A/N: Sorry for the delay, Arcane has me by the throat, and it doesn't help that holiday retail is pure HELL.
As ever, the "Embers" rule remains in effect for now.
If folks don't like this, POOF! Away it goes. To the bin and forgotten
That's no joke. Two jobs keep me wretchedly busy, and I have so little time to write these days. Every bit of feedback matters, large or small~! Your voice matters! Speak up! I repeat, every bit of feedback matters...even if people think it doesn't. That's no joke. Feedback gives me strength. Sometimes it feels like writing.. is the one thing I'm good at the one thing in this rotten world that makes me feel alive, sometimes. Kinda sad, eh?
Q: Are...are you going to do it?
A: Do what? What're you on about? You'll have to be more specific. Feel free to guess at what I'm planning, but you never know...
...I might surprise you.
Q: Who would win in a fight? This Naruto? Or an Otsutsuki?
A: Suppose it depends on said Otsutsuki. would be terribly close.
And as we all know, ninja cheat. Without hesitation.
Q: Ei? Really?
A: Really wasn't anyone else to use for the Summer Maiden at this point in time. Not going to make a habit of it.
Alright then, I think I've kept you all long enough. Forgive an old man and his rambling.
As ever, I own no quotes, no references, no themes, and certainly no memes.
They're used for entertainment purposes and laughter alone!
Lets pic up where we left off, shall we?
"Sometimes that's all you can do. March on.
When the world kicks you in your face?
Laugh and keep marching."
~?
Keep on Marching
"I absolutely HATE sand!"
Amber blinked flying grains of grit out of her eyes and stifled a snarl as she fought on. In the same movement she swayed out of the path of a clawed paw that would've surely taken her head clean off her shoulders. Red eyes tracked with the movement and the blow glanced off her back instead, scraping across her newly armored corset. Aura sparked. Golden eyes flashed. Her staff scythed up and the crystal within spat napalm.
The results spoke for themselves.
A coyote-like grim fell to the sands with a yowl, clutching at its rapidly dissolving face. It was still writhing about when a giant golden claw burst from the dunes and hauled it back into the sandstorm. Its cry of pain quickly became yelps of pure terror, cut off by a vicious crunch. Its ruined remains sailed overhead and were lost to the storm.
"Hey!" she shouted after it. "That was my kill!"
She didn't even have time to relish her short-lived victory; because another giant Grimm -a deathstalker this time!- lurched out of the sandstorm to greet her. Its multifaceted eyes fixed on her at once, twin claws rising to strike at her. With a long suffering sigh she raised her hand to intercept what she knew would be a painful blow.
"GERONIMO!"
A golden falling star slammed into its face and slammed it down into the dune. An equally golden boot stomped once fore good measure, forcing the petulant creature deeper into the dirt.
Naruto cocked his head. "You know what I really hate?"
His staff stabbed down at speed.
"All these damn Grimm!"
The deahtstalker gurgled once and collapsed. Naruto rode its corpse to the ground, tore its stinger free, and whipped it into a Ravager grimm. Unable to compensate in time, the winged abomination toppled with a squawk crashed to the dune. Neo danced past and hamstrung it before it could try to rise. A torrent of ice -courtesy of Winter!- made short work of it from there.
Amber tutted when the little minx winked at her. "Show off!"
A spider-like Grimm leaped at her while she was distracted. Golden eyes flashed, her Semblance flared, and the arachnid found itself crushed to a fine paste beneath the impossible weight of gravity itself. Her staff whirled as she squinted into the storm, only to find that the once-blinding wind had intensified. The storm was growing worse. Still Naruto continued to prattle on, shooting quips her way as he fought. She knew he were trying to distract her, keep her out of her sulk, prevent from stewing on the events that had led them here. And it was working...in a sense.
Shade, she'd found, was a lovely place. Vacuo was not.
Worse, the academy been able to lend them much in the way of aid. With only the vaguest of general directions to go on, much of their journey thus far had been on foot Sandstorms such as this made any attempt at flight difficult at best, downright hazardous at worst. The nights were freezing cold, while the sun itself could bake your skin. This sandstorm had been annoying enough, but the Grimm in its wake were downright determined to see them fail.
Well! They were going to be dissapointed.
Blazing eyes caught the fourth and final member of their party nearby.
For her part Neo had been sweet as pie, if only because Naruto had asked her. She liked to think she'd done the right thing in avoiding her thus far but a small niggling doubt said otherwise. Neo was utterly at her ease as she clung onto Naruto, of course. It was in the name.
