This is much shorter than what I usually write, which is how I was able to get it done so quickly, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

Chapter CVI

Hope stolen in the dark,
Returns to lend its precious spark,
A forbidden sacrifice, a blood-price paid,
Bestows life again in sacred trade.

~x~

Following the shocking revelation of Koharu's unexpected betrayal, the Olympians had rapidly regrouped and abandoned the High Council chambers before dawn, transporting themselves and the most essential of weapons, scrolls and other vital supplies that Chiyo had assisted them in packing, to another secure sanctuary located deep in the heart of Konoha's bordering, snow-capped mountain ranges.

The secret base was accessible only via a deep, underground tunnel, a route with magic-bolted doors that required the unlocking of a complex, five-part seal to open. Built beyond the tunnel were stone-constructed chambers and halls, including a large, circular assembly hall, a kitchen and pantry, a library and study, alchemy and apothecary rooms, an armoury for storing weapons, and simply-furnished bathing rooms built adjacent to personal chambers.

It was comfortable enough in size to accommodate them all, but the lack of windows meant that firelight was the only source of illumination within the hideout. It was a long climb up flights of endless, rocky steps to reach the lookout point built into the rockface of the mountain, but making that journey to it provided a stunning view of the forests and majestic, rocky peaks that surrounded the sanctuary. The hostile temperatures outside made the base colder than the warmer environment the more luxurious High Council grounds had offered, but it was a small price to pay in exchange for security.

As the Olympians and the remaining guardians settled into their new lodgings, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kurenai were approached by a restless Temari and Kankuro.

"When will we go to Olympus?" asked Kankuro. "Every second that we lose may cost us their lives. We have already lost too much time!"

Tsunade, Jiraiya and Kurenai exchanged solemn glances.

Then Kurenai began carefully, "Hecate returned to the Underworld to retrieve Sasuke. We require his Rinnegan to enter Olympus."

"Then what's taking them so long?" Temari demanded impatiently. "She left hours ago!"

"Have either of you heard any word from Chiyo?" Jiraiya asked the goddesses.

"Not since she left," Tsunade shook her head. "We were occupied with relocating. I had assumed she would meet us with Sasuke, here. He cannot enter this place without her."

"Cronus could have extracted the tailed beast from Gaara and B by now!" Temari exclaimed.

"There's a chance that Koharu hasn't yet taken them to the summit," Shikamaru said, joining them. "If she's negotiating her terms, she'll still have them."

"Shikamaru is correct," Jiraiya agreed. "It would be suicidal of Koharu to go straight to Olympus and offer them freely to Cronus, without first securing the terms of exchange. To walk straight into the summit would be madness, indeed."

"You don't know that for certain," Kankuro argued. "What if she has? We can't just sit around and wait knowing Gaara is in danger. B is our friend, too. We have to do something."

Tsunade frowned. "I have tried to reach her again just now. She is not responding."

"I have heard nothing, either," Kurenai said.

"We cannot wait anymore." Temari's hands closed into fists. "If you will not help us, we will go to the summit ourselves. Come on, Kankuro. We can ask the Messenger to take us there."

The Olympians blinked, taken aback by the suggestion.

"Temari," Jiraiya began, but she and Kankuro had already turned away.

Shikamaru stared after them a moment, before following the siblings.

"Wait," he scowled. "You can't just waltz in there, Temari. That's reckless."

"We'll take that risk," she answered tightly.

"We've already wasted too much time waiting for Sasuke to come back," Kankuro dismissed.

"You'll be walking into a trap," Shikamaru warned them. "You need a strategy. We don't know which wards they have in place up there, and we can't risk-"

Temari spun around to face him, her eyes glittering with anger. "They have our brother! We can't stay here and do nothing!"

"And what happens if you go up there and it's already too late?" Shikamaru challenged, meeting her gaze directly, unafraid to raise the most likely outcome that the others had been hesitant to mention to the pair. "Who helps you get out?"

Kankuro had fallen silent, looking from his sister to Shikamaru in confusion, as if he were noticing something for the first time, something unexpected. The tension between them was so palpable, that the argument had drawn the attention of Ino, too, who looked up from the table where she had been unpacking phials of antidote.

"That isn't your concern," Temari raised her eyebrows. "We agreed to help fight alongside you, but our brother's safety is our priority. You have no siblings. We don't expect you to understand."

Something unreadable flickered across Shikamaru's eyes, but was gone almost as quickly as it had manifested.

"I told you I'd help you get him back," he reminded her.

"Then help us," she retorted. "Or stay here. Don't get in our way."

His eyebrows drew together. She was stubborn. Almost infuriatingly so. Schooling his irritation, he once again attempted to make her see reason. "We've lost too many. We can't let you just march in there without a plan."

"We don't need your permission," Temari returned.

"Yeah, you do," Naruto's voice cut in. He joined them, his blue eyes blazing like twin-flames. "You swore an oath to the Crown, right? That you'd follow any order that's given to you, isn't that how the promise goes? That's what my Ma once told me, anyway. That Crown belonged to my parents, and since I'm their only heir, I say there's no way you're both going up there alone."

Both Kankuro and his sister bristled at the direct order.

"I wanna save Gaara and B as much as you do, but Shikamaru's right. We can't just storm into that place, 'ttebayo! We can't lose anyone else, or we'll all be dead!"

Temari glared unhappily at him. "If anything happens to Gaara because of the time you made us waste waiting, we'll never forgive you." Meeting Shikamaru's gaze, she added pointedly, "I'll never forgive you."

