Welp, we've arrived once more at Wednesday, which means chapter.
Without further ado, let's hope nothing's askew.
Chapter 49: And Thus, It Began
Sakura's entire being was enveloped in darkness, surrounded on all sides by a malevolent will, trying to choke the very life out of her.
She took a harsh, shaky breath, but didn't feel her lungs fill up with air. Then again, as the minutes ticked by and she couldn't breathe, she also didn't feel herself dying, either. It was more like…
She was already dead.
She tried not to shudder as she remembered Kabuto's words. The man had said the pills he'd feed her would force her into a near-death state. But this… this was something else entirely. It felt nothing like she'd ever experienced before. Even the first time she'd been marked with the curse mark, the experience had been… perhaps similar, but altogether different in intensity.
She tried to reach out with her hands, but found them unresponsive. There was simply nothing to reach for, nothing to feel for, nothing to touch, or see, or hear. An empty, black void, completely vacant of life.
Even hers.
She coughed as something seemed to surround her neck, cutting off her intake of air that she knew she had no need of. It didn't matter, the panic set in anyways.
She heard voices surrounding her, speaking words she couldn't understand, and she felt a pain shoot up her spine as something entered into her. She knew nothing of what any of these feelings were, and truly couldn't comprehend what they may be.
There was a horrid, wretched scream, calling out seemingly to her. She caught it only in the very depths of her mind, recognizing the voice but unable to place it. Perhaps it was one of her friends, or perhaps it was Kabuto, shouting that she was about to die by his hand. Or perhaps Orochimaru, cackling evilly as she succumbed to his poison.
Her throat was completely enveloped in the dark feeling, and she tried and failed to force air out of her mouth. There was, as before, nothing to see, and yet she felt she could tell that the thing constricting her was black like tar, entering into her mouth and traveling down into her stomach, filling it in a way so very different to anything she could comprehend.
And then suddenly, it felt like she was on fire.
Pain shot up every follicle, every atom of her body. She tried to scream, or shout, or call for help. Nothing once more. She tried to push herself out of whatever dark space she'd been trapped in, kicking and flailing with her arms and legs to see if she could find any space, any purchase with which to escape.
Nothing once more.
She heard her own voice, sounding desolate and afraid, echoing in her own mind, though she knew that such a thing was a figment of her imagination. She could not scream, not with the inky black substance stuck in her esophagus. She could not see, not when such a thing covered her eyes, and she could not hear with it filling her ears.
She desperately fought for what felt like an eternity against the call of death itself. Any moment it felt as if she would fade, and then, hellishly, the fire would only burn hotter, forcing her back awake, and back into the unending pain.
She hated it.
That was what she decided, what she could only approximate was about four or five hours later. She hated the feeling with every fiber of her being. She hated the noose around her neck, and the blackness suffocating her. She hated the bindings on her hands and legs, and the blindfold around her eyes. She seethed against them, shouting not with fear, but with a raw feeling of utter rage.
And suddenly, she could feel the pain subsiding.
It wasn't a massive difference, but she was fairly sure she'd have done nearly anything to feel the pain fade even slightly. She slammed her hands down upon the ground, which, much like her hands, seemed to have only just materialized into being, or perhaps this was the first time she'd been able to perceive it. She kicked out against the wicker against her, and felt the inside of the basket she'd been placed inside give way to her force. It didn't break, for some strange reason, she could not break it, but the pain was leaving.
She needed to make the pain disappear. She could no longer stand it.
She screamed in agony and fury and sorrow and manic joy, forcing the outsides of her confines back. She fought against an illusory demon, constantly assaulting her from all sides with hellfire and brimstone, until at last, she felt something begin to give.
A small, tiny crack in the bristling material that held her inside this cage. She knew it was not enough for her to destroy it entirely. She also wasn't sure if she cared at all what asinine things she 'knew'.
Her fist found the spot once more, and this time, she knew where her rage was coming from.
Her own self, of course, but now that a tiny, almost insignificant light was streaming in from the crack, she could see the design running down her right arm…
Or lack thereof. Instead, she noticed the way her entire right arm was an almost gray color. It strayed into purple every so slightly, as if silently glowing with power.
