Royalty

by Nasha Rei-Kun

Lineage was a big part of Etheria and Naruto Uzumaki was forced into making one of his own. To protect his comrades, his friends, his family, and even people like Shadow Weaver and Hordak. Adora and Catra had a big part in it, too, despite all the pain and trials they'd go through. They were a big part of his 'royalty', in the end.

2. The Prince Part 2

~NRK~

Four days later, two more days until the mission on Saturday, found Naruto one Thursday night standing on one of the spires outside of the empire.

He crouched on a far extending metal outcropping, a cloak over his shoulders with the hood up and a battle ax across his lower back.

"So, this is where you also disappear off to?" Adora asked him, the boy rubbing the back of his head as he turned to find her and Catra landing on the outcropping he'd been on. "Naruto, you didn't lie about the simulation rooms, did you?"

"I didn't, I promise," the cloaked boy said with a shake of the head. "I do do that stuff but it's not the only thing… I'm heading to the Whispering Woods," Adora gasped.

"N-Naruto! That's suicide!" She whispered hotly as Catra considered the chuckling Naruto with interest. "You've heard what people say about that forest."

"Adora, half of that stuff isn't true."

"H-Huh?!"

"It's not… I've been going to the Whispering Woods for years," Naruto admitted as Catra crossed her arms, her tail curling slowly while Adora's jaw dropped. "It's a place that needs help and I go there often to fix the plant life," he told her before ducking from a spotlight from above. "Look, I'm gonna be gone until morning, we're off tomorrow since it's right before our mission, so this shouldn't be-"

"Alright, then we're coming with," the cat girl said with a raised brow as Naruto groaned.

"Catra, come on! You guys can't go the way I'm going."

"... Why not?" Adora asked after a moment of conflict. "I-I don't get it, how are you even getting there?"

"I climb, hop, and run."

"..."

"..."

"What?" Catra asked him in disbelief. "You mind saying that again?"

"You guys know I'm basically full of stamina. So, I use it," Naruto said. "I travel there in about an hour, spend a couple hours there, and come back by early morning to get some rest."

Adora just stared at him in disbelief. "Naruto, that seems horrible for your sleep schedule," she frowned at him, stomping up to him and prodding his chest.

"A-Adora-"

"No. What would you do if you had a horrible headache? Your scores would drop more, you'd be reprimanded!"

Catra snickered. "Not like it's bothered him before," she chimed in.

"Even then, you need to have some kind of score to stick with us, as he said," Adora said as Naruto sweatdropped.

"No, wait, seriously! I mean it, I'm not gonna do that, I have meditation skills for this!" Naruto pleaded as the two girls blinked at him. "I'm never tired, you guys, not unless something kept me up at night and I couldn't focus and that's only happened the times we had actual written tests!"

"Wait, what?"

"Meditation?" Catra frowned. "And that gives you your endless stamina?" She asked, tapping her chin in thought. 'Did that help him beat me?'

"Uh, yeah. By meditating, I can recover faster and stuff," Naruto said as another spotlight passed by. "Okay, seriously, can we not talk about this right now-"

"We're coming, Naruto," Adora said with a frown as he groaned. "Besides… it might help give me the extra training we'll need to handle this mission," she told him, surprising her fellow blonde. "Right now, we need as much training as we can muster but we're resting tomorrow, as you said, so this might be good for us… come on."

Naruto's brow twitched.

~NRK~

"H-Hehehe!" Catra chuckled happily as she hung off Naruto's shoulders, the wind blowing in the three's faces.

Adora just blushed in the male blonde's very nice and warm arms- 'I-I think something's wrong with me,' she thought with a mumble as Naruto carried his fellow-cloaked cadets to the edges of the empire. "H-How are you so strong?!" She asked in disbelief.

"I'm always lugging things around in the Whispering Woods for Old Lady Razz," Naruto said, confusing the two. "She's a weird old lady I found in there one day. I don't know if she's an actual Etherian or not, she's got purple/pink skin but she doesn't look like a normal person… She's weird."

"Sounds like it's as crazy outside of here as we thought," Catra said with excitement. "We're gonna see the world outside the empire! Adora, this is gonna be awesome!" She added with big bright eyes, Naruto landing on a trail between the mountains before taking off at good speed. 'Geez, it's like he doesn't even feel us,' it kinda brought into perspective just how strong Naruto actually was.

A flashback to four days ago had her grip on the blonde tightening a bit to no effect, Catra's eyebrow twitching at that.

"Stupid…" She muttered as Naruto blinked before turning his head to her.

"You say something?" He asked before she huffed, pouted, and turned his head back around with a finger. "Okay then."

They kept going for what had to have been an hour, the fact the entire trip wasn't boring was surprising to the cat girl but she wasn't gonna be fussy about fun.

"Alright, here," Naruto said with a few fast breaths, letting the two down. "Hmm, haven't done that before," he explained, stretching his back.

The few cracks she heard had Catra nodding. "I'd bet," she said before looking around the eerie green trees, odd feelings of being watched, and the sounds of animals. "Y-Yeah, this seems about right," Catra muttered as Adora dusted off her cloak.

"L-Let's just focus on what you usually do," she told Naruto with hidden red cheeks. 'Am I hot? Or is this adrenaline?' It might have been, honestly.

Jumping over large expanses, the sheer climbs and cliffs, the sliding segments?

Naruto did so much and it was exhilarating to think about being so… capable.

He really was-

There was a rustle in a nearby bush, getting a jump out of the girls while Naruto hummed.

Then, there was a large rustle, Catra and Adora's jaws dropping as they took several steps back due to a giant beetle monster that broke into the clearing.

"AHHHHHHH!" The two shouted in unison as the creature got closer… before Naruto walked past them and up to it.

"Naruto, you idiot?!" Catra hissed out, pulling on his hood in horror. "Stay away from that thing!"

"It's fine, stop freaking out or you'll attract the real bad guys of the forest," Naruto told her as the beetle creature stopped in front of him. "Hmm? Oh, sup, bud?" He grinned for the creature that clacked its mandibles in random fashion. "Catra, seriously, it's cool," Naruto said as he, instead, zipped behind the two and pushed them towards the bug?!

"NARUTO IF I DIE, I'M HAUNTING YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!" Adora yelled, pale as a ghost.

"It's fine, God," Naruto muttered before the two were face-to-face with the head-tilting bug monster. "He's fine. I told you, I help the forest around here and this guy is one of the buds I've made since doing that," he grinned as he walked up and pat the creature on the head.

Adora's jaw dropped at how it clacked happily at the boy's touch, Naruto's grin shooting on all cylinders as he gave it the biggest head rub with both arms.

What… What was this boy?

How was he so… Adora didn't know the word. It felt like one she didn't understand but knew would fit.

But she couldn't figure out what it'd be.

~NRK~

Traveling via bug had certainly not been on her list of things to do.

Catra just stared at the back of Naruto's head, riding right behind him with Adora behind her. "What are you?" She asked him in disbelief. "W-We're riding a giant bug monster and you apparently made friends with it?! Is this how you and Rogelio get along so easily?!"

"I mean… I would never compare him to this guy," Naruto pat the bug's shell. "But yeah, understanding body language is super important, Catra. It'll teach ya a lot… we're here," he said softly as their 'ride' came to a stop.

Naruto slid off the giant bug's shell before looking around at the dying plants, broken trees, upheaved dirt, and painful-looking thorny vines.

"... Uhm, this looks like what the Whispering Woods is supposed to look like," Catra said as she and Adora jumped down before walking up to the sighing blonde. "... It is… right?" She asked like an idiot.

"No, it's not," Naruto uttered, the bug creature making a sad noise, its antennae flopping, as it, too, looked out at the area. "... Alright," the blonde dropped his cloak.

Wearing a familiar 'courier' outfit from their exercise, the blonde pulled an orange mask up over his nose.

"Let's get started."

The first thing they watched the blonde do was remove his axe from his back.

He went from thorny vine to vine and, with a single chop he cleaved through it with ease that impressed Adora, the cadet lead coming over and looking at the 'slacker' cadet's work.

"These vines are almost two-feet long," she said as Catra followed behind Naruto with a contemplative frown. "Naruto, you've got good cutting skills."

"Don't expect me to cook," the blonde boy joked as he finished up. "But, yeah, ever since doing this I got better at using this thing," he added, shaking his axe before latching it back onto his lower back.

Following that, he and Adora picked up the cut up piece before the beetle creature came forward.

"He can eat these poisonous things," Naruto said with a smile as they fed the animal.

It ate the thorny vines with ease and determination.

They continued on, Catra reluctantly following along and helping out.

A pair of hours later, Adora wiped her forehead, sat on the floor, while Catra leaned on her knees, sweat falling down her brow.

"H-He does this all the time?" The cat girl asked in disbelief as their blonde comrade kept going by cleaning up a nearby rock of thorny vines and dead plants with huffs of exertion at the tightly wound vegetation. "And he just keeps going, dammit."

Adora nodded, her cloak long since on the floor along with a red jacket.

Catra, meanwhile, had dropped her corset and cloak as well, the cat girl's headdress thrown off just now.

"Naruto's right about his stamina," Adora said as her eyes followed the blonde boy the entire way.

The way he moved, his determined expression, his care with the big beetle creature, and just the look he threw at their surroundings.

Naruto was an oddly incredible person who cared was all she could really say.

Her cheeks reddened a bit and she rubbed at them, wiping away the sweat.

Catra, meanwhile, looked around with a frown. 'How long until the Horde comes by and just completely destroys it?' It was honestly just an act of futility.

She knew Naruto knew that this was only temporary. Their forces would rend these lands of their use and make use of it to do… whatever it was Lord Hordak wanted to do it for.

'I wonder if Shadow Weaver knows,' this was something she'd been curious about for a while. 'What'll we do when everything's gone?'

It was something that, unfortunately, did keep her up at night on occasion.

"Alright," Naruto said as he wiped at his forehead. "Thanks for the help, girls, I think we should go and find something to drink and eat," he smiled. "Come on," he said as he came over, helping them to their feet and leading the way.

---

Several minutes of riding had them finding a rather amazing place.

A waterfall surrounded by berry bushes.

"Whoa!" Catra's eyes shined in excitement, parched tongue ready.

"Go on, it's as clean as can be," Naruto said as he led the charge after dropping off of their beetle ride.