With that, she turned around and stalked off. Kankuro shook his head, then followed after her.

Naruto approached Jiraiya. "Shouldn't Sasuke and Granny Chiyo be back by now?"

"We are trying to contact her again," Jiraiya informed him. "It may be that the chakra barriers here are interfering with our ability to get a message to her in the Underworld."

"Hey," Shikamaru felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to look into Ino's concerned, cornflower-blue eyes. "Are you okay?"

He released a light sigh. "They're stubborn," he said, before adding in a mutter, "Troublesome."

Ino gave him a small smile. "She's definitely a feisty one. But she's just worried about her brother. Don't take it personally, okay?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Yeah. Whatever," he coolly dismissed.

But his gaze lingered on Temari as she walked away.

~x~

Tsunade left the assembly hall and headed to the apothecary to store away their supplies of potions and antidotes. She had just entered the room, when a peculiar sensation washed over her. A sudden iciness, a prickling discomfort. An inexplicable feeling of foreboding.

'Tsunade', a voice called distantly in her mind seconds later. It belonged to the very one they had been waiting to hear from again. Hecate.

Tsunade immediately stilled, dropping the crate onto the nearest table.

'Where have you been?' She thought back. 'Why have you not yet come back? You said you would meet us here.'

'There were… most pressing matters here that required my urgent attention.'

The coldness that had settled over Tsunade intensified. 'What has happened?' she pressed. 'Is Sakura safe?'

'Have no fear. Your child is now safe. Prepare yourself, for you shall soon be called to her side to begin her transition. Remember the seals I have taught you, remember her blood and the ritual that must be done, and have trust in the hands that will aid you. Wait… for Sasuke's call, and take the young Aphrodite with you. Come not a moment sooner, for now Hades is in dire need of healing, and the barrier will not be removed until he has been restored.'

Tsunade's heart skipped a beat. A confused frown weighed upon her brow. Why was Chiyo giving her instructions as if she herself would not be present for Sakura's restoration? As if she were not returning to the surface with Sasuke at all? And what did she mean, that Sasuke was in need of healing? What had happened?

'Chiyo,' she attempted again. 'Tell me what is wrong. Why have you yet to return? What urgent matters required your attention? What has happened to Sasuke? Let me come to you!'

'You cannot enter the realm. None now can, until the barrier is lowered. The enemy… they have been expelled and incapacitated, but have taken the Rinnegan and released the Titans. They will come for Naruto next. You must be ready.'

Tsunade inhaled sharply. The room seemed to tilt around her. She reached out, gripping onto the edge of the table to steady herself.

The enemy had infiltrated the Underworld? Taken the Rinnegan and unleashed the Titans?Howwas that possible?

'Forgive me, Demeter. I could not stop it,' Chiyo's voice was growing fainter by the second. 'But Sakura lives. As will Sasuke. By my life, the throne of this realm will not fall into Cronus's hands.'

By her life. Tsunade's eyes widened. Her hammering heart plunged to her stomach in dread, sinking like a heavy rock.

'What are you doing?!' She telepathically cried. 'Chiyo!'

'I must go. Be not alarmed, and let not the enemy divide you. Hold fast and true to one another, and stand your ground. Defend life, and make your peace with death. The day will come when time and the future itself will unravel. Place your trust, then, in the hands that saved the past. Wait for his call, my old friend…'

With those last, cryptic words, her voice faded, and silence roared in Tsunade's stunned mind.

~x~

The hour had finally arrived. They were freed and returned to him, his brethren, his fellow Titans. As Orochimaru completed the repair of the final physical shell, and stepped back to allow him to look upon them at last, Madara's eyes slowly took in the measure of each formidable deity.

There was the beautiful and deadly Konan, known as Eris, the Goddess of Discord and Strife, with hair of indigo blue and eyes of grey-flecked amber. She inclined her head toward him in quiet, respectful greeting, wrapped in a dark cloak as the rest of them had been following the restoration of their bodies. Soft-spoken and stoic in nature, mortals had once likened her to a vengeful angel, due to her ability to take graceful flight.

The myths about her had not been wrong. One slice from a paper-like feather from her brilliant white wings resulted in a deadly laceration on the skin, one that did not easily heal. She also possessed the unique ability to create and fold parchment from her own chakra and use it to mimic her surroundings, setting invisible traps that were often deadly to anyone unsuspecting and unfortunate enough to be caught up in them.

Beside her was the true form of her lover, Ares, unmoving as it awaited the return of its conscious spirit from the Underworld. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with eyes as clear blue as a cloudless sky, unruly, shoulder-length hair the shade of a burnt orange sunset, and generous silver piercings that adorned both his ears and the sides of his straight nose. Yahiko was his true name, though everyone who knew him besides Eris referred to him by the moniker Pain, an apt name that reflected his barbaric, cruel nature.

Lethal in battle, with a cunning, strategic mind that specialised in the art of warfare, Ares was able to manifest black rods to absorb all forms of chakra, could manipulate the forces of attraction and repulsion to draw bodies toward himself or repel them, read and possess minds and bodies, and turn any animal and monster to bloodlust. He thrived on anger, on suffering, on the bloodshed and chaos of war, making him the perfect ally for Cronus.

