, approached him cautiously as if she was trying to not wake him
"Wow a real dragon" the child said in awe as she was only feet away from him
Abner opened his eyes and began to rise and as he did the child jumped back but surprisingly stood her ground by choosing not to run away but that didn't help with how nervous she felt as the dragon's eyes pierced through her very soul
Her very young childish mind came up with an unorthodox solution so the dragon wouldn't see her as a threat
She reached into her dress and held out a bright red apple and showed it to the dragon hoping it would see that she wasn't a threat
Actually, a little hungry Abner approached the girl and took the apple with his tongue and while the apple was good it did nothing to satisfy his hunger but he did appreciate the girl's gesture
"Thank you child" Abner said surprising the girl as she didn't expect him to be able to talk
"Wow" the child said not able to process that such a majestic creature could speak "oh can I play with you?" she asked hoping he would say yes
Abner smiled liking this child and decided there wouldn't be any harm so used his tail and threw her up slightly above the ground but was careful and caught her each time
(silver dragon a few hours later)
Everyone was currently in the back talking to Hay Lin about the play "don't you guys think it'll be fun?" Hay Lin said enthusiastically while she and Naruto worked
"No why'd you sign us up in the first place?" Taranee asked at the very least wanting an answer as she and the others deserved one
"So I can design the cool costumes! and I also need people to wear them" she said not noticing the icy glares she was receiving from the other girls
"What's this?" Caleb asked holding an ice-cream as he entered the kitchen
"Ice-cream cone you unwrap the paper and eat it" Taranee said as simply as possible to her uneducated Meridian friend who quickly left
"So what's the theme?" Cornelia asked already regretting that she asked that question
"Mythology" Hay Lin said happily
"Hey Taranee you actually have a class for this any ideas?" Naruto asked remembering how gloomy Taranee was about her 'failed' Mythology paper
"Trust me to much work, not enough time" Taranee said thinking about the stories she knew about old mythology and how much work it would be just to create all the costumes and props they would have to wear
As they all talked Yan Lin entered with some dirty dishes and went directly to the sink to clean the dishes this gave Hay Lin an opportunity to ask her grandmother since she was so old she must've heard so many good stories "hey grandma we get to pick our own myth for the school play do you know any good ones?" the air guardian asked her grandmother
"Well as it so happens I do" she said getting everyone's attention
'Long ago there was a kingdom ruled by a powerful but uncaring jade emperor working for the emperor were four Magnificent dragons the beautiful nymph Xin Jing the emperor's daughter was greatly worried for the people for a famine had been on the land for many months the dragons took pity on the people two of them boil the water from the ocean and the other to help lift it to the skies'
Naruto was liking the story so far as it showed the dragons compassion towards humans but knew something bad would happen as most stories didn't usually have happy endings
'The terrible drought had ended but the emperor was enraged' 'of course too much power goes to ones head and they think everything has to go their way' Naruto thought remembering certain people who became mad with to much power 'how dare the dragons act without his permission? he ordered them locked inside four mountains' 'can kinda see why Abner is so distrustful of humans' he thought until he remembered a certain detail
'Wait Yan Lin said the princess was a 'nymph' I've never heard of that race in Meridian'
Naruto kept quiet and listened to the rest of the story thinking it might answer his questions 'His beloved Xing Jing told the emperor she was joining the dragons by becoming one herself'
'She became a dragon? I don't know where to even begin on that one' Naruto thought having nothing to say as he was speechless for once in his life 'and all that was left to remember her by was a crystal amulet' Yan Lin said finishing the story
"The origin of our powers" Will said as she and the other guardians looked at crystal amazed by its origin
"That's our play" Hay Lin said thinking the story would make a terrific play
"So I'm obviously the nymph" Cornelia said thinking she was born for the role
Caleb suddenly walked in with the ice-cream dripping broken and still wrapped around the wrapping "This isn't too bad but it made a mess on my shoes" Caleb said getting a groan from Naruto for how stupid the rebel leader was
(next day after school)
"We've only got three dragons I need one more" Hay Lin asked looking towards Naruto and Taranee
