Chapter 21- Queen Chrysalis
The night was dark, but warm. The only light came from the stars above- it was a new moon night. I sat on a ledge, hundreds of feet in the air, my left foot positioned on the rock and my right dangling over the side. Itachi was standing somewhere behind me, doing I knew not what. A breeze blew from behind and carried my long black hair forward. I sighed.
"Waiting is such a pain," I spoke aloud. It was the first time either of us had spoken in hours.
"Just be patient. You have to remember, we're going up against thousands of Changelings. Even if we get past them, we'll almost certainly be confronted by the two that were at the Crystal Fair." He reminded me.
"Yeah, you're right. Still, waiting always makes me anxious."
"I know it does. You only need to wait a little longer." He replied. I sighed and continued staring into the night sky.
After about ten or so minutes, the action was ready to begin. I immediately drew my eyes toward a small opening in the side of a mesa and saw a few Changelings emerge for their nightly routine.
"Itachi," I alerted him. He turned and squatted beside me.
"It's time," He said.
I jumped to my feet and stretched. My heart was racing in anticipation of the excitement. I looked to Itachi and he returned my gaze. The both of us nodded simultaneously and jumped from the mesa.
We ran from the base of the mesa, keeping pace with each other. After a short while, we split directions and took the two guards from both sides. Itachi placed his under a genjutsu and I bound mine in chains. Then, with the guards out of the way, the next phase of the plan was ready to initiate.
Itachi and I entered the mesa and looked around, which was made somewhat difficult from the sheer darkness of the inside. Behind us, the opening found its way closed again, so the light from the outside vanished. Itachi and I immediately activated our Sharingan, in the hopes it would bring some light to the situation. Fortunately, we were able to make out the walls of a corridor that led further into the mesa.
We followed this path as far as it went, travelling for what seemed like an hour before we finally reached an opening. What we saw was arguably one of the most spectacular sights I had seen up until this point. There was a large area underneath the surface of the mesa. The entire structure was dimly lit, but the light that did shine came from luminescent cacoons that sat in various places, often in groups. The ceiling was supported with several thin columns of stone that stood around a ledge that stood slightly outcropped over the lower floor.
There were two floors- the upper, which we were currently standing on, and a lower one that had an inclined section of land that led down to it. On the floor below, there were a few groups of Changelings that were standing about, conversing with one another, but they didn't seem to notice us. Itachi and I slowly made our way along the edge of the first floor, gazing carefully at the groups of Changelings. There was a passage that broke off from the main area to our left, toward the farthest wall from the entrance. We made our way over to it and peered inside, inspecting it for any enemies.
Itachi gave me the all-clear signal and we made our way through the corridor. The corridor seemed just as long as the first, but the time elapsed was nowhere near an hour. We emerged to another large room, though not nearly as big as the last. There were two floors in this room as well, though they seemed to be completely separated from one another. This wasn't that big of a surprise, seeing as the Changelings could fly. There were sources of blue light scattered about the two floors, but neither of us could make out exactly what they were. They were bulbous in shape, but after that, we couldn't tell.
Suddenly there was a loud boom, almost as if an explosion had occured; but, after being in close proximity to Deidara, you knew what an explosion sounded like by heart. It wasn't an explosion, but I didn't have the faintest idea of what it could be. The Changelings that were in the room with us looked toward the source of the commotion, which was down another corridor directly in front of us on the bottom floor, and immediately flew toward it. Itachi and I looked at each other and we were both thinking the same thing: It's Robert.
I facepalmed and jumped down with Itachi toward the corridor. All of the Changelings had already left the room, so we were safe from being seen. However, I feared that would no longer be an issue for us come a few minutes. We ran down the corridor, making sure not to catch up with the Changelings that were still flying down the hall. Our Sharingans were active, and we could see light coming from the end of the hall.
The Changelings that were in front of us emerged into the room and seemed to fly downwards. I figured it was probably in another room where there were two floors, which seemed to be a trend in the Changeling Empire. Itachi and I picked up our speed, knowing we'd have to fight anyway, and emerged into the room a few seconds later. We stopped at the edge of the first floor and beheld something that made my heart race. The entire lower floor was covered with live Changelings, each trying to get at the intruder that had been so careless. The Changelings appeared as one black ocean, rising and falling almost like waves on a dark, stormy night. In their midst, Robert was desperately trying to fend off their numbers, but he was hopelessly outmatched and outnumbered. There were several bite marks on his torso and arms as well as his legs, and he was bleeding pretty badly.
