Chapter 55
Salem's Domain
"Hazel, do you have a moment?" Dr. Watts asked, being that the two were alone.
"What is it?" He responded with a monotonous and gruff voice.
Watts hesitated, scanning his surroundings warily. "Those… creatures that are kept within the castle… they are entirely unnatural, even taking into account the existence of the Grimm."
"What's your point?"
"My point is, we know nothing about them or their origin, but we do know is that they are powerful. It's beyond any sort of technology and reaches into what can only be described as impossible. Frankly, i don't think that even Salem herself would fair particularly well against the larger fox-like one. So the question arises, where exactly has she obtained these creatures? What if they are to turn on us, and become a threat greater than the Grimm?" He said to himself with a grave tone of voice.
"To find that out, you'd need Spring's relic." Hazel answered simply, as if it was none of his concern.
"Ah, yes, the maidens. According to the information I gathered in Haven's headmaster's office, they have been missing for over a decade." Watts explained, letting out a frustrated groan. "I'm still working on decrypting the rest of his notes, but it seems that they still on the continent of Anima. On that note, I also came to inform you that you will be accompanying me and… Cinder… in the search for the Spring Maiden."
Hazel lowered his crossed arms, grunting in acknowledgement. "How do we capture her?"
"The plan is to locate and convince them to assist. Detainment is a last resort option for us. I can only hope our own maiden does not hinder us as I expect she will… Between the two of us, i would prefer if the other girl was accompanying us instead of Cinder. As much as I dislike Juliet's attitude, she is at least more competent."
"What's done is done." Hazel replied uncaringly.
"Indeed. Nevertheless, we will be departing in two days time. I would suggest using that time to arrange any necessary resources and equipment." Watts explained turning to leave. However, before making it far, he felt Hazel's hand place itself on his shoulder.
"Can Salem, really hold up her end?" He asked, a hint of worry nearly breaking the surface of his hoarse voice.
"Remains to be seen, but we must have faith." Watts answered, waiting for Hazel to let go before resuming his departure.
Elsewhere
Pressing forward, the four walked through the dunes nearly unimpeded. Thanks to Andre, Ruby and Weiss were armed with spare equipment, goggles and masks to cover their own faces. It was one of the few times either had been so thankful over such simple items. Unfortunately, the planet seemed to be even less cooperative.
Their eyes, mouths, and noses were shielded. Their clothes, though covered in sand and degraded by weather, continued to protect them relatively well. However, that sand and the winds that carried them seemed to respond accordingly. Rather than sand in their eyes, sand covered the fours' goggles instead.
"Have, have we really gotten any closer to the Academy?" Ruby asked with a desperately hopeful tone
"I-I can't tell anymore." Andre groaned to himself, practically pressing a compass and map against his eyes. "I can , let alone figure out which way we're going."
"Didn't you say you were prepared for bad sandstorms?" Weiss said sarcastically.
"That's the thing. Storms like this don't happen often. Maybe once every few years, and we get alerts for when they are coming to get indoors. This just came completely out of nowhere! "
"Madara, help would be nice!" Weiss asked.
"The storm isn't natural." Madara answered calmly, his Sharingan activated and scanning their surroundings.
Weiss rolled her eyes as his answer. "I meant help with the storm that's trying to kill us."
Madara stopped for a moment, before nodding affirmatively. He made three hand signs, "Fūton: Fūjinheki". Suddenly, the sand that bombarded them had all but stopped, as a swirl of white seemed to surround the four on all sides. A dome of translucent white streaks spun around them, acting as a shield against the environment.
"I'm liking this guy more and more." Andre joked, giving a short applaud to the Uchiha's gift. "Can he also conjure up a lake?"
"Don't ask that for that." Both Ruby and Weiss said simultaneously, their voices stern and serious, causing Andre to immediately cease the idea. He didn't think it possible, but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially considering the concerns of Madara's companions.