"Wait aren't there supposed to be five dragons? you know since the princess turns into one at the end of the story?" Naruto said painting some props with Irma, making Hay Lin gasp as she realized her mistake and instantly went to make another dragon costume
'Man her dedication to everything she does is both impressive and envious' Naruto thought finishing painting
"Ahhhh" Blunk yelled as he descended down a rope in an angel costume "flap flap Blunk cute birdy" he said as he flapped his arms up and down
"Get him off the stage!" Will said not wanting him to damage or steal school property as they would be blamed
"Play! Blanc love plays" Blunk said as Hay Lin took the wig and wings Blunk had on "Blunk be prince 'people worship Blunk'" he said trying to act royal
"There's no prince in the play" Irma said hoping that would dissuade him from trying to be in the play
"But we do need another dragon" Taranee said as she and Naruto were already busy telling the story and using the special effects "and it doesn't have to be a tall dragon and he's in a costume and mask" she finished hoping that would persuade them to let him do it
"Works for me" Hay Lin said as she only had enough material for a small dragon costume so this worked out ok
"Knew real dragon once wanted egg back bit uncle's butt off never the same" Blunk said remembering the job he and his uncle did when he was younger
This got various looks from the girls and an angry one from Naruto if that egg contained a baby dragon Blunk basically kidnapped it
(later in some random alley)
"'Oh please please Will can I use the portal now' I'm a rebel leader I don't have time to ask a bunch of girls" Caleb said clearly pissed that a bunch of girls were telling him what he could or couldn't do, it really hurt his masculine pride
"Caleb!" Blunk said scaring Caleb as he was still dressed in his dragon costume "What only Blunk" the pasling said lifting up the part of the costume covering his face
"What are you wearing?" Caleb asked wondering why the pasling was wearing such a ridiculous costume
"Blunk rehearsal while collecting treasures Blunk star, Blunk also have message" Blunk said getting both Caleb's interest and attention
"From who?" Caleb asked wanting to know so he could think about how reliable the information was
"From big blue thing tell Blunk cousin tell you" Blunk said passing on a message
"Big blue" Caleb said a little confused until it hit him "Vathek" Caleb asked wanting confirmation as he was the only person he knew who was big and blue
"And it's a toros filney this could be the news that turns the whole rebellion around" Caleb said thinking of the endless possibilities he could accomplish if he had the seal
"What is seal?" Blunk asked as he had never heard of the seal before
"The Seal of Phobos it's a small diamond shaped metal talisman with the royal crest it's about this big" he said holding his fingers out to show him the estimated size of the talisman "It has the power to open anything that's closed and reveal anything that's hidden it can split holes in the veil" Caleb continued listing the seal's unique capabilities
"Blunk out of business" Blunk said thinking that if someone found the seal he wouldn't be able to make as big a profit as he did for potals
"Trust you to see the bigger picture" Caleb said to his greedy pasling friend
"It was stolen from Phobos about sixteen years ago by a mysterious woman who captured the true heir to the throne in order to protect the infant and use to seal to cross to Earth"
"So Phobos has been looking for the heir and the seal ever since" Caleb said remembering certain false leads the prince has gotten about his seal over the years
"With it Phobos powers would be fearsome, but if I had it I could cross the veil anytime I wanted" Caleb said liking the idea of not having to look for portals for extended periods of time and not asking the guardians for help "he's assembling a squadron to fetch it I have to get there first the next portal that opens tell me before you tell the guardians" Caleb said walking away
(next day at the silver dragon)
Naruto and Hay Lin were currently finishing their shifts so they would have time to go to the school and get ready for the play
As soon as Hay Lin finished she was out of the restaurant before anyone could blink
'Man she's either really excited or really nervous if she wants to get there as soon as possible' Naruto thought as he walked toward the entrance with his mind drifting elsewhere he didn't notice a very beautiful woman walking straight for him
As the two collided and bumped into each other Naruto couldn't help but look at the woman she was Asian, short black hair, blue eyes, and small red lips she wore a semi-formal looking white dress with pink highlights which seemed quite odd as the restaurant was fairly nice it didn't require such formal wear
Naruto coming out of his daze stopped gawking "i'm so sorry my mind was elsewhere" he said apologizing to the woman
