A/N: PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE, WOULD YOU KINDLY?
EDIT: Hardly any reviews for this chapter, eh? Suppose that's to be expected, given we're near the end, but still, kinda hurts...T_T
TWO CHAPTERS LEFT.
As reviews keep this old man writing.
Without them, I cannot write. No joke, there.
Every bit of feedback, no matter how small, or large, boosts my spirits. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters!
Q: I see what you're doing! Don't you DARE kill them!
A: Read on and see for yourself...if you dare.
Q: Kaguya's coming, isn't she?
A: She's quite mad, literally, batshit insane. At this point she's too far gone to be saved, redeemed, anything at all. She wants everyone to suffer as she's suffered, longs for nothing more than utter annihilation. This chapter delves deeper into that.
Likewise, Naruto's been around too long. He's good at hiding it, but the cracks are starting to show.
Q: So, that just leaves Ruby, Kaguya, and the Gods to deal with?
A: Pretty much.
Alright, I think I've kept you long enough!
Now then, lets get ready. Set! Go! Once again, chapter title is part of the lyrics from the song "All Things Must Die."
As ever, I own no references, themes or memes! Not a wit or one!
Oh. And a warning. Naruto goes full Doctor here.
Which one, you ask?
"Its funny, when you think about it. I suppose the universe was bound to do this to me eventually; bound to push me over the edge. I'm not the same starry-eyed boy that I once was. I may not look it, but I'm older now. So very old now. I've spent lifetimes like this. A shell of a man, keeping Kaguya locked away from the world. From people like you. I used to have so much mercy. So much kindness. So much...patience. Not anymore.
You get one warning, James. That was it.
Now you're going to tell me where that bloody Staff is...one way...or another...
~?
All Bonds Dissolve
Ironwood woke slowly.
It wasn't a conscious decision on his part; one moment he was spiraling in the dark - the next, he was suddenly, viciously awake. Wild stars spun before his vision like a cracked kaleidoscope; his skull ached abominably in the worst of ways. His next clue that he yet lived came in the form of movement; he was moving, no, someone was dragging him: hauling him across the ground as one might a particularly heavy sack.
Whomever they were, they had him by the collar; he could tell that much.
James tried to blink, wondering why it was so terribly dark outside. He could still see, but the world felt all wrong; as if half his vision was blinded by a shroud of some sort. He squinted and his gaze swept about, trying to comprehend where he was and how he found himself here.
Mistakes were made.
Instead of answers to his conundrum he beheld the ruin of his chest, burst and twisted, skin blackened and red. Ever inch of him was scorched, clothes fused to his flesh. Neither were his cybernetics spared; his right arm and left leg were a pitted and ruined mess, exposing ruined circuitry and sundered steel. Horror dawned within him.
A wordless croak fled from his lips. "No...!"
"You're finally awake." a low voice rumbled. "Good. Won't be long now."
Won't be long until...what? his bleary mined balked as his ally -captor?- continued to drag him across the floor.
Reality snapped back with a lurch.
Then came the pain.
He remembered.
Grimm in the sky, raining down. His flagship burning around him, the ground rushing up at his face. Salem! The Relic! Every breath was fire in his lungs. He could barely breathe. Even the faint caress of wind against his skin was enough to fill his existence with fire. Ironwood thrashed his way upright and failed spectacularly, for his devastated body betrayed him.
A fist caught him by the jaw and sent James Ironwood spiraling back into the black.
He woke again some time late and immediately wished he hadn't.
Death stared him the face.
Despite all his training, all he'd seen, all he'd endured, Ironwood was only human. Even with his Semblance he didn't react well to finding Salem's visage mere inches from his own. Her pale visage was chiseled from stone itself, the very veins of her face throbbing with scarcely contained ire. Mettle clamped down a moment later, dampening his fear. Just as well, too, because it was all he could do not to stare. He'd not see her before, never face to face, and her very presence threatened to unman him entirely.
Suspended by some foul beast's jaws, he could only glower at her.
"Good evening, General." Red eyes drilled into his. "So nice of you to finally join us."