She saw her and flashed a jaunty wave. Cheeky bitch...
Wind and lightning howled in Amber's grasp as a swarm of sulfur fish -nasty little creatures!- rushed her. She rained hellfire and burned them to glass, shattered them, then scattered their ashes in the wind. Dissatisfied with her lack of visibility she took fight and pulled her power close around herself, coalescing it in her palms. Her eyes blazed black into gold, fanned by flames and the might of a Maiden. Sand stung at her exposed face, causing her to grit her teeth. A scream built in the back of her throat as she pushed with all her might.
"Enough!"
She flung her arms outward, willing the sandstorm away. Her wind pushed back against nature and the latter yielded; with that final attack the last of the storm passed as quickly as it had come, leaving her squinting against the harsh sunlight. Unabated, the storm rushed on to the east, leaving them behind.
So too returned the heat.
Thankfully they had their own human air conditioner.
Speaking which, Winter was looking rather put out at the moment. That might have something to do with Naruto's sigh; the way the blond slumped bonelessly against her side...or more aptly, the side she was currently emanating cold air from. With the battle passed, heat fatigue had returned in its wake.
So too had Winter's scowl. "This was NOT what I had in mind when I asked to cuddle."
"Don't care~!" he sang back, burying his head in her shoulder. "This feels nice...
Neo snuggled in between them with a wordless sigh.
Amber absolutely twitched.
"Hey!"
(.0.0.0.)
"Wait! Where are you taking us?"
Silence reigned across the sands.
"I asked you a question!" Cinder scowled at her savior's back, lone eye brimming with hate as they walked. "Where are you hiding the Summer Maiden?! TELL ME!"
"I will do no such thing, dear girl." The hooded man merely lifted his chin, refusing to look at her. "You don't have the strength to compel me."
"Naruto" tittered over her shoulder. "Well, he certainly shut you down."
Cinder scowled at the illusion and stalked after their savior. She didn't know who he was, nor where he'd come from, only that he'd rescued their party from certain doom. If not for his intervention -and the sweet, blessed water he brought!-they would have perished out here in the wastes long ago. But she didn't trust him; no rather, she couldn't afford to. She refused to be swayed by promises of aid that failed to materialized.
Not again. Nevet again.
Her lone eye gleamed with hatred. "We'll just see about that!
"Better foes than you have tried, pup. But I know what it is you seek." he tilted his head and she caught a glimpse of a white eye beneath his cowl. "You will not find it here. Come."
Blast him!
Without so much as a passing glance her guide turned and walked up a sand dune, leaving her behind. She kicked at the sand, but when it became apparent he wouldn't wait for her, she stalked after him. Emerald and Mercury trailed behind her at a distance, knowing best not to risk her wrath. Wise of them. She wasn't in the mood.
At length, she trust herself to speak anew. "Where are you taking us?"
He didn't look back at her. "To your destiny."
Much to her growing ire, Cinder's guide didn't answer beyond that. Riddles and vagaries!
"I asked you a question!"
"Such anger," the mat tutted. A milky white eye gazed over his shoulder at her. She glimpsed horns beneath his hood. "Good. You'll need it for what's to come."
"What do you mean by that?"
Just as before her, their guide didn't answer. He simply kept walking. And in turn, they were forced to follow. His meandering gate led them over the dunes and through the wastes at an inexorable pace; at times it felt like they weren't making any progress at all. Yet something bade her to follow him. He radiated power and poise with every step, a graceful poise that she both envied and loathed.
"This body is...somewhat less ideal than I'd hoped for." he said at length when she caught up to him. "I can provide you the power you seek. All I ask is for a show of faith."
An alarm went off in the back of her head. "...what exactly do you mean.?"
Pearly white teeth flashed in the shadow of his hood.
"Kill one of your companions," his words were almost hypnotic, "And I will help you."
Behind her, Emerald and Mercury tensed. They were right to do so. Cinder looked over her shoulder at them. Their talents were useful to be sure, but thus far they'd done nothing save fail. What use had she of failures as these? And if this newcomer promised power...? Well. Surely she could stand to lose one. Beacon could be conquered in time, and the plan could always be...adjusted. Yes, the more she thought of it, the more the man's words seemed sensible.
A blade materialized in her palm.
Emerald saw it and stepped back. "Cinder...?"
Mercury shifted his stance. "Easy there, boss. Lets not do anything we'll regret."