"Alright, so then a different question." Andre said, pointing a finger to the top of the dome. "Does this thing move? Because if not, we're going to have to wait out the storm. That being said, I'm not prepared to wait out something this big."
"How long is it going to last?" Ruby asked worriedly.
"Something like this, maybe two weeks? This one's weird; it came out of completely thin air. It's unnatural I'd say…" Andre lowered his finger, looking from side to side suspiciously. Just as he did when he sensed a Grimworm, the boy pressed his hand against the ground. However, there was no shaking that would suggest one was actually approaching. "Speaking of unnatural… there's some heat a ways away."
"Well, it is a desert." Ruby remarked, chuckling lightly.
"No, not that. This feels completely different." Andre quickly responded, a scowl forming on his face. "The heat here is dry, comes and goes, and only changes when the sun goes down. The ground is getting warmer and warmer too fast. I'd say something or someone is generating it, but I can't imagine why."
Madara immediately activated his Sharingan, looking at the ground beneath Andre's hand. There was an incredibly faint, almost nonexistent, orange tint in some of the sand beneath the boy. The further he looked beyond both the boy and the shield of wind he created, the orange became incrementally more pronounced.
"A tailed beast, other than the One Tail, nearby. Are they fighting, or are they gathering?" Madara asked himself. "Two might be an issue, if these three remain present…no, those beasts are of utmost importance." He decided, unknowingly clenching his fists.
"If it's artificial, then all we need to do is stop it from continuing. I'm sure Madara could figure out where the source is if we gave him some time." Weiss suggested.
"Uh, Weiss, I think he already did." Ruby commented, looking at Madara as he stared intently in a single direction. "What do you see, Madara?"
"Telling them not to follow would be utterly pointless, but explaining anything would mean a greater incentive to interfere." Madara sighed exhaustedly. He turned his head towards Ruby, allowing her to see his crimson red eyes. "Tailed Beasts."
"Like that slug thing?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. He nodded, causing Ruby's eyes to light up with emotions. She had encountered many non-Grimm creatures before; all were massive behemoths with impossible powers. Only one she managed to deal any sort of damage to, whilst the others were almost soundlessly dealt with by her older brother. She felt worry and fear, but also an eagerness to engage.
"Should I be thankful that he's telling us this, or concerned for his mental health? Well, whatever the case is, as long as he's around there's nothing to worry about." Weiss thought, shrugging her shoulders indifferently. "Well then, let's get rid of them before they cause issues for anyone else."
"Wait, you're telling me that we're going to go up against something that can control weather, with an expectation to win?" Andre stared dumbfounded at the girls, who smiled sympathetically at him. "You Beacon students are more insane than I thought. Whatever, i guess." He sighed, offering up his aid.
Without any naysayers the four, protected by a veil of wind, resumed their journey. With protection against the outside, they were able to regain sense of direction. However, their journey to Shade Academy was temporarily put on hold in favor of following Madara.
Twenty minutes past as they walked seemingly without direction. However, they were making progress. Both Madara and Ruby could see the chakra within the sand, becoming more pronounced as they walked. For the two who hadn't a way to observe Chakra, other signs made themselves apparent. The ground shook violently and at random intervals. The heat that Andre felt on the ground could actually be felt within the air.
Finally, after another few minutes, they could hear something akin to a war zone. More accurately, massive explosions and equally loud animalistic roars Neither of the two were what one might consider "inviting".
"I'm, seriously having doubts about our chances." Andre said, chuckling weakly. "I've never heard a grimm big enough to make sounds like that."
"What we're going after… well hehe, I'm pretty sure is not a Grimm." Ruby muttered, unable to directly look at Andre's subsequent glare.
Instead, she chose to refocus her attention on the two concentrations of Chakra directly ahead of them. One of the masses was gigantic, but was just shy of being pure orange. The much smaller body on the other hand, which was the size of a human, was much deeper in color. There were also small pool-like masses of chakra on the ground that moved like some kind of molten metal or lava.