Catra wasn't far behind, off the beetle and running to the waters before dunking her face into it.

Naruto sweatdropped as Adora came up on his side. "I guess she was really thirsty," he muttered as she laughed.

They drank from the waters along with the beetle while washing their faces before getting berries to eat.

Catra ate without care while Adora whispered to Naruto.

"They are safe, right?"

"Yeah, they're just a bit sour-"

"Ack?! W-Why is it so good but sour?!"

The blondes laughed.

~NRK~

They hurried back to the Horde Empire with lighter hearts.

"Mmm," Catra slept in the blonde's arms while Adora hung onto his back. "Zzzz."

"She got to move a lot today," the girl on his back said as he nodded.

"I'm glad, usually, she's kinda high-strung," Naruto said as Adora's eyes widened before they dimmed a bit.

"You noticed… No, maybe I'm not surprised you did," he muttered, face stuffed into his hair. "..."

"Be real with me, did something happen before this little trip? Catra seemed so… off."

"... I guess it's because Shadow Weaver hasn't really noticed her, lately, b-but she will! I'm sure."

"Hmm… I believe in that, I do, like I told Catra. She can become great but she's got things holding her back that need to be faced and accepted," Naruto said, surprising Adora a bit.

"Y-Yeah…?" She blushed a bit. "What about me?" Adora asked, embarrassed.

"You? You're literally already on track but, for you, what you need to face and what Catra needs to face are different. You guys will have each other's back, that's great, amazing even. I hope we can all take care of one another as a team… but there are trials that we'll all deal with inside, those are gonna make or break us."

They made it to the Fright Zone before Naruto slipped in and out of spires' shadows to bring them back to that familiar lookout.

When they arrived, they woke up Catra who groaned before standing on her feet like a zombie.

Naruto just chuckled as they led her back in-

He felt a presence behind him, head turning as Adora said something to the zonked-out Catra.

Shadow Weaver's face appeared and she shot him a flat look he grinned nervously at before she rolled her eyes and vanished.

'Talk about a mother hen,' Naruto thought before hurrying after his 'fellow apprentices'.

~NRK~

Two days later, it was time.

They all got suited up in their usual combat attire but with the addition of dark gray chest plates.

Adora felt the locket around her neck while Naruto donned his 'apprentice scarf'.

Catra adjusted her red headdress, standing with her team as they moved to the loading dock area.

Kyle swallowed as Rogelio crossed his arms, eyes narrowed.

Lonnie rubbed the back of her head. "We're… w-we're really going out into the field," she whispered in disbelief as Adora nodded with a smile.

"We can do this, we've got everything we need and we're just a reconnaissance team, don't think too much about combat," their leader said as Catra cupped her chin.

'What can I do?' Catra thought. 'I can get her pride in me by bringing back something.'

But what? There had to be something there… wait.

"Hey, remind me, we're gonna be near the center of the Plumeria Kingdom, right?" She asked the group.

Kyle blinked before humming. "Yes, we should be. W-We're gonna be near a… glp, Princess," he whispered as most of the group flinched. "O-Oh no."

"It's fine," Naruto stressed. 'I'm more worried about the citizens,' but, hopefully, that's not come to pass. "That's why I'm scouting ahead, you guys won't get into any trouble if I can help it."

"Speaking of, Naruto," Lonnie began, noticing the axe on the boy's lower back, the whole group carrying stakeout 'packages' for their week-long assignment with combat knives and guns. "So, what exactly is the plan with you? With how things have been going since last week, you've gotten a lot of attention from Shadow Weaver."

Which was true. Over the last couple of days, he'd been meeting with Shadow Weaver on several occasions for her to inform him of different aspects of 'his mission'.

And, wouldn't you know it?

Speak of the devil and she shall appear…?!

All eyes in the loading dock widened in disbelief as Shadow Weaver arrived… with a man in tow.

A man known far and wide across the planet and the empire, itself.

He was a menacing tall figure with stark white skin on a skull-like face, pure red eyes, slightly long pointy ears, and blackish-blue hair in a small mullet.

He was a broad-shouldered being, wearing sleek metal armor greaves, gauntlets, and collar guards that connected to his pure black uniform that held the Horde symbol, a pair of bat wings, that covered his entire torso down to his thighs where it settled into long breechcloths over his rear and crotch. The dark blue skin there made it clear that his skin wasn't all white. The final piece of clothing was a large dark maroon cape with red on the inside, the hood of it covered in metal.

Lord Hordak, the leader of the Horde Empire on the planet of Etheria.

Oh shit.

The man's boots clanked heavily against the metallic floors as every person in the room saluted him save for Shadow Weaver.

Naruto could feel the man's soul and blinked at the feeling in it.

It was odd, his sensory skill never could discern the oddness in someone's physical health so much as sensed the energy within the body that would act oddly around harmed portions.

But he could sense it. A sort of painful eating-away of the man's body beneath all of that armor, the man's truest shape almost-clear to his senses.

He winced as the man stood in front of him, Adora, and Catra, eyes going over the group before they landed one the blonde boy once more.

"Shadow Weaver spoke of you, boy," the man said, his voice a deep and gravelly baritone that seemed to send shivers down the spines of everyone within earshot. "..." Hordak's eyes slowly squinted on Naruto.

The bright blues that stared back at him didn't quiver despite the earlier flinch, the glint within them something that surprised him on some level.

"... Hmm," the man folded his hands behind his back with a raised brow. "What a curious one you've picked, Shadow Weaver," Hordak said as the woman blinked before nodding slowly.

"He's an odd one of our ranks with rather impressive physical skills," the woman explained as Naruto winced internally. "And his trap work couldn't be better for his age, I hear."

The leader of the Horde cupped his chin with a hum. "Hmm…" The man observed 'those eyes' once more. "Perform your role well, Naruto Uzumaki, we don't have many Force Scouts who can handle themselves. See to it that a promotion is in store for you."

Naruto's jaw dropped and the man smirked as everyone else sans Shadow Weaver choked.

"U-Uh… Gotcha, sir," the boy said with a nervous grin, bowing to the man at the waist with his fist to his chest. "I won't fail my team," Naruto said as the other members of his squad followed suit. 'This just got real way too fast,' Goddammit.

The man nodded before looking to Adora. "And this is your recommended Force Captain, Shadow Weaver," Hordak said with interest as Adora's head snapped up along with Catra's. "I've read all of your scores, you may have some curious extra candidates, Shadow Weaver," the man said as he shot the blushing Catra a look.

"Hmm, I'm not sure of her, sir. That one," Catra flinched before her head snapped back down. "She's a force of nature in need of more strict… discipline before she can lead."

"..." The man's eyes narrowed.

"... Catra's not that bad," Naruto said from his bowed positon, Shadow Weaver's eyes widening as Hordak raised a brow at the bowing boy.

Catra's eyes snapped to Naruto.

"She's one of our better fighters," Naruto admitted. "She's decently good at the test work and stuff we do," Adora smiled. "And, like Miss Shadow Weaver said, she's a force of nature. She does need to learn a bit more control but she works well in our squad, sir, perhaps that'll help even her out," the boy said simply, face unchanged.

Most everyone else just stared at him like he was insane, none more so than Catra.

'W-What are you-' The girl began to think, feeling nervous-

"I see," Hordak smirked a bit. "You may need to re-evaluate your soldiers, Shadow Weaver, I'm feeling generous," the man said before walking off, leaving Catra and most of their other squad mates gawking. "At ease, continue your tasks and ensure your mission is a success."

"Yes, sir!" The six cadets plus Shadow Weaver said in unison as he left.

Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed as her gaze turned to the blonde boy once the man vanished from view.

"That was a very bold move, boy," the woman said as her shadow crawled about around Naruto's form, the boy standing up to his full height. "One misstep and a squad could die."

"But Hordak wants more useful soldiers, as he said," Naruto said with 'those eyes' that made the woman's fists clench out of view. "You weren't wrong about Catra, not fully, but you build up while 'fixing' the parts that need to be fixed to make a powerful fortress, ma'am."

The two locked gazes as the woman's shadows curled before they receded, the sorceress huffing.

"Your foolishness can only last so long, Cadet Uzumaki, there aren't many in your position who'd dream of dealing with the Leader and offering ideas."

"Probably not," the boy grinned cheekily as the woman crossed her arms. "Still, I'd bet it'd make you look good to have a couple promotions within our squad," Naruto said with a cheeky waggle of the eyebrows as the woman's eyes squinted… but she cupped her chin.

'If it wasn't obvious before, the boy's crafty,' he wasn't just stepping out of line but reinforcing her own interests. 'And Hordak's aware of him enough to promote him within my soldiers…' The man saw something he liked, it seemed. "Hmph, you've the tongue of a snake, I suppose that's what gave you his ear."

"Just trying to keep things running," the fox boy said with a slowly wagging tail. "Besides, it also gives us more training options, like the simulation rooms," Naruto said with rubbing hands.

The magician threw him a flat look. "The youth of today are clearly less understandable than I remember… Hmph, if you'd asked, it might have saved you some vouchers."

"Hey, I had to… trade…" Naruto cleared his throat as the woman made a smug sound. "W-Well, you know what they say, work smarter to work harder."

Right. "Get to your stations, cadets, and don't let this one's foolishness rub off on you."

Shadow Weaver left after that, leaving Naruto sighing in relief before he grinned.

"Well, that went wel-Whoa?!"

"What the hell was that?!" Catra shouted at him as she began to strangle and shake. "W-What the fuck?!" She blushed before growling again as he chuckled through the choking.

"I… I wasn't… Please stop," he wheezed.

"NO!"

~NRK~

Sitting on a ship, Naruto rubbed the back of his head next to a chuckling Kyle as Catra and Adora sat across from them.

The former girl crossed her arms as Lonnie oiled her parts of her gun on the ground with Rogelio, chuckling.

"Look, I'm just trying to give everyone their due. If it'd been any of our guys, I'd have spoken up regardless," Naruto said as the cat girl muttered something.

Adora grinned. "I'm sure she's happy about it, especially because it's Lord Hordak," she said with excitement as Naruto chuckled nervously and Catra blushed. "And it seems like we've got three promotions ahead!"

Catra remembered that part and scrunched in on herself while blushing harder.

'That stupid freaking idiot!' She wanted to scream at him again but couldn't find the 'real' anger.