James tried to speak, but his parched throat betrayed him; all that emerged was a ruined croak.
"Oh, dear." Salem tsked softly. "It seems the fire did more damage to you than we thought." A pale hand caressed his ruined face. "Look what has become of you. A charred husk of a man. You were so handsome, too." her finger dug into his ruined socket. "I suppose you'll be needing an artificial eye. Does Atlas make those, I wonder-
James spat in her face.
Salem blinked.
Frowned.
That same hand cracked out with impossible speed, snapping his head to the right. His burnt face seared with agony and a tortured cry wrought itself through his teeth.
"Do I have your attention now?"
...I'll give you...nothing." Merely speaking was pure agony, forcing the words through his ruined throat; where it not for the sheer focus of his Semblance, he'd not be able to do so at all. "Kill me now. This is your one and only chance."
And then, to his horror, Salem smiled.
"Kill you? Now whyever would I do that?"
She stepped aside then revealing Penny and Winter behind her, bounded and tied, held down by her minions; Schnee was bound firmly by Hazel, while a rather bemused Mercury stood over a prone Penny. The former was all but quivering, her face pale and uniform stained with blood. Despite that, he didn't see so much as a scratch on her.
"Monster!" Winter's snarl only confirmed it. "Why did you heal me...?!"
"Because some of us believe in mercy." a new voice intoned. "Now pipe down. The adults are talking."
Shoes clicked against the stone floor with a steady tap-tap-tap, one that dispelled the fog of pain from Ironwood's mind. He lacked the strength to crane his neck and see the speaker, but that problem was soon solved. A shadow fell over him, then past him as a newcomer stepped into view. He thought he might recognize him, but no; the young man was an utter stranger to him.
Festooned in bright colors, the blond regarded him intently. Mismatching eyes of blue-violet narrowed.
"Here." he knelt and offered a glowing hand. "Let me heal those burns-
James wrenched away with a snarl. "Don't...touch me!"
All he received was a sigh. "Alright, have it your way...
"I take no pleasure in this, general. Surrender the staff and you will be left unharmed." when he didn't reply, Salem's expression turned stormy. "Naruto might even be able to heal the worst of those burns if you let him. Or would you rather spend the rest of your life trapped in a suit?" her brow furrowed. "Because that's the fate you're looking at if you don't receive immediate medical attention."
James grit his teeth as her "companion" gazed upon him.
"I mean it!" he lashed out at the blond with a fist. "Keep away! If you're with her, you're no better than she is!"
"Look," those eerie eyes of his pinned him. "Trust me when I say you don't want to do this. I'm not the same starry-eyed boy that I once was. I may not look it, but I'm older now. So very old now. I've spent lifetimes like this. A shell of a man, keeping Kaguya locked away from the world. From people like you. I used to have so much mercy. So much kindness. So much...patience. Not anymore.
"I don't want your kindness!"
"No, I suppose not. Still, I had to try. You get one warning, James. That was it." That same hand grabbed him by what remained of his hair and hauled him upright. "Now you're going to tell me where that bloody Staff is...one way...or another...
He didn't falter. Mettle would not allow it. Not today. Not ever. "That's...not going to happen."
The Queen quirked a brow. "No? Not even for your subordinates?"
...even then."
Salem tilted her head beside him, regarding James as one might a shiny bit of metal.
"You would let them die?"
"They are soldiers. They understood the risks."
"I wonder what they have to say about that?" Salem pivoted and glided towards the captured duo. "Lets ask them."
Mercury and Hazel wrestled their prisoners into an upright position. Winter barely resisted at all, so weakened was she by her ordeal. Penny struggled mightily, to no avail. James blinked back a sudden spell of dizziness blades were nowhere to be seen, and the shackles that bound her were firm.
"Salem." Naruto voice rose in a warning. "Whatever you're thinking, don't."
"Come now, I'm hardly going to harm them..."
She stopped before Penny, reached down, and cupped her chin.
