A/N: PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE, WOULD YOU KINDLY?
Sorry if this seems short, I'm writing this while ill. Just can't seem to stay healthy.
Well, I managed to make peace with some of the trolls. That's a start, I suppose. Body still feels like crap AND I KEEP GETTING SICK, so there's that. Doing my best to putter on in isolation, but I feel like crap right and proper. Surgery + Sick does not a happy Neon make!
Must...ignore...pain...and update...!
Now then, onto the questions, comments, and concerns! I'll keep it brief this time around so we can get into the meat of the story:
Q: Can we a Little!Salem story?! Please, please, please! Naruto could rescue her from her tower when she's but a lass! Think of the chaos they could cause! I've got a whole title, plot, and everything. PM me for details. I know you'd do it justice, boss. So...please?
A: Ack! Don't give me ideas like that You can't just...oh bugger. Now its in my head. *head meets desk* Must...resist!
Q: How many chapters are left?
A: Not many at all. We're nearing the climax. And it'll be glorious.
Q: Thanks for your take on Cinder...but why do I have a bad feeling about this? I know you like your tragedies Neon, and the fact that you haven't written one in awhile...concerns me. You've been pulling a lot of twists and turns lately *see Just a Bit of Bread* so I dunnae know if I should get my hopes up or be wary...
A: Cinder is quite secure at the moment. Yet as well all know, the higher you climb, the further you have to fall. Yes. That was a pun.
Q: Don't you DARE have Naruto bow and scrape to Salem!
A: Ha! Not a chance!
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!
And so, with that said...away we go~!
Minor timeskip of a few hours!
"We are cut from the same cloth, you and I...
~a discussion.
Bloody Evolution
Salem could cook.
That or she'd kidnapped the finest chefs in Remnant.
In all honesty, Naruto really wasn't sure which troubled him more.
Seated at a ludicrously large table, everyone tucked into their meal as if it were there last; because it just might. Amazingly, it wasn't poisoned. He'd eaten first just to be sure. His faction sat entirely on the left, leaving a frazzled Watts seated on the right with Salem at the head of the table. If she felt at all outnumbered in their presence, she did little to show it. Regardless, the food was divine...even if the service wasn't.
On his left, Emerald shivered as another hooded Seer swept by with another tray clutched in its tentacles. He couldn't blame her.
It was surreal enough to have the ghastly things serving them; but in reality the sheer silence did more damage to everyone's morale than anything else. It was wearing them all down. From her seat to his right, Cinder tore doggedly into her food with a vigor he'd not seen before, refusing to speak to anyone. Roman was chain-smoking like a madman. Neo looked fit to bolt, and Mercury with her. Only Hazel appeared unfazed, but the slight twitch of his hands as carved up his steak betrayed him. Watts saw it and smirked. Of course, that pissed off Mercury. Some grudges weren't so easily forgiven.
Naruto sighed. Someone was going to crack at this rate. His fingers brushed the Relic at his belt.
'Jinn.'
Time slowed to a crawl, then stopped entirely. All the colors of the worlds faded to grey as she emerged. Naruto released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and slumped in his seat. Honestly, this ability was overpowered as hell. So long as he didn't ask her a direct question, time effectively ceased to have any meaning when she was called. He couldn't use it to attack -he'd already tested that on the ride over- but he could use it to think. Hash out a plan. Strategize.
"What is thy bidding, my master?"
Naruto grimaced. "Told you not call me that."
"Whyever not?" He turned to find her full lips curved in a smile. As he looked on, said smile became decidedly impish. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"
Very much so!
"Do you have a question for me, then?"
...not as such." he hedged, flicking an anxious glance toward Salem. "Just needed a moment to think."
"Again?" Jinn tittered softly and swept a hand through her hair. "Careful. At this rate, you'll make Cinder jealous."
"That's not what I meant-
"Calm." she raised a hand. "I spoke in jest."
Bright eyes gazed down upon him. Frowned. Knew him.
"Ah. You seek advice. That much, I can freely give. Do as you have always done." she ghosted forward to pat his cheek with a pale hand. "Take charge. Your allies will listen, as they ever have. Be brave. Be bold. But not too bold. Whether you want it or not, you hold all the cards here." Her forehead kissed his, bringing with it a faint urge of warmth. "You know this in your heart, and so too may I speak it."