Then there was Deidara, who had slanted blue eyes and long fair hair, and a smug, mischievous grin stretched across his lips. Smaller than almost all the others in his stature, but no less dangerous, Menoitus was usually cool and collected in temperament - but extremely quick to enrage. His hands possessed tongues that were capable of moulding his clay and stone-natured chakra into any artistic form of his choosing, which he could then detonate from a long-range distance, generating enough destructive force to decimate a whole village in seconds. Known for his speed, arrogance and love of trickery, he was immensely proud of his clay creations, labelling them as 'art'.

Oceanus, the tallest and most strongly built amongst them, had small, round, white eyes, a blue-grey complexion and dark blue hair. The physical form he chose to take was tied closely to his heritage and elemental roots, for Kisame had been the original, cut-throat ruler over the world's seas and oceans - before Suigetsu had stolen his crown. Samehada's first wielder, he was able to flood any battleground with water, thus manipulating his surroundings effortlessly to his advantage, and could use his extensive chakra-reserves to summon aquatic creatures to aid him in battle. He was also capable of taking on liquid form and generating devastating tsunamis.

Next was Kakazu, known as Perses the Destroyer, a towering, greedy and miserly deity who delighted in ripping still-beating hearts out of their chests, as if to compensate for the lack of his own, and who possessed a collection of masks that contained the powers of sealed deities he had disposed of in exchange for bounty, allowing him to manipulate any chakra element of his choosing. He had tanned skin, dark brown hair and soulless green irises that were devoid of pupils, set within alarming red sclerae, and wore a black mask that concealed the lower part of his face.

Beside him stood the sleek grey-haired, purple-eyed Hidan, formerly known amongst mortals as Momos. Foul-mouthed and insolent, he delighted in inflicting torture and claiming lives, believing it to be his divine purpose to purge the world of existences he deemed to be utterly worthless. Agile in movement and sadistic in nature, he wielded a large, deadly scythe, which he used to slice into his victims, drawing their blood. And once he collected their blood, their bodies would become linked to his, any damage taken to him in battle mirrored on the bodies of his victims.

And finally, there was Dolos, whose true name was Sasori. Flame haired and amber eyed, he hailed from the Sand regions of the globe, a direct descendant of the powerful Hecate herself. Slight in form yet savage in heart, he was the God of Manipulation, capable of enslaving his prey using his chakra strings to force them into becoming his puppets, as well as shielding himself within his own puppet armour. He was feared for the collection of dead corpses he had amassed, bodies he had immortalised as wooden creations that he could control at will. Aloof and unfeeling, he held no regard for mortal life, showing interest in it only where a human caught his eye as a potential addition to his ghastly collection.

All the Titans were capable of shifting into monstrous, enormous forms that were linked to the elemental nature of their chakra signatures. Konan could become a raging tornado. Kakazu could cause volcanic explosions. Deidara could become a towering stone giant, and Kisame a devastating hurricane. Sasori, Hidan and Ares, too, possessed elemental affinities that allowed them to manipulate their forms in battle.

"It feels good to be free of that damned gourd! To have a body again! Did you miss us? You cranky bastard," Hidan flashed Madara an impertinent, fearless smile.

Madara stared stonily down at him, sensitive to the fact that Hidan possessed the foulest tongue of them all. If they had not been so familiar with one another and well-acquainted, his head would have ended up skewered upon a spike for the insult. And Hidan knew it.

"I would be happy," Kakazu spoke gruffly, "to carve out Hidan's tongue for you, if I am suitably rewarded for my troubles."

"Go fuck yourself, Kakazu," Hidan dismissed. "Trying to make your stupid deals, already? I'm not a damned lesser god you can trap in your creepy masks for bounty."

"A pity," Kakazu growled.

"Barely a minute restored to their bodies, and already giving me a headache," Kisame's razor-sharp teeth flashed in a savage grin.

Hidan threw his arms up into the air, stretching them behind his head. "I've been quiet for over two-thousand years, Shark-Breath. There's a lot of lost time to make up for. So, what'd we miss?"

They listened intently as Madara informed them of the progress of his plans, of the Olympians and their allies that they had disposed of, of everything they had been working hard to achieve, and what their next steps would be.

"You've taken out a lot of them already," Hidan complained.

"There are hardly any left for us to play with, unh?" Deidara agreed, disappointed.

"Our original deal still stands," Hidan said to Madara. "Everything you promised us, in exchange for helping you."

Madara's smile was cold. It did not meet his eyes as he answered, "Of course. I gave my word that each of you would be given dominion over lands of your choice."

"So Poseidon is dead," Kisame's eyebrows arched. "A shame. I would have liked to maim him myself. Where, then, is Samehada?"

"It mussst still be in the Olympians' possession." Orochimaru supplied. "You will see Poseidon again, Kisame. He will soon be ready for reanimation."

Oceanus smirked at that. He liked the idea of making Suigetsu suffer in death.

"So you finally mastered Edo-tensei," Konan remarked. Orochimaru offered her a smug smile.

"The Serpent will be amply rewarded for the assistance he has provided to our cause," said Madara.

"I'll be damned," Hidan walked over to the pillars where an unconscious figure was slumped over, chained at the wrists, neck and ankles. Blood trickled from the corner of their mouth, but they were still breathing, still alive. "It looks like we have prey to play with already." Rubbing his chin, he mused, "This old bag somehow looks familiar."

"That is because it is one of Zeus's old council members, you fool," Kakuzu muttered.

"Thea," Konan identified.

"She came to me of her own free will with tailed-beast offerings, in exchange for her life to be spared," Cronus smirked. "I have given my word to allow her to live."

"For now, unh?" Deidara smirked.

"For now," Madara agreed.

"She would make an excellent addition to my collection," Sasori murmured.