"Be sensible about this, dear girl. You do realize Atlas will burn for your defiance." she said it as one might discuss the weather. "If you refuse to divulge the location of the Staff, then we'll simply have to root it out of Atlas. Everyone there will die. Your friends, your family...
"You don't have the Maiden." Pietro's girl remained strong, bless her simple soul. "You cannot access the vault."
Salem smiled. Winter sobbed at her feet.
"About that." Naruto held up a finger. "We actually do. Its already been...liberated from Winter."
James felt his already shaky confidence falter even further. Taken it from her? While she was still alive? Impossible! And yet for all her exhaustion, Winter's plight seemed real. His subordinate wept openly now, pressing her face against the stone as she wailed incoherently. There could be no denying her sorrow. Was that why they'd kept the women out of here? Blast it. He had no way of knowing who had ripped her power away. Even in defeat they were humiliated yet again.
"Well, this one is clearly useless." Salem raise a hand, palm sparking with dark light. "Perhaps we should simply kill her and be done with it-
Naruto latched onto her wrist. "This isn't what we agreed upon. No one else needs to die today."
"Leave her alone!" Penny warbled and broke. "I know where the Relic is!"
"See?" Salem tugged her arm free. "I knew she'd see sense."
James surged upright in the Hound's jaws. "Penny, no!"
"She's my friend!" Frantic eyes met his. "I cannot let her die! I'm sorry!"
"So am I." Ironwood hung his head with a low rasp. "Execute Subroutine Nine. Override Code: Glory to Atlas."
Penny stiffened as her body locked up without word or warning. Her once fluid movements became rigid. Awkward. Clumsy. Like a machine. Green eyes flickered. Dulled. Mercury released her with a start, jolting back as her body began to to spit sparks. Green light began to surge from her chest. She clasped at it with a yelp.
"S-Sir...?" the lively girl all but stuttered the word, slurring as her circuits locked up. "I d-d-d-on't understa-a-a-and...?"
He couldn't look at her. "I order you to self destruct."
The light swelled.
Penny tried to speak, tried to say something, anything, but the programming overrode her.
"Yes...sir...
Subroutine Nine. A complete override of Penny's core, turning her reactor into a living bomb. Before they'd sought out Salem he ordered Pietro to install that very program as a contingency. It was the greatest shame of his life. Pietro hadn't been keen to do it. They'd forced him. Penny was good and pure, but she was also soft. One life for the many. Everyone in this room, this tower, would die. Polendina would never forgive him for this, but it was for the good of the world. He began to close his eyes as the light burst forth. They would all perish, and the world would be saved. This was for the best.
He felt the heat rise, warming against his skin.
And then he was there.
"No more!"
Naruto waded in, silhouetted against the green storm. One hand rose. Then another. He took hold of the explosion as easily as one would cup water in their fingers, crushed it between his hands and absorbed it into his chest. Just like that. There was no grand or fanciful gesture, no meaningful speech, nothing.
In all of a moment.
Penny slumped back with wide eyes, spared a grisly fate.
"I...you...what did you do...?"
"Its funny, when you think about it." Naruto didn't answer her. Instead he rose slowly, skin crumbling away from his face. "I suppose someone was bound to do this to me eventually; bound to push me over the edge." pallid flesh emerged beneath, revealing a pair of horrific white eyes above them, ghastly orbs that fixed firmly on Ironwood. "You'd kill your own people just to spite us? Eradicate two innocent lives, just for a shot at revenge?"
"Almost admirable, really." Salem wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. "Under normal circumstances, I would've respected that. There's just one one problem."
Pain filled Ironwood's world as black light lanced forth, and obliterated his right knee. He slumped to the floor with a groan.
"Why did you think...
Another bolt caught him, shearing away what remained of his left ear.
...that could possibly work...
Her heel slammed into his back, pinning him to the floor.
...on a pair of immortals? Are you truly that foolish or just woefully ignorant?"
His mouth went dry. Immortal? Both of them. No. No such thing. Immortality didn't exist in this world. It shouldn't. It couldn't; because if it did, if the woman before him and the young man over there truly were incapable of death...then all those soldiers. The Ace Ops. Everyone. He'd brought them to their deaths on a lie. But why?! Why hadn't Oz told them this?! All those men...all those women...all those people...!