Was it really that simple? Just be confident? A sigh escaped him. "Thanks for the pep talk."
"Think nothing of it. Although...
Cold lips alighted upon his cheek for the merest of moments. A lifetime ago, Naruto would've yelped and squawked like a baboon. Now? His brow furrowed.
"Hmm." Jinn drifted back on an unseen breeze, touching two fingers to her lips. "So that's how it feels to kiss someone. I always wondered."
Before he could speak, she snapped her fingers and vanished. Time marched onward.
"What do you think, Necromancer?" Salem's voice called to him.
A great many things. Naruto didn't allow the snark to show on his face. Instead, he took another bite, mastered his roiling emotions as he chewed, and swallowed. "Foods good. Haven't eaten anything like this in awhile."
"That's all?" she arched a pale eyebrow. "That's a rare Atlesian boar on your plate. Only a handful remain in this world. Its meat is said to restore vitality and promote healthy skin."
Huh. Now that she mentioned it, he was feeling a bit more energized than usual. Kaguya was a bit quieter in his head. He'd take the gift for what it was.
Cinder rolled her eyes. "Show some tact. Not everyone can be brought by promise of power and wealth."
It was the wrong thing to say. Red eyes snapped to her. "Ironic, coming from you."
Cinder snarled. Naruto pinched the brow of his nose.
"Do I have to separate you two?"
Salem hummed. "Possibly."
On a certain level he'd expected more from the Queen of the Grimm. Salem certainly played the part well enough; she was powerful, and terrifying to behold, but at the end of the day, she was just that. Terrifying...to a mortal. For all her bluster and bravado, he knew she couldn't kill him. She may as well have been a child flailing her fists at a brick wall for all that mattered. He held the power here. Not her. Even if she tried to take any of his allies hostage, death held no meaning to him. He'd forgotten that for a moment, wrapped up in worry as he was.
Unfortunately, Salem didn't know that.
She needed him for some yet-unknown purpose, and whatever it was, it had her being downright amicable to him. Placid, even! To the rest...
"Pass the salt, would you, traitor?"
Well. She spoke for herself.
He didn't think Cinder could sulk. It was...not cute per se, he didn't think someone so lethal could ever be cute, but it was surprising all the same. She looked downright sullen. Her eyes sought his and he glimpsed a spark in them. Her gaze promised retribution later. Violent, loud, naked retribution. Fine by him. If rough sex was the price to be paid for keeping her calm, then he'd pay it gladly.
Something hit Salem under the table. The grimm woman jolted and glared down the table.
Emerald's face was the very picture of innocence. Salem saw it at once.
"I'll forgive you this once, child. Do not do it again."
"How kind of you." Cinder scoffed.
"But of course." Salem took the chance to preen, touching a finger to her chin. "I am a most magnanimous host...even to traitors such as yourself." Abruptly, her smile grew. "Tell me, Necromancer. Do you know what Cinder fears most?"
The Spring Maiden stiffened.
Naruto sighed. "This is going to go poorly, isn't it?"
"Come, now. She betrayed me. Its only right that I make her squirm."
To be fair, Naruto didn't trust Salem for a moment. He knew her type. She used people like rags; one they were dirty, once they ceased to be useful, she threw them away. It was her nature. Just as his was to keep those he cared close to him. If she was a cruel queen, then he was a greedy king. He wanted to hold onto everything. Maybe that wasn't so bad after all. Greed could be used for good.
"You'll not ask, then? Very well. Enough talk of traitors." Salem set her silverware down and fixed him with a lethal glare. "Let us put family matters aside for the time being and talk business."
Family. Her words pricked at him, and not in a bad way. He really had converted Cinder and the rest without trying.
"I have need of your skills, Necromancer-
"Naruto." he interjected forcefully.
Salem blinked. "Pardon?"
"My name is Naruto." Blue eyes flashed white as he spoke, rimming with angry veins as a bit of Kaguya slipped through. "I've asked you to call me that once before and you haven't since. I won't ask again."
"Very well." she nodded in agreement. "Naruto, then. I wish for the return of my children. Bring them back to me."
"Bugger me." Roman hissed. "What did she just say...?"
And just like that, everything made sense.