Itachi activated his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and closed his eyes. He opened the right eye, and suddenly black flames burst to life atop the sea of Changelings. I could see his pupil moving as he engulfed the whole group of them with the Amaterasu. After a few minutes he closed his eye and the black flames dispersed, leaving behind nothing but ash; and Robert.
Robert was left panting, favoring his right arm, which held the cannon that had been used to try and claim my life not too long ago. He looked up at us and we jumped down to him. I slapped him for his idiocy.
"Do you have any idea how stupid that was? Honestly, you could've compromised the entire mission!" I scolded him.
He said nothing, but managed to point behind us. Itachi and I looked over our shoulders and saw that there was a stream of Changelings entering the room from the way we had come. We turned back to look at Robert and we saw more Changelings enter from a corridor behind him. Itachi and I knew we were in a bad position to deal with their numbers. Robert turned his cannon to the floor, the first smart move Robert had made all night. He blasted a hole through the floor and the three of us jumped through it. The Changelings attempted to follow, but they clogged the hole with their numbers.
I looked around and saw that we were in another corridor. It spanned past my sight in both directions, but I suppose that could partially be attributed to the darkness. I looked to Itachi, who was hardly more than an outline in the darkness, his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan glowing brightly.
"What should we do?" I asked him. He opened his mouth to respond, but just then a sound, no, a voice, came from the end of the hall in our front. We all looked toward that direction and waited for it to happen again. A few seconds later, I could hear her. It was Rarity, calling out to us. I looked at Itachi.
"It's her," I said and began running down the corridor.
"Tid, wait!" He called out, but I wasn't going to stop. She was my friend, and there was no way in hell that I was letting her stay in this wretched place any longer.
I kept running down the corridor, and I could hear Itachi's footsteps behind me. I didn't wait for him to catch up, I had to find her. Finally I could see a dim light coming from the end of the hall and sprinted with all of my speed toward it. I reached the end of the hall in a matter of seconds and burst into a room that was almost entirely void of life.
On the wall opposite the entrance there was a large statue of Queen Chrysalis, her face beautiful and wicked in the immortal stone. In the statue she was smiling, her fangs showing and her eyes glowing. There were sources of light-green light coming from the corners of the room and the eyes of the statue, but aside from that, the room had no light source. Itachi entered behind me, panting as hard as I was. My gaze, however, didn't waver from a single spot in the room.
Sitting atop of the statue was none other than Queen Chrysalis herself. She was leaning on her front hooves, which were behind her. Her legs were crossed over one another and she smiled down at me.
"I've been waiting for you, Tid." She said. Her smile was different, but I couldn't exactly place it.
"What have you done with Rarity?" I demanded, clenching my fist.
"You know, it's rude to talk of other women when you're in the presence of a lady who's interested in you," She said closing her eyes and turning her face in a manner that reminded me of Rarity.
"What? What the hell are you talking about?" I asked a little confused and irritated at the same time.
"Oh nevermind. If you want Rarity so badly, then I'm afraid I must disappoint you. You can't get to her, not unless you defeat me, that is." She replied. I smirked.
"That should be easy," I said releasing a small length of chains from my wrist. She frowned.
"You're underestimating me. That's a very dangerous thing to do, Tid." She sighed. "I honestly thought you were different, but you're the same as the others. Arrogant." She said. She disappeared and reappeared in front of me.
"I can't stand arrogant men," She said and delivered a blow to my stomach.
I could feel the breath leave my lungs and wrapped my arms around my stomach. I fell to my knees and she spun around and delivered a powerful kick to my face. I was sent flying backwards, my back arching backwards in mid-air and I landed on my side. I winced from pain and struggled to get my breath back. She walked toward me slowly.
"You need to learn some humility," She said.
Her horn began to glow a light-green as she stared down at me. At that moment Itachi appeared and delivered a kick of his own to her. He landed it in her midsection and she was sent flying as well. She landed on her hooves, but she was definitely hurt. Perhaps there was a broken rib or two within her. She scowled at him.
"Don't interfere in this fight, Itachi." She warned. "This is a matter of love. I'm simply showing him how to be humble,"
He stared at her.
"Tid, get up. We'll take her on together." He said to me without taking his eyes from her. I stood to my feet, finally having regained the breath that had been knocked out of me. I also stared at Chrysalis.
"How disturbed are you to say that this is a matter of love?" I asked her. She took her eyes off of Itachi and set her gaze on me. Her eyes softened a bit, but I only noticed it because of my Sharingan.
"You wouldn't understand, Tid. You would never understand." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, she looked back up at me, her eyes determined. "This is something that I must do." She sounded determined, yet unsure at the same time.