The woman just gave a small smile "it's perfectly fine" the woman said knowing he didn't do it on purpose "so where were you off to in such a hurry" she asked curiously
Naruto not seeing any harm decided to tell her "well i'm helping my friends out with a play" Naruto said nonchalantly
"Oh what play?" she asked curiously "I just love plays" she said smiling happily
"It's a myth called the four dragons" he said not seeing the woman's eyes rise slightly in surprise "it's at the Sheffield institute if you wanna see it" he said taking off toward the school
(Sheffield institute later in the evening)
Naruto had just arrived seeing the girls practicing their lines
"Then I say 'thank you oh four dragons'" Cornelia said going over her lines "ugh where is you know what?" she asked wondering where Blunk was
"Sorry late had to show Caleb eh something" Blunk said nervously which made Naruto suspicious as whenever those two were together they either find trouble or trouble found them
"Ok everyone needs to get ready the plays gonna start soon" Hay Lin said wanting to be ready as the play was gonna start soon
(same time at torus filnley)
Caleb was currently following a cloaked old man who was in possession of the seal of Phobos
"You are the second to express interest and this metal talisman" the old man said confirming this is the one who had supposedly found the seal "sixteen years ago I found it" he continued which all but confirmed Caleb's suspicions that the man found the seal
"is it valuable?" the man asked Caleb
"you'll be well rewarded" Caleb said willing to pay any price for an item that would greatly assist the rebellion
The old man suddenly stopped dropping his walking stick confusing Caleb and was surprised as he started to sink and as he looked down he saw that he was being pulled down by living sand and as he sunk he reach to the man for help
"I'm sinking help me!" Caleb pleaded until the man revealed his face to be Cedric in disguise
"So Phobos suspicions are confirmed now as the sands of torus finley consume you I must go find the traitor who passed you this news" Cedric said as he watched in sick satisfaction Caleb be completely submerged by the living sand
"Girls girls girls!" Yan Lin called running backstage "Caleb's in danger! he went to Meridian and left me this note" she continued giving the note to the group
'Ugh that idiot why would he believe that an important valuable object that's been found and not immediately brought back to Phobos was a smart thing to do that's basic espionage' Naruto thought knowing Caleb walked into either a trap or an ambush neither of those thoughts good
"If the ancient seal had been found Phobos wouldn't wait to retrieve it is a trap" Yan Lin said knowing the difference between good information and bad and seeing as how Phobos was taking his time to retrieve his most valuable relic it could only mean he was planning something nefarious
"How did Caleb find a portal?" Will asked until it she immediately looked in Blunks direction and saw him walking away and whistling innocently until she stepped on his fake tail "Is that what you showed him?" Will angrily asked the pasling
"No Blunk here only dragon" he said trying to run and hide from the scary redhead
"We have to go" Will said not wanting Caleb to get into trouble
"We can't walk out on our own play will get expelled" Hay Lin said worried about the actual lives
"No, no you won't Will hold out the heart and repeat these words 'spord lartsa'" Yan Lin instructed
"Spord lartsa" she repeated and suddenly the heart shined brightly "What did that do?" she asked a little worried
Naruto watched in amazement as the girls' physical bodies shined as brightly as the heart of Kandrakar, but was curious as an exact copy of them split from their bodies and as the light died down Naruto saw exact duplicates of the girls his senses couldn't tell them apart as they shared the exact same energy as their counterpart
"These are your 'astral drop' doubles when you repeat their name again but forwards they will disappear they're identical to you" Yan Lin explained
Naruto looked towards Yan Lin "so they are exact copies of the girls with all their memories and powers?" Naruto asked because exact duplicates seemed to good to be true his clones for example were exact copies of himself but couldn't take to much damage he doubted these astral drops were perfect
"No astral drops only copy the physical appearance of the user they're all basically blank slates" Yan Lin explained
Naruto now understood but something crossed his mind as the guardians examined the duplicates "how will they perform the play if they are all blank slates?" he asked making Yan Lin realize her error
Naruto seeing that this was a problem had an idea "I'll leave some of my clones here to help" he said making the old woman curious as to what he meant and seconds later her question was answered as five duplicates of Naruto burst into thin air "you can make copies of yourself?" she asked amazed
