Orochimaru entered the dimly lit confine and found everything to be in order. Nothing to be particularly sceptic of, but still his sense screamed of other ideas. All the way through their journey he and Deidara spoke, if he had become close with anyone, it was the blond. They were two completely different people, one living of the moment the other rather fond of simply living. Their constant chatter amused the other ninja to no end as they acted rather innocent in their conversations even when the topic was on something not quite as innocent. Their long hair trailed behind them and at a glance, people most likely thought they were females gossiping, in fact upon further inspection they might still think that. They were lead on, all the guards giving them access with small quick bows, or other hand gestures of respect. The expanse was large, especially considering the short time Balear had to construct it.

Their speaking died down as they were approached by Balear himself. He came right up to the serpent and flashed eyes at him and the quickly to Sasori.

"It's good to see you are both alive." He stated, "My apologies for not sending aid."

"Do you have a reason for not doing so? Or should we expect such things from you again in the future?" Orochimaru asked, his hand once again femininely placed on his waist. Deidara glanced between the two, still the two of them side by side.

"Of course I have validation, but we will not speak of things here. The walls have ears." Balear said with a curt smile.

"Of course." Orochimaru said, "I have a few things I would like to discuss with you as well."

"You always do." Balear said with a small laugh, the Sannin was prompt and never stood by idly. If he did, it was merely to momentarily observe matters before jumping into them. He didn't like to not be involved and was far from lazy. Balear's eyes shifted to the new ninja.

"Friends? Prisoners?" Balear questioned.

"Friends, of sorts. Allies." Orochimaru concluded.

"You look familiar." Balear said gazing at the copy ninja, "Oh yes, were you two not an item? I believe you announced yourself as that our last encounter, then you dropped from the planet."

"Yes, we met at Yiara's house. We had a few misunderstandings." Kakashi said.

"Perhaps some of those misunderstandings come from your lack of fully answering a question. We were an item. We have since split." Orochimaru said rather quickly. Kakashi hid his hurt at the quick correction. He didn't have to make not being with him any more such a big deal. Hopefully it wouldn't stay that way for long anyway, after all, the copy ninja was rather stubborn himself.

"Cant say I didn't see that coming, he was rather rude during our first greeting." Balear said.

"Well I did think you were going to kill us. I wasn't far off either." Kakashi said, recalling Balear's reckless strategy which had killed a few innocent ninja working as slaves at the time.

"All for good cause, what is war with out collateral damage?" Balear said.

"A civilised one." Shikaku said.

"And this? Looks similar to another I saw." Balear said.

"What was his name?" Shikaku said quickly, wondering if perhaps it may be his son.

"Heavens if I know. I don't check every slaves name." Balear said. Orochimaru flashed angered eyes at him and a small hiss entered the room.

"Since when do you refer to us as slaves? Have we not yet come to an agreement that we are equals?" Orochimaru said.

"This has nothing to do with equality. A slave is a slave, he is what he is because of circumstance not race." Balear said.

"We are the same race, and many of your people are in dire circumstance, why do they get aid while ninja get sold." Orochimaru hissed.

"That's life. I don't make the rules." Balear said.

"No you don't, but you said you were changing them. If your intentions are of such a thing why do your actions and words speak differently?" Orochimaru asked.

"Do you doubt me?" Balear asked.

"Imperial I can trust you only as much as you allow. As of late, that isn't very much." Orochimaru said.

"I can't help your trust issues." Balear said.

"Clearly, you can only make them worse it appears." Deidara said, his angry blue eyes daring the man to speak to his friend in such a manner again.

"That's cute. And since when do you speak up?" Balear asked.

"He speaks as he has the right to." Orochimaru hissed, his eyes now slitted, "Do not belittle him for not saying anything prior to this."

"Put the claws away." Kisame chuckled as he approached.

"Kisame." Orochimaru greeted, "Now is not the time."

"Doesn't look like a good time." Kisame said still a large grin on his face, "I just got a report form our spies Balear."

"Regarding?" Balear said his face once more serious and solemn.

"We might have been found." Kisame said."

"Might?" Balear asked.

"There is an army heading this way, but that doesn't mean its heading for us. There is a rogue uprising further ahead, that could be the military's destination." Kisame said, "Where ever they are headed we should plan an ambush."