For the first time in Ironwood's career, Mettle failed him.
His mind fractured. The fracture became a break.
"I don't believe you!"
"Of course you don't, little man." Salem reached down, grabbed him by the skull, and slammed him into the floor. "Still, you launched this foolish assault. I'm afraid you'll have to suffer in the dungeons for that."
"Penny!" James croaked into the hard stone, "Again! Subroutine Nine! Override!"
Green eyes flickered into red. A flat tone answered.
"Request denied."
"There's a good girl." A familiar voice crooned. "Be a dear and wait there, would you?"
Salem let him up and stepped back. At first, James didn't understand. She had him dead to rights. Why spare him?
He soon realized why; she was just twisting the knife.
Once more, the crisp sound of stern shoes filled the throne room. By contrast, James recognized the newcomer immediately; if only because of their shared history together. Even suffering as he was, he knew a traitor when he saw one. The mustache all but gave him away. That insufferable smarm, that devilish grin, absurd fashion sense...
"Watts! How...?"
"Hello, James. You look awful. Bad hair day?" His smirk reminded him of a wolf regarding a dying deer, ready to pounce. "Did you really think we would allow you anywhere near Penny before I had a look at her?" he gave his head a shake with a soft tsk, "How the mighty have fallen..
"Arthur." Naruto's voice rose in a warning. "You're not here to gloat. Finish what you started."
"As you wish. I wonder what his darling doll has to say after that fiasco...?"
He snapped his fingers.
Penny lurched back to life, gazing at him with wide eyes. They remained red, making the anger behind them all the more disconcerting. She planted one hand on the ground and pushed herself upright. The other jabbed at him, damning him where he lay with but a single trembling finger.
"You...you tried to kill me."
Fear settled in James' chest. No. She didn't understand. It wasn't personal at all. "I did it for the good of Atlas-
"Liar! You did it yourself!" her shriek shouted him down. "You wanted to deny Salem! You would've let me die! For nothing!"
"See how little he values you?" Salem swept in behind her, whispering in her ear. "Why serve such a man?"
The androids' face twisted. "If I tell you where the Staff is located, will you let me go? Me and my Father?"
"Of course, dear girl. You have our word. We'll even give you a place in the new era.
"Penny! Be quiet! I command you!"
"Its in the cruiser."
"Traitor!"
"MURDERER!" she spat back, startling him with her vitriol. Her gaze snapped back to Salem. "We sealed it in a portable bunker with the Weapon it created. The Relic can only create one thing at a time."
Naruto touched a finger to his chin. "Flagship? You mean the one Monstro shot down?"
Her head hung in silence defeat.
"Come now girl," Salem prodded. "You're already in it, might as well go all the way."
...yes." the word was a sob.
"Give me a second."
Naruto zipped away in a streak of golden-white light. He returned not a moment later, cradling the Relic in hand. Ironwood felt his hopes plummet at the sight.
A flick of his wrist passed it off to Salem and their doom was sealed.
"Such a grand gift you've given me." she accepted it with the reverence it was due. "I'll use it well." pale lips alighted upon his whiskered cheeks. "After all, our dear general...you won't have a use for it where he's going. Thank you oh-so-much, for making this easier for me. Now then, what to do with you...?"
"Allow me." Arthur stepped aside. "This is the perfect test for my latest experiment.
Something -someone!- shifted in the shadows behind him.
"May I present Summer Rose."
Ironwood found himself gazing at a placid young woman clad in a ratty white cloak and little else. Dull silver eyes regarded him from a haggard face. There was a strange device affixed to her forehead. She walked with an odd lurch, hands twitching restlessly at her
"Arthur, what the hell?!" Naruto rounded on Watts. "What did you do to that poor woman?! Let her go!"
"She'll be the perfect bait." the madman preened. "Her and the Schnee both."
"No, none of that!" Naruto gave him a shove. "This is a girl's mother! There are some lines you don't cross. Release her!