No. Wait. It didn't. Nope. Not at all! Children? Salem had children? As in multiple? Plural?! The realization stunned him for a moment and the mask lipped. His jaw clicked open for a moment. He wrestled it shut once more. Schooling his face back into an impassive facade, Naruto hid his surprise. Of all the things he'd thought she wanted...this...this hadn't been one of them. Even now he could still be surprised, it seemed.
"Children, you say? How many?"
"Four girls." Salem's response was immediate, outright eager. "Named after the seasons." she held up four fingers and named them for him. "Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter."
"Named after the maidens? No...before them." Cinder's brow shot into her hairline, then came crashing back down in a scowl. "You cannot be serious. You're bluffing."
"Alas, in this, I am not." Salem hook her head. "Did you think I called you here for a more sinister purpose?"
The silence was damning.
Hazel broke it. "You were planning to invade Atlas-
"And I shall, dear Hazel." Red eyes glowed in the dim light. "You lot will help me. My desire for the Relics, however, is secondary to this."
Emerald opened her mouth to speak, and Naruto silenced her with a raised hand.
The Queen took noticed. "You've trained them well, I see. Good."
Salem didn't know they needed her help. For now, she suspected otherwise. No doubt she thought they'd come to join her cause. If she knew the truth, that they needed her, she would use herself as leverage. She struck him as the sort to do such a thing. Nothing was off limits with her. But knowing what she wanted...well, that helped. Not only did it lend some semblance of insight into her mind, but it revealed her intentions to him. At the end of the day, family was family.
Salem wanted her babies back, as any mother should.
The good samaritan in him wanted to help without receiving anything in return. The cynic in him knew better. And so he held his tongue.
"I will repay you handsomely for this, of course." Salem pushed a stray strand of pale hair behind one ear. "What do you require, Naruto?" she purred his name as a long lost lover might, all sensual grace. "Tell me your desire, and I shall grant you it."
Cinder's eyes all but burned. Naruto grimaced. "Not what you're thinking."
"No?" Salem craned her head to the right, exposing the pallid expanse of her neck. "I'm sure we can come to a...fruitful agreement."
Corrupted or no, she was still a beautiful woman; still lovely despite the ghostly pallor of her skin and the crimson veins burning within. A faint sensation stirred in Naruto, one he dimly recognized as lust. He wrestled with it, threw it down, and stomped it into oblivion.
Cinder slammed out of her seat. "Cease this foolishness. You have no right to him!"
Salem pursed her lips in stoic silence. "I have every right. Such is the way of the strong."
Her shoulders stiffened."I have strength of my own-
"You think you know power, child." Salem sneered and began to drum her fingers against the table. "You possess but a fourth of Ozma's. And he was always weaker than I. Just as HE is weaker than I. And without him, you are nothing."
"ENOUGH!"
A fireball howled to life in her palm, bathing the room in amber glow. Naruto reached over, looked her dead in the eye, and wrapped his hand around it. She startled as snuffed it out with his fingers. Her surprise made the brief flash of pain downright negligible by comparison. The scent of burnt flesh filled the room, but he didn't stop there. His hand wrapped around hers, already beginning to heal. Golden eyes met blue. He tugged her hand forward and pulled her face to his.
She yielded into the kiss that followed with a soft sigh, until at last, he dew away. Glazed orbs regarded his, lidded and intent.
"Calm. Down." he spoke slowly and deliberately, drawling each word with great care. "Don't let her rile you up."
"Adorable. I never thought someone could tame her."
The fire came back. "What was that?!"
At this rate, she was going to do something reckless. Best head that off at the pass.
"Enough, both of you! We didn't come here to kill one another." he raised his voice just before they could come to blows. "We came here to talk." with great care he unclasped his fingers and pulled the Relic of Knowledge from his belt. "I have many things you want, Salem." he set her upon the table. "You'd do well not to anger me here." His palm opened and after a moment's hesitation, Cinder placed the Relic of Destruction within it. The sword joined the lamp upon the table, humming softly in the presence of its sister.
"So lets bargain."
Salem frowned, first at his hands, and then the lamp at his side. "You speak of many reasons?" her brow furrowed. "I see but two."
She didn't know the box bound to his belt; didn't realize its importance.
"Seven." he replied. The sudden statement drew a frown from Salem, just as he'd known it would. "First, come your daughters. That's four." her brow turned thunderous, and a dark miasma began to bleed from her back and shoulders. "then we have these." He barreled into his speech before she could attack. "The final question of the Lamp, and the use of the Relic of Destruction. Now we have six. And finally...