She just felt so embarrassed.

"Y-Yeah! Naruto, you might get a promotion!" Kyle grinned as the other boy chuckled. "That's so cool! The moment you tried, you got noticed," the boy snickered as Naruto sweatdropped while Lonnie snorted and Adora nodded.

"That's how this all started, Naru," his fellow blonde grinned. "So, now, you've got us chances we never expected!" She appreciated her friend, she did.

Just by him trying, he could really bring their crew up several notches!

"Hmm," Rogelio nodded.

"Well… maybe, yeah, but that doesn't mean we weren't on the map because of you," Naruto said to Adora with a sheepish grin. "No chance of this happening if it wasn't for you and Catra."

Adora rubbed the back of her head with an embarrassed laugh and blush.

Oh man, she was feeling a bit hot right now!

Catra's eyes squinted at the two as Lonnie shook her head with a smirk.

'This is crazy,' they thought in unison but for completely different reasons.

No way this was happening, right?

~NRK~

Getting close to the Horde siege encampment, their ship came down two miles away from it.

"Your assignment is to remain as unconnected as possible," their pilot said as the group got up. "You all have your disguises, don't be seen outside of them unless you're in our camps and hidden from sight," he told them as the six assembled the side haul door. "Good luck, kiddies, maybe you'll end up with a cushy pilot job one day."

"Damn right!" Lonnie grinned as the man laughed.

The side door opened and, once it did, Naruto saw brilliant greens of the Whispering Woods transitioning into purple, pink, and dark maroon hues.

The ground was more yellow in the Kingdom of Plumeria, it seemed, while flowers dotted the branches of trees and the ground randomly all about.

"Whoa, w-we're in enemy territory?!" Kyle nearly shrieked before Rogelio covered his mouth with a flat look, Lonnie the last one off. "Smorry." Their pilot took off with a wave.

"Hmph," the lizard boy said as he looked at Adora for instructions.

The girl nodded. "Alright, the first thing we need to do is find one of the pre-planned points and set-up camp. Come on, we're not that far from one," Adora said with a determined smile as the group began moving.

As they did, the smells of the forest became a bit more sweet, the sounds of animals not as prevalent, and the sight of more flowers became more consistent.

"God, it's so weird," Catra said with a flat expression as Naruto chuckled. "What's with all these flowers? It's all so… babyish."

"It's not babyish, Catra, it means the life here is thriving," he said as he swiped up a leaf from a low tree. "The soil is rich, the trees are strong, and those smells are clearly from the flowers themselves," Naruto said with a solemn smile. "This is real beauty compared to the Fright Zone."

"He's kinda right," Kyle smiled positively. "I-It's so peaceful looking, m-maybe we'll come back here one day when everyone's working with the Horde! Then, we can relax here."

Naruto's smile grew more brittle as Catra scoffed at his low enthusiasm, coming over and taking the leaf from his hand.

"Get over it, dude, come on," she muttered as she pulled on his wrist. "Acting all mopey like that is a sure-fire way to get weird looks."

"... I know," Naruto sighed and she felt a bit bad that she caused it. "It's more that I'm sad for them," he said as he looked at the others. "They don't see anything wrong with their own words, Catra, that's horrifying."

The girl got it, she did. She wasn't brainwashed like the others were.

Catra knew how messed up their faction was and could still say that this place…

Losing this place would be a travesty.

She nodded to the blonde, gripping his wrist a bit more gently as the group kept going for another ten minutes before finding their 'spot'.

"Alright," Adora turned around just slow enough for Catra to release Naruto's wrist before the blonde girl could see them. "This is where we'll set-up camp. Rogelio, Lonnie, and Kyle, set up the tents. Naruto, can you scout the perimeter?" She asked the fox boy who nodded, taking off his bag and pulling out a pack of clothes inside of a vacuum-sealed plastic sack.

"Alright. How far?" Naruto asked as he moved off to the side behind a tree, disrobing before putting on his disguise and apprentice cloak.

"M-Maybe…" Adora did her best to ignore that the scout was going half-naked behind the tree. "Give or take a mile around us for now? We'll have you go further once we're more situated."

"Hmph! Alright," Naruto said before stepping out. "So, I'm basically posing as someone from Bright Glow, right?" He asked, looking down at his new blue open-toed boots. 'They're so close to ninja sandals,' it seemed Bright Glow fashion kind of rocked.

Wearing a tight sleeveless white top with the Bright Glow emblem stitched onto his back, his thigh-length red scarf, and a pair of orange goggles, Naruto tapped his foot against the ground, the feeling of metal below the tip of his shoes kind of comforting.

"Like a true rebel," Kyle said with a tilt of the head. 'Honestly… he does look like one of them,' if he was held at gun point and had to say it?

Best to let that thought die.

"Alright, I'll head off," Naruto said with a nod.

And then he vanished in a swirl of leaves, startling the group.

"Huh?!" Catra looked around in disbelief before chuckling came from overhead. "... How'd you get up there so fast?!"

"I jumped," Naruto said from within the trees before nodding to them. "I'm off, for real, this time."

He was hopping from tree to tree in an instant.

Three seconds later, he was gone.

"Whoa…" Kyle blushed before grinning. "T-That's so COOL!"

"It was," Lonnie nodded with an amused if not impressed smirk. "Someone's living up to some kinda scout. He's more like a ninja, though."

"Right?!"

Rogelio hummed before nodding.

Catra and Adora tilted their heads. 'This must be the result of all his traveling,' they thought in unison.

Well, it showed amazing results, it seemed.

Catra considered Naruto's departure with a frown of interest… before nodding.

After all of this.

Meanwhile, Adora smiled. 'I'll need to see if we can't all try the simulation rooms with his help,' she grinned.

She knew they'd do well.

~NRK~

Meanwhile, with Naruto, the blonde kept flying through the trees, eyes alight with a powerful gleam.

His mouth set into a true grin as his 'dim' hair began to brighten, spiky locks becoming a bit spikier.

'I'm in my element!' Naruto thought with a grin, stopping on a branch with a chuckle. "Hmm," he closed his eyes.

Nature responded by brushing his cheeks, the boy's eyes opening to reveal a soft look.

'They can't come here and destroy this… and if it means I have to make sure it doesn't happen, I will,' he thought resolutely before tree-hopping sideways. 'I can sense so many lives from here. We're near Glossweed and I can tell…' His eyes narrowed.

All kinds of 'darkness' were there, people with dark hearts.

It was worrying-

Something snapped against his senses and he landed silently on a branch before hiding in the leaves above.

There, passing him by, were a pair of suit-up female warriors… familiarly dressed female warriors.

Tall women in flowing garb composed of pale-lavender, blue, and purple robes with the last color being the mantle over their shoulders. Wearing a smooth-looking silver helmet that covered down to her nose with long smooth-looking white plumage, and a pair of staffs on their backs, they were more than what he thought, worryingly.

For one, they weren't just warriors… They were guards.

Bright Moon Guards that served directly under Queen Angella.

"Oh, my life sucks," Naruto said in horror before he spread out his senses.

His senses spread for miles on miles, eyelids clenching shut as he placed his hand on the tree he was in-

---

She gasped at him, brown eyes blinking in shock as he flinched.

---

"Oh no."

~NRK~

"Perfuma," a tall regal woman said with concern as the woman sitting across from her blinked in surprise.

She was tall, thin, and wore a soft frown as the other woman blinked. Having light purple skin, black eyes, and long flowing two-toned hair of pink and purple, she had on two earrings and a forehead gem.

Wearing a long sky-blue mantle, a pink leotard, elbow-length white gloves, purple stocking, and dark purple boots, she frowned as the two teens at her side blinked in surprise.

"Is everything alright?" One of the teens, a boy, asked with a concerned look. "Princess Perfuma?"

He was of average height for his age with a broad chest, bronze skin, short dark brown hair, and black eyes. Wearing blue pants, white boots with yellow borders, a silver chestplate with a yellow star, and a bow and quiver over his back, he looked confused.

"I-I'm fine, Young Bow," the 'Princess', Perfuma, said with a smile.

She was a moderately tall woman with tan skin, brown eyes, a slim build, and long blonde hair with small flowers in it. Wearing a pink tiara, a pink sundress, a green shawl, and pink braces on her wrists and ankles, her sandal-covered feet tapped together in thought as he held her head.

"It's… It's like something just interacted with me, Queen Angella," Perfuma said to the other tall woman, Angella, who frowned. "It was odd… I don't know if I'm feeling well but I saw a boy. A fox boy," Bow flinched, eyes wide.

'N-No way,' he thought nervously. "A-A fox boy? Are you sure?" Bow asked as the last teen at the table, a girl, shot him a raised brow.

"Bow?" She whispered as he grinned nervously.

She was short with caramel-skin, pink eyes with a 'twinkle' in them by her own admission, and thick poofy pink hair that held a purple, sky-like, underside to it. Wearing a purple leotard that stopped at her thighs, sky-blue boots with moon emblems on the tongues, fingerless sky-blue gloves, and a pinkish-purple cloak, she frowned with her round cheeks.

"Mom?"

"It's fine, Glimmer, at least," Angella frowned at Perfuma's confused smile. "Perfuma? A boy? Where?"

"He's not near here, he's far away, I think," the Princess frowned. "I think… I-I think he's near Glossweed?"

"W-Whoa, you can feel that far?" Bow asked with a nervous swallow. 'If it's Naruto this is bad, it means the Horde is here, doesn't it?' Or did his friend just feel like adventuring?

Bow had met the fox boy years ago, back when they were both ten, in the Whispering Woods.

It'd been weird, sure, he'd never thought he'd find anyone else in there for so long until he met Naruto.

It was maybe a year later that Naruto admitted to where he actually came from. Bow felt embarrassed as he thought back to 'Kid him's' reaction before Naruto had calmed him down and explained everything.

By the end? They had a powerful friendship that lasted for years. Him, a Princess-aligned archer, and Naruto, the Horde cadet.

'I haven't seen him in so long,' that was increased training for you.

They were both preparing to fight in this war, unfortunately.

"H-Huh? No, I… I-I shouldn't be able to…" Perfuma said, confusing the three.

"What do you mean?" Glimmer asked as the Princess tilted her head in thought, closing her eyes.