"I will do no such thing. Summer Rose will stay as she is. I do not take orders from-ack?!"
His words dissolved into a strangled gasped as the blond smashed him through a wall.
"See, funny thing, I can't hear you over the THOUSAND FOOT DROP. Wanna run that by me again?"
The scientist bridled. "Let me go, blast you!"
"Oooh, poor choice of words there...
As they continued to quarrel, strong arms seized James from behind. He had all of an instant to look up, to comprehend his peril, before he found himself hauled away. A hand clamped down over his mouth, stifling any cry he might've made. His lone eye widened as someone dragged him back into the shadows.
"Sorry." Mercury Black hissed in his ear. "The old man may be big on mercy, but I'm not. You just tried to blow this place sky high. I take that real personal."
Those firm hands grabbed him by the jaw, wrenching the general's neck at a hideous angle. Ironwood resisted with what little strength he had left. Even then it wasn't enough. He was too tired. Too weak. Bit by bit, inch by awful inch, he felt his head twisted. Despair dawned. No! Not like this! To be slain by some mere killer-
A harsh pop swelled low and loud in Ironwood's ears.
His body struck the cold, uncaring floor.
Then he knew no more.
(.0.0.0.)
The end was near.
Naruto could feel it in his bones as he stumbled away from the throne room. Kaguya was crawling in his veins, a parasite seething just beneath his skin. He'd used too much of his power -her power!- again and now he was paying the price for it once more. Just as before. There could be no denying it any longer. Even after he'd thrashed Watts for what he'd done to that poor girl, his very muscles threatened to fail him.
Containing that blast had pushed him over the edge. He needed to detox.
"Soon." she sang in his ear like the siren she was, "Soon, Naruto. You're going to lose everything you love."
Blue eyes rolled in thinly veiled irritation. "Buzz off."
He had to keep moving. Get himself as far and deep into the tower as he could. Leaving would be pointless; Kaguya would simply drag him back. Salem was a master of amgic. There had to be something down here that might slow him down, even if only for a little while.
So deeper he went, then deeper still, his passage limned only by candles in the dark.
"How does it feel?" Kaguya voice cracked like a whip in his soul. "Knowing all your time and effort has been for nothing? That all the dreams you've built will be torn down before your very eyes?"
"My dreams are a bit sturdier than that." Naruto dragged himself another step forward, then another, toward the cellars. "Besides, I'm not alone. You won't have your way."
"Your faith in your friends was not misplaced." he saw her spectral form drift past and fought down a wince. "When banded together, united by a common enemy, they might be a credible threat. But divide them, place doubt into their minds and any semblance of power they once had will wash away...
Dread coiled in his stomach, forming an awful knot. "What have you done?"
"I? I have done nothing. You've already planted the seeds for their failure. You simply haven't realized it."
A fresh wave of pain rattled his brain. She was going to break out again. If not now, then soon. He wasn't sure he'd be able to stop her this time.
By the log, he was tired. His legs were trembling. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. Sleep forever until the pain passed. But he dare not. To slip even for a moment was to give Kaguya the opening she needed. She would almost certainly take control if he slipped into sleep now, let alone unconsciousness. They had Salem now surely that counted for something. Cinder was easily thrice as strong, to say nothing of the Relics they'd acquired. Would it be enough to push the Rabbit Goddess back into her cage?
Possibly; regardless, risks had to be taken.
"I think I'll start with Salem's children," Kaguya said apropos of nothing. "I'll kill them one by one, just to see her break." her words turned his blood to ice. "Perhaps she'll put up a half decent fight then. Or maybe I'll seal her away afterwards. She'll spend the rest of eternity weeping."
"Stop." he ground the word through grit teeth. "Your quarrel is with me."
Too late.
"No, I don't think so. You took my family from me, boy." her words were a black hiss in his ear. "My fate. My future. My destiny. Its only fair that I repay you in kind. How about I give Neo her voice just to hear her scream as I swallow Roman's soul. Sounds poetic, no?"
A muscle jumped in his jaw. "Is there a point to this?"