"By all means, feel free to take the wretch," Cronus waved with a hand. "As soon as I acquire all the information I need from her once Ares returns, you may do with her as you please."

Kisame stepped forward to toss a phial up to Madara, who swiftly caught it.

"A gift from the Underworld," Oceanus grinned.

A stillness befell Madara as he looked down at the phial in his hand, knowing precisely what it contained. At last, after millennia spent trying to activate the eye himself to no avail, the sacred Rinnegan was in his possession, awakened by his descendent just as Madara had hoped it would be. No longer would he be required to wait for it to manifest. Sasuke had done all the hard work for him.

It appeared that everything had gone exactly according to Ares's meticulously plotted, brilliant plan. A deep, smug smirk curved on Madara's lips. All the pieces he required were falling into place in perfect alignment. Once Obito and Ares returned from the Underworld, the next phase of their plan would be put into motion - the awakening of the Ten Tails, and his long-awaited return to the surface.

And then… revenge on the Olympians, and the decimation of The Fates themselves, as he created a new world, a new order. A world where everything, even time itself, would answer to him.

Reaching up, he gouged out his left eye, not so much as even flinching as he spilled his own blood tearing the organ from its socket, replacing it with the Rinnegan Obito had harvested from Sasuke.

The Titans watched him in silence, until Konan quietly murmured, "It is real, then. The Rinnegan is no legend."

"It is no legend," Kisame affirmed. "Much blood has been spilt seeking this eye."

Madara rose from the throne, feeling the severed optic nerves in his socket already fusing with the newly-transplanted eyeball, forming fresh pathways that would allow chakra to flow directly into the Rinnegan. It would take a small amount of time until the eye was ready to be used, but once he was freed from the summit, and his full chakra reserves restored to him, there would be no limitations on what he could command the Rinnegan to do. On the horrors he would use it to unleash upon the Olympians.

"With this eye, I will rain ruin down upon those who sought to confine us for eternity. Behold," he gestured with a hand to the crystals behind the other Titans, and they turned to look for the first time upon Zeus and Hera's corpses.

Konan released a quiet breath, shaking her head in astonishment.

"Hah!" Hidan crowed. "You actually captured the bastards?"

"The Olympians would surely pay a great deal to have them returned," Kakazu commented.

"Heh. Don't get any ideas," Kisame warned him.

Sasori approached their prison, eyeing them with curious interest. "When did you acquire them?"

"The moment they forfeited their miserable lives, casting the cursed seal that has held me here for over two thousand years," Madara responded darkly.

"Why do they look so…" Hidan squinted at the corpses, tapping a finger against the crystal, "...intact? Why haven't you maimed them?" Raising his eyebrows, he added, "Not wanting to get your hands dirty, Madara? Want me to do it for you?"

"I have far better, more permanent ways to make them suffer in death," Madara sneered, his dark gaze slipping expectantly onto Orochimaru.

"They are ready," the daemon confirmed. "At your command."

"Excellent," Madara purred.

"What about that damned crimson-eyed bastard who trapped us in Totsuka to begin with?" Hidan demanded. "Your little backstabbing heir, the one with the long hair. Where is he? I'd like to spill his blood and cut him into pieces."

"You could not even keep up with him on the battlefield," Kakazu growled roughly.

"Go screw yourself, Kakazu!" Hidan retorted. "You were trapped in the gourd, too!"

Madara's lips twisted into a disgusted, hateful sneer. "He gave his life to seal the gourd. The revenge I will take upon him shall be the eternal enslavement of his precious brother, Hades."

Ares's body suddenly tensed, his spirit reuniting with his physical form at last. Konan stepped closer to him, and his gaze shifted to her as she brushed a hand against his arm, almost as if to reassure herself that he had truly returned to her.

"Ares, you cold-hearted bastard," Hidan greeted.

"It's been a long time, hmm," Deidara hummed.

Ares pointedly ignored them, his piercing gaze settling immediately onto Madara as he wasted no time on pleasantries.

"Well?" Madara demanded. "I trust everything has gone according to plan?"

"There has been an unexpected development," Pain reported. At Madara's questioning look, he elaborated, "Hecate intervened, and performed a series of seals unknown to us. I was expelled from the Underworld, and have attempted several times to return to it. However, I cannot. It would appear a barrier has been placed upon the realm."

Displeasure danced across Madara's eyes. "Where is Obito?"

"He remained behind. I cannot reach his mind. There is no response."

"Hasss he ascended the throne?" Orochimaru asked.

Pain shook his head. "At the point I was expelled, he had not."

"What!" The displeasure on Madara's face morphed into rage.

"Who the fuck is Obito?" Hidan asked.

"One of the Uchiha," Kisame reminded him. "The servant he kept alive."

"I thought they were all dead, except for that weak little twerp, Hades."

"You need a history lesson, unh?" Deidara mocked him.

"What's that, you smartass? Maybe you need a damned art one, if you think your clay creations are actually anything that resemble-"

"Silence!" Madara snapped, irritated by their bickering. Surprised by the vehemence of the order, both Deidara and Hidan obeyed.

"Tell me precisely what has happened," he instructed, and the Titans listened as Pain relayed the events that had occurred in the Underworld's throne-room, from Sasuke's petrification to the puppet battle that had followed, which had culminated in Hecate weaving a sequence of unknown workings.

"What manner of ability is this?" Madara's gaze flicked onto Sasori.

He shook his head. "I do not know of it. She never before mentioned such a technique."