"... That boy," her eyes cracked open. "He felt so warm and full of life, like nature itself had welcomed him into its grasp and empowered him…?" She frowned. "Or… not fully?" Perfuma blinked as the three looked at her, confused. "I-I don't know, it's odd. Just by connecting with him, even for that moment, my senses were enhanced. I can't truly sense things but just by him… sensing for me, he 'bounced' off my senses and caused them to reach out."

Angella looked surprised by that. "A boy?" She leaned forward with interest as Glimmer gasped.

"Wait, this is perfect!" She said with a grin. "If he can do just that, he'd be super-useful on our side, right?!"

Bow swallowed. 'W-Well, he did want to defect one day,' and Bow liked this idea of his friend finally getting to be on the side of good but he wasn't sure if this was even the same person. "So, what do we do? Do you want to look for him?" He asked the Queen and Princess.

The two hummed. "It doesn't have anything to do with our quests here, though… Hmm?" Angella blinked at Perfuma's shake of the head.

"Those places in the Whispering Woods, they feel like him."

The Queen's eyes widened before they narrowed. "Then, let's find him," she said as her daughter cheered.

"Yes!" Glimmer grinned. "Let us do it!" She pleaded to the woman who frowned at her.

"Glimmer."

"Mom, no, think about it! We can prove ourselves by just bringing back some random kid-"

"This boy seemed as old as you two are," Perfuma intruded. "... I think I saw… blonde hair?"

Bow's grin strained. 'It's Naruto.'

"Really?" Glimmer looked surprised. "But, I've never heard of someone like him," she looked at Bow who shrugged weakly.

"Not in the kingdoms," he said, not lying. "But there's no way someone who'd help the Whispering Woods would be a bad person," Bow declared with all his heart.

"... Very well," Queen Angella declared. "Take Spinnerella with you and find this boy. If he's truly capable of this skill just by happenstance alone, he'd likely be vital to the progress of our army."

"YES!" Glimmer grinned as her eyes shined. "You won't regret this, mom! Bow, let's go!"

The boy nodded, getting up with his friend before they were running off.

Angella sighed before shooting Perfuma an odd look. "A mere boy? Someone who enhanced the powers of your Runestone, Perfuma?" She asked the woman in more disbelief than she'd shown before, before the kids had left.

Perfuma blushed before nodding, holding her hands over her chest. "Y-Yes, it's… Even with that bit alone, it's like I'd had my stone from afar, whatever power he uses, it's warm."

~NRK~

Naruto grimaced as he and the others began to move again.

"F-Fucking Princesses?! And the damn Queen?!" Lonnie choked as they kept on moving, Naruto grimacing at it.

"Her guards are around so, unless they went AWOL…" He let it hang for a bit, Catra wincing at the thought. "Right now, we need to move… I-I don't know what happened when I sensed that one Princess, the one who feels like plant life, but she felt me back," Naruto grimaced as they all wheezed.

"W-What?" Kyle choked. "T-Then, we can't…"

"I… I don't know if she can find me now through my own skill."

Adora frowned at that before sighing. "It's good you cut it short and told us, Naruto. Right now, getting more distance between us and the Princesses is vital," she sighed as Rogelio nodded to her. "I know, Lio, I do… Lord, t-this?! Naruto told us it'd be a bit harder but the actual Queen of Bright Moon?!" She whispered in disbelief.

"It's no good, huh?" Catra asked with a frown. "We can't do reconnaissance like this."

"... Maybe, as long as I'm not actively sensing that far, it can work," Naruto frowned. "But, right now, unfortunately, that direction is off-limits. Lord knows who she's sending after me right now."

"W-Why would she?" Kyle asked nervously. "I-It was just an accident!"

"Yea but what happens when that 'accident' might prove too interesting?" Catra said as the boy paled. "Yeah, it'd be a bad idea not to try and find Naruto. No, they're gonna send people after him," she frowned, claws bared. "And we have to ensure that doesn't happen."

"Dammit," Naruto said before finding Adora's hand on his shoulder. "The literal scout made the situation tough, there's some irony in that," he said with an embarrassed chuckle.

'Cute,' it was, usually the boy was just energetic and wise.

Now he wasn't and it was kind of fascinating.

"It's not your fault, one, and, two, it's for the best anyway," Adora said with a frown as Naruto blinked. "We never told you but we got an odd message from farther away from Glossweed. It was… weird."

"It was a code we've never seen before," Kyle grimaced. "A-And the message…"

"Hmph," Rogelio frowned.

"What he means is that it said 'all available Horde members are to come to these coordinates'," she began. "And help them plan the revolution we're meant to cause?" Lonnie looked worried. "Guys, that sounds dangerous as hell."

"I know," Adora frowned as they stopped. "But if it's Lord Hordak's orders, we can't dismiss them."

"Besides, we can't be near Glossweed regardless," Catra agreed even if her eyes remained calculative. 'But if we can capture a soldier and use them,' it'd be perfect and might prove she could be bumped up to Force Captain without issues!

"Still, isn't it odd?" Naruto asked them. "Lord Hordak and Shadow Weaver have to know that the Princesses are here, the Queen and Perfuma, right? So, why would he think that this siege would work when it didn't before? We're six kids, we're not gonna solve much by joining up with the person who sent that message."

They all frowned at his words. "..." Adora's expression scrunched a bit. "... Look, I know how this sounds but, even though we're not sure, we are just cadets, as you said. It'd work out for us in the end if we just listen… alright?" She asked him, the boy wincing at her slightly pleading expression.

"Alright, alright, I guess I'm just more paranoid due to… Well, duh," Naruto said, gesturing behind them. "Still, just in case… Let's leave some of our stuff hidden in the forest, alright? It's not like they won't have more supplies wherever we're going and we can just tell 'em what happened and that we left supplies," he grinned brightly.

Adora smiled in relief before nodding. "In a way, it makes sense, especially if we can secure a longer stakeout," she looked excited as Catra shot that line of logic a flat look.

"Yeah, yeah," she said.

They hurried to the location.

~NRK~

It was a mere two hours of walking before they found it.

The so-called Horde Outpost in the middle of the lands of Plumeria.

It looked more dusty, sandy, and covered by what had to be an illusion as they saw nothing but dead rotten roots that coiled all over.

"This is… it, right?" Kyle grimaced. "I-I feel like we're heading into a trap," he whispered, backpack half-empty. "Guys?"

"There are a ton of people here," Naruto said slowly as he turned to the treeline at their right, the boy lacking his scarf. "And they want to watch us before coming out, huh, buddy?!" He called out.

The area was silent as Adora's head snapped to the side where a rustling in a bush released a figure.

They were hazy-looking, wearing an outfit of black ribbons with gray metal knee caps, elbow pads, and a visor that seemed to hide itself as well.

"I suppose you really are that brat we heard about," the woman said as Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Good, this should make our lives easy. Get into the hole," she told them, walking up to the blonde with a tilt of the head. "We're going to see how useful you are, fox, especially if it's to get this underway."

She walked around him towards a curling root.

And walked right into it.

"..." Adora took a deep breath before walking ahead. "Alright, let's go," she told the group, hiding how relieved she really was that they left their supplies. 'What? Why was she just watching us?' Okay, sure, minding the perimeter was important.

Adora could understand that… but the way that woman had spoken to Naruto… like he was some kind of thing. It made her blood boil and her paranoia rise.

Didn't they just get here? How had this supposed long-established-siege-outpost gotten here and no one spoke of it?

Speaking of, where were the Horde members from the ACTUAL SIEGE?

Were they… She grimaced before shaking her head and continuing on.

The group followed her, Naruto and Catra bringing up the rear with eyes thrown about.

"Anything?" She whispered to him, arm thrown around his shoulder as they leaned into one another.

"There's two more that are hurrying towards us," Naruto whispered into her eyes, getting a shiver, blush, and yet pale out of Catra. "I don't like this," he grimaced as she growled.

Catra didn't like being deceived.

Not one bit.

And Naruto did his best to 'ensure some help'.

As they entered the tree, his senses expanded.

~NRK~

Perfuma froze mid-conversation with Angella, eyes widening as 'That Vision' hit once more.

"N-No…" Her eyes widened as she paled, the Queen looking concerned. "T-There's an underground force in the forests," the woman's eyes widened before she paled.

"Glimmer!" The woman was on her feet in seconds, running past the table. "I want half our units to accompany me to the forest. We're to meet up with Princess Glimmer and her entourage before attacking a Horde Outpost hidden in the forest!"

Her soldiers scrambled about before beginning to organize, the Queen's fists clenched as Perfuma came up on her side.

"H-He's doing this on purpose," she whispered. "He's… He spoke to me and revealed their location… I need a map!" The Princess called out to her people, an old man coming forward in a hurry with a piece of bark.

"M-My Princess!" He declared, holding out the item as Perfuma took it and looked it over with Angella.

"How? How is he telling you?" The Queen asked, eyes flickering about the map with a grimace.

"Directions and signals… when he was throwing his senses to me, I could tell the distance we were from him… here!"

~NRK~

"Come on!" Glimmer cheered as she, Bow, and their last member rode on several horses. "We've gotta find him and then-!"

"Take it easy, Glimmer, we'll find him, hopefully," the addition to their search party said with a small chuckle.

She was an average-height robust-looking woman with light-pink skin, pinkish-purple hair that fell down her back with a single long bang coming around to the side of her forehead, and blue eyes.

Wearing a long-sleeved purple leotard, boots with pink air-like styles to it, pink stocking, dark pink pauldrons and chestplate, and a light purple cape, she chuckled on her horse as they traversed the forests.

"Still, this young man Perfuma spoke of, what are you two's thoughts on him?" The woman, Spinnerella, asked. "Being perfectly honest? I think we need him to come soon."

"Same," Bow said. "I… I-I didn't think people could enhance Princess powers like that," he blinked. "Like, how?! I'm way too curious about that!"

"It's just perfect!" Glimmer said with stars in her eyes. "This means we'll have a supercharger in battle, guys! He might even be able to give us the 'oomph' to beat the Horde!"

Bow wanted to smile… before he frowned. "... H-Hey, so, crazy question?" He began as Spinnerella blinked before gasping as he burned.

"Oh… O-Oh, well… in such a situation," she looked hesitant as Glimmer looked between them in confusion.

"What? What is it?" She asked.