Without any words, Madara walked forward, stepping out of the veil of wind with his mask and goggles on. He gestured to the three; an order to wait and observe, to act as they saw fit. With that, he departed to engage.
First step on the list: ascertain the status of the enemy. There was not one, but two individuals with large chakra reserves to keep wary of. As expected, the One Tailed Beast Shukaku was present and likely responsible for the irregular weather patterns. However, what was not so expected was the—also present—Jinchuuriki, who was responsible for the abnormal heat.
The Jinchuuriki had a tail sprouting from their lower abdomen, a replica of the original, It was nothing unusual for Jinchuuriki. The fact that this tail and the person was completely covered in molten lava, on the other hand, was a distinguishing feature of the Four Tails Jinchuuriki.
"Luna…?" Madara thought, looking at the two confused. They were locked in combat, the smaller dancing around the larger while hurling lava onto the Tanuki. In turn, Shukaku commanded the sound around him to envelop and crush the Jinchuuriki, but was unsuccessful.
Any attempt to use Wind Release would have been futile due to one of the components of Lava Release being fire, the perfect counter to wind. Even with the Beast's field advantage, Luna had apparently created dozens of pools of lava that she was able to stand on. Even if they were covered over, she could make another with ease.
Shukaku squeezed its hands together before spitting out large shards of stone like bullets. They bombarded Luna's position, but she easily deflected those that would have hit. She continued to spray the beast with streams of lava that caused little to no actual damage.
"This won't end in anything more than stalemate unless something interferes." Madara thought, forming the hand signs for a Lightning-Release jutsu. He waited for the moment that the girl would distance herself, and that moment came soon. "Raiton: Bakurai"
Suddenly, Shukaku was hit from the side, a piercing line of energy emitted from Madara's hands, a beam that burned and electrocuted at the same time. With great potency, it drilled into the target's body, causing it to scream in pain.
"Huh?!" Luna exclaimed, turning her head towards Madara with a shocked face. "Madara, what are you doing here?!"
"Hold back. This fight is ours." He commanded, not waiting for a response before advancing on the Beast.
Shukaku roared angrily at Madara, clenching its fists before pounding them into the ground. The ensuing pulse send a tidal wave of sand at the Uchiha, who countered by creating a web of electricity. With its initial attack failed, it raised four large walls of sand all around the Uchiha that converged on his position. Like water, they swiftly moved and engulfed him with intent to crush him under the weight of the sand. However, his Susanoo was more enough to protect him as well as break free.
Before being able to make use of his Susanoo any further, Madara's vision suddenly became a completely blur. He could feel the blue chakra construct evaporate as his left eye lost its sight. If nothing else, his right eye was still fully functioning. Unfortunately, what he saw with is working eye was a dark purple sphere of chakra growing by the second. The Tailed Beast Bomb was aimed at him, and while he could defend well enough, the others may not fair so well. A Tailed Beast Bomb the size of a basketball could easily level a city street, and the one in front of Shukaku's mouth was three times as large.
However, before he could act on any of the dozen ideas he had, something came in between him and the Tailed Beast. The girl completely covered in lava, Luna, had positioned herself directly between the two, her arms spread out and her face towards the beast. Madara stared confusedly at the act, but also took the time to look at the three who accompanied him. They were surrounded in a shroud of ice, purer in color than Weiss had ever created before.
"I don't know what's between you two, but those purple things are too dangerous." Luna shouted as she allowed the lava on her body to peel off.
For the first time in a long while, Madara was genuinely caught off guard. Not so much the girl's protest, but the fact that the Tailed Beast Bomb began shrinking until it disappeared completely. It scowled at her, a look of frustration and irritation. In response, Madara's eyes reverted to their normal charcoal black.
Luna sighed, turning to face Madara. "Well now that the two of you have calmed down, i hope, i would like to ask some things."
"My sentiments exactly." Madara thought, nodding to the girl. He looked back towards Ruby, Weiss, and Andre. They had apparently made a hole within the front and began walking towards him.