"Only the Underworld's monarch possesses the ability to place barriers on the kingdom. You are certain that Sasuke has been lost to the seal?" Madara glanced back at Pain.

"I am certain," Ares confirmed.

"There must be another way in," Kisame folded his arms across his chest. "Another way to retrieve your servant."

"Perhapsss I may be of assistance," Orochimaru suggested. "Now that he has succumbed to the Curse, I am able to use the seal to transport myself directly to Sasuke-kun's location…"

Madara's eyes narrowed.

"Take caution," Konan advised. "If Yahiko has been unable to establish contact with Obito, it may mean he has been incapacitated."

"We do not know what the crone has done," Pain said.

Madara's mind raced. How was it possible that Obito had been trapped within the realm and all entry into it barred to outsiders? If Sasuke had yielded to the Curse Seal's petritication, it meant that he was unable to place the kingdom into lockdown, and that the throne was ready to receive its next ruler. Yet according to Ares's recount of events, Obito had not ascended before the God of War's consciousness had been forcibly ejected and he had then lost all contact with Obito.

What manner of blasted working had Hecate called upon to achieve such a thing? He had made the Underworld himself. He knew its laws as well as he knew the back of his own hand. Only the Crowned could deny entry into the realm.

His eyes blazed with anger. Obito's silence did not bode well. He was the only one amongst them whilst Cronus was still trapped on the summit, who was capable of infiltrating the Underworld unhindered, courtesy of his shadow-nature and gifts of space-time manipulation. And he still held the last tailed-beast that Madara required to awaken the Ten Tails and break free of his confinement.

There was only one way to find out what had happened in the Underworld, using the only point of entry they had left available to them, a loophole that would allow them to bypass the powerful wards that had been placed upon the realm to prevent anyone entering through ordinary means.

It was a risk to allow Orochimaru to go in alone. But Madara had faith in his abilities, and they had no alternative options. Obito had to be retrieved at all costs.

"Go," Cronus ordered him. "Make haste. Find out what has happened, and return Sasuke and Obito here."

Orochimaru licked his lips in relish, bowed his head, and wasted no time in doing precisely that.

~x~

After Sai had deposited her at the front gates of Yugakure, Karin had waited in a long queue of mortals to be allowed entry back into the village - only to find all her worst fears confirmed. The quaint place in which she had chosen to set up a tentative new life was unrecognisable. Homes had been swept away by the destructive force of the tsunami that had been unleashed upon the poor, innocent, unsuspecting residents. Broken bits of wood, plaster, personal belongings and furniture floated in the water-saturated streets, and toppled trees had been uprooted from the ground.

The extent of the devastation had taken her breath away.

Those fortunate enough to have survived were wading through the floods, trying to salvage any remains they could find, or talking to members of the press who were reporting on what was being called an unprecedented and unforeseen natural disaster. But Karin knew better. She knew that there had been nothing natural about the disaster that had struck the town.

Rescue services were still searching the waters, trying to find anyone who might have been left behind or trapped in the ruins. All survivors had been relocated to the nearest village, their names recorded on sheets of paper that had been hastily stuck to the entrance gates. Karin had felt her heart sink lower and lower into her gut as her eyes had trailed frantically down the list, desperately seeking out mention of Koko, Zen and Mrs. Shinba. A suffocating tightness had overcome her chest, knowing what it had to mean that none of their names were on the lists of those accounted for - the tsunami had likely claimed their lives.

And it had claimed her life, too, the new beginning she had attempted to make. Her heart skipped several beats when she finally found her way to Mrs. Shinba's cottage, only to discover that a large tree had crashed on top of the centre of the building. The home had been completely flattened, reduced to rubble. On the side of town where the force of the tsunami's impact had been the most devastating.

There was no chance that the old woman could have possibly survived. And yet Karin could not bring herself to search the remains of the building.

Her chest and eyes burned, and before she knew it, feelings she had restrained for hours, for what felt like days, were rushing to the surface, manifesting as thick, hot tears that spilled down her cheeks as she sagged against one of the building's cracked walls, the water level reaching just above her knees.

Pressing a hand to her mouth, she tried to suppress the sobs that begged to be released as she thought of the innocent mortal lives that had been lost, of Koko and her family's kindness - and of Suigetsu, who had saved her from certain death, who in doing so had become enslaved by the enemy and forced to defy his own function, before ultimately losing his own life.

Joke's… on me… I guess… I get… to be wiped out first… for being… the reason you…

The final words he had struggled to speak to her replayed hauntingly in her mind, and a storm of emotion overwhelmed Karin at their memory, as crushing and crippling as the tsunami that had laid waste to the village.

"You stupid- stupid idiot," she sobbed, feeling more lost and alone in the world than she ever had in all the long years of her existence.

She did not know how long she remained there, crying and hating herself for it, unable to comprehend the piercing pain in her heart. She carried so many regrets. They weighed upon her, heavier than all the waters in all the oceans in the world. Perhaps she ought not to have left the Underworld at all. If she had remained in Sasuke's realm, then Suigetsu never would have sought her out to accompany him to Orochimaru's base, and then none of the terrible things that had happened would have ever come to pass.

What had been the point of it all, when she had been left with nothing in the end?

Someone clucked their tongue in disapproval somewhere high above her, and Karin immediately froze, her eyes flying open, every muscle in her body growing rigid as a casual voice reached her disbelieving ears, as smooth and cool as rippling water itself.