"Yep and there all self-aware but if their hit hard enough or receive too much damage they explode in a cloud of smoke" Naruto explained
Yan Lin starred at each clone and one thought crossed her mind 'I wonder if he's the only employee I need?' she thought he did fantastic work alone but with multiple copies, she could retire early and make a profit
"Ok we're wasting time let's go" Will said getting everyone to do their assigned tasks as they've already wasted enough time
(later at torus filney)
Naruto and the guardians had just arrived at torus filney and it appeared to be abandoned but Naruto could hear whispers coming from the houses 'they must be afraid of outsiders' Naruto thought
"I don't see anything" Hay Lin said not noticing anything out of the ordinary
As Will and the others flew over the land a tentacle of sand shot out of the ground and grabbed her leg "ah quicksand!" Will yelled as she pulled down but luckily the other girls got to her first and pulled her away from the sand monsters grasp
"A boy fell in the sands" a small redheaded girl behind the guardians said
"Then why don't you have it roped off or something?" Cornelia asked thinking that might prevent people from getting attacked
"It moves" the girl said
"Oh a wandering man-eating sandpit' Taranee said fearing the living sand
Naruto went up to the kids and as they backed away in fear he decided he was close enough so he got on his knee to be at their eye level "it's ok we're not here to hurt you" he said putting the children slightly at ease "did you see anyone who looked like this?" he said transforming into Caleb and after a few seconds changed back
After the kid's initial shock of seeing him transform they pointed to the pit of sand and said "he fell in like our brother Michael, that was a long time ago" which got worried looks on the group's faces
"Oh my god!" Naruto said worried for Caleb's safety instantly channeled some sage chakra and found Caleb and others a few feet below them and to his surprise the sand that could be seen above ground was a layer beneath it is hollow ground and his senses picked up the sand was alive and it held a vast amount of negative emotions it reminded him of Gaara when they first fought but not as powerful thankfully
"We have to go in and get him out!" Naruto said getting nods from the others
"He's right but we need something to pull us back out" Will said giving Cornelia an idea
As she descended toward the ground she created five vine's one for each guardian
"Uh Cornelia your one vine short" Naruto said getting her and the others to look at him curiously
"What are you talking about?" Cornelia asked "you can't fly and if you went through the sand we'll have to rescue you too" Cornelia said making a valid point
Naruto just smirked as he did a transformation to hide his rinnegan to appear no different he focused on the Deva path and was able to lift himself off the ground successfully, as he practiced it whenever he got the chance though it did take him awhile to grasp as he sent himself flying or forced himself to the ground and this was as far as he got as he still couldn't fully use the offensive type moves of the Deva path
The girls were all in shock seeing their friend floating through the air "how are you doing that?" Hay Lin asked curiously seeing him float in the air without the assistance of wings
"I'll tell you about it later come on we have an idiot to save" Naruto said grabbing a vine and diving right into the sandpit
All the guardians could do at that moment was gawk at how fearless and brave he was "ok am I the only one who thinks he just keeps on getting cooler?" Irma asked getting no responses from the others
(back on earth at the Sheffield institute)
'We are so screwed!' were the thoughts all the Naruto's and Yan Lin
The girl's doubles were currently dancing around like idiots it was hard to watch
"Ok we gotta do something this is a train wreck" one of the Naruto's said thinking the play was gonna bomb
"Well what do have in mind?" Yan Lin asked open to suggestions as the 'astral drops' acting in this play was horrifying to watch
"Give me a second" the clone said closing his eyes and focusing his chakra
The audience looked at the stage in interest as mist came out from the stage all of a sudden thinking something was going to happen
Inside the mist, they could see an outline of what appeared to be dragons different from the ones the actors were dressed in, these looked much better and more lifelike
"What did you do?" Yan Lin asked curiously
"I transformed the rest of the clones and used a substitution so they could trade places with the girls" the clone said making mist for the audience so they wouldn't see how life like his transformations of the dragons were
"Oh" the audience said in fascination of seeing the dragon's do a dance as they flew
(Back in torus filney)