Power she wanted, no, needed to unleash.
She brought her fist back, and slammed it into the wall of the basket surrounding her. This time, the wicker material, sealed and shut as it was, seemed to give ever so slightly, and she swore she could almost hear it creak, like an old, worn-down gate that had been assaulted for years with water and rust.
She didn't hold back, instead, she let the curse marks energy flow through her even more, forcing more of it into the front of her fist, and impacting it against the edge of her prison. This time, the effect was more noticeable, the walls cracking from around where she'd smashed it in.
And then, pulling her arm back and letting out one final, agonizing shriek, she demolished the last thing holding her back.
She rolled out of the now destroyed basket, forcing her to place both of her hands on the floor below her. It was a cold granite, dirtied from hundreds if not thousands stepping upon it. She growled as she saw it, bringing her fist back once more and slamming it into the hard material.
Instead of breaking her fist on the spot, like she perhaps should've, she formed a crater in the earth below her, smirking slightly as she looked at the results of her handiwork.
Good. That was good. She knew that. If she could break stone with a single punch, then she could easily defeat someone as pathetic as Kabuto.
She forced herself to stand, barely managing to do so as she took in her surroundings. There were multiple people surrounding her, all in varying states of shock. They wore white lab coats that covered them from head to toe, all except for two figures. One was Kabuto, the man she'd been expecting, who's appearance instantly sparked a hatred in her that forced her forward, stepping towards the man and once more letting out an almost animalistic snarl.
Kabuto gave an almost manic smile.
"Well, isn't this a surprise." Kabuto looked about as shocked as the others there, but he hid his emotions far better, showing his teeth as if to give off a wilder impression. "After the first few hours, I almost assumed you were dead. And then…"
She charged at him, closing the distance between them in record time. He blocked her first strike, but she noticed the way he slid back ever so slightly. He hadn't wanted to give her ground, there, but her newfound strength hadn't given him the choice.
She'd landed a hit on the man's nose before, but now… now that same blow would knock the bastards muzzle clean off.
A surplus of power filled her limbs, and she kicked off of the man's arms, and… glided slightly. She wondered just what the hell it was let her do such a thing, until she tried to reach out with her second pair of arms to feel and…
And she only just now questioned why she had a second pair of arms.
The massive hands on the ends of her… wings? Seemed to lend her an almost flight-like ability. She was fairly sure they wouldn't actually allow her to gain height, but she'd been surprised by far stupider things before. She certainly wasn't going to question it yet.
She used them as a boost, rocketing forward once more and leading with her left leg, which absolutely destroyed Kabuto's guard, and launched the man into the wall behind him. She gave a wild laugh but was almost instantly brought back to reality as her brain registered the only other person in the room who wasn't in a lab coat.
Sasuke stood stunned at the back of the space, looking solemnly at her with eyes that seemed to scream that she was hideous, horrifying, and unrecognizable. She felt a large pang of guilt, knowing that her behavior towards the man before her, Kabuto, probably wasn't helping his view of her…
Who cares? A part of her asked fiercely, smiling at her from out of the darkness of her mindscape. He doesn't need to love us. All we need to do is kill the bastard in front of us, and then everything can go back to normal.
She found it difficult to argue with the voice in her head, and so instead of bothering, she accepted its wisdom, elongating her nails into knife-like blades and breaking for the downed sound ninja once more.
Unfortunately for her, it seemed he had prepared for this contingency.
A shock flew up her neck, and as she instinctively reached for the device causing such pain to her, she found a terribly thick metal collar surrounding her neck. It sent another volt of energy down her neck, practically electrocuting her on the spot as she was forced to the ground, screaming and slamming her fists into the granite, breaking pieces of it and sending them flying into the air.
"Good thing I took precautions early on." Kabuto laughed a bit maniacally, wiping the sweat off of his brow as he walked over to her with that same overconfident, snarky expression as before. "You looked like you weren't going to make it for the longest time, and then all of a sudden, you just bust out of there a day and a half early… hah! I really do like you three! You're always so full of surprises!"
She struggled against the piece on her neck, feeling her muscles tense and untense rapidly as she was forced once more to the ground. The doctors around her kept their distance, and she could see why they might. The air she gave off was…
It was terrifying, wasn't it?