"Y'know, looking at this wreck from way up here, I'm pretty sure there's enough water in this town already. You planning on flooding this place twice over with all those tears? Don't give me even more shit to clean up."

A strangled cry escaped her throat, as Karin turned her eyes skyward.

~x~

A lone, white snake oozed out of the Curse Mark on Sasuke's arm. Its forked tongue flicked back and forth as it slowly slithered around on the marble floor, cautiously tasting the air, searching for the slightest hint of any hidden dangers, and the faintest of chakra signatures that might be lurking in its surroundings.

When nothing appeared to be amiss, the snake slithered back into its mark. And slowly, the petrification that had claimed Sasuke's body began to melt away. Within a minute, the death deity had drawn in a breath, and his eyelids opened. Possessed by Orochimaru's consciousness.

He sat up, and turned his head, looking through his remaining eye at his surroundings, before rising gingerly to his feet, his movements stiff, almost mechanical. It would take a while, Orochimaru knew, to fully merge with his new vessel, to master its abilities, but he could already feel the great power that slumbered in Sasuke's veins. The darkness and shadows that made up the very essence of his being.

But he could not yet call upon its gifts yet. His possession at that moment was only temporary, a strategic choice given that it was safer for him to masquerade as the King of the Dead while in the Underworld, than it was to roam about in his true form. Orochimaru told himself that as soon as he returned to his laboratory on the surface, he would heal his new vessel, implant another Sharingan to replace the Rinnegan that had been torn from Sasuke's left eye socket, and then he would perform the ritual that would allow him to inhabit Hades's body without limitations. Then, at long last, he would be able to wield his abilities at will.

He lifted his compromised gaze to find Hecate lying before the dais that climbed up to the Underworld's throne. Broken puppets were scattered all around her, and he could sense no chakra signatures radiating from her form.

With a surprised start, he realised that she was dead. His mind raced through all the forbidden dark art spells he knew, every seal that resulted in the loss of its caster's life. But there were none he had knowledge of that were simultaneously capable of placing barriers down on the Underworld. Just as Cronus had stated, only the King or Queen of the realm possessed that power.

He then turned to examine the rest of his surroundings, taking in the ruins of the Underworld's majestic throne-room. Evidence of a great struggle met his assessing gaze. Columns had been damaged, shattered crystal chandeliers had fallen to the dark marble floor, and the royal seat of power-

His serpentine eyes widened when he did not find Obito seated upon it as expected. It was eerily vacant, save for the dark shadows that billowed from its polished, onyx-carved frame. His seeking gaze then settled on the prone form lying a short distance away from it.

Obito lay on the ground. Incapacitated. Orochimaru approached him cautiously. He was breathing, still alive, but out cold. There was no hint around him of what might have caused him to fall unconscious.

His eyes darted next to Demeter's rose-haired daughter. Sakura lay in a pool of her own blood, still breathing despite having one of Ares's black rods impaled in her back. There was another body, crumpled behind her, but Orochimaru did not recognise who it belonged to.

Before he could attempt to piece together the fragments of the perplexing puzzle lying scattered before him, a sudden movement caught the corner of his eye. His gaze shot back to the throne - to find an elegant black crow perched upon one of its decorative finials. Orochimaru stared at it in surprise. Had he somehow overlooked the bird's presence at first glance, or had it only just melted out of shadow?

The crow released a loud caw, the sound echoing strongly around the throne-room.

Then it turned its head, and a crimson eye locked directly onto Orochimaru.

Piercing. Stabbing. Devastating.

The air hitched in his throat as a prickling, displacing sensation immediately crept over him. Ominous static crackled in the air, followed by an aura of darkness so potent, so suffocatingly malicious, he could not help but gasp in alarm, his mind racing to place it, to pinpoint its precise location.

But it was both nowhere and everywhere at once, rippling all around him and eluding his attempts to track its source. A cold, sweeping chill washed over him and he felt it, in the very marrow of his bones - a primal flutter of fear, one that whispered to him that he was no stranger to that terrifying, oppressive aura.

A memory flashed through his mind, so vivid, it was as though he were reliving the horrific experience all over again.

His arm being violently severed above the elbow.

His tongue, seized with lightning-fast reflexes between vice-like gloved fingers, ripped viciously from his mouth, leaving him choking on his own blood.

Jagged pain exploded in the centre of his chest. He looked down, shocked, to find a blade protruding from it, blazing with red-orange chakra. He opened his mouth, but could form no words. He could not move. He could not breathe. The sword seemed to both freeze him in place and set his body alight with scalding flame as it began to suck away his ability to form coherent thoughts. It was devouring his chakra, ravaging him whole, rapidly loosening his grip on the precious vessel he had inhabited only minutes earlier.

No…! It… cannot… be…! Even as he thought it, the horrified thought was fragmenting, turning to slush. T-Totsuka…?!

His borrowed heart pounded. It was not possible. It was not possible. But as his stunned gaze fell on Hecate's body, he realised that she had outsmarted him. She had outsmarted them all. And his greed, his eagerness to claim Sasuke's body, had made him walk straight into a trap, turned him from predator into hapless prey.

Chilling words then drifted through his head, spoken not aloud, but directly into his mind. Impossible to escape from, the voice that invaded his subconscious was as rich and deep and dark as night, a veil of deceptively alluring black silk, beneath which lurked cold, ruthless, slicing steel. It sent a jagged bolt of icy terror coursing down Orochimaru's spine, for it was the voice from his nightmares. Both a velvety caress and as daunting as the impenetrable, unknown darkness itself, it wrapped around his dulling senses like a cloud of suffocating smoke. Instigating mindless panic, as it cut off any hopes of drawing in a breath. Any hopes of salvation.