As everyone made it through the sand they saw multiple pillars and before they got closer to either "don't touch the ground or the walls" Caleb warned as it almost got Hay Lin and Will
Taranee went to inspect one of the pillars and saw a dried up body "oh wow look" she said making a stream of fire to make light throughout the cave
Naruto got a closer look at one of the bodies and noticed they weren't here very long only that the moisture from their bodies was drained making them all dried up husks
"Guys get Caleb out now!" Naruto said getting the girls to pull him out quickly
"I was tricked i'm sorry ok" Caleb said trying to make his apology sound sincere as the guardians flew looking for more survivors
"Hay Lin lookout!" Naruto yelled seeing a twister of sand approach her
Hay Lin quickly breathed out a strong wind which separated her from the sand
The sand then latched on to a new target Cornelia and when it ensnared her it also got both Irma and Hay Lin and encased them in a pillar
"Taranee let's blast it!" Naruto said as he and Taranee made fireballs to break the pillar
Taranee even though a little tired wanted to get back to their main objective "we've got to save the others to" she said knowing what was important
(back at the Sheffield Institute)
"You know this play is turning out great" Yan Lin said seeing the audience's amazement as they got a light sprinkle from the 'rain' being made inside the building
"Yeah well they weren't any help" he said pointing to the astral drops
"Wait we only have Will's, Irma's, Hay Lin's, and Taranee's astral drop's where's Cornelia's" Yan Lin asked a little worried
"Oh she's still on stage were using what little chakra we have to make the effects so we couldn't make another clone so it was a choice between leaving either Cornelia or Taranee and seeing as how Cornelia had so few lines it seemed easier to let her be on stage" he said explaining the situation and also thought Cornelia would flip out if her copy didn't get any stage time
"Ok but wait what about Blunk?" she asked knowing the pasling wanted to be in the play "gave him some food to not be in the play also asked him to watch the girls astral drops so we wouldn't have to worry about them" he said as he and Yan Lin continued to watch the play
(back in torus filney)
Naruto and the girls had gotten everyone trapped inside out and were preparing to destroy the sand monster
As they were going to begin the sand monsters destruction a sand tentacle reached out and grabbed the little girl from earlier dragging her down
Naruto being the first person to react dived right back into the sand hoping to rescue the little girl
The guardians were quick to take off to the skies above the "We have to go in after them!" Hay Lin said very worried about Naruto
"We can't all go in we'll either get caught or be in the way" Taranee said knowing Naruto could take care of himself
Will not hearing any of it dived right in
"Will!" all the guardian's yelled hoping to stop their friend from going on a suicide run
Reaching the bottom Will could see Naruto dodging sand tentacles while trying to reach the little girl who was encased in a pillar
While Will watched Naruto she didn't see a sand tentacle snake it's way behind her and before she could even react it wrapped around her binding her arms, legs, and wing's it got tighter as she struggled
"Naruto help!" Will cried out knowing she couldn't break free on her own
Naruto heard her cry for help and in that moment of distraction the sand grabbed him and brought him down into the ground not giving him any room to breathe as it completely encased him
"Naruto no!" Will yelled out in panic as lightning danced around her then it seemed to encase her in a field of lightning
(fortress-like temple in an unknown location)
"Luba what seems to be the problem?" a bald man in a white robe asked a cat-like woman in a robe similar to his
"It's the keeper of the heart's auramere its power is growing at an exponential rate" she said looking at one of five orbs spinning around in a circle, but one seemed to be shining brightly "what should we do Oracle?" she asked hoping he knew what to do as this has never happened before especially since the auramere's were powering the veil
The now named Oracle closed his eyes in deep thought trying to focus on what they should do "we shall do nothing as of right now it presents no danger to the veil or the guardians and who knows this might be a sign the guardian may be ready" the Oracle said as he left
Luba highly doubted that as the guardians were no more than children with no training or preparation whatsoever
(back at torus filney)
The field of lightning started to die down and revealed Will completely shocked by what just happened, but the shock died as soon as she realized Naruto was still in trouble
"Let him go you living sandbox!" Will said extending her hand which shot out lightning 'I can use lightning now awesome! I was right it was my element' she thought shooting lightning around the spot Naruto was encased