His soul squirmed at what he was about to do; that tiny spark of his conscience began to protest. He shushed it and sat up a little straighter.
He unclipped the soul cairn from his belt and laid it upon the table with a harsh clunk.
...Ozma's soul."
Salem went terribly still, magic guttering out as she lost her focus. "You lie. He cannot die."
"And he yet lives." he pushed the container her way. "Well, I suppose you could say he slumbers. See for yourself."
The Queen of the Grimm touched a tentative hand to the ebony metal. Almost immediately, she flinched back as if she'd been burned.
"What have you done to him?" she sounded horrified...and elated. An odd mixture. She touched the metal again, drawing a brief blue spark from the steel.
"I tore his soul from his current host, sealed him away, and locked him in an endless dream." When she didn't speak, he took the opportunity to clarify. "It is a good dream. He's at peace. I don't think he's even aware of what's happening at all."
"Impossible." Salem plucked the Soul Cairn from the table and held it before her face. "This is not magic. He and I are the only remnants of that age."
"No. This is chakra." He waved his hand, conjuring a blue flame to his palm. "An entirely separate system. Speaking of which, that box was built with a powerful jutsu. If you try to take it from me, it -and its contents!- will return to my side in a heartbeat." he had her. He knew it. "I'd choose my words carefully, were I you. I could always break that box and release him. I doubt he'd be happy. Or I could kill him." Not something he wanted to do, but something Salem needed to know, else she'd never cooperate. "Your choice."
Salem blinked at the box.
The softest of sighs escapedher.
"And what, pray tell, do you want from me?"
Aha. And here it was. The moment of truth at long last.
She had to be told sooner or later. Best get it out of the way now...
(.0.0.0.)
Cinder took a deep breath and let go.
Here it was; the moment of truth.
Friend or foe. Ally or enemy.
Naruto had spoken his peace. The ball was in Salem's course. Her response would determine their course of action going forward. Would they fight? Work together? Seal her away? Was the latter truly possible? Her former mistress was no slouch; unlike Ozpin, she still possessed the full breadth of her magic and all the power it entailed. Moreover, the Grimm were at her back and call. If it came to a fight, it would not be a bloodless one.
Even with Naruto's aid, there would be losses. Unacceptable.
Once again she wondered when he had changed her; when she came to think of Emerald and Mercury as her own. Once they had been little more than tools to her. Now...she disliked the thought of them being hurt. Dying was not a pleasant experience. She'd endured it. Dying changed you. Coming back made it worse. So much worse. Roman still wasn't quite all there and he hadn't been properly revived yet. To put poor Emerald through that blender...
A fresh pang of nausea rocked her body, eliciting a frown from the Spring Maiden. It stemmed not from that thought, but rather her body betraying her. Again.
Cinder hunched over, cursing softly. She was just feeling ill. Yes. That was it.
Nothing else. Nothing at all. She refused to believe otherwise.
Laughter filled the air. It startled her out of her reverie.
"Fascinating. You have a goddess of your own to slay." Salem straightened, wiping a tear from her eye as she gazed at him. "How delightfully ironic. But if you seek my help AND wish to leverage my children over me as such, then I will require something from you as well." her smile vanished, replaced by an eerie, almost otherworldly calm. "I wish to slay MY gods. Aid me in this, and I'll happily help you with your little...problem."
Cinder blinked.
"Oh." a little voice sighed softly in his head. "Oh, dear."
"That," Naruto mirrored it, his expression gone pinched. "That's gonna be a problem...one's bad enough. You want me to take on two more...?"
"I suggest we pool our resources. Were we to unite, this world would quiver at our feet."
The silence that followed was telling. Cinder relaxed, just a little.
"It seems we are at an impasse, then." Salem steepled her fingers and laid her chin atop them. "You have need of me, and I have need of you. We both hold something the other wants, yet neither of us wishes to make any concessions. Who will act first?"
Surprisingly, Naruto did, if only because he could afford to.
"Bring the prisoners up from the dungeons."
Salem tilted her head. "All of them?"
"How many do you have?"
"Enough." the queen waved a hand in dismissal. "Watts. Make it so. Bring that one as well."