She looked towards Sasuke, seeing the way even he kept a healthy birth. She tried to move her hand towards him, to calm him down, but nothing happened as the lightning in her throat kept coursing through her, and black spots danced in her vision. Evidently, Kabuto was confident in her vitality, not fearing killing her with the device on her neck, and was taking absolutely no chances, deciding to knock her out rather than risk her escaping once more.
Still…
She hated the look in Sasuke's eyes. She hated it in an entirely different way to the way she'd hated the bindings that had restrained her before. It was a hate that made her want to put away her curse mark, to seal away her strength, to go back to just being herself…
She longed only for the simpler times as her consciousness faded.
/-/
Naruto heard Anko swear from behind him, pulling him by his collar out and away from a trap that had opened up beneath them. He watched as a few conspicuous pebbles fell into the fiery pit below him, and he let out a panicked sort of laugh as he turned back around and thanked the woman.
"Don't mention it." She spoke, rubbing some sweat from her brow and helping him stand. "Just be careful. I'm not sure if the Nine-tails could heal you through that."
There was a low rumbling from the depths of his stomach, almost like a laugh, and Naruto had the sneaking suspicion that he'd have survived if he fell in, but the result wouldn't have been pretty. Plus, he was pretty sure it would've come at the cost of the Nine-tails using that as a perfect opportunity to try and take over his body.
"Still, to trap their own base to this extent…" Zabuza stepped forward, kneeling down in front of the pit and rubbing his chin. "You'd see this kind of behavior occasionally from warlords and their like, the kinds of people who make far too many enemies to last very long. But Orochimaru always struck me as just a bit more… refined then that."
"He seems scared." Anko commented, continuing with the man's point. "Like… there's something coming for him that even he knows he can't beat. The real problem is determining just what the hell that is. We've been seeing the signs for a while now, after all."
Zabuza hummed in response, standing up and turning back to their group.
"I'm going to say this knowing it's a stupid question," He asked Zaku, Dosu, and Kin specifically. "But did Orochimaru have any especially powerful enemies?"
Dosu smiled from under his bandages, and Kin and Zaku both let out tiny laughs, despite the overwhelming atmosphere surrounding them.
"Do you mean besides the five main villages? Or half of the minor ones?" Kin teased ever so slightly, before straightening herself out slightly, holding back on another laugh. "Aside from those more obvious ones… I don't know, he never really told us lackey's anything about him personally, obviously. He could've had some more enemies, but-"
"Akatsuki."
Everyone turned towards him, and it took a few moments before Naruto realized he'd been the one to speak. He swallowed on nothing as his mouth suddenly felt much dryer, considering the implications of what he was about to suggest, and finding himself fearful.
"What if… What if the Akatsuki is coming for him? I mean, they killed that Danzo guy with just two of them, and he was a Kage level ninja, right?"
"Well, what made Danzo a threat was his information network, along with his veritable army under his personal command, but he was pretty tough on his own, as well." Zabuza explained. "The impressive part isn't that they killed him, it's that they snuck in and killed him, and got away with it without so much as a scratch on their bodies."
Anko suddenly smacked herself on the forehead.
"Of course!" She practically shouted. "How the hell did I manage to forget!? Orochimaru was a member of the Akatsuki, Jiraiya told me as much!"
Ice shot down Naruto's spine. If those people were coming after Orochimaru… people like Kisame, Itachi, and those two mysterious figures who killed Danzo…
"If they're coming here… That'd be quite bad." Zabuza summarized, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. "And we're in no way equipped to be dealing with an S-Rank ninja, let alone multiple."
"Uhm…" Haku muttered quietly, raising his hand like he was trying to be called upon by a teacher. "Could you guys tell me what you're talking about?"
"Right, sorry, brat." Zabuza turned to his sort-of-son. "But where to start…"
They filled Haku in over the course of the next five or so minutes as they walked along the dreary corridors, trying to find out where it was Kabuto had taken Sasuke and Sakura. They were, as much as they could, holding to their mission. They were here simply to get those two back and get out, but the soldiers who poured in from all directions were making that… notably more difficult.