"I'll prepare my men. You lot get yourselves ready." Balear said, he passed the group in an arrogant manner casting conceited eyes at the two smaller ninja.

Orochimaru hadn't even noticed him, he had heard of a fight and his attention was now fully focused on that.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So we take the skies yeah?" Deidara said happily looking at his evidently new best friend his apparent tendency to say "yeah" coming back in it appeared. Orochimaru nodded, he had wanted to stay on the ground, as was his comfort zone. However no one else was confident enough to trust the blond with their lives several hundred meters in the sky and so he had decided to be the one to do so. He had faith in his friend, but that didn't mean he would have chosen to be the one way up high. There was no other way as they needed more back up in the air and Balear lacked an air force.

"The bird will be yours to control." Deidara said, "try warn me if you think its ganna blow… I will need to make you another before that happens preferably."

"I will… keep that in mind." Orochimaru said, the whole ordeal seeming much more daunting now.

Deidara crafted a bird for both of them and they clambered on. Orochimaru seemed to be rather steady on his bird, despite the lack of practise on it. He was much more accustomed to his snake summonings but the bird would have to do. Despite the clay bird being nothing more than an art creation it some how held some sort of intellect in its eyes. Although he felt silly doing it he found himself treating it like an actual animal rather than a piece of moving clay. The bird flapped its mighty wings and was soon lifting up higher and higher. From the corner of his eye the Sannin could have sworn Kakashi was following his every movement. It would appear so as he watched with concerned eyes the two ninja soon vanishing into the sky.

"We blend in with the sky yeah?" Deidara said, the clouds becoming a part of their camouflage.

"We do." Orochimaru agreed still looking down at the drop cautiously. He had been given enough time to recollect himself and he felt his chakara restored allowing him to regenerate a new uninjured self.

"I won't let you fall." Deidara laughed.

"My doubts aren't in you." Orochimaru replied honestly, he surprised himself with his honesty. He generally hid his true emotions, then again he had been with Deidara since the first week of slavery.

"You don't slip up often." Deidara stated confidently, "That's not about to change now."

"Let's keep that mind set." Orochimaru said, "I see their air force."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kakashi watched the birds lift off and vanish amongst the clouds. It all seemed to perfect a plan, the ambush was fully organised and yet none of the ninja felt secure. It was almost as if there was some bit of information they were being left in the dark on. They all stood in their allocated positions awaiting the armies arrival. Whether the men would arrive ready to attack or whether they were merely passing by was another thing they didn't know. There was a bang in the sky, alerting the ninja and men below that the army had arrived. The clay like birds were visible again as they frantically swooped from place to place, circling the air force above the ninja. The ninja below all readied their own attacks and the army appeared amongst the trees suddenly. Fully alerted the ninja acted quicker than the soldiers guns. The army roared in fright but allowed their training to out do their fear.

Kakashi darted from soldier to soldier, dealing finishing blows one after the other. Blue lightning screeched around his arm. He moved at paces the untrained army couldn't keep up with having relied on the speed of technology rather than their own speed for far too long.

Shikaku was tag teaming with Shizune, dark shadows holding men in place as the female ninja worked effortlessly on decapitating them. The soldiers were coming in from most sides when a strange sound was heard ahead. It sounded like the roar of a ravaged animal, but the closer it got the more unnatural the sound became. A large truck like tank trudged forwards. From above many exploding birds were flung forwards into it, none of which leaving much more than a scratch. Winds strong enough to cut through the rocks in the surrounding area tore around the machine but it still did little but tear off its green paint. The under colour a deep silver which reflected the world around it. Kakashi knew it could only hold bad things and rushed it immediately, sending his own blue lighting into the metallic beast. It exploded around the vehicle and danced around its flames ultimately doing nothing. Kakashi cursed and backed off before deciding his next attempt. He raced towards it again this time trying to set it alight, he had seen how technology tended to explode when heated. He got to its side and flamed erupted from his mouth, but it once again received no reaction. A large canon like nose turned towards the sky and Kakashi instantly knew what it was aiming at. Glancing up he saw the two ninja battling the air force, successfully taking plane by plane down. They swooped at rapid speeds and darted higher and lower, a function the planes lacked. Many of the planes crashed into one another as they tried to move to quickly in an attempt to ground the ninja. The wind due to the Sannin was unbearable in the sky and the wings of the jets were often dismantled mid flight. Other jets were simply blown to bits by the explosions of the blonds torrent of birds. The gruff grumble of metal scraping against metal was heard as the tank turned its nose upwards. Kakashi cursed and tried one final time to stop it, every jutsu he threw seemed useless and received little more than scratches. In a triumphant bang the canon shot something into the air. Kakashi winced but looked up to check the damage. To his relief both ninja had kept their eye on both the sky and ground below and swerved the birds away from the missile. The latter of which spun in an uncontrolled spiral until it ended up blowing up upon impact of a nearby jet. Another bang was heard and the birds veered of once more dodging canon after canon. It became tricky when the jets had stabilised themselves and joined the fight, the snipers abroad the planes shooting ten bullets per second. Kakashi had little time to focus on the battles of the other ninja as more and more men appeared. Where was Balear?