'You were warned.'

They were the last words he would ever hear. Orochimaru's scream caught in his throat, as a searing, excruciating, blinding pain gripped his mind and lungs, and he felt his consciousness being dragged out of his physical body against his will, against all his best and futile efforts to resist and greedily hold onto his prize. Sucked straight into the sealing blade embedded in his chest, to be trapped within an eternal illusion from which he would never again escape.

~x~

Pain. It was the first thing he became aware of, that hinted to him that he was perhaps still alive. That his body was perhaps somehow still his own. Sasuke stirred, floating on the shores that carried the soul between the blurry divide of consciousness and unconsciousness, and tried to tell his lungs to breathe, as he fought against the lull of darkness that kept trying to drag him back out into an ocean of empty oblivion.

His thoughts were fractured. He could not quite gather them to form a whole. He knew there was something that required his attention, something urgent, but it scattered out of his mind like grains of sand, dispersing and blowing in the wind. He was distantly aware of a voice speaking from somewhere above him, but he could not make out its words.

Then he thought he might have felt hands on him, lifting him, carrying him, before setting him slowly, carefully down. A pleasant warmth began to creep over his frozen limbs, and the pain in his body immediately began to wane. When something warm cupped his right cheek, Sasuke battled with every ounce of willpower he possessed to open his eyes.

But an irresistible force was keeping his eyelids and his limbs heavy, and the light brush of fingertips against his left temple sent his consciousness slipping away from him once again, swallowing him back into the waiting embrace of a deep, peaceful slumber.

~x~

The Olympians reassembled around the table in the meeting chamber, and a heavy, stunned silence had followed Tsunade's recount of the words Chiyo had conveyed to her, before she had lost all contact with Hecate.

Temari and Kankuro were distraught by the devastating confirmation of the loss of their sibling and friend. Shikamaru, plagued by guilt, could hardly bring himself to meet their grief-stricken eyes.

"I cannot believe it," Kurenai breathed, the horror in her words mirrored in the dismayed expressions of her companions. "The Titans are free? It cannot be."

"How?" Ino raised a hand to her mouth in horror. "How were they able to get out?"

"They were trapped inside Tartarus," Sai shook his head. "It should not be possible."

"The seals on it would have had to have been removed," Shikamaru deduced. "And given that only Sasuke can remove them…"

Naruto's eyes widened. "If those bastards got out, took his Rinnegan and tried to take the throne too, that must mean Sasuke's in trouble! We have to go to the Underworld and-"

"Stop, Naruto!" Jiraiya reached out, placing an anchoring hand on his shoulder. "Did you not hear what Tsunade just said? A barrier has been placed on the realm. We cannot enter it."

Naruto's chest heaved, the terrifying thought of something happening to Sasuke and Sakura turning his blood to ice. "We have to find a way in, damn it!"

"Do you think I am not also worried about Sakura?" Tsunade's hands balled into fists. "But if a barrier has been placed on the realm, it is to keep not just us, but also the enemy out. Chiyo informed me that they had been expelled, which means that they will no doubt be trying to get back in, too."

"Tsunade is right," Jiraiya's eyebrows furrowed. "Cronus wants the Underworld's throne, and whatever actions Chiyo has taken has prevented that from happening for now. You are the last piece Cronus needs to unleash the Ten Tails. We cannot risk you going anywhere near there, Naruto! Not until we fully understand what has happened. Not with the enemy also likely looking for a way to get in."

"From what you said Chiyo told you, though, Sasuke and Sakura are both safe, aren't they?" Ino bit her lower lip worriedly.

"Yes," Tsunade nodded, her lips pressed tightly together. "But it seems Sasuke has been wounded, and I was told the barrier would remain on the realm until he is restored."

"This is bad. Obito must have gotten in," Shikamaru frowned. "That's why Chiyo didn't make it back. The enemy timed this attack perfectly."

Naruto slammed a frustrated palm down against the table. "That bastard!"

"But Chiyo also told you about things that sound like they haven't happened yet. Things from the future," Kurenai's eyebrows drew together in concern. "She is forbidden from speaking of what she sees in the Crossroads. She would never defy The Fates, or her function, not unless…" she broke off, her mind completing the sentence before her lips could.

Another crushing silence filled the air, and this time it was rife with the horror of realisation.

"Unless," Tsunade whispered. "She knew she was going to die."

~x~

Faint, musical notes drifted to his ears, drawing him gently from the heavy, warm embrace of slumber. Blearily, Sasuke opened his eyes, blinking groggily to find himself lying on a plush, velvet chaise longue in one of his palace's drawing rooms, covered in a thin blanket. He stared blankly up at the high ceiling for a moment - only to suck in a sharp breath as recollection slammed so violently into him, it tore the air from his lungs. Bolting upright so fast that the room spun precariously around him, his first panicked thought was of Sakura, the last memory he had of her sobbing over him, telling him she loved him-

He blinked in astonishment, tensing when he found her lying on another chaise longue opposite to his. Scrambling up, nearly tangling his legs in the blanket and tripping gracelessly over his own feet in his haste to move to her side, Sasuke dropped to his knees next to her, his wide eyes anxiously scouring her body for injuries, for any signs of distress.

"Sakura," he exhaled.