Still, at the very least, they had the three from the sound with them. Zaku, Kin, and Dosu were helpful in identifying common spots, like a rest hall and cafeteria, which Naruto hadn't ever thought Orochimaru would install, but when he thought about it further, he concluded that even evil people had to eat.
The three of them also led them past multiple traps that the rest of them, perhaps sans Zabuza, would've fallen into.
Speaking of the man, Naruto was finally beginning to see just how impressive of a ninja the Assassin of the Mist truly was. He'd been the first Jonin Naruto and his team encountered, and then they'd immediately gone and faced Orochimaru. He'd sort of forgotten how powerful the man was compared to an average ninja, which was supremely.
He cleaved through regular grunts like they were butter, and never really had a problem even against some of the more experienced ninja that gave the rest of them problems. Haku, especially, seemed to also be adapting rather well, always hanging in front or behind the group and disrupting enemy teams.
"So, if I'm understanding this right," The boy in question massaged his chin as he contemplated their explanation. "They're a group of… international terrorists?"
"More mercenaries, well, at least for a long time they were." Zabuza spoke, signalling for them to hold up as a few soldiers passed by them, and they went unseen. "You'd hear about them every once in a while in the field. They were some of the best of the best. If you hired them, and believe me, it wasn't cheap from what I've heard, then the job got done. Then they just sort of… stopped taking jobs one day. Disappeared off the face of the earth. Everyone just sort of assumed they'd been wiped out by one of the big nations or something, but…"
"I never really heard all that much about them," Anko, who'd stayed largely silent for the past few minutes, nodded at the man's words now, interjecting herself into the conversation. "But around the time they stopped taking jobs was within a bit of Orochimaru leaving the organization. Jiraiya thought he might've destroyed them at the time. For them to just… pop back up, serving their own aims? It's a bit foreboding. And if they really are attacking Orochimaru soon…"
"Then we just need to be out of here before they do." Zabuza summed up rather aptly, signaling once more for Haku to go on ahead of the group and scout out, before almost immediately rescinding the order, holding the boy back. "If we see any sign of them… Shit, we can't exactly run without those two in tow… alright, we'll travel as a group, Haku, you're staying right here with the rest of us, understood?"
The boy nodded, apparently finding no problem with the new plan. Naruto, really, seemed to be the only one who felt a bit nervous, and that was largely because he knew that if the Akatsuki learned he was here…
Well, they probably wouldn't pass up the chance to go ahead and take him too while they were at it.
"Naruto?"
He turned to look at Haku, and the boy put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, firmly squeezing it and giving a supportive smile.
"It's alright." The ice user assured him. "We'll protect you from those guys. After all, who's going to save Sakura and Sasuke if not for you?"
Naruto sighed embarrassedly as he took in the room, seeing the sound trio shoot him teasing expressions as Anko and Zabuza looked on. There was no time for him to worry about himself. This was a mission, and they were in enemy territory.
I just have to trust them. He concluded, standing, and nodding towards Haku. I have to trust that they'll have my back.
"You ready, kid?" Zabuza asked him as he stepped forward.
"Yeah…" He took a deep breath, before facing the black hallways before them, preparing to plunge into the abyss. "I'm ready."
/-/
Sasuke fought against the cuffs around his wrists, but, for perhaps the hundredth time that hour, he discovered that they were just a bit too tough for him to be breaking by himself. It didn't help that they were metal, which meant he couldn't even burn them off, unless he felt like taking his wrists with them.
He didn't.
The alarm from earlier continued to blare, but it was clearly only as a middling alert now, going off every thirty seconds or so, and at perhaps half the volume it'd been set at at first. Evidently, the threat they were receiving was of a lower level than they'd thought it warranted before.
And yet he still found himself caught on one thing.
Sakura…
He couldn't get his mind off of what he'd seen earlier. The sight of Sakura as some horrific monster, sporting massive hand-like wings sprouting from her back, and a nasty temper which had struck a chord of fear inside his heart.
A fear he'd never once had for any of his friends. Even now, he was still trying to rally himself against it.
I have to believe in her. Sasuke tried to make himself believe, bringing his cuffed hands up and lightly smacking both of his cheeks. If I don't, then no one will.