Her horn began to glow again and Itachi and I prepared ourselves to dodge. She gave a shout as she fired off a spell, or rather, many spells. It was like the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, a barrage of green magic. I assumed all of them were deadly, especially in these numbers, and dodging them would be no easy feat. Itachi and I avoided them, Itachi doing so much easier than I could. The barrage ended and the both of us were panting and dripping with sweat. Chrysalis chuckled.
"Am I really giving you two that hard of a time?" She taunted.
I clenched my fist and launched myself at her. I seemed to disappear and reappear right in front of her. Chrysalis's eyes widened and I punched her in the face with all of my force, feeling her body begin to move under the force. Time seemed to slow down for that punch, and I thrusted my arm forward. She flew from my fist and into the wall. Time was moving quickly again. The wall cracked and dust exploded from their seams. I followed up with a knee, but she managed to dodge. My knee instead struck the wall, causing immense pain and a few rocks to fall on me. I favored my knee and swore. It felt warm, and I knew I was bleeding. I gingerly set it down and looked around for Queen Chrysalis.
"Honestly, you shouldn't be so overzealous." She remarked. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I felt her right behind me. I swung my fist back, but my hand connected with nothing but air.
She's fast. I thought. I leapt into the air so I could get a better view, and I saw Chrysalis shadowing me. I looked to Itachi and saw that he was already preparing to use the Fireball Jutsu. I grinned and launched my chains at Chrysalis, but she dodged them. I could feel her right behind me again. I reached behind me and grabbed her. I could hear her gasp.
"You should know better than to grab a woman's waist!" She said and bit my neck.
I could feel her fangs sinking into my shoulder and a sharp pain shot from the area. I winced but refused to let go. Itachi was now blowing fire toward us, and it would take only a second to reach us. Chrysalis knew this, so she teleported out of harm's way. The Fireball Jutsu hit me square on, and I inhaled the intense flames that enveloped me. When my vision was clear and my belly full of fire, I saw Itachi standing straight and staring at Chrysalis. Chrysalis herself seemed unable to move, and I knew then that he had captured her in a genjutsu. I grinned and landed on the ground between them, though I remained on the side.
That whole sequence took no more than twenty seconds, but it felt like we had been battling for several minutes. I watched the two of them and saw Itachi blink. Chrysalis still didn't move, but Itachi looked at me.
"She's under my Tsukuyomi. She won't be able to break free." He told me.
"How did you get her to look into your eyes?" I asked as I walked back over to him.
"She looked into my eyes on her own. I simply cast the genjutsu as soon as she dared to do it." He replied.
"I see," I said looking back at her. Her eyes were wide open and she wasn't moving. "How are we going to get her to tell us where Rarity is?" I asked. He looked at me.
"Through genjutsu. Have you forgotten?" He responded calmly. I looked back at him.
"No, but I think this battle is getting to me. Honestly, I thought we were supposed to be the master of mind games. But saying things like that... There's something wrong with her."
"I don't think she was trying to deceive you, Tid. What she said was genuine." He replied. I furrowed my brows.
"What? What are you talking about?" I asked a little baffled.
"She said that she loves you. Perhaps what she's doing is for your sake. Perhaps she wants you that badly. After all, love is everything to a Changeling... and to an Uchiha." He responded. The last few words he said while redirecting his gaze back to her. I shook my head and hit it lightly a couple of times.
"Well, I don't believe you're lying to me, but it just doesn't make sense. Let's just ask her where she's keeping Rarity and get out of here." I said. He nodded in agreement.
Itachi and I walked over to her and stood on either side of her. Itachi asked her where Rarity was. She opened her mouth to respond, but oddly, nothing came out. Itachi tried again, but the same thing happened. Then, something disturbing happened. Chyrsalis's body turned a repulsive shade of brown-green, and she seemed to age fifty years. Her body fell to the ground and she lay motionless. I bent down to examine the body when Itachi grabbed my collar.
"Move!" He shouted and tossed me, then jumped away.
Not a second later, the carcas exploded with green flames. The flames were intensely hot, even a good twenty feet away (which is where I landed). I moaned and rose to my feet, brushing myself off as I did so. Itachi had landed on his feet and was staring calmly at the burning carcas.
"Your eyes are as perceptive as ever," I complimented.
"Your Sharingan," He replied with a glance. Then I realized I wasn't using it. I activated my Sharingan and looked back to him.
"Why did you throw me away from the blast? You know it wouldn't have hurt me." I questioned.
"No, that's wrong. These flames... They're different. These flames are magical, not natural. Their heat- you can feel it, right?" He asked glancing at me. I was taken aback by this. I had noticed their heat. Yet I hadn't put two and two together.