"You were actually going to do it, weren't you?" Low laughter, harsh and cruel, stopped her before she could commit the worst sin of all. "How admirable. To answer your question, I crave a vessel. Just as you crave your rightly deserved vengeance." There was something about the way he said those words. "Tell me, how far are you willing to go in pursuit of power?"
Cinder blinked away the haze from her mind and scowled furiously at him, refusing to be cowed. "I'll do anything."
Quick as can be, the man grabbed her by the hand.
"Well said."
Cinder recoiled, to no avail. His gaze was intent on hers, his grip firm. Pain burned through the point of contact, coursing into her body, her blood, her very soul. The pain seemed to go on forever, stretching on into hellish eternity. And then it was done. She sucked in a ragged breath and doubled over, clutching at her sides. Only then did she realize she'd been released.
"What have you done...?"
She scowled at the mark left on her hand. Etched into her palm, bearing the likeness of a black diamond. Pain wracked her anew and she crashed to her knees.
"Struggle to your heart's content, mortal." here at last, the guide dropped his friendly guise. "Do whatever it takes to survive, no matter how unsightly, how unseemly."
His hand flew out, caught her by the face to pinch her cheeks.
"And know, that I am with you."
Her world went black.
(.0.0.0.)
...did you feel that?"
Naruto turned, nearly missing a step.
He'd certainly felt...something. A sudden change in the air, a turning of the wind as he crested another sand dune. He couldn't quite put it into words. Everything looked much the same; sprawling sand for miles and miles. An endless arid desert, for all to see, with no escape in sight.
And yet.
Something tickled the edge of his senses. Like a whisper in the back of his mind.
He flicked a quick glance at Amber and Winter, only to find them each wearing frowns of their own, heads half-cocked as though listening to some distant song. Neo was half a pace behind with her parasol, oblivious to it all. Was this something only Maidens or those with Chakra could feel? Or perhaps..."
"There's a massive concentration of energy dead ahead of you." Kurama informed him.
Blond brows furrowed. "I don't see anything."
"Exactly."
On a whim Naruto reached out, half-expecting the world before him to shatter. It didn't. Instead only his hand met resistance. A strange shimmering surface met his palm; while it didn't push back, the violet dome splayed against his fingers, rippling out from his point of contact. And behind it, reality shifted. Only for an instant, little more than a glimpse, but he saw it all the same.
Was it a barrier? Magic? Something else entirely?
Amber offered a low whistle. "Well, that's something...
Winter touched a hand to her blade. "We should proceed with caution."
Neo rolled her eyes and stomped forward. She hit the barrier and walked through it without a care in the world.
"Fool of a girl!" Winter cursed and rushed in after her.
Naruto shrugged and did the same. He felt the air shift as he stepped across the threshold. His skin tingled, goosebumps rising on his arms.
And then they were through.
It was like stepping into another world.
Ozpin had called this place an oasis, and in a sense he'd been right. And so very wrong. Naruto found himself blinking. Once. Twice. Thrice, now. Oasis? Ha!
Understatement of the century right there.
This was no mere watering hole, but a garden. No, that wasn't the right word either. This was a paradise. In place of lifeless sand he found himself standing on rich green grass. The faint sound of running water trickled into his ears drawn from a babbling brook nearby...which shouldn't have been possible at all, given that they were in the middle of a lifeless wasteland.
But there was undoubtedly life here.
All lush and rippling pools, it was such a stark contrast to the searing heat of the desert that he didn't know what to make of it. There were even trees. Lovely sakura trees, fully of cherry blossoms, as far at the eye could see. The ground slopped upward with them, leading to one, far larger than the rest. This had to be the place. If it wasn't he'd eat his boot.
And there at the center of it all, beneath the largest of trees...he saw her.
A dark-haired young woman clad in a pale kimono sat before a flowering tree, legs crossed beneath her, eyes closed in mediation. Her beauty was undeniable but it was a distant sort, severe and stern.
Amber stopped short beside him as her hand come down on her shoulder. "Hundred lien says that's her."
Kurama scoffed. "No bet."
"I've never seen anything like this before." But she was still speaking and he must attend. "She must be keeping the barrier up. Or is this her own world? No," she thumbed her chin, "That doesn't make any sense.
Naruto bit his lip to hold back a low whistle of awe. Small wonder she wasn't moving. The strength that must've taken.
"Bah, we could probably do it. Don't see much reason to, though."
"Can Maidens do stuff like this?"
Amber and Winter exchanged a blank look as Neo observed. The former spoke first.
"She has had her powers for far longer than we...