…Well, maybe that's not entirely true.
Naruto would. He knew that without doubt. Even if the girl really had been transformed into some demonic monster, the boy would never, could never find it inside himself to not believe in one of his friends.
He could barely remember seeing Naruto, remembered the boy proclaiming that he'd save them, promising so, but had no idea if that had been a dream he'd had while unconscious, or a true thing he'd seen while on the very edge of passing out.
It didn't particularly matter either way. He'd simply have to trust his friend would be getting here soon.
The door to his cell opened, and to his immense shock, it was Kabuto of all people who stepped inside. He wore a smug grin, and sauntered towards him without a care in the world, clearly perceiving him as even less of a threat now that he was bound and chained.
…Which to be fair was probably true.
Kabuto made a show of checking the room out, inspecting it rather thoroughly, despite it being a prison cell.
"Rather nice place you've got here." Kabuto smarmed, looking back down at him, and trying to hold in a laugh at his expense. "I like the furnishings. Gives it a real homie feel."
Sasuke took a moment to gaze at said 'furnishings', which consisted of a bench, which he was currently sitting on, a single cot, upon with one of the least comfortable wool blankets he'd ever felt lied unused, and a sink at the back of the room, which, as if to taunt him further, had all the (water) pressure of an academy spar.
Even still, he couldn't help but think this was probably one of the nicer cells in this place.
"Yeah." He decided not to get angry this time, but to joke further, showing an aura of strength to his opponent which would, at the very least, satisfy his own ego. "I kind of like it, but the landlords a real tool."
Kabuto breathed out a laugh, sitting down across from him on the cot he'd left abandoned, and almost instantly jerked upwards, grabbing the wool blanket that had been set upon it and held it up in front of him.
"My god, they gave you this to sleep with?" He seemed almost appalled. "I'm fairly sure that's a war crime."
"So, we're ignoring the kidnapping of a minor?" Sasuke almost laughed. "Seems like a bit more of a major thing."
"Meh, you're a ninja, like it or not that means you're a soldier, no matter the rank."
"I can't help but feel kidnapping a soldier is a fairly similar, exactly as egregious act."
"Semantics."
Sasuke could only sigh as the man threw the wool blanket on the ground between the two of them, and finally sat down, looking over at him with a cocky eye.
"So, how ya' been?"
"Could you get to the point, maybe?"
"Right, right." Kabuto yawned, covering his mouth with his left hand. "So, basically, up all night dealing with your girl's curse mark shenanigans-"
"Forgive me if I don't feel too bad for you." Sasuke muttered with a glare. "You did transform her into a monster."
"We didn't, actually." Kabuto corrected him, wagging his finger dismissively. "In truth, we only increased the power and potential of her curse mark, to allow her to utilize the Wood Style more effectively. That change isn't permanent, nor is it taking her over any more than her previous form did. If she had the will to resist that one, than she should be able to do it with this one as well."
That was good news, and it managed to calm him down just a little, despite the source it came from. Thinking of that, though…
"Why are you telling me this?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the man for any signs of deceit. "Shouldn't you normally withhold that kind of information, y'know, build up maximum amounts of despair or something?"
"I feel the need to remind you that I'm not a sadist." Kabuto spoke, smiling amusedly. "Well, not that much of one, at least."
"Question." Sasuke reiterated. "Why tell me? Answer it."
Kabuto briefly paused, before pushing up on his glasses and making them glint in the dim light of his cell. For a moment, the frames glowed a soft white, and he held them for a bit longer than Sasuke thought was perhaps normal.
A second later, he let them fall back to their normal position, looking almost entirely the same.
"Who knows?" He spoke cryptically, leaning his head on his arms as he placed them atop his knees. "Does it matter?"
Sasuke pondered that for a while himself. Perhaps it didn't, after all, it wasn't like it changed anything if Kabuto had been trying to be nice to him. They were still enemies at one another's throats. And yet, some tiny part of him claimed it did matter…
Just as he was about to open his mouth once more, the alarm that had been droning on every thirty or so seconds suddenly reached a fever pitch, sending a shiver down Sasuke's spine that left an almost primal fear in the depths of his heart.