The only response was the soft, steady sound of her even breathing. There were no wounds on her. Her hair had been freshly washed and smoothly brushed, and the green gown she wore was different to the crimson one he recalled her being in before he had lost consciousness. Gently pushing a long lock of silky rose hair away from her face, he found that there was no blood, no grime or dirt marks on any visible skin his eyes could see. She looked perfectly at peace, and merely appeared to be sleeping soundly.

Immense relief flooded through him, even as he blinked down at her in bewilderment. Then he glanced down at himself, surprised to discover that his own clothing had also been changed. He was dressed in a dark, midnight-blue tunic, decorated with silver-embroidery, beneath which he wore a long-sleeved black undershirt and baggy black trousers that had been tucked at the knees into black sandals. Sasuke stared at his bare hands, adorned only with his usual silver and onyx rings. There were no bloodstains upon his skin either, no evidence of the catastrophic damage the Curse Seal had inflicted upon him.

Slowly he drew back the sleeve on his right arm, almost dreading what he might find there. He had turned to stone. He distinctly remembered the horrific sensation of losing all control over his limbs, of being helpless to claw back his autonomy as his consciousness had been dragged away from him, leaving him frozen, a helpless prisoner in his own body, unable to fight, to help either himself or Sakura.

Sasuke stilled, his heart skipping a beat. The skin on the underside of his forearm was perfectly smooth. There was no Curse Mark to be found.

"What…?" he whispered to himself in disbelief - only to realise, with a start, that he could see in both eyes.

But his left one had been brutally gouged out of its socket by Obito. He had lost the Rinnegan. How was he able to see in both eyes, when one had been taken from him?

Mind reeling, he got back to his feet, and made his way to the large, gold-framed mirror hanging above the ornate fireplace.

Two perfectly intact midnight eyes stared back at him. His face was clean, no evidence remaining of the gruesome ocular injury he had sustained. Sasuke's lips parted in bewilderment, and for a long, horrible moment, he could do nothing except gape at his own reflection, blinking several times to ensure his mind was not playing tricks on him. It categorically was not.

His heart had started to pound, its rhythm slow and sickening. He dared to channel chakra into his optic pathways, and watched, with bated breath, as two Sharingan manifested, the pattern in his right familiar-

He froze. The left eye's vivid, intricate kaleidoscope did not belong to his own iris's natural pattern, yet he recognised it as clearly as his own.

It was his Itachi's. It was his brother's.

Deeply disturbed and thrown by the staggering sight, Sasuke stumbled away from the mirror, staring at his reflection as if it were a ghost, as if it had betrayed him. What was happening? How was it possible that he had woken up, fully healed of not only the Curse Seal and its petrification, but of the venom and every other wound that had been inflicted upon him by the enemy?

How was it possible that the crow's eye, the very one he needed to save Sakura, had been awakened, and that Sakura slept soundly across the room, safe and unharmed? They had been overpowered and crippled by Obito and Ares. Caught off guard and obliterated. He had lost all control over his body. And yet he had awoken as if none of it had happened at all. As if it had been nothing but a terrible nightmare.

His mind drew a frightening blank, at a loss to offer any kind of conceivable explanation. The last thing he concretely recalled was Sakura sobbing his name. Then everything had faded away to black.

The piano music was still playing. Sasuke blinked, turning away from his reflection at last, eyebrows drawing together as he finally tuned into the notes, his confusion escalating by the second.

Music? The servants did not play on any of the instruments. It sounded like it was coming from-

Something twisted violently inside his gut as he listened more closely. He knew those beautiful notes. He recognised that moving melody. He had played it countless times himself, yet no amount of imitation could ever match the skill of its original composer.

His heart was now hurtling inside his chest, and his breaths began to escape from his lips in shallow, rapid bursts. It was a dream. It could not be real, none of it. Surely he had to be locked in an illusion of some kind. Orochimaru had possessed his body, and was using twisted mind games to try to keep him from fighting against his control. That was the only explanation.

The notes continued to play, luring him forward, drawing him to their source like the enchanting melody of a pied piper. Sasuke exited the room in a dazed trance, mesmerised by the piano's poignant, emotive keys. He followed the music up the entrance hall's grand staircase, barely seeing the servants who had gathered there to listen, who bowed courteously to him as he passed them.

He followed the notes along the candlelit corridors, up further flights of stairs, his heart slamming riotously against his ribcage, as if it sought to break free from its cage. Tremors gripped him when at last he came to one of the palace's many ballrooms. Where the music was resonating loudest.

Releasing an unsteady breath, Sasuke stopped before the double-doors, rooted to the spot as he continued to listen, caught firmly under the thrall of the arresting music. His entire body, he realised with a stunned start, was trembling violently, the force of his heartbeat so strong that it was akin to an earthquake shaking him to his very core.

His throat turned to parched sand, and the palms of his hands prickled. He was terrified. Terrified to open the doors, to dispel whatever cruel illusion had been cast upon his overwhelmed, addled senses. Terrified of what he might find - or not find - waiting for him on the other side.

Swallowed thickly, he reached out with trembling hands, gripping the ornate door handles tightly, as if to ground himself to a reality he was not convinced he was truly experiencing. It was a coincidence, he willed himself to believe. The sheet music had been left on the instrument. But even as he thought it, he knew it to be equally impossible. A desperate attempt by his mind to tell him one final lie.

Because he knew it in his blood, knew it in his bones. Nobody could play the song like that. Nobody, except-

Heart hammering in the base of his throat, the King of the Underworld opened the ballroom doors.

~x~

Author's Note

Reviews would be much appreciated! Many thanks for reading.