The man hadn't spoken a single word. At his queen's command he scampered off, eager to be gone from the table.
"Still, you surprise me." sinister scarlet slits swept back to him, narrow and intent. "You would take me at my word?"
"Hardly." Naruto leaned forward, a faint echo running through his voice. "You're a mother, aren't ya?" His smile chilled Cinder to her very bones. "Tell me, what would you do for your children?" Whether he knew it or not, he was channeling Kaguya in this moment. "How far would you go? How much would you sacrifice to see them again?"
Salem grit her teeth. "Anything. Everything. Anyone."
"Empty words." Naruto leaned closer, his forehead nearly touching hers. "I require more than that. Prove it." His fist slammed down on the table, jolting the silverware. "I won't help someone willing to go back on their word. Show me your resolve before we do this. Or I'll seal you away."
"Fool." Was that a note of fear in her voice just now? "I cannot be sealed."
Naruto's smile was just the wrong shade of vicious. "Ozma thought the same thing. Look where he is now."
Cinder startled. Had he just...no. Surely not. He wouldn't dare.
"Bold, are we?" Realization broke like the dawn in Salem's smile, anger bleeding away into arrogance as everyone looked on. "I have not been idle all these years. If you desire a contest of strength that badly, then by all means. Far be it from me to deny you." she rose in a single, graceful movement. "Let us take this outside."
Naruto stood as well, kicking his chair back. It shattered to splinters against the wall, drawing a flinch from everyone save Salem.
"Thousand lien on the big guy." Mercury muttered. "No way in hell is he losing something like this."
Salem arched an eyebrow. "I find your lack of faith disturbing, dear boy."
Cinder soon find that fight that followed even moreso.
It would prove a bloody display.
A/N: PLEASE. READ. THIS. Else, you might be horribly confused. Wouldn't want that, would we?
We've got an absolute BRAWL next chapter and its going to be absolutely glorious. Hope you're ready for it.
Well, that happened. Salem is neither with them nor against them at this point, plans are made, and Kaguya wants OUT.
I'll not say where Naruto and co. are headed next. I'll let the previews do the talking for me on that front. Remember, Cinder holds the power of Spring. Ruby has Fall. That leaves Freya with Winter and a big 'ol "?" as to the identity of the current Summer maiden. Worry not, I plan to wing it when it comes to her, because at this rate, its gonna be YEARS before we see Vacuo outside of the odd novel here and there.
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.
Seriously, we're all locked away anyways these days, its all that sustains me.
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!
EDIT: AND NO I DIDN'T KILL RUBY IN THE PREVIEWS! WHO DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?!
(Preview)
Salem stepped forward. Naruto mirrored her.
Someone moved. Cinder wasn't sure who, only that someone did.
Their fists collided and a shockwave ripped through the Grimmlands. Naruto spun away and now it was Salem's turn to match him.
Their ruined arms restored themselves instantly, but neither swung again.
He drilled a rasengan into her stomach. She went down with nary a sound and sprang up again, uncaring of the gaping hole in her lower torso. It was already filling in. Naruto pounced on her, and her hand ravaged the right side of his face, tearing through an eye. They tore into one another like animals. Not. Not animals. Animals cried out in pain when they were hurt. These two didn't. They fought soundlessly, save for the sounds of magic and chakra ripping across the landscape. Fire bloomed. Wind howled. Ice blossomed and shattered.
She'd never seen Salem fight before. Nor Naruto. Not like this. This? This was terrifying...
"Your chakra...you have many techniques."
"And?" Naruto tried not to laugh. He'd never thought to see her flustered.
Jinn wrinkled her nose, gave up, and outright said it. "Can you grant me a physical body?"
"I thought as much. You put on a brave face, but you're weak to magic. You can't absorb it, can you?"
Kaguya howled at him. "This isn't over!"
"Not yet. But it will be. Soon."
Ruby stumbled back. "N-No! This is a trick! I don't believe you! You can't be here!"
All too easy. Almost suspiciously so.
Cinder hardened her heart and squeeze. Their neck cracked in her grasp. She tensed, expecting a trap or a trick. The stupid Rose girl would come hurtling through the window, silver eyes flashing. Salem would turn on them. The ground would give way beneath her feet and she'd plummet to her death. None of that happened.
Power flooded her instead. She gloried in it.
Two down, then. Two to go.
R&R~!