"You're right, I can." I stared back at the fire. "She's got power, that one." I clenched my fist and glanced around without moving my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Itachi nod to me. I spun around and ignited my fists. Chrysalis cackled.
"It took you long enough to find me," She taunted. She reappeared in a corner of the room. She was smiling, but not in a menacing way. It was casual.
"You decieved the Sharingan. That's not easy to do." I said.
"Decieve the Sharingan? No, that's not what I did. Not really, anyway. You did capture me in your- what did you call it? Genjutsu? Anyway, I simply shed my skin without you two noticing. Then I made myself invisible using simple magic. No real deception." She corrected. Itachi turned to face her, his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan replaced with his normal one. I knew what that meant.
"Itachi, let's do this." I said without looking at him. He nodded and we both jumped into the air.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Barrage!" We both exclaimed.
We blew bouts of fire from our mouths that bombarded the area that Chrysalis was occupying. Explosions rang out and smoke quickly clouded the area. We landed and I knew she was somewhere else. I turned and weaved hand signs once more. I took a deep breath in and blew fire with the Fireball Jutsu. I caught Chrysalis with the fire this time. She didn't scream, but I could see she had raised her arms in front of her to block it. Naturally it didn't work very well, but then she threw up a barrier to block the fire, and this seemed to work a lot better.
"Now, let's finish this!" I said.
Itachi came up behind Chrysalis and swept her legs from beneath her. As she fell, he drew a kunai, spun it in his hand and pinned her down with his foot to her neck. He stared at her with his Sharingan, and she stared back at him.
"Tid, do it now." He told me without breaking his gaze.
I nodded and placed my right hand to the floor. Chains sprouted from my wrist and burrowed into the ground. They tunneled through and bound Chrysalis to the floor. I stood up and waited for Itachi to interrogate her.
"Where are you keeping Rarity?" He asked her for the third time. He kneeled down and held the kunai to her throat; he lifted his foot to allow her to speak. She coughed and scowled. She stared at him for a time, then grinned.
"I think you'd better ask where your other friends are as well," She said. Itachi and I were both taken aback. "The answer to that question," She began. Then I noticed something behind Itachi. I knew I had to warn him.
"Itachi! Behind you!" I shouted. He glanced over his shoulder and whirled around, bringing the kunai up to block a strike. He used the flat end of the kunai, because the one whose strike he blocked was none other than Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie! What are you doing?" I asked.
"It's no good, she can't hear you. Chrysalis has taken control of her! Look into her eyes!" Itachi shouted back.
I did as he told me and discovered that their eyes were a dark green. Chrysalis, having been freed from Itachi's grasp, proceed in trying to bite his ankle. He jumped, grabbing onto Pinkie's shoulder as he did so, and flipped over her. When he landed he brought his arm back in front of him, which resulted in him sending Pinkie flying toward a wall.
"Itachi, be careful! We can't hurt them! They're still our friends!" I shouted at him. He looked back at me.
"You're right, I got carried away." He replied.
He stared down at Chrysalis, who still couldn't move because of my chains. Pinkie hit the wall behind him and I took that opportunity to bind her to the wall with more of my chains. She sat there, apparently unconscious, and I felt bad for her. However, this was still a battle, and I had to focus. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a blur of orange moving quickly toward me. I leaned back and dodged a kick from Applejack. I swore under my breath and proceeded to dodge her follow-up attacks. She was quick, and it felt like she had gotten even quicker since we had last fought.
That means she's probably gotten a lot stronger, too. I thought dreadfully. Her punch was deadly before, but if she really had gotten stronger- it would be just devastating. I dodged her attacks and I jumped toward one wall to avoid an attack. She leapt through the air, pulled her arm back and thrust it forward as she got within a few feet of me. I dodged to the right and was astonished as her punch left a hoof-shaped hole in the wall. I was both impressed and utterly terrified. I placed my hand on her back and wrapped her up in chains, which was the only thing I could do. She fell to the floor, struggling to get free. I looked at her with fretful eyes, but turned away.
Chrysalis was still bound in chains, but she was smiling. Her eyes were dead set on me. She stared at me without blinking, and I walked toward her. I knelt over her and she licked her lips.
"Now, where's Rarity?" I asked her.
"Rarity isn't in this room, but you've probably figured that out. I'll tell you, but you have to do something for me first." She said with a smile.
"And that is?" I asked somewhat hesitantly.
"Kiss me." She replied. I flinched and lost my balance, falling onto my rear. She giggled at me. I felt my face go hot, but I wasn't sure if it was because she had asked me to kiss her, because she giggled at me for falling, or both. I shook my head.
"No deal," I said firmly.