"You brought…" Luna trailed off, her eyes seeming to focus specifically on the boy. In contrast, Andre seemed to be doing everything in his power to avoid eye contact with the silver haired girl. His face had "uncomfortable" written over it. "Wait, when did Ana come back?"
"Ana?" Madara raised a silent eyebrow.
Upon arriving, Ruby took a moment to look between the three in front of her. Two people with the powers of monsters, and an actual monster. Just like before, she could see that the One Tailed tanuki was completely comprised of orange chakra, yet it seemed to be a living being.
"Ruby! Weiss!" Luna exclaimed, running to meet the two with open arms. "It's great to see you two again."
"You too Luna." Ruby said as she and her partner returned the gesture.
Weiss let go first, turning her attention to the massive creature beside them. She looked at it warily, as if it would kill them the moment their guards were down. "So… this is what you're up to now?"
"What?" Luna looked confused at Weiss, before realizing where the latter was looking. "Oh, you mean this guy. Yeah, awhile ago I stumbled across him sleeping or something. It woke up and tried to kill me for about ten minutes before giving up i guess. So since he failed, he's my friend." She suddenly paused, looking at the tanuki as if it said something. Its mouth was open, yet no sound came out. "Oh yes you are!" She said abruptly.
"Uh… what?" Ruby asked, looking blankly at Luna.
Luna pointed to her head. "Telepathy; he talks using his mind." she answered. "I dunno why, guess it's because he doesn't have a tongue. Hey, big guy, let them hear you why don't you."
"Shut up!" Suddenly Ruby, Weiss, and Andre all instinctively clamped their eyes shut as a booming voice invaded their heads. It was masculine, not belonging to either of the present boys. It was the beast's voice.
"Luna, I want an explanation." Madara demanded. "How do you have it under your control."
"Control?" Luna raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I don't control him, we're just friends."
"We're not!" Shukaku shouted again, ringing the heads of their audience once more.
Luna rolled her eyes at the outcry. "Anyways, I don't have any control over him. Wouldn't even want to if I had the choice."
"With all of the power that it and others possess, you don't believe that needs to be controlled?" Madara asked, crossing his arms.
"If someone has power, they'll figure out how to keep it under control one way or another. If they can't, then other people should help them, but never try to control it themselves. Try to decide what's best for someone, and you do it to everyone else, and then nobody wins."
"Then you won't try to stop us from continuing where we left off." He continued, raising an eyebrow towards the girl.
"For once, i agree with the bastard." Shukaku groaned discontentedly.
Luna sighed, stepping to the side with the other three. "You're right, but could you at least try to talk things out? It's not like you're in a hurry to fight."
Madara and Shukaku, denizens of a different world, looked at one another for a brief few seconds. They both looked back at the four who watched, and came to the same conclusion. Ultimately, it needed to happen for better or worse.
"Ruby, Weiss, stay behind me. This will conclude quickly" Madara warned, turning away to remove his blind eye.
"You too, brat." Shukaku said to Luna. She stared at the command with a confused look, inevitably relenting and joining the others in putting Madara between them and the Tailed Beast. "You got twenty seconds." he declared to the Uchiha.
Carefully, Madara reinserted his left eye, Not a moment later had he jumped back and avoided being slammed into the ground. His headstart was over, but as he opened his left eye, he could see that it was plenty of time.
Shukaku immediately began to charge a Tailed Beast Bomb, thousands of small black and white particles of chakra combining into a single sphere. Madara reactivated his Susanoo, covering him and the four behind. In the four arms of the blue giant manifested six Yasaka Magatama, held together by a thin chakra string like a necklace. Adding further, each of the bead-shaped projectiles started to spark with electricity,
For almost a minute, the two attacks charged to their utmost, and all at once, the two were launched. They collided dead center, the accumulated energy of both attacks coalescing into a single ball of destructive energy. In a fraction of a second, the energy switched from going in to going out.
END