"Glimmer… have you considered that this boy might be a Horde spy?"

The girl wheezed in horror as their horses came to a stop, sniffing the air as the three winced.

"I didn't say 'spy'... I don't know but what if we didn't know he existed because the Horde… hid him?" The boy asked them. "Think about it, what if he can enhance more than just Princess Runestones? With a sensory skill, the toughness of a beast-person, and Horde training, he would be too valuable to them."

"B-But then what should we do?!" Glimmer asked with a pale face. "I-I mean, if that's true, what would we do if we found him?"

Spinnerella winced at an idea within her mind.

To 'remove' as many advantages of the Horde was important… but her blood turned cold at her own thoughts on the matter.

Would she really be willing to snuff out a young life just for the sake of protecting their nation? W-Was that right?

She looked down in thought while Glimmer grimaced.

"We should still try," Bow said with a look of determination, gaining their attention. "I… What happens if he's not as Horde-minded as we think he is? Princess Perfuma found him in her forest. His powers… what if they allow him to see the truth of things?"

"It'd be convenient, Bow," Spinnerella said. "But, then, why stay with the Horde?" She winced at her own question. 'Why? How could he leave, you fool?' She admonished herself.

"I don't know but it's the Horde and we can't just leave him with them… e-even if it's a prison cell," he muttered as Glimmer frowned.

"Maybe I can change his mind? I mean, what if I promised him money? He could become rich as a 'Princess Power-Up'!" She offered.

"He's still a person, Glimmer."

"I know, I'm not saying he's not but his powers… if he could enhance Perfuma's powers from so far away, imagine what he could really do if he knew what he was doing?"

"We can hope," the woman said.

Their horses neighed before shooting off in a direction.

"They've got something!"

~NRK~

The Adora Squad blinked at the rather rowdy underground base.

Horde soldiers, random individuals, and… wait…

Were those Bright Moon Guards?!

"W-What the hell is this?" Catra asked in disbelief as Naruto's eyes narrowed at their 'hidden' recruiter.

'She's been watching me this entire time,' he thought as he held onto Kyle and Catra's shoulders, the two looking around in disbelief. "So, I joked about it earlier but… there are actual traitors in the Bright Moon Army?"

"Of course," the hazy woman declared. "The Queen's methods are shit, her plans do little more than hold off the inevitable and that's why they're here," she huffed. "That woman has no idea how to fight a war. I guess ever since losing that badly to the Horde, they weren't feeling up for fighting anymore. Honestly, the fact the Horde hasn't taken over Plumeria by this point is a damn miracle."

"... you are Horde members… right?" Adora asked with a frown as the woman chuckled before raising both her hands in a shrug.

"I was," she said.

And clapped.

Naruto's pupils dilated.

The first of two spears shot out of the wall.

He pulled Kyle and Catra back.

The third and fourth came from their sides.

He tripped Adora.

Two shot up beneath his feet as he threw Catra and Kyle into Rogelio and Lonnie, the four falling to the ground just in time to miss the last four javelins.

… They did.

The clapping woman whistled as she clapped some more, Adora's head snapping around-

To see her bloody teammate.

Whether it was the two spears in his thighs, the one in his abdomen, two in his shoulders, or the last ones in his left forearm and foot, every one of the horrid wounds took every one of her nerves and dropped them in the frozen lands up north.

The others paled and froze at their teammate's punctured form.

"Well, well, well," the woman chuckled as she stood in front of the bloody blonde with a hand cupping her chin. "Ya know? I'd heard through the intercepting channels about you, kid with amazing potential but didn't use it for no reason. Sensory skills, reaction speed, and endless stamina? Why, it's like you were asking to be used as a slave! I'm surprised Hordak didn't just turn you into a worker in construction but he and his blind followers would probably just see you as a disappointment," she tutted her finger.

Blue eyes narrowed at her and she grinned before cupping his chin.

"We're gonna clean you up and make the most of you, boyo."

He spat in her face.

…

Her hand found a spear and made sure to turn and push it in.

"Kid, do not piss me off right now," she hissed at him, more blood falling down her fist..

"Leave him alone!" Adora tackled the woman to the ground with a growl. "You bitch!"

There were more rushing steps before Naruto was being given a horrid check-over by Catra.

"Shit! Shit!" The girl hissed out as she looked at his wounds with a green face. "N-Naru, fuck," Catra cursed as Kyle trembled.

"W-We need to…" The boy looked horrified as more of those traitorous people began to surround them. "Guys!" He yelped as Rogelio and Lonnie grimaced while minding their rear.

Adora grimaced as she was thrown off by this place's leader.

"Kill every fucking one of them besides the boy!" She shouted to her subordinates, guns aplenty rising from hidden pockets while clicking and taking aim. "I hope you enjoyed fucking life, kids, going to the next won't be painless!"

Adora's eyes widened before they narrowed.

---

"W-What about if the opposite happens?" Adora asked. "If Naruto's in a safe place and we're in danger."

"I planned for that," Shadow Weaver said. "Though, in that case, you need to leave the scarf on something, maybe around a tree, and press the bottom of the locket while in a three meter-range with your team."

---

She grimaced at the distance around her, picked up by a horrified Kyle who shook.

Adora growled before grabbing her locket.

"Later!"

She pressed the bottom of it.

~NRK~

Glimmer blinked as they saw a flash in the distance off to their right.

The horses turned in an instant, shocking her.

"W-Whoa?! Y-You guys, chill out!" She shouted on her own, trying to bring it under control. "Why are they freaking out?!"

Spinnerella blinked before her eyes widened. "T-These are Search Horses of the Plumeria Kingdom, they're said to be able to tell if someone is in danger… we need to hurry!" She shouted at the teens who flinched before she leaned down on her horse and began to speed up more.

"O-Oh man, come on, horsey! Let's go!" Bow commanded his own, its speed following the woman's own. 'If they're in danger… Dammit, Naruto!' Don't be dead.

Please don't be dead!

~NRK~

The teens reappeared near a tree wrapped by a familiar scarf, the whole group groaning at the vertigo before they remembered their friend was impaled!

They scrambled for their supplies currently hidden beneath a bush.

With the others handling that, Catra and Adora grimaced before holding Naruto up, slowly removing the blonde's impalements.

"T-This is all my fault," Adora grit her teeth as her hand shook around one of the spears in the blonde's lung. "D-Dammit, I can't… N-Not this one," she said with a pale face as Catra grimaced.

"Fuck that bitch," the cat girl grimaced, pulling out the ones in Naruto's legs and foot. "Get your knife, we need to cut off the parts of the ones we can't move," she told her sister-in-arms who looked terrified. 'I-I don't like this anymore than you do.'

How had she gotten this attached to someone other than the person who she'd been taught personally alongside? What? Was this boy who she fought with on occasion really that important to her?

Damn it all.

"Shit, here!" Lonnie and the others returned with quickly-opened first-aid kits. "Come on, we need to… Damn! W-What do we do with the ones in his fucking lungs?!" She hissed to the others.

"J-Just… do it," the weak voice of the injured blonde said as the group flinched. "N-No time… s-she's coming."

"W-What?" Adora swallowed in horror. 'She's coming?'

…!? Her eyes snapped around her, looking every which way.

"We're here to-what the hell happened to him!?" Came the voice of Glimmer as she, Spinnerella, and Bow broke into the clearing. "W-What the hell?!" The Princess froze as Bow wheezed before getting off his horse.

"W-Wait, wait, wait?! What happened?!" He asked them as he got closed before stumbling just in time to dodge the shakily raised knife of Kyle.

"S-Stay away from us, Rebellion scum!" The boy said with shaky knees but courageous eyes. "D-Don't make me use this!"

"W-What?! Naruto is dying right now and you're worried about me?!"

"Y-You'll just make the situation worse!"

Spinnerella looked at the tense but horrified teens, half of them still working on a horribly injured fox boy who seemed to be bleeding profusely. "... You all need to take him to a place with better healing methods," she said softly, stepping forward before standing in front of the pale and shaky Kyle. "Right now, you can patch everything else up… everything but the ones in his chest," the woman frowned.

Catra flinched as Adora looked paler than before. "..."

"He won't survive like this."

"S-She's… coming," Naruto gasped out as the group blinked. "K-Kaugh!" He coughed up blood.

"Shit! Stop talking, just breathe!" Catra cursed as she looked at Lonnie who grimaced. "W-What can we do?!"

"I don't… We don't… we can't do it with this," Lonnie grit her teeth, still tying up Naruto's wounds. "He's got fucking holes in his chest and lungs! We can't fix that here!" She grimaced as Catra's fists clenched.

"Y-You all need… to run until… we can meet the Queen," Naruto wheezed as Bow's eyes widened before his head snapped up to see birds shooting overhead, squawking… in fear?

"What?" He asked. "Naruto? What is it? Who's 'she'?"

And, just then, Adora's eyes widened. "... No…" Her head snapped around. "It's that woman!" She shouted as her squad flinched. "... Can you bound yourself to your honor and bring us no harm?" She asked Spinnerella with narrowed eyes and a pained expression.

"Yes," the woman said immediately, eyes soft as they landed on the terrified children. "No harm will come to you, I'll put that on my honor as a Princess."

"You're a what?!"

"U-Uh, is that really important right now?" Bow asked.

"Yes, duh?!" Catra shouted at him, the boy rubbing the back of his head.

"I mean, is it right now?"

"... Let's just go, dammit."

With Naruto now floating in a ball of wind thanks to Spinnerella, even the Princess was surprised by how much power unleashed itself.

That sphere expanded over the entire group, confusing her.

"W-What?" She blinked in confusion, looking down at her hand. "I didn't…"

"Ma'am?" Bow asked.

"... It's nothing, let's go."

As she lifted them, her own comrades, and their horses up, they flew high into the sky… before gawking at something on the horizon.

Something big, unwieldy, and chittering began to peek beyond the horizon.

"What the hell is that?" Kyle asked in complete disbelief, hitting his rear in horror. "I-Is that a-"

Eight, large, pillar-sized legs shot out and crushed the space beneath their steps as the main body began to move.

Bow flinched before a shaky hand brought a telescope out of one of his pockets and put it to his eye. "... T-There's a lady on top of it! I-I can't make out her form but she's covered in a sort of haze-"

"That bitch!" Most of the Adora Squad cursed in unison, getting a flinch out of the Rebellion Trio.