"Oh come now, you'll hurt my feelings. Am I unattractive to you?" She asked. She seemed serious, but there was a tone of something similar to sarcasm in her voice.
"Tell me where she is, or I'll place you under a genjutsu." I threatened. She grinned.
"I'm interested to see what kind of torture you would subject me to. After all, you're starting to notice my feelings for you, aren't you? You wouldn't really want to torture someone who's only trying to win your heart." She said charmingly.
"You can't win my heart by threatening Rarity!" I shouted, slamming my fist on the ground with enough force to crack it. She said nothing but stared at me. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Fine, I'll tell you where she is. However, before I do, there's something I want to show you." She said. I didn't say anything, but kept staring at her.
Chrysalis laid her head back on the ground, relaxing her body. Then she began to glow- faintly at first, but it the light-green light grew more and more intense every second. I continued to stare at her, and as the light grew stronger, I could see what looked like cracks spreading across her body. From these cracks, intense beams of light shone from within her body. For a second, I thought she was going to self-destruct, but that's not what happened. It was different than what Deidara used as his C0, it seemed as if she were... Evolving.
After a bright flash of light, Chrysalis was no longer wrapped in my chains. She was hovering in the air, twenty or so feet from me. She was staring at me, and I was astonished by her transformation. Her horn had grown in length, and seemed sharp enough to pierce stone. Her face was a little different, but only in the fact that she now had pointed ears and a strange design that spread from the base of her horn to just past her eyes, the lines curving around her eye-sockets and coming to a point just underneath them. Her wings were larger and much more jagged around the edges, the holes in her wings were gone. The holes in her body were still there, but now her arms, shoulders, legs, and back were lined with spikes the same color as her skin.
"I'll make you love me," She said calmly. "If you can defeat me when I'm like this, then I'll tell you where Rarity is."
I clenched my fist and looked at Itachi. He nodded. The true battle had begun.
I raised my fists in front of me in a fighting pose, igniting them. Chrysalis stared at me, unfazed. I motioned for her to attack me, and she grinned; almost as if to say with pleasure. Before I knew it, she was behind me. She attacked the side of my head with her left arm and it connected with incredible force. I was sent flying from her and barely managed to stop myself before I collided with the wall. She followed up with a blinding-speed attack, almost too fast for my Sharingan to track. She delivered punches to my head and torso, too numerous for me to count. She was pulling her punches, as none of them were as strong as the last one. She didn't want to kill me- but she could.
Itachi stepped in and tried to deliver a kick to her mid-section, but she dodged it. She stared at him, but Itachi had a backup plan; as he always did. He had produced a clone, an explosive one, that was just behind her. Itachi and I saw through our Sharingan that she would dodge the explosion, but this gave Itachi what he needed. He drew three shuriken in each of his hands and waited. A fraction of a second later there was an explosion and Itachi began throwing his shuriken. He was using the Shuriken Clone Justu, and he threw hundreds of shuriken at her. She was unable to dodge them all, and her eyes widened as they came flying toward her.
Many of them missed, since it was a blanket attack, but there were more than a few that hit their mark. She winced with pain and teleported out of the blizzard of shuriken. When she reappeared, Itachi stopped throwing shuriken. She was bleeding but overall she was barely injured. She forcefully removed the shuriken without touching them and they fell to the floor. Her wounds oozed green blood, but quickly healed. I took a step forward, finally recovering from her attack. My hands were still ignited. She stared at me and smiled a bit, almost as if she were enjoying herself.
I opened the first three Gates and felt my power rise dramatically. The familiar green aura of my evaporating sweat surrounded me and my skin turned a dark-brown from the increased blood flow. I launched myself at her, cracking the ground from the force of my kickoff. She flinched at my new speed, but made no motion to block my attack. I appeared in front of her and went low, thrusting my flaming fist upward in an uppercut to her stomach. However, much to my surprise, my fist was stopped by an invisible barrier of some kind. She grinned and grabbed hold of me.
"I've never had the pleasure of fighting someone with your capabilities. Do show me a good time, would you?" She told me.
She held my arms behind my back and I could feel the spikes on her arms digging into my back. I tried to break free, but she had a firm grip on me. She chuckled, almost as if she were enjoying herself. I activated my Mangekyou Sharingan, but Itachi sprung into action. He had apparently been planning how to defeat her. He ran at her and jumped, casting a genjutsu on her. For a second I could feel her grip loosen, and I broke free. I launched myself away from her just as she broke through the genjutsu.
"You didn't use a very strong genjutsu, did you Itachi?" I asked him with batted breath.
"No I didn't. I risked hitting you instead, so I went with something weak." He replied.