"Bastards all of them!" Kisame roared, seemingly asking the same question.

"This isn't right," Sasori panted, "We are protecting his base, why would he hold back?"

"We should just abandon fort. It isn't our loss." Kisame snapped.

"Where would we go?" Sasori yelled back, "We have to try and ward them off."

"Bastards." Was all the shark said as he slammed into one with his large blade. He was more than a little bit sick of dealing with the mass load of NW men.

Kakashi did a few hand signals and pushed his hands to the ground, sending electricity into every man in his way. They backed off and Kakashi headed for the tank once more. He jumped on top if it, deciding to aim for something slightly weaker. The people controlling the machine. He looked around for a door and found what he needed, as expected, it had been bolted. Locks were only so strong and he set to work destroying them. The banging at the door had the NW's inside worried and the tank hesitated before taking another shot. As it entered the sky however there was a loud bang as it met a target. Glancing up Kakashi saw Deidara's bird explode and the blond falling endlessly to the ground below. It wasn't long before Orochimaru's bird erupted into an explosion all of its own accord, no longer having Deidara to keep it alive. The pale ninja fell momentarily before swiftly grappling himself to a jet with his snakes. He then shot more of the creatures form his sleeves and caught the blond. When Orochimaru had drawn his friend to the top of the jet the machine instantly started spinning in an attempt to get them off. Chakara flared around the snake as he held himself to the rampaging machine. Upon realising the machine was not doing as it was supposed to the jet stopped and lowered itself to another jets level where the snipers abroad it could easily aim directly at them. Kakashi could see the Sannin was out of options, supporting his unconscious friend he had little strength to even stand. There were sounds of gun shots and the serpent swiftly did hand signals slamming his hands into the roof of the jet. A large demonic wall rose from the spot, its weight being too much for the jet. It had shielded them from the bullets but now it sunk through the roof and smashed the jet clean in half. The wall vanished when the ground below it was broken and the two were once again hurtling for the ground.

They crashed through the tree tops landing several yards away. Kakashi didn't know if they had survived the drop but it was likely knowing their resilience. He bolted for the landing spot.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Orochimaru felt every bit of wind being ripped form his lungs as he fell at speeds he was unaccustomed to. He hit the trees first, which to a degree broke his fall, he felt their branches rip at his flesh leaving deep blood wounds running down most of his body. The jet came crashing after them which unnerved the Sannin, he didn't want to be landed on. When he hit the ground he lost his senses for mere seconds, his hearing was the first to return, a sharp shrill ear piercing ring as the explosions nearby went off, next he could see in a sort of blurry fashion. Lastly came his ability to feel, and he wished it hadn't returned. Half of the jets wing was on top of him, cutting into some of his stomach and arm. He struggled to get free but found it was too heavy to move and to deeply embedded into his skin for him to slip out from. He winced from the searing pain and tried unrewardingly to free himself. He cursed aloud and looked around the area. Deidara wasn't to far off, but he wasn't stuck below anything. He was however unconscious due to being struck by the missile. He had blood running out of his clothes as well, sharing the same gashes from the branches.

Orochimaru took a moment to stop as the pain became too much. He panted for breath but then stopped dead as he heard heavy boots hit the dirt. A group of NW soldiers appeared from the bushes and slowly walked up to them.

"Need some help there darling?" One remarked snidely.