"W-Whoa?! Language!" Glimmer blushed, looking intrigued. "Wait, so, how do you know her-"

"She did this to him!" They all shouted, pointing to Naruto which had Bow grimacing.

"Yeah, well, she's somehow controlling that giant spider thing," he said to them with a frown. "It's all covered in green gunk, too, what the hell is that thing?"

"We don't know!" Adora said with a worried look. "Whatever it is, it's not good! Can the Rebellion handle that thing?!" She asked Spinderella.

"It'd be a tough time!" The Princess said. "Right now, we need to recuperate with the Queen and Perfuma-Huh?"

Their 'ride' stopped as they saw a terrifying sight, for the Horde squad.

"U-Uh-oh!" Kyle swallowed as Catra grimaced while Adora blinked.

"Wait, I-I don't understand, how'd they get here already?" She asked Spinnerella before blinking at the woman's look of confusion.

"What are… I-I don't know, why's your mother here, Glimmer?" The woman asked the younger Princess who grumbled.

"I bet she didn't think I could do it," she muttered as Bow laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, this time, it wouldn't be a bad time to accept it," he smiled as she groaned before they kept going. "Um, no offense to you guys," Bow turned to the Horde faction. "Can you guys hide your stuff?" He grinned sheepishly.

A minute later, Angella wore a look of relief as she saw Spinnerella before her eyes widened at the sight of Naruto.

"No!" Perfuma covered her mouth in horror as she saw the barely breathing boy, standing on a flying chariot. "I-Is he…"

"N-No! He's not! He needs help, now!" Adora said urgently, desperate. "P-Please, help him!" She bowed, a cloak on and covering her uniform.

The others followed suit save for Catra who held Naruto's hand with a grimace.

"He can't die, we… He just can't," she said with a vulnerable look.

The Queen's look softened as she nodded. "Perfuma," she said as the Princess of Plumeria was brought over with urgency, the ball of wind absorbing her vehicle. "Can you do anything?"

"... I-I can only try," the woman admitted. "I have slightly better healing skills than a normal mage but the damage is…" Perfuma grimaced as she laid her hands on Naruto's head. "... Young man, can you hear me?"

---

Naruto floated in front of a pink gemstone that… spoke.

The unconscious boy groaned.

---

"On some level he's responding," Perfuma said before the entire entourage saw the oncoming spider beast. "But I need focus, I can't focus with that thing around!" She squeaked.

"We'll handle it," Angella said with narrowed eyes before those same eyes turned to the downtrodden Glimmer. "... Oh, no, honey, please, I did believe in you. We came because that young man called us," she explained as the entire group of teens balked.

"What? Can… C-Can Naruto use magic?" Adora asked in disbelief as Angella shook her head.

"I… I don't know," she said. "He reached out to Perfuma through their sensory connection."

"That's it," Kyle realized. "H-He told us before that it was an accident, he didn't mean to try and 'contact' anyone… m-ma'am," he swallowed.

"But he was smart and cunning, he made use of that 'mistake' to bring us here ahead of time," Perfuma said with a nod as Rogelio nodded with a grunt.

His eyes softened on the blonde and she smiled for him.

"I can tell, you all have a good connection with him. I'll do my best to help, I promise," the Princess said. "Besides, his odd effect on my powers is perfect!"

"Wait, what?" Catra asked, still holding the blonde's hand. 'Odd effect on her powers?'

"Yep! He enhances them… somehow."

The Horde group's eyes widened in disbelief. 'What?!' They mentally shouted in shock, eyes landing on the fox boy. 'No way!'

That was… T-That was critical news!

Catra's eyes landed on the unconscious blonde, grasping his still warm hand tightly. 'She can't know,' perhaps it was that little traitorous part of her.

That insignificant bit that told her to stop doing the things she did and to turn to 'good'. All Catra knew was that, at that moment, that small part`told her to control her need for praise to protect him with this small bit of information.

Even if it tore her up on the inside.

Adora swallowed, kneeling by Naruto's side as well. 'Every day, it's like something else happens with you,' still, did Naruto enhance just Princess powers?

Was that the odd thing with him?

"I can see your questions but they'll have to come after this battle," Angella said with a kind smile before it became neutral, her eyes going to the creature hurrying towards them. "My warriors! To BATTLE!"

She flew off with a powerful flap of her wings, not disturbing the wind sphere nor the flying chariot due to Spinnerella's magic.

"Go back to the kingdom!" She told them with one last flap, many of her soldiers following after her.

"Whoa…" Lonnie balked at the flying woman. "Your mom's wicked," she admitted to Glimmer who pouted.

"I can be super-cool, too," she muttered as Bow smiled.

"Come on, we do need to go," he said to the group as Spinnerella nodded, wrapping their chariot up with her wind before they were shooting in the opposite direction of the spider beast. "Still… What is that thing?" Bow wondered with a frown. "What's with all that icky goop? It looks like something we've seen in books about the Fright Zone," he muttered.

Adora and Catra's eyes widened in realization.

'Oh-'

'No!' Adora finished for Catra mentally, the two freezing.

It wasn't… was this caused by the Horde?

Perfuma smiled sadly, brushing Naruto's bangs apart. "I was meeting with the Queen because of what I believe is this young man's actions," she said kindly as their heads snapped to him.

"Huh? Why?" Glimmer blinked. "What does he have to do with it?"

"... He's from the woods," Bow said, rubbing the back of his head as Perfuma blinked at him. "Or, really, he goes there often. I'd know, we used to play and train a lot on some days," he admitted with a shaky grin.

All jaws dropped but none with more emphasis than everyone besides the smiling Perfuma.

"Wait, what?!" Lonnie asked Bow in disbelief as he cleared his throat.

"We were young when me and Naruto met," he explained. "I've lived around the Whispering Woods for most of my life with my dads and siblings. We just met one day where I decided to go in there a bit further than usual and found him cleaning up the area and stuff," Bow chuckled. "We just kinda talked while doing that before meeting every now and then. Trained a lot, played a lot, met a weird old lady in the woods, and tons of fun stuff… Around a year later, he told me about where he lived… and things just went on after that."

Kyle's jaw dropped in disbelief while Catra gawked at the archer.

Glimmer wasn't much better while Spinnerella rubbed the back of her head.

'Bow knew he was Horde for so long,' but, in that case, should he have told Angella?

What would they have done to such a young child? Would they have done anything? The woman didn't know but she didn't want to attack a child, much less one younger than the ones around her.

"Bow, what the hell?!" Glimmer balked. "W-What if he did something?!"

"Naruto wouldn't!" Catra growled as Glimmer's eyebrow twitched. "He's much better than what one would hear about the Princesses."

"Excuse you?!"

"Hm?" Perfuma perked up. "Did something happen?" She asked the now-awkward Catra.

Glimmer huffed before looking a bit smug. "What were you saying?~" She said with a hand to her ear.

"Imma spit in your ear."

"Disgusting!" Glimmer 'twinkled' behind the laughing Bow.

"To be fair, you did ask for that one," he said with a grin as she shot him a look.

"Are you just going to say you ignored knowing where he came from?"

"Well… I mean, I learned a lot about Naruto before that time, he wasn't a bad person and that just got me thinking more and more about it," he said, looking at the Horde squad. "Are all of them bad guys or is it just something in books from the old days?"

"..." Rogelio rubbed the back of his head, hands running down his scales. "Hmph."

"I…" Kyle crossed his arms, shooting Bow a look. "... So, wait, do Princesses not torture people?" He asked sheepishly.

"Huh?" Spinnerella, Glimmer, Bow, and Perfuma balked at him in unison. "Where'd you hear that?!"

"... Ohh…"

"What? Aren't Princesses, ya know? Violent jerks who let their magic run rampant?" Lonnie asked with her fists on her hips. "They fight order, they keep the world in disarray, maybe not all of 'em," she shot Perfuma a conflicted look. "But there's likely a damn good reason Lord Hordak speaks of them with ill will."

Kyle considered it all. "..." He frowned softly as Bow blinked.

"Is that… Is that what you all get taught growing up?" He asked in disbelief as Glimmer balked. "Y-You guys?! You get called the Evil Horde by everyone!"

"We are?!" The group, sans Catra, balked.

"Uh, duh, you burn cities to the ground, you poison our lands, hell, I'd bet that spider thing is a part of something you guys concocted," Glimmer growled. "How can you not get this?! You're doing missions! You HURT people!"

"T-This is our first time out here of the empire," Adora countered weakly as Glimmer stared at her in disbelief.

"Wait, what? But Naruto would… meet me on certain days, okay, now it makes sense," Bow said as Perfuma focused on healing the blonde fox. "So, Naruto snuck out to go to the Whispering Woods… you guys have never seen the outside world once have you?"

Catra frowned, eyes closed. "Hmph."

Adora looked hesitant. "W-Well, not in… no," she answered.

"You all are young… perhaps this explains more than we could have ever imagined," Spinnerella frowned. "You all aren't experienced in the world, you are kept in a tower for every bit of your learning and that molds your minds in an echo chamber that you don't realize you've been trapped in," she said as they finally began to descend. "You all only know what you've been shown in your classes, rooms, and training halls but can you honestly say you know better if you've never seen any of this for yourself?"

Rogelio crossed his arms in thought.

Lonnie sighed off to the side.

Kyle rubbed the back of his head.

Catra simply focused on Naruto while Adora frowned.

"I…" The leader of the Horde squad bit her lip, touching Naruto's cheek. 'What would you-'

There was a flash of something in her consciousness, getting wide eyes out of the girl.

'W-What's that?' It was like something was there, in the distance.

Something called to her and demanded her attention… What was it?

When she removed her hands off Naruto's cheek, she blinked as the feeling vanished.

"H-Huh?"

"You good?" Catra asked, concerned and confused. "This whole thing's a mess, huh?" She uttered as Adora looked down in thought.

"... Do you think Naruto thinks like this?" She asked her fellow disciple. "When I think about what they're saying, when I re-contextualize Naruto's actions… doesn't this make more sense?"

"You won't get that answer out of me," Catra muttered as Adora nodded.

"I can tell you," Bow said, kneeling down. "Naruto's a good person. Perfuma's right, he's got a good connection with all of you guys, I guess working together almost your entire lives is a big deal," he chuckled, sitting down. "So, uh, I never really asked Naruto because he seemed so well-adjusted and stuff… but what do Horde people do for fun?"