"Yeah, thanks for that. Physical attacks won't work on her." I said.
"I know. Genjutsu seems to barely affect her as well. But ranged attacks work well enough." He said.
"Looks like we've only got one option: Ninjutsu." I confirmed. Chrysalis just stared at us with eyes that were half-open.
"Ninjutsu?" She asked. "Oh, you mean the fire, right? Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, honey, but fire no longer works on me in this state." She said.
"We'll just see about that!" I shouted.
I weaved hand signs and blew a steady stream of intense fire at her, the flames hot enough to make Itachi sweat from ten feet away. The flames engulfed Chrysalis, and I could see her black silhouette within the flames. I continued to blow fire as hard as I could and poured chakra into making the flames as hot as I could. After a few seconds, however, the flames dissipated with the wave of her hoof. I stopped blowing fire and was astonished to see that she had not a scratch on her, no scorch marks either.
"I told you. Your flames will no longer work on me. You've had your fun, now it's my turn." She said.
She raised her arms into the air. I could feel an ominous energy rising throughout the room, giving me chills. Soon after, the room began to shake and the ground cracked. Itachi and I looked down in surprise and jumped just as the sections beneath our feet erupted with green fire. She kept her arms raised and the cracks in the ground spread throughout the entire room. As soon as the two of us landed, the cracks beneath our feet erupted into more green fire. I leaped toward the wall and used my chakra to stand on it; Itachi did the same.
My fire style doesn't work on her at all. To make matters worse, she's got nearly impenetrable defenses and a devastating offense. She won't be easy. I thought to myself, sweat running down my face. I released a length of chain from my wrist and held it in my other hand. She stared at me, her arms still raised. She lowered them after a few seconds and closed her eyes. The immense pressure in the room seemed to flow toward one point: her horn.
It started as a tiny speck of bright green light that shone dimly in the darkness. It gradually began to grow bigger and brighter. I could feel the power emanating from the sphere that now was the size of a grapefruit. Itachi activated his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and used the Amaterasu on Chrysalis. The black flames burst to life in front of her, but they began to swirl and absorb into the sphere. We flinched in surprise, staring in disbelief at what we had just witnessed. The sphere continued to grow larger and larger, giving off a pulse of pressure that made me uneasy.
Finally, the sphere reached its climax and Chrysalis opened her eyes. Her eyes were different- piercing and cold. She didn't say a word, but I felt the sphere of death hovering above her head spoke volumes. She intended to kill us, or at least, that's what it seemed like. The sphere was a few inches from her horn, perfectly still in the air. Her horn was surrounded by a transparent green aura and the sphere gradually floated downward until it was face level with her. She opened her mouth and my heart sank.
I immediately looked down at my right hand with my Mangekyou Sharingan. I closed my left eye and kept the right one open. I felt intense pressure being put on my eye and a warm liquid dripped from underneath it and down my cheek. Black energy swirled and cultivated in my right hand, incredible pressure pulling at me as I built it up. I spared a glance upward and saw that Chrysalis had already eaten the sphere. Her eyes began to glow and steam poured from her mouth. It was a sight that Itachi and I knew well from our days of hunting Tailed Beasts. How she had learned to produce something so similiar was beyond me, but here it was.
Finally, my jutsu was ready; the black ball seemed to bend light itself as its intense gravity pulled on everything around it. I looked at Itachi.
"Itachi!" I shouted. He looked at me, knowing full well what I had been doing. "We only have one shot! If I miss, it's over for us!" Of course, I didn't need to tell him that. He simply stared at me and gave a single, solemn nod.
While this was going on, Chrysalis threw open her mouth, her eyes rolling back into her head. I held the sphere of gravity in my hand and waited for her to make her move. I had to time it well, otherwise it would end very badly for us. Chrysalis attacked faster than I had expected her to, however. A beam of emerald-green energy flew from her mouth, and was accompanied by three more blasts. These blasts were by no means small, and each of them was designed to provided nowhere to run to. Without stopping to think about it, I threw the sphere.
"Mangekyou Black Hole!" I shouted and focused my right eye on it.
The sphere expanded and turned into a hole- a black hole. The gravity was intense, bending the beams of energy from their paths. I thrust my right palm to the wall and latched myself to it with my chains. I sent my chains tunneling through the wall to grab Itachi before he became dust. The beams were no longer heading toward Itachi and I, they had reversed course and were now heading toward the black hole. Itachi and I watched as the beams were sucked into the black hole, slowly disappearing into the pitch blackness. I diverted my eyes from the black hole and saw Chrysalis trying to keep her footing against the intense gravity. What amazed me was that she was actually succeeding.