Oz had warned them of her strength to begin with; no doubt the might of the Summer Maiden had only enhanced her already prodigious powers.
.
..
...he wasn't looking forward to this.
Left with no other recourse he started forward. His unlikely trio followed at his back, climbing the grassy knoll to reach her.
With neither word nor warning, her eyes snapped open.
They were a startling shade of violet glowing from without and within.
"What brings you to me?" her voice was soft, yet there could be no doubting the authority behind it. "...who are you to intrude upon my eternity?" Her gaze was a blade of their heads, ready to cut down at the slightest of provocation. "Speak now, or hold your peace."
Now or never.
Naruto stepped forward. "You must be Ei."
"I...am." Those deadly eyes locked onto him and did not waver. "You are not from this world."
He recoiled with a blinl. "How did you know?"
"Your energy is different from those I have encountered, your soul a breed apart." her head tilted just so, a strand of dusky hair falling over her pale face. "I ask again, why are you here?"
Amber prodded him in the back. Traitor!
"Well," he began apropos of nothing, "We came here to warn you about-
-those seeking me?" she finished seamlessly. "Worry not. None may enter this place without my consent."
"We did, though..."
"Of course you did." Long lashes fluttered in a slow blink. "I was curious. And now that curiosity has been sated." her eyes closed anew. "You may leave with your lives. Do not return."
"Now hold on just a second!" Amber bulled in before she could finish. "There's some horned weirdo running around our there, nevermind-
"I am aware of the individual known as Cinder Fall. She is now threat to me. If she seeks me, here desires will be requited not." Her full lips pursed in a thin line of disapproval. "Is that all? You are disturbing me and I have a country to reform."
"Country?" Winter clicked her tongue in mild admonishment." There's no one here."
Ei remained undaunted. "There shall be in time, once I reclaim my rightful place.
Amber shied back. Naruto was tempted to the same. Powerful though she might be, this woman was clearly out of her mind. She didn't seem to be playing with a full deck at the very least. Delusions of grandeur at best, outright insanity at best.
"Country? Lady, I don't know what your on about, but it isn't safe here-
"Allow me to offer a counter proposal." her eyes glided open again, bringing with them the weight of her gaze once more. "Best me in combat and I shall hear your proposal. Fail and yo shall remain here as my...hmm." a slender finger rose and tapped her chin. "Whatever was that word? its been so long since I held a conversation with someone...
Amber scoffed. "Gee, I wonder why...
"Guard!" She exclaimed suddenly, startling the lot of them. "If I succeed you will remain as my guard and tell me more of the outside world. Those flaming eyes snapped to her. "Upon my victory, I will also have their powers." much to her chagrin she flicked a hand at her and Winter both. "They will be most useful in restoring that which I have lost."
Winter bridled. "I'm afraid we must decline-
Naruto jumped at it. "You're on!"
"Naruto?!
"Been awhile since I knocked a goddess down a peg." he cracked his knuckles. "So what'll it be. First blood? Surrender?"
Ei's smile was all teeth.
"The latter will do...
A/N: So very tired...
And there we go, ladies and gentlemen.
As ever, the "Embers" rule remains in effect for now.
If folks don't like this, POOF! Away it goes. Deleted! Reviews are the fire that keeps me writing. Without them, I cannot put pen to paper. Simple as that. Every bit of feedback matters, large or small~! Your voice matters! Speak up! I repeat, every bit of feedback matters...even if people think it doesn't.
Things are changing, and we're nearing a time skip~!
Well, that's all I have to say this time around.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the previews~!
Speakin' a which...
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
(Previews)
"I'm sorry, was that important?"
"You're every bit what I expected!"
"ALL YOUR FAULT! ALL YOUR FAULT!"
They say good soldiers follow orders. But we're not soldiers are we?"
At the end of the day, we're not made of stone.
Go ahead. Take as long as you need."
"I propose a truce.
Burning eyes flicked toward Neo, the little hellion even now clinging to Naruto's arm.
They shook on it.
"Agreed."
"You do realize you will fail. Are you not afraid?
"Am I afraid of failure? Of course I am! I'm terrified, really. Just look at me! My hand's shaking. I'm trembling like a leaf.
We've come so far, done so much good, all in such a short time. Its a miracle. This might sound selfish, but I wanna hold onto that miracle just a little while longer. So if it the chips are down if we face the unexpected, if we run up against someone that looks invincible...I'll do what I have to do. Not just for me, not just for my friends.
For my family. For my future. For everyone and everything.
This is what true resolve looks like.
"COME."
R&R~!