"Fun?" The five asked as his jaw dropped while Glimmer's eyebrow twitched.

"Please do not tell me the Horde doesn't use that word," the girl groaned.

"Um, well, usually we're just training," Kyle admitted sheepishly. "... Though, well, it's always kind of fun when we're doing scenario training with Naruto or Catra, they're so hard to catch a-and Naruto's last one was so funny."

Lonnie snorted as Rogelio smirked. "Bastard can hide like a champion but his sense of humor is the worst," she laughed.

Adora smiled at that while Catra huffed.

Spinnerella smiled at that. 'He's given them something they likely never would have,' her eyes went to the still breathing blonde. 'You're an amazing young man, please, do not waste away in a place like this.'

---

He heard her words and groaned again.

"Where… Am I?" Naruto whispered as that vibrant pink gemstone was joined by a small nearly transparent gemstone that seemed an almost off-white pink shade. "... What?"

There was a violet one that appeared and spoke those words, this one almost as big as the pink one.

"...?!" His eyes snapped open and he shot up, floating in the middle of those stones. "Wait, the others!" Naruto shouted into the white space surrounding himself and those gems. "Dammit, what happened?!"

"He's strong, I can feel his soul. It's active… Being honest, this is all new for me, too! His essence, I guess, seems to bolster the natural abilities of living things… maybe!" The pink gemstone said as Naruto blinked at her.

"What?" He looked down at his hand, body unmarred in this mental world. "Tsk," he clenched it.

He really was in a sad state, huh? He couldn't protect anything like this.

"I need to heal up," he closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and then his legs. "I only know of one way to do it right now," Naruto muttered as he went still in that mindscape. 'Pull it in.'

The white around him fluctuated.

'It's not like the Fright Zone, there's nature, life, and energy all around me.'

The white began to be intruded on by wisps of gold.

He really was unsure of what to do, especially since not being able to use Sage Mode since coming here. This was kinda pathetic.

"... Huh?" Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. "That's not good."

---

Perfuma's eyes shone in shock, the woman gasping a bit. 'Is he… somehow enhancing my powers further?' So, was his body not the conduit for this enhancement trait?

The group then jumped as loud thumps reached them even here.

"What?!" Lonnie choked as Spinnerella frowned, lifting them up into the sky to see the bad news. "This isn't good," she swallowed.

The spider creature was closer than ever before, too close!

"We need to take it away from the settlement!" Perfuma said as their ride began to fly around the giant creature. "I guess we won't be going down anytime soon. For now, just keep us out of that thing's reach, please!" She refocused. 'I can feel you, young man, your active soul means you're AWAKE in some realm. Please, you need to awaken,' she thought to him, the feeding of her healing plant energy touching something with Naruto she could not 'see'.

Something warm, rejuvenating, and pure.

'You need to awaken.'

---

'You need to awaken.'

His soul throbbed. "W-What?" Naruto balked at the feeling.

'They need you. I can feel it, connected as we are. You have the power to help stop this and save this land. So, please…'

'Awaken.'

That feeling in the core of his body thrummed again. "Awaken?" Naruto whispered to himself as a golden light began to emanate from within his body. 'So, there was something there.'

He needed someone to help awaken it, that's why he couldn't use this.

His eyes closed.

The slow trickle of Natural Energy from before became an indescribable size he couldn't recognize.

A world of life, nature, and power that surrounded him and filled in every bit of his body.

'Now please!'

Something within the planet sparked within him.

His eyes snapped open.

---

Their progress hadn't been great!

The spider seemed to have foregone any possible care for its attackers, its exoskeleton dented, cracked, and even broken in some places but, otherwise, it was moving at full speed.

The woman atop it growled. "You will die!" She roared out as the animal screeched, a black blob hidden in the woman's cloth shifting around.

'Honestly, I let this one get too powerful,' Shadow Weaver's eyes appeared before they narrowed. 'This is going to end in disaster and I can't do anything,' which would normally be good but not this time!

And she couldn't control the woman anymore, her real self currently being bothered by Hordak and his annoying meeting had left this small 'presence' with nothing to work with!

'What will you do, boy? You don't break a contract with me and…' The yellow eyes on the blob slowly widened at a feeling.

The flow of magic in the area slowly funneled into one point that gathered it like a soaking sponge!

'What is that?!'

The spider monster reached her students with aggressive stomps that resulted in one of its large legs lifting up above them.

Her eyes widened.

"Naruto!" Adora called out for him.

"Now, please!" Perfuma asked.

The limb came down and crushed several trees of the forest beneath its feet, the enlarged insect blinking its numerous eyes in disbelief before a flash of gold appeared in its peripheral on a large plateau.

---

Adora covered her head for a bit more before their ride was put down.

"Geez, I'm out for like ten minutes and the world falls apart, yikes," a voice, slightly distorted but familiar, said with a small chuckle. "Didn't know I was that important."

All eyes snapped open and to the blonde standing at the side of the chariot.

He rolled his shoulders, right hand rubbing at his neck as he looked out at the spider creature.

A long yellow mantle with black borders stretched down to cover the left side of his body, his exposed torso covered in black dots on the pectorals. His lower half was covered by a pair of baggy black pants covered in impossibly long orange cloth that shot off his backside to mix with his tail like a second with another long strip coming down past his crotch.

The last things to note were his bare feet, he glowed a soft gold color, he seemed to be ten-feet-tall now, and that he was missing an arm, what the HELL!?

"A-Arm!?" Catra paled at the blonde's lacking left side.

"I mean, I kinda woke up too late, it caught my left arm before I could do anything," Naruto admitted with a shrug. "Still saved you guys, though, so it's basically a net positive," he chuckled.

Perfuma sighed in relief, shoulders sagging. "Ahh, thank the heavens," the woman said with joy and interest. "I knew it, you can wield magic… a certain type… e-eerily similar to… y-yeah, let's talk about that later! You're basically bursting with magic potential but it's finite, mister!" She said, gaining Naruto's attention. "And the current amount you have won't last, you'll be losing it fast! Good luck!"

"Gotcha," Naruto said as he turned to face the oncoming beast. "Gonna have to beat it down a bit more before purifying it. It shouldn't take that long like this," he added as he flexed his right hand before holding it out.

A couple seconds later, a familiar ax flew into his grip from far off where it'd fallen, likely when they'd been teleported.

It was encased in his golden glow before he twirled it a bit.

It elongated as the ax head grew bigger before he held it securely under one arm, a ten-foot-tall greataxe with a blade the size of his torso.

"Alright!" He grinned before shooting the others a thumbs-up as the spider charged. "I'll be right back, we can probably have a big talk about a lot of things after this."

Rogelio hummed before nodding. "Hmph," he grunted.

"Y-Yeah!" Kyle said with shining eyes and a big blush.

Bow grinned with stars in his eyes. "This is so awesome!"

Glimmer balked.

"Go on, Glow Boy," Lonnie said with some red on her face.

"... Yeah, well, good luck without one arm," Catra shot at him with a frown at the missing limb. "You look strong but that ain't encouraging."

Naruto looked down at his left side before humming and holding up the stump.

Seconds later, a glowing clawed limb formed onto it, getting a big playful grin out of him that revealed all his new sharp teeth and more foxish looks.

She blushed. "S-Stupid, just go already!" Catra grumbled, shown-up and embarrassed, fantastic.

She was relieved, though.

Adora reddened even as her eyes shined with another image overlaying with the blonde's own.

The two's 'capes' shifting in the wind in unison.

Adora blinked and the image vanished before she blushed a bit more. "Just hurry on out there and don't get hurt anymore," her cheeks burned with a 'threat'. "Leader's orders."

"Gotcha, Captain," Naruto saluted as the spider was upon them.

A swung limb was blocked with his weapon-wielding hand.

The floor erupted beneath the boy's feet but that was it.

He didn't look bothered or struggling.

"Oh, man, I got strong," he grinned.

And hooked the back of his greataxe around the limb.

And pulled.

The entire creature tore across the ground by the plateau, leaving Catra gaping.

"T-That's bullshit!" She shouted at him as he sweatdropped.

"Um, I'm not exactly expecting that much, either, ya know-dattebayo."

"The hell does that mean?"

Naruto froze before he blushed and cleared his throat, walking towards the edge of the plateau.

"You'll never find out!" He shouted as he took aim.

He threw his weapon and they watched in disbelief as the projectile crushed all the legs on one side of it.

Naruto grinned sheepishly before jumping back and off the plateau.

He landed on the side of the raised bit of land with his focus on the large beast.

Naruto kicked off into a dropkick.

The group watched as the injured spider creature was dragged across the ground by the small powerful being that had become their friend.

"Wait, no! We're not just accepting this, right?!" Lonnie said as if snapping out of a trance. "Dude, come on!"

"W-Well, he is the weird one of the group," Kyle added with some nervous laughter. "So, uh, it's expected?" He tried.

She threw him a flat look. "Kyle, you can't be serious."

"I'm honestly asking myself the same thing."

"Hmph," the lizard boy nodded.

"He's become a true force of nature, literally!" Perfuma grinned as Spinnerella held her cheek with a tilt of the head.

"I don't… follow," she said slowly.

Naruto's form jumped up over the creature before coming down like a golden comet.

The attack threw up violent winds, a powerful gold flash, and the ground around the creature, the boy's glowing form easy to spot atop the black insect.

"... Perfuma."

"You see, that young man is special in a different way," Perfuma grinned as Bow blinked in confusion.

"I-I think that's obvious," he said with a blink before grinning with shining eyes. "IT'S SO COOL!"

"RIGHT?!" Kyle said with just as much enthusiasm.

"YEAH!"

"And, just like that, I'm sailing alone on the S.S. WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Glimmer yelled before a familiar figure landed behind her. "Herk?!"

"Glimmer," Angella kneeled to her daughter's height before turning her around and looking her over. "... Mmm, thank goodness," she said with a sigh of relief, Glimmer looking down.

"I-I know this isn't what you were expecting."

"It's not your fault, I'm just glad you're safe. And, onto the reason you are," her eyes went to Naruto's golden form in the distance.

There was an explosion that brought the entire spider down into the forest floor once more.

"... Perfuma."