Chrysalis had braced herself as soon as she had seen me fire something to counter her blasts. She used all of her strength to resist the gravitational pull closed her eyes from the effort. When the beams had been absorbed, I closed my eye and the black hole also closed. My eye was bleeding horribly and I could feel my vision in that eye begin to fade. I opened my eyes again and saw Chrysalis as a faint blur through my right eye, and a clear image through my left. Itachi saw this and grew even more solemn. Chrysalis glared at me with piercing eyes that seemed to look straight through me to my own soul.
"You seem a bit tired, Tid. Did that last move exhaust you?" She asked me tauntingly. I was breathing heavily, but I managed a smirk.
"I still have enough chakra left to take you out," I replied. She chuckled.
"We'll see."
In an instant I was confronted by Chrysalis. I rose my arms in front of my body and blocked a powerful punch that felt like it could've broken my bones. I released a small length of chain from my wrist and wrapped it around her arm. I clenched it tight and she winced as it constricted around her. I knew it would probably be pointless, but I clenched my hand and pulled it back. She stared at me with wide eyes and I punched her straight in the face with all of the force I could muster.
To Itachi and I's surprise, my punch actually connected, causing her to bleed from her nose. Her eyes began to water but she blinked the water away.
"So taijutsu does work on you!" I exclaimed.
She clenched her jaw in a scowl and bit my neck. I let out a cry of pain and clenched my hand on her shoulder. I applied pressure to try and force her to release, but she kept her fangs firmly lodged in my neck. At that point, Itachi stepped in and grabbed hold of Chrysalis. In one swift motion Itachi dislodged her from my chains, threw her over his shoulder across the room, and threw a kunai after her. She landed painfully on the ground with a loud thud and the kunai stuck into her lower back.
She winced and removed the kunai with her hoof by running the handle through a hole in her arm and pulling. It came unlodged and she winced, throwing the blood-covered blade on the ground a few feet from her. Chrysalis stood and stared at the two of us, Itachi already weaving hand signs. He held his left wrist and a cluster of electricity burst to life in his palm, lighting the entire room brightly. I looked at him in surprise.
"That's-"
"The Chidori. I copied it from my brother." He confirmed. He was staring directly at Chrysalis.
"Do you really think it'll work?" I asked.
"I don't know. She's immune to fire, just like you, but perhaps not all ninjutsu is useless against her." He responded.
I nodded and continued to stare at him. I had been working with him for years, and yet I was constantly surprised by his abilities. Itachi held his arm close to his side, the Chidori aimed at Chrysalis, and ran full-speed. If I didn't have the Sharingan, I probably wouldn't have seen him move.
He thrust his arm forward and Chrysalis narrowly escaped being impaled by the lighting. The fact that she dodged it instead of letting it fail told me that Itachi was right- other styles did work against her. She attacked him with blinding speed, Itachi barely dodging the punch to his kidney. Itachi swung his arm back but didn't look in that direction. I noticed him glance at her, and I knew he was scouting her next move. He reached his hand right arm out in front of him and grabbed Chrysalis by the throat. She had evaded the Chidori, but he read her moves and was able to grab her in the position he knew she would be in next.
Itachi clenched his hand tight around her throat, causing her to choke. Itachi wasn't trying to choke her out, he was just trying to make sure she couldn't get away. She held onto his arm with both hooves and stared at him- only able to open her left eye as the right one was forced shut. Itachi allowed the Chidori to dissolve and the room darkened significantly. Itachi stared into her eyes and I saw her pupils dilate. He released his grip on her and she fell to the ground. He looked at me and motioned me over. I came over and looked down at her.
"Great work, Itachi." I said.
"Tid, I think you know what you need to do." He told me without looking at me.
I looked at him a little bewildered, then I decided he was right. I sighed and sat next to her so that I was looking at her face. Itachi released the genjutsu and her pupils returned to normal. She looked at me and sat up quickly. I put my hand on her shoulder and she flinched.
"It's okay, Chrysalis." I told her. She stared at me dumbfounded. I pulled her into a hug and I heard her gasp.
"W-what are you-?"
"You're terribly broken, aren't you? The world hasn't been kind to you. They treat you like an infestation, and that's why there's so much bitterness in your heart, isn't there? You know what it's like to be the odd one out, the outcast. I'm sorry, Chrysalis." I said. She didn't say anything, but I could tell she was crying.
"How did you know?" She asked. I held her at arm's length and looked right into her watery eyes.
"I could tell from our fight. Call it a shinobi's intuition." I replied with a comforting smile. She looked down, ashamed.