"This is why they say woman shouldn't be allowed on the battle field." Another laughed as he glanced between Deidara and the Sannin. They received a low hiss but other than that Orochimaru was well out of options. He didn't have anything to get him out of his situation, he had nothing to defend himself with. The man held a gun up and aimed it towards the Sannin, he shot once, purposely missing. It caused the Sannin to jump slightly, receiving a malicious laugh from his oppressors. It also caused him to shift the jets wing which was half inside him causing him unnecessary pain.

"Alright, let's end them then." The gun was readied. Kakashi burst through the trees, barrelling straight into the man. The gun flung to the floor and spun to a stand still as the NW soldier was sent crashing. Kakashi darted from soldier to soldier until he felt something being rammed into his back. Being a lot more of them than there was of him, he had been caught from behind. A gun was held pinned into his back.

"One move and I shoot." The NW said. "Kill him first."

"Bet you thought you had been spared. Not this time." The original NW said retrieving his gun off the floor and aiming it at the Sannin again. It was then and there that Kakashi had to act. The man had his finger on the trigger, it only took him a second to pull it. It took Kakashi even less time to intercept the shot. His sudden movement had saved the Sannin, his chidori shattering the gun to pieces, but it had also triggered the other NW to pull his own trigger. Kakashi felt an unnatural pain wrack his body as the bullet passed from the one side of his chest to the other. He fell to one knee clutching his bleeding chest and panting heavily. He heard another three shots and his body jumped with every one, the impact of them hitting his flesh leaving a startling pain. He semi heard some one cry out. He wasn't sure. He tried to recollect himself and stand but he couldn't bring himself to. He heard the familiar whimper once more. Then the world went dark. The pained sound echoing his mind until silence over took it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Orochimaru hadn't expected it to hurt that much, the pain of seeing the copy ninja fall far out matching the physical pain of his injury. He had saved him at such a cost. The Sannin hadn't meant to allow himself to visibly show his devastation but he had cried out despite it. Purple chakara flared around him in his anguish and he felt the burning sensation of his own chakara loosing control. The jets wing shattered into a million pieces and for a moment the NW soldiers swore they saw the pale ninja as a twenty foot large cobra looming down at them its eyes a blazing storm of turmoil and hatred.

They backed up and screamed at the sudden illusionary vision. As they stumbled they found the snake was already behind them. Using nothing but a dark black and purple chakara Orochimaru cut the soldiers in half. A strong wind being used instead of a blade. He hissed in distress and backed away from the bodies before his chakara vanished. He glanced at Kakashi but he felt his energy drop, blood pouring from his deep wound. He wanted to rush towards Kakashi, throw himself beside him and beg the Gods not to take him away, beg them not to take some one he cared for from him again. He took a shaky step towards him but ended up stumbling to his knees. He gasped from the pain and held his wounds with one hand, his other on the ground to keep himself up.

His amber eyes flashed from grief to pained before flickering shut. He'd have begged the Gods to spare Kakashi, but he too was at their mercy. All at once his sense came to an end, leaving everything in the world behind him. He feared the darkness as it claimed him, but he also thanked it as pain too was left behind.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The sound of beeping filled his ears first, then an oddly numb feeling over came him, if numb had a feeling at all. He didn't feel as if he was breathing, but air was some how making its way through his body. He felt awake yet tired, he felt weak yet normal. He didn't know what to make of all the odd sensations but clung to the fact that he was alive at all. He was able to think, and that was comforting. He found it hard to regain his vision and found it rather uncooperative. After enough coaxing his eyes opened and he blurrily took in his surroundings. Someone stood beside him, out of impulse he tried to sit up. He couldn't manage to. His body out right refused to move and whether he was chained, drugged or with out limbs he didn't know.

"Are you awake my dear?" A voice said, the Sannin didn't recognise it, "Orochi?"

The voice became slightly familiar.

He tried to get up again but he couldn't and his glazy eyes shifted to look at who ever was speaking. His vision slowly became a bit better and he pieced the person together.

Yiara?

Panic stricken Orochimaru tried to get up, this time his body responded a bit better. He shifted his weight onto his elbows as he propped himself up but it seemed that that was his limit. He felt a gentle hand guide him up so that his back was now leaning on what ever the hell was behind him. He was fed up of seeing the world through blurry eyes. He decided to calm himself for a moment so that he could try collect himself. Soon the world became clearer. As suspected, Yiara sat beside him on a chair while he lay in a simply white and blue room in white and blue bed. It felt like a hospital but he was right to assume it wasn't. Yiara looked at him with concerned eyes. Orochimaru found he was bandaged up, a pipe or "drip" as the NW's called it sticking in his arm. There was another thin needle in his arm although its function remained unknown. He could feel nothing, most likely due to being drugged.