"I've often wondered about Hazel." she took control of his right hand and used it to seize his throat. Naruto scowled and wrestled it down, even his tenant continued to preen. "How do you harm a man who feels no pain? That leaves his mind of course. Gretchen's death ought to drive him mad. I'll keep him as a pet afterwards."
His fist swung out, ripping the arm away and obliterating a wall. "I said stop!"
"I'm going to take Mercury's legs and beat him to death with them." she strolled right on by with a mad cackle. "From there I'll blind Emerald and leave her crying in the dark, like the child she is. And then, oh yes...
He didn't rise to the bait, but she felt his fear all the same.
"Finally we come to Cinder." he closed his eyes as her fingers sank into his mind. "How to go about breaking her? Perhaps I'll scar her all over again. She's such a vain little thing. Maybe I'll erase her memories of you and set her loose on the world? Just think of the destruction she would wreak with the Relics. Or perhaps...
There was a silence.
"Perhaps I'll simply tear the child from her stomach and watch her bleed out."
.
..
...
"Child?" Naruto's brain rebooted, not quite comprehending what he'd just been told. "What child? There's no child."
"Oh, you fool of a boy." for a moment, he actually felt pity amongst all that hate. "You didn't know. A once in a lifetime miracle, and you didn't know...
"I won't let you."
"You have no say in the matter." he saw a shadow move in the corner of his eye, but paid it no heed. "Your world is mine. Your loved ones? Mine. Your soul? MINE."
He drew himself upright. "Not if the gods come."
"Hmm. I suppose not. They might make a decent meal." He felt ghostly fingers upon the nape of his neck. "How much longer will you last, I wonder? Minutes? Hours? Days? Time matters naught to me. I can afford to wait a little while longer. It will make your end all the sweeter."
He caught himself on a wall. "We'll stop you."
"You may try to defy me. But you're still a Relic down and a Maiden shy. How far are you willing to go? Will you break your creed to be rid of me?"
His hand slashed through the space she'd occupied, to no avail.
"What will break first?" Kaugya's specter swept past with a giddy grin. "Your mind? Or your body?"
She left him with a laugh.
Naruto spat after her, knowing she was right.
One relic remained. Conversely, only one Maiden could access it.
They could draw Ruby to them and safely extract the power from her -so long as he was the one to do it- or perhaps even convince her to work with them, but even putting that hurdle aside, it still left the Crown itself to be dealt with. Salem had implied there was an extra layer of protection there; some secondary means used to conceal the Relic of Choice from mortal eyes. It wasn't in the vault at Vale, that much was certain.
So how to access it?
He could only think of one man who knew. But to speak with him now would mean waking him from his slumber. Ozma was at peace now, dreaming a happy dream, an illusion so thick he had no way of telling truth from fiction, reality from falsehood. He'd probably forgotten all about them. To wake him now would surely drive the poor man mad.
But without the Relic, there could be no end to this. They needed it. Come hell or high water, they needed it.
With a long suffering sigh, Naruto pulled his battered body upright.
He missed a step.
At once the world spun away from him; luck abandoned him and too late, he realized he'd stepped out into open air. Gravity caught him and he fell; crashed down a flight of stairs, then another, followed by a third. It was all a blur and his body pitched an absolute fit for every bit of it before he finally crashed to a stop.
When it finally stopped, Naruto wanted nothing more than to close his eyes.
"I can't keep doing this," he groaned into the floor. "Breaking all my rules, ripping apart lives, wreaking havoc wherever I go...
Above all things he desired an end. An escape from this endless hell.
Be it from death or simply old age, he didn't care.
This would all be over soon.
One way or another.
(.0.0.0.)
Cinder found him like that hours later.
Sprawled out in the cellar alone, a bottle of wine at his feet. Wait. Bottles, she realized. There were more than a few broken bits scattered about the hall; some flung against the walls, others shattered into so many pieces at his feet, others dry as a bone. Everything was a mess, the walls torn, the ceiling tattered, the very floor shattered by heavy blows. Strewn across the rubble of his own wrath, the last shinobi looked more lost than she'd ever seen him before. Coming from someone like her, that meant something.