Naruto gasped for air as he got out of the sand and ascended to the air while taking in deep breaths
"Thanks for the save and congrats on unlocking your power" Naruto said as he knew from previous training sessions she showed signs of unlocking her element but never had the right push to fully unlock her ability turned out him almost dying was the right push she needed
"Ok we need to rescue the girl, you got my back?" Naruto asked as the sand creature up it's game by creating floating balls with spikes and adding spikes to the pillar's
"We've got each other's" Will said as her lightning flared up all around her
'Ok this thing seems to be getting smarter the more we fight if so we'll have to be smarter and faster than it can adapt to us fighting it' Naruto thought readying himself as he and Will charged and looked for the girl through the sand
As Naruto and Will fought the sand creature they found the girl encased in a pillar but she was slowly being swallowed up just like Naruto almost did
"Will I need you to fire two lightning bolts one above the girl and another below" Naruto instructed which Will carried out without question
When the bolts struck the part of the pillar holding the girl broke off and fell towards the ground the girl screamed and closed her eyes as she would soon hit the ground, but luckily Naruto stopped it and broke the girl out of the pillar she was encased in
"We got the girl, let's go!" Naruto said as he and Will flew towards the only exit and the moment they made it out they saw the other guardians waiting for them
"Taranee, Irma blast this thing!" Naruto yelled wanting them to take the shot as he could see more tentacles flying out of the pit
Irma and Taranee shot the respective elements toward the sandpit and made it turn into glass "silicon plus heat equals glass lets see it's wandering sandy butt move now" Taranee said positive that the sand creature was dead
"I wonder how our astral drops did" Cornelia asked curious as to how her double performed
"Oh it's really not fair they did all the work but we'll get all the glory" Hay Lin said happily while also feeling bad for getting recognition for someone else's work even if it was her double
(back at the Sheffield Institute)
The guardians and Naruto rushed back to the school and as soon as they got backstage they were in shock as they saw their astral drops messing around
"Blunk what happened? why are they back here and not performing? why aren't you performing?" Hay Lin asked in a panicky voice wondering why they weren't performing and wondered what damage had been done to their lives
"Blonde boy take over other girls copies do no good on stage" Blunk said as he ate some good soup the blonde carried for whatever reason
The girls looked at Naruto in both curiosity and anger for stealing their doubles time to shine "before any of you get mad the astral drops have none of your memories they were all blank slates I left a few clones in case something bad happened, good thing I did the astral drops would've caused you guys a lot of problems if I didn't" he said explaining his reasons to the girls
The girls couldn't fault him and were appreciative he had their backs on and off the battlefield
"Ok we need to get rid of these astral drops" Will said unknowingly doing what she wanted to do as she forgot saying their names forwards makes them disappear
"Yeah and I should dispel my clones" Naruto said and as he did he got a small headache from the memories of five different clones
"Oh girls that show was spectacular I might just recruit you for next year's school play" Knickerbocker said as she came backstage in order to congratulate them
"Wow you really saved our butts thanks Naruto" Irma said in appreciation
"Ok let's go home I think we've had enough for one day" Naruto said as everyone went home
(An hour later at silver dragons basement)
"Here" Naruto said giving Caleb a slip of paper
"What's this" Caleb as confused
"It's a seal if you're ever missing I'll at least know where to find you" Naruto said giving the rebel leader the seal that acted as a beacon
"Thanks" Caleb said in appreciation grateful that his friend gave him something that allowed himself to be found by his friend
(a few hours later)
'What was that I felt' Naruto thought as all his clones felt a surge of energy in the audience during the performance and what was really strange is that it felt like the heart of Kandrakar and it happened the exact moment Will unlocked her lightning power those were too many coincidences for the ninja to believe to happen at the same time
(outside the silver dragon)
'Hmm these guardians are different from the ones who came before them and that boy is stronger than he appears to be also different he's quite an interesting enigma' the same woman Naruto bumped into thought as she disappeared into the night