One of the last chapters! It all ends next chapter or the one after. Haven't decided. Probably next chapter though!

Madara never felt anything but glee when he did anything evil. He had used and abused many people, and he was always pleased with himself when the moment of realization dawned on his victims and that look of disbelief clouded their eyes as they stared at him.

It was empowering.

But the scream that erupted from the fragile child before him, shook even Madara to the core. He took a step back as the child fell to his knees wailing out loud. Madara's heart was pounding so hard that he had lost touch with the world around him.

Sasuke was too late, but he kept moving towards the two with anger. He bounded toward Madara and with one swift motion landed a punch to the side of Madara's head.

Madara took the hit, stumbling back but quickly regained his balance and poise. The screaming child had stopped all together. And for the moment, Madara knew he had won. The empowering feeling returned when Sasuke dropped to his knees to hold his now silent brother. He prodded and tried to coax the child to say anything, but Madara could see that the boy had lost consciousness.

Madara stood still watching the brothers. Sasuke had tears falling freely from his eyes, and Itachi had turned so pale that he appeared dead in Sasuke's eyes. But, no… He had a chakra signature, very faint though.

"You see Sasuke. I will always get my way."

Sasuke turned to look at the elder.

"I can make your brother's life a living hell. Mark my words." Madara hissed.

Sasuke looked down at his brother and then back at Madara. His face was panicked and frightened.

"Itachi has a lot of painful secrets… I could reveal all of them to him, if I wished."

"No. Please." Sasuke flinched. He was actually about to beg Madara…

"Then you will help me in my quest to destroy the village."

Sasuke bit his lip. His anger and frustration with the village had not dimmed. But, since Itachi had come back to him, he just wanted to get Itachi away from the village. Madara must have decided that he had given up his quest to finish off the village. & finish off the village he would do. But, this was Sasuke's revenge. Not Madara's. Whatever vendetta Madara held with the village could not compare to the one Sasuke had. Sasuke wanted revenge, but only for himself. He glared at Madara as his mind spun. Itachi was completely at the mercy of his own memories, memories that Madara could throw at him at any moment. He would have to comply...

Sasuke gave Madara a look of anger mixed with defeat. He scooped his quiet brother into his arms, not removing his eyes from Madara's and ran.

Sasuke ran so fast that everything became blurs around him. He sensed Madara following them, but he didn't care. He just had to get Itachi away form their home. He looked at Itachi who was laying limply in his arms.

"I am so sorry."

Sakura couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned but couldn't get her brain to settle. She lay on her back, staring at her ceiling. It felt good to back in her bed at home, but her stomach churned as she thought about Tsunade's PSA earlier in the day. The village had been informed that Sasuke and any members of Sasuke's party, meaning Itachi, would be captured and brought straight to Tsunade. Sakura groaned.

Her arm pulsed slightly, and she lifted her wrist above her head to examine the strange marks that had appeared. It was two slender red lines that had appeared about three days ago, the day she was released from the hospital. She had no idea where it had come from, but it stung and pulsed at random times, and at the moment it was throbbing horribly. Suddenly, she sat up her head turned towards her window.

"Sasuke-kun?" she breathed.

Her heart pounded. The familiar feeling of Sasuke's chakra flickered just briefly, but enough for Sakura to sense it, if only for a moment. She jumped up, feeling woozy. Ever since this mark had appeared, her chakra couldn't seem to regenerate. It left her feeling sluggish and tired. She didn't have much chakra to preform any jutsus. The nurses all agreed that, in time, she would have her full chakra back.

She ignored her drowsiness and ran to the window looking towards the direction that Sasuke's chakra had flickered.

The Uchiha Compound.

Sakura's heart was pounding and her legs were shaking. He was close! So close. She could reach him. She slid on her clothes and grabbed her an instant she was running along the rooftops towards Sasuke. She could tell her body was slow, as she ran, but she ignored it with a smile. Sasuke was finally home.

Itachi had been awake for hours, but he didn't say anything. He just stared blankly ahead. Every so often he would moan or gasp, and his face would twist into painful expressions. Sasuke tried to snap him out of it. He told Itachi that Madara was lying. But, Itachi remained silent. He had lost his ability to be happy.

Sasuke grew angry. His darling brother was at everyone's disposal. He hated Madara for doing this to Itachi. He had killed this child's innocence. But, he hated the village even more. They didn't give a crap about him or Itachi. Ever. Sasuke knew to keep Madara at bay, he would have to destroy Konaha. And destroy Konaha he shall. But, he was so worried about Itachi, that he couldn't formulate a plan. He just sat with Itachi during the day and at night he would lay awake listening to Itachi relive the Uchiha massacre. It was terrible. Sasuke didn't venture too far from the village, in case Madara wanted to strike soon. He found a small hut located just outside of Konaha, hidden deep within the woods. At one point, the hut looked like it had been built to hold wood.

Sasuke kept Itachi inside. He was too afraid to let him go out, not that Itachi wanted to. The child never seemed to sleep, or even move. He just sat there with glazed eyes.

Night had fallen for the third time since Sakura left her home. She was realizing how difficult it was to move about with such low chakra. She sighed and paused her jog to rest up against a tree. Sasuke had hidden his chakra almost as soon as Sakura reached the compound. She could feel him though. She knew he wasn't too far off. But, she still couldn't find him. Perhaps Kakashi was right, she thought with a sigh. Maybe Sasuke did hold too much power over her.

Itachi yelped in pain, which was the loudest sound he had made since Madara told him the truth. Sasuke jumped awake and held his brother as Itachi clutched his wrist. A third red line had appeared next to the previous two. Sasuke held his wrist gently staring at it. What in the world?

"Sasuke…" Itachi mumbled.

Sasuke looked eagerly into Itachi's tired eyes.

"I'm starting to remember…"

Sakura clutched her wrist in agony. That is when she noticed that another red line had appeared next to the other two. Now she had three. The pain was immense and she stumbled away from the tree she was leaning against. She was stumbling around, as if her feet knew where they were going. Her mind spun as she tried to regain control of her senses, but the pain was too much. She eventually tripped over a log and landed in a clearing. It took her a moment to get to her feet but when she did, she couldn't breathe. Her eyes widened as she stared ahead.

For ahead of Sakura, nestled in the trees sat a small hut.