And she had a suspicion why he'd started drinking.
Even in the dim light, she could see the tracks of tears on his cheeks.
"So." She sat beside him, doing her best to ignore just how much uncomfortable it was. "How much longer do you have?"
Naruto draped an arm over his eyes. "Not long now."
"Hmm.
They sat together in companionable silence for some time. Neither spoke for awhile.
"She's coming." He shattered it first. "You should probably leave, soon. Don't want you to get caught by her."
Her gaze met his. "Do you really intend to die?"
"Might as well take her with me. Seems the best option at this point...
"Absolutely not!"
"A life this long, do you understand what it is, Cinder?" He grabbed her wrist, squeezing until the bones ground together. "It's a battlefield. Like the one outside. Its empty. Because everyone else has fallen. You'll fall too, someday. You, Emerald, Mercury, everyone." His eyes sparked at her. "But I'll be damned if I let you die while I'm alive. So...go. Leave me here."
She tore her arm from his grasp.
...I will not."
"Damnit, Cinder! Don't be so stubborn!"
His words lit a spark in her. Damn him. Where had all his confidence gone? Naruto spoke as if his fate were sealed; as if he had no other choice. No reason to live. Perhaps he didn't. Perhaps he felt all was lost, that they had fallen short after all. It galled Cinder to her soul, burned her in the worst ways imaginable. She shifted where she sat, knees twisting with anxiety.
Did she dare?
She could say it.
Tell him, give him hope.
But doing so would give him power over her, and she'd sworn never to allow such a thing. Never again. Not after what she'd endured. The act of unburdening herself was terrifying enough, had been, when she'd revealed her past to him, but this went a step beyond that. To speak these words was to acknowledge her own weakness entirely, to utter them, say them aloud...it threatened to ruin her.
Three little words.
And yet once she spoke them, the old Cinder Fall would be truly gone forever. She'd clung to the last vestiges of her old self for some time now, yet to let them go...
"You do have a reason to live." she had to force the words out, lest her own fears get the better of her. "You just don't realize it."
"No," his retort proved sharp, "I want you to live. Everything else is secondary. Take the others and-
"I will not." she lifted her chin in naked defiance. "I have a reason to stay."
Silence fell.
Naruto blinked.
"I don't understand."
Cinder took his hands and guided them to her stomach. She watched those mismatching eyes widen, then narrow before they bulged in sudden comprehension. Naruto looked to her. Back down to her stomach. Yet again back to her.
"Oh." he blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice now. "Ohhh. Well, damn. She was right."
Cinder's fear became a seething pit of anger. Wait, she?! When?! How?! She'd not even been sure herself! Realization dawned. Kaguya, of course, the meddling witch. It only made sense that she'd pry about in something like this. Blast it. Did she know about the child? Could she hurt it...?"
"How long?"
"Don't play coy." a tired eye peeked at her from under his arm. "We went at it like rabbits for awhile there. It was bound to happen sooner or later-
She grabbed him by the face and silenced him with her lips.
"This is all your fault. You've changed me." Golden eyes regarded him intently as she pulled away. "Infected me with these silly bonds of yours. There's no going back from this. I'm not the same person anymore. I hope your'e happy."
"Infected you, have I?" He offered her a rueful smile. "Is that so?"
"It is!" She gave him a shake for good measure. "You don't get to die and leave me with this child. If you do, I swear I'll drag you back mysefl!"
"I might not have a choice, you know...
"There's always a choice!" her fingernails dug into his skin. "Take responsibility for your actions!"
"Alright, alright!" He crashed back with a laugh. "Do you think it'll be a boy, or...?"
"I had a vision," heat rose in her cheeks. "Before. I think it'll be twins."
Naruto muttered something in his old language. His hand strayed to her stomach, searching for something. A rough palm creased the slight bump there. There was no other noticeable difference there, not yet, but when she reached out with her senses she felt a touch of...something. Too early to be sure, yet still, she felt it. Life. How freeing to finally admit it.