"Better?" Yiara asked as he attended to making the Sannin's seating arrangement more comfortable.

"Why am I here?" Orochimaru asked.

"To heal." Yiara said.

"Who brought me here?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"I found you injured."

"I won't marry you. Where is Kakashi?"

Yiara seemed irritated at the last part but his from turned to something more serious.

"Dead."

Orochimaru paused and allowed the message to sink in.

"You're lying." He decided.

"I'd show you a body, but it's already nothing but ash."

"I don't believe you."

"I have no need to convince you."

"He can't be." Orochimaru said again, although he lacked the ability to justify why it was impossible. He felt tears threaten to emerge but he stifled them. Not in front of Yiara.

"He is. Blown to dust." Yiara said harshly, "Need a description? I was there."

"Liar." Orochimaru said, or more whispered.

"He was close to you, and when I came to save you I didn't save him. Forces came in, and he was blown to bits." Yiara said, "I thought you might not believe me so here I grabbed this off his corpse before officials had their way with his still breathing body."

Yiara tossed a head band at him, the Konoha symbol all scuffed up but recognisable, so very recognisable. The material was splashed in crimson, it was hardly blue. Orochimaru found himself unable to prevent tears from emerging this time. Yiara saw the light shake, just before he watched the Sannin break completely. His eyes showing his soul was more shattered than his battered body. The Sannin shook uncontrollably for what seemed like an eternity. The head band was now more damp from tears than blood and the soft chokes were all that filled the room. Yiara considered consoling him, but felt as if it may not be his place. He watched as the serpent cried, something so unnatural yet so tragic to view. Orochimaru suffered in silent tears, until finally the silence was filled with choked out whines and whimpers. The shaking became worse and eventually his body was jolting from the uncontrolled cries.

There were many things the Sannin would have liked to have said to Kakashi, they could have made it work. It was more possible then than it was now. At that point the snake would have sold his soul to devil, he would have given anything to bring his lover back. It would be an endless night Yiara thought solemnly. He couldn't help sympathise with the trembling wreck. Never had he thought he would see such weakness from Orochimaru, he never thought him possible of tears. Orochimaru didn't care if the entire world saw him at that point, for at that moment, he didn't want power, or immortality or even the titles he had earned over his many years of proving himself as an elite. He would drop to the level of a genin if it meant he and Kakashi could go on living. The crying was starting to hurt his injuries as his body shook in uneven bursts. He would have prayed for the safety of Kakashi's soul, but he had long since abandoned the idea of a God. All he could do was allow his inner self to fall further and further into a dark abyss of despair. He tried to control his shaking but found the more he tried to calm down the more he felt the need to break down all over again. He fell a part repeatedly over the next few hours. Yiara didn't know if he could bear being beside him any longer. His cries of utter devastation starting to affect Yiara as well.

"There there." Yiara tried, he rested a hand on his trembling back. Orochimaru pulled away.

"You let him die." He choked out.

"Just let go." Yiara hushed.

"Never, you killed him." Orochimaru said in a strangled breath.

"I didn't kill him." Yiara reminded.

"You didn't save him- you- you could have." Orochimaru stuttered.

"You never would have loved me." Yiara said.

"I never will." Orochimaru hissed.

"You say that now, but one day you will love me as I do you." Yiara said quickly.

"I will never love you -Not in any life. If you had loved me- you would have saved him, so don't act like you cared-" Orochimaru said, his eyes holding more pain than Yiara had seen in a long time. He didn't know ninja were capable of such emotion, but evidently they were.

"Hush up." Yiara snapped, suddenly over come with the implication of the others stubbornness, "Crying won't bring him back."

Orochimaru merely flashed wounded eyes at him and retreated into his inner turmoil.

"I said hush-"

"I'll kill you all- for him- I swear it."

Authors note- the tragedy… Looks like the NW have taken it a step to far this time…

Thank you for all those who are following the story! I would love to hear your opinions on what you've read so please leave a review! Seriously, I had to type this with a broken keyboard… not fun at all -_-

Buuuuut it will all be worth it if you share your thoughts on the chapter! Thanks for reading!