"I'm sorry," She whispered.
"You don't need to be sorry, Chrysalis. The world has betrayed you, the world you loved so much. It's no surprise that you feel this way."
I lifted her chin and she blushed.
"However, you can't return hate for hate. That only breeds more hatred. My allies have taught me that, and I thought it would be important for you to know as well." I told her. She gulped and nodded.
"You're right, Tid. I... I was blinded by rage and bitterness, I suppose. Thank you," She said.
This time she was the one that pulled me into a hug. She embraced me and I could hear her sobs in my hear. I held her for as long as she held me. Itachi, all the while, stood a few feet from us with a slight smile on his face. He was pleased to see that Chrysalis was able to have her broken heart mended.
After a few minutes, I held Chrysalis at arm's length again and once more looked into her eyes.
"Will you please tell me where Rarity is?" I asked her. She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes with the the front of her hoof. She turned her head and looked to a corner of the room to my right and a section of the wall lifted. Through this I could see a passage that led into darkness.
"She's back there. Don't worry, she's safe. But, Tid, before you go... May I ask you something?" She asked me. I nodded. She looked down, paused, and then looked back up at me. "Will I ever meet you again?"
I thought for a few seconds. I didn't know for sure if our paths would cross in the future, but I felt it was more than likely.
"Of course," I responded. This seemed to warm her heart as she gave a smile, a genuine smile, and released me.
"Now, go get your girlfriend." She told me. I blushed hard.
"She's not my girlfriend," I responded embarrassedly. She chuckled.
"Whatever you say," She said. I stood and brushed the dust off of my cloak.
Chrysalis remained on the floor, gazing at me. I looked to Itachi and nodded. He turned and we both walked into the dark passage. Before I left the room, I looked back over my shoulder and saw that Chrysalis was lying flat on her back, her eyes were closed and she had a large, warm smile on her face. I smiled and followed Itachi.
As we were walking down the corridor, we could see a dim light coming from the other end of the hall. The light seemed to fade between bright and dark, which I thought was strange. We continued to walk, and the light continued to get dimmer. My eyes felt like they were being squeezed and I had a severe headache. I stumbled and reached out and caught Itachi's cloak. He looked back at me in surprise.
"Tid, are you alright?" He asked. I stood to my feet, covering my right eye with my palm.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's keep going. Rarity's waiting." I dismissed. Itachi looked at me skeptically, but continued on anyway.
When we reached the end of the corridor, I saw Rarity lying on the floor in the middle of the room. She was unconcious, but otherwise seemed uninjured. I ran over to her and lifted her up off of the floor.
"Rarity, wake up. Rarity, can you hear me?" I said. For a few seconds, there was no response. I tried again, and this time her eyes fluttered open. She slowly turned her head and gazed at me with half-open eyes.
"Tid?" She asked softly. I held her close.
"I'm so glad you're safe," I said. I looked back at Itachi but discovered that he had disappeared.
"Where are the others?" Rarity asked.
"Pinkie and Applejack are in the other room. As for Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash, I think they're alright." I assured her. She breathed a sigh of relief and placed on hoof on her chest. She closed her eyes and leaned back in my arms.
"Thank you for coming to save me," She said with her eyes still closed.
"Of course I came. You're my friend, after all." I said. She smiled.
"And you're my friend," She whispered.
I picked up her legs with my right arm and lifted her gently into the air as I stood. A few seconds later, Itachi came back with Applejack and Pinkie.
"Now that everyone's here, should we get going?" I asked.
Everyone nodded in agreement. I released a short length of chain from my wrist and had everyone hold it. We walked back through the corridor, only this time Chrysalis was nowhere to be seen when we emerged on the other side. We continued down another corridor and back to the section of hallway with a gaping hole in the ceiling. I stared upward and used my Mangekyou Sharingan to teleport us all to the first floor. My eyes bled heavily and everything got blurrier. I fell to one knee from the excruciating pain from my eyes, and accidentally dropped Rarity.
"Shit, I'm sorry Rarity." I said as I saw her hit the ground.
"I'm fine darling, but what about you? You just had an exhausting fight with Chrysalis, didn't you?" She asked in concern. She lifted my chin and looked into my bleeding eyes. She gasped in shock.
"What?" I asked.
"Tid, you're... You're going blind..."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Me: I'm FINALLY done with this chapter. I've been editing it for six months- granted most of that time was off and on, and some days I hardly got more than a paragraph in, but six months more or less. I hope you all liked this chapter! I have no idea when Chapter 22 will be finished with editing, but be looking forward to that! In the meantime, feel free to leave a review! I'd love to hear from you all! Thanks! See ya!