"Have you thought about names?" his voice drew her back to reality.
"Ember sounds nice, for a girl." she relented.
Naruto frowned. "And a boy?"
She looked away.
...Ash?"
"Cinder, no!" He laughed. "Anything but that! No names involving fire!"
"Then what would you suggest?" She had to keep him talking. Keep him distracted. Give him a reason to live, and not focus on his impending demise. "You've lived longer than any of us. Surely there are some decent names rattling around in that head of yours.
"I can think of a few." the weary warrior shrugged. "Daenerys? River? Rory? Boruto? We can bandy names about all day, but it doesn't change what's coming."
A sliver of ice stabbed into Cinder's heart. "Yes, it does."
"How?!"
"For a long time I thought you were just a survivor, but you're not." her hands cupped his cheek, thumbs stroking his whiskered face. "You're a winner. That's what you are, Naruto." She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his, planting a kiss on his cheek. "You survived the destruction of your people, beat a goddess and held her off for thousands of years. You're still doing that. Still alive."
He turned aside with a grimace. "Only just-
"No!" she headbutted him, cutting off his protest. "Once we get past Kaguya, and the gods and make no mistake we shall...there will no one left to stop you." the fervor in her voice riveted him, held him with her pleading sorrow, "Nothing." Golden eyes rose, looking at him through her long lashes. "Not even me. You're going to rule this world. You could be its King."
"And where does that leave you?"
"I'll be your Queen, of course." she tilted her head just so, midnight tresses falling over one eye. "We'll bring peace to this world. Or destruction." slim shoulders rolled in a shrug. "Haven't decided yet."
Naruto chortled softly despite himself. "Peace, please. I've had my fill of destruction for a dozen lifetimes."
"Then peace it is." The New Maiden huffed. "All the more reason for you to survive. Surely you don't intend to leave your children without a father?"
"Never been one before." His hands cradled her face in turn. "I like the sound of that; don't think Salem will, though."
"She'll have to." her lips graced his in a chaste kiss. "I saw you first. She can play second wife if she likes.
He laughed at that; eventually, she joined him.
They lay like that for quite some time, simply basking in one another's presence. Neither spoke. It couldn't last. Cinder knew it. Naruto knew it. The world knew it. The end was upon them; there could be no putting it off any longer. Eventually, one of them stirred.
"So what now?"
"Now?" Naruto pushed himself upright, "We're in the endgame. Its time for our final play."
Cinder climbed to her feet after him. "I'm with you all the way."
"To the bitter end?"
She grasped his hand.
"To the end and beyond, always."
(.0.0.0.)
The message was swift.
"Come to the tower. Or she dies."
Ruby regarded the her hacked-and now silent- scroll with a scowl.
For better or worse, she made her decision. She prayed the world would forgive her for it.
A/N: Next time: We'll Always Evolve.
Not much to say this time around. Reviews keep me writing, and without them, my inspiration falls flat. Ever bit of feedback helps. Surgery hurts. Surgery hurts a loooot. But silence from readers and reviewers? That hurts even more. As ever, reviews keep this old man alive during this dark and crazy time. I ain't joking.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas... Review...Would You Kindly?
And enjoy these previews! Remember those hints?
Yes? No? Hope you paid attention. Because!
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Read at your own risk!
(Preview)
Ozma opened his eyes.
"I thought you might come...
Naruto sat down beside him. "Where's the Relic?"
"This is the end." an arm drew back! "Here's where you die!"
Ruby raised her hands. "I'm here. Just like you asked. Now where. Is. My. Mother."
Naruto pinched the brow of his nose. "I had no part in what happened to her. I just want you to know that, alright..?"
Silver eyes flashed with molten flames. "Where is she?!"
"Don't even think about fighting." his own smoldered white. "You're a thousand years too young ta be threatenin' me, missy. Now come inside and lets talk this out like adults...
Summer raised a hand, looking hale and healthy, just as she remembered. "Hello, sweetie."
"How can you side with her?! She's a monster!"
"Maybe so, but she's my monster. I'm rehabilitating her."
R&R~!