"Ah." Kabuto, usually a bastion of childish jokes and smarmy attitude, had a pale white face as he stood from the cot, and immediately turned towards him. "That'd be them, then."
"Who, Naruto!?" He asked, suddenly finding a hope from the sound that droned out from above them, at least until Kabuto laughed, completely devoid of mirth, and looked him square in the eye.
"No." Kabuto said simply, letting out a deep breath that seemed to be trying to calm himself down. "This is the maximum alert alarm, reserved for only the most threatening of foes. High-level assassination attempts, Major nation attacks, those sorts of things…"
The man trailed off, but Sasuke could see he wasn't finished.
"It's actually a bit funny, to be honest." Kabuto spoke, though the dim smile on his face seemed to scream that the situation at hand was anything but. "For these guys? It really doesn't feel like enough."
Kabuto stepped towards him, taking a key out of his back pocket and, with an almost casual air, freed him from the cuffs on his wrists. Sasuke rubbed the spots that had previously been chained up, and looked up at Kabuto, feeling completely and utterly dumbfounded.
"Why the hell are you…"
"I wasn't lying earlier." Kabuto smirked. "When I said I kind of liked you three. You're interesting, and… you're a bit too kind for your own good, to be honest. All of you are."
"Yes, but if Orochimaru figured out you freed me-"
"Sure, yeah, but…" Kabuto hummed quietly, turning back towards the entrance to the prison cell and watching with a blank face as the entire structure began to shake, as if the ground below them and all around was being enveloped in an earthquake.
"I don't think many of us are making it out of this, anyways."
/-/
Nagato watched through Yahiko's eyes as Konan smothered another guard, apathetically witnessing the life drain from his body as his struggles became more and more futile, until at last he fell still on the floor below them. He stepped calmly forward, deigning to walk among those who surrounded them.
With a single hand, he blasted away an oncoming guard, and another of his forms, a terrifying amalgamation of machine and man, fired a set of missiles from within it's arm, blasting away the last remnants of outside resistance to the building they now stood in front of.
"All of you," He uttered without feeling. "Report in."
"Kisame and Itachi, in position!" The ninja swordsman called out for the two of them, showing up as a simple hologram next to both he and Konan. "All ready to start the mission."
"Tobi's ready! Oh, and I guess Zetsu's ready as well, aren't you, Zetsu-poo~!"
"Never call me that again."
"Sasori and Deidara here." Two others called out, and he looked straight up in the air, where a massive bird made of clay carried the two of them. "Ready to pick him off if he tries to run, hn."
"Smart of you to leave those other two behind, Leader!" Tobi's achingly loud voice called out from the hologram in front of him. "They're such party-poopers!"
"It's not as if they'll be needed." Kisame commented, grinning cockily as he crossed his arms and looked towards Pain himself. "We could've done this with just four of us, I'm honestly not sure why half of us are here."
"You're here because we will be taking no chances this time." Pain stepped forward, passing straight through Tobi's hologram without a care in the world. "Sending only Sasori and Deidara last time was a mistake. One I mean to remedy."
Kisame backed down, seeing no real reason to argue his point. He understood the significance of their mission as well.
"The mission is simple. We will be pushing into Orochimaru's hideout from all angles, giving the man no means of escape. We will guide Tobi to him, use his newfound power to coerce the man's lifelong research out of him…"
He stopped walking, kneeling down in the exact center of the Sound Village, and placing his hand upon the ground before him.
"And then we will snuff him, and the rest of his minions out."
"Don't forget, one of my old agents is inside of there," Sasori reminded them. "Leave him alive, I have use for him."
"Yeah, yeah, we all remember." Deidara yawned. "Anyways, are we starting, or what."
"Yes." Nagato spoke, channeling a black ball of energy from his real body with a large amount of his strength, before letting Yahiko's puppeteered body take over, moving the black sphere directly above them and preparing. "Let us begin."
He slammed his hands together.
"Planetary Devastation."
End Chapter 49
Seems a bit overkill as a first move, but you can't fault his enthusiasm.
Also, can't say I fact checked some of the timelines in this chapter. I'm fairly sure they're like... decently accurate? Eh, whatever. I only ask that you don't crucify me if they're wrong, pleaserino.
See you all next week!