"As I was saying, Young Naruto's current form is mixing his internal magic with the power of the world at large," the Plant Princess said as the Queen stared at her in confusion. "... Ah, let me explain some more! Naruto's sensory skill you know of isn't a simple thing, it's based on the state of the world, himself, and what he tries to sense. Nature is the best way to make it simple! But, you see, he doesn't just sense through nature, he's taking it in and that allows his body's senses to explode!"

Catra's eyes went flat as Adora scratched her cheek.

"I think what she means is that when Naru's been 'sensing', he was doing more than that," she explained to those not-named-Perfuma. "So, in a way, he was doing more than just sensing. A-And he unlocked magic power?" Adora said even as it threw her for a loop.

Another magician in the HORDE.

"Yes, it's just weird, is all," Perfuma said. "I think we'll learn something really special about him when this fight is over if I'm guessing right."

There was one more rumble in the earth before the group was looking at the glowing flame that'd become Naruto.

~NRK~

With the blonde, he looked down at the defeated monster before raising his right arm.

"I think it works this way," he whispered as a 'golden droplet' formed on the edge of his finger. "Return to the earth, buddy, you'll be fine now."

It fell and 'rippled' the space above the bug that expanded out over a mile.

~NRK~

All eyes went wide as golden glows flashed over the destroyed landscape.

Broken trees, tortured ground, and aching animals were healed or even renewed/rejuvenated to perfect or even better condition.

"..." Angella's eyes snapped to the large amount of new lush forest that had sprung up, powerfully green trees and fertile earth appearing in view. 'Even the smells are…' It smelled like fresh morning dew.

Like a forest at the arrival of a new day.

What had this boy become… and, if possible, could she bring him to their side?

The floating blonde shifted in the air before collapsing down into the forest.

"Crap!" Kyle said. "W-We need to go and get him!"

Quickly piling into the flying chariot, the group shot off the plateau towards Naruto's last known location.

Arriving, they sighed in relief before landing next to the knocked-out blonde flat on his back on a bush, a trio of chickens sitting on his chest.

"Hmm," Perfuma grinned as Angella looked amused. "As I said, nature has accepted him on a deep level. Even the animals can tell."

~NRK~

Naruto awoke with a groan, slowly sitting up with a hand running down his face.

Looking around, he blinked away the haze in his eyes before realizing he was in a hut of some sort. On the ground, all around him, his team laid asleep.

"W-What?" He winced at the feelings on his torso, thigh, and foot… oh, as well as the whole missing arm deal. "... Wow, I was really just accepting everything when I got hit with all that power," Naruto moaned. "Well, this is gonna take some getting used-to."

"Ah, you're awake," came a voice from the 'entrance' to the tent, his eyes going up to see Bow?! "Sup?" The other boy grinned as he came in, minded everyone asleep, and sat next to the cot Naruto had been asleep on. "I guess meeting again like this wasn't expected, huh?"

"... Yeah, I guess this entire thing got away from me," Naruto groaned before sitting with his legs crossed. "Okay, be real with me, what happened?"

Bow explained the entire situation from when they'd arrived to now.

"You've been asleep since powering-up for… I think six hours," Bow said as Naruto looked down into his lap before groaning.

"And, on that note, who knows we're from the Horde?" The blonde asked.

"... Everyone but Queen Angella, her guards, and Perfuma's people."

"..." Naruto considered his words. "Dammit, I… T-This isn't how I wanted things to go," he whispered. "I wanted to talk to them and try and convince 'em to leave with me. We're currently under the Queen's interest, Bow, this isn't good."

Bow was surprised by the admission to his plans but it made the other boy confident in his friend. "I… I don't know," he said. "I mean, we did have a whole talk about what the Horde actually is, Naru. Maybe they're already convinced?"

"I'd hope so but then we'd still have to go back, we can't leave the Horde right now."

"Huh? Why?"

"I just got magical powers," Naruto said flatly as Bow laughed a bit. "We were just involved with… a traitor? A couple actually," he frowned, looking at the other boy seriously.

Bow's eyes widened as Naruto nodded. "W-Wait, no…"

"There are traitors in Bright Moon's Royal Guards," Naruto whispered.

Bow froze in horror, skin pale and eyes shrunken. "..." He let out a breath. "I-I…"

Naruto just shook his head. "There are also some in the Horde. I… they want me and, from what I've heard, that woman didn't get found. The one who tricked us into going to her location."

"T-There wasn't anyone else there," Bow swallowed. "T-This just got way too big. We have to tell someone!" He whispered back.

"I can't for you guys here, you have to tell your Queen when we're eventually gone. Otherwise, those traitors might just act like you're the traitor and we did something to you, it'd be too soon," Naruto explained. "And, as for the Horde… Right now, we need to go back, it's too dangerous for us to be here."

Bow frowned, head down. "Seriously? I thought we could all be on the same side this time," he groaned as Naruto pat his back with a smile.

"Hey, look at it on the positive side, right now, my pals know a bit better if you guys are as persuasive as we've been told about," Naruto stage-whispered as Bow laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, we've got interrogation machines built into our brains."

"What about the torture chambers between every tree in the Whispering Woods?"

"Oh, those are old fashioned."

They laughed about that.

~NRK~

Angella wore a sad smile as the security magic on Bow filled her ears.

'Oh, Bow,' the Queen sighed even as her expression steeled. "A Horde boy now has magic," she said to Glimmer, Perfuma, and Spinnerella. "And if his words are true-"

"N-No one can know about this?" Glimmer bit her lip as her mother sighed.

"Traitors…" Spinnerella looked down. "What do we do? If Young Naruto is right, then there are waiting agents in both the Horde and Bright Moon. Never mind that it's possible there are others in the other kingdoms."

"I-I don't want to believe my people would want to destroy our home," Perfuma fidgeted a bit. "He didn't see anyone from here but just Bright Moon?"

"..." Angella frowned. "We can't allow them to just leave, you all understand that, don't you?" Glimmer flinched.

"M-Mom, I know they're… Horde guys but you're not actually going to imprison them, are you?" Glimmer asked as her mother's steely expression broke for a moment.

Revealing a conflicted expression that melted away into apathy.

"If we just leave them be, there's already a high chance they're already in danger, Glimmer."

"What? Why?!"

"Because they've been in contact with us, even in their current situation," Spinnerella wore a sad look. "They're currently situated in a Princess's settlement, Glimmer, peacefully at that."

"B-But they're bud is injured horribly, were it not for that power within him, Naruto m-might be…" The girl swallowed as Perfuma frowned.

"It was fortuitous that he had enough qualities to save his own life," the Plumeria Princess said softly. "That boy… he purifies, you all, he breeds nature within his spirit and flesh, I-I don't think we can just ignore that he's the opposite of everything the Horde believes in. In mind, soul, and body, Naruto's not supposed to be able to last in there."

"And we need to do something, still," the Queen said in thought.

She listened in on Bow and Naruto's conversation some more before being struck with inspiration.

So, what do you plan on doing now? You know they'll want you, Naruto, your powers could do a crazy amount of good.

I know but, right now, we have to look as separate and despising of each other as possible. I think we need to sneak out of here while making a small bit of chaos, Bow. The thing is, your Queen and Perfuma won't stand for that and I don't want to hurt anyone. It'd go against the kindness we've received and who I am as a person.

~NRK~

Bow nodded. "Well… Maybe," he considered something as the blonde perked up. "What if we faked it?" Bow grinned. "If we set up a fake royal procession from here that passes near the Horde guys nearby, we might be able to have you guys looking like 'heroes'," he twitched his fingers.

"Hmm, that might work," Naruto chuckled. "Still, we'd need to make that possible and, um, there are still the others. They might have questions, might not want to go back… right guys?" He asked his comrades who 'blinked awake' with sheepish expressions. "I know you guys woke up halfway into our convo. What do you all think?"

Kyle looked embarrassed at being caught. "Well… You're right, I-I do have questions," he admitted painfully. "Bow, is it… is it true?" He asked softly.

"... Yeah, the Horde are not the good guys," the archer said. "They're monsters in the minds of everyone because of everything they've done. It's not wrong to say, you guys are probably some of the few who've gotten to see what the truth on the other side is like."

Catra frowned as she sat up. "You say that but it's not some perfect counter to our ways of life," she muttered as Adora sighed softly.

"Things got so complicated just because of this one mission," she uttered. "What are we even supposed to do?" Adora asked him, their friend and most wise cadet.

Naruto Uzumaki ran his hand through his hair. "... I wanted to get us all out of the Horde or defect when I knew you guys wouldn't be in danger," he admitted.

"... Hmph," Rogelio didn't look surprised.

"Lio's right, you… you've just never been a 'Horde', if ya get my drift," Lonnie admitted with concern. "Maybe it's because ya care too much. Maybe it's because you're just not putting your all into it when you could but you always seemed way too different. And now ya got magic powers that make my boots shake, you're kind of unreal, ya know?"

"... Yeah," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Still, right now, as I told Bow, we just can't leave."

"It'd be way too suspicious," Adora said. "And, even then, do we want to leave?" She asked the others, conflicted.

They all looked down in thought while Naruto nodded.

"We've spent most of our entire lives in the Horde. We have tutors, instructors, commanders, and more we might have grown attached to," Naruto said simply. "It's not that easy to think we were in the wrong the entire time, that's heavy. I know it's probably tearing you guys up on the inside."

"There you go with the understanding shit," Lonnie said nervously. "... And it feels like everything hurts, w-what the hell are we supposed to think?"

Bow could understand, somewhat. 'If I'd ever been told we were really the bad guys… I don't think I could take it,' he'd likely lose himself in his mind. "Still, Naruto did say you guys could wait and try to find jobs that take you away from your empire," he offered.

"Likely, the only thing we could imagine wouldn't have us attacking people directly would be doing transport jobs," Kyle said. "O-Or like our pilot said, just dropping off and picking up soldiers?" He offered.

Adora sat up cross-legged. "I…" What did she do with all this information? "... The Horde took me in when I was a baby, that's what I was told, anyway," she admitted, the others sans Catra and Naruto blinking in surprise.

"They… did?" Bow asked in confusion.

"Yeah, what?" Lonnie blinked. "I thought you were born there like us," she said in surprise.

"No, Shadow Weaver told me that I was taken in as an orphan."

"Seems like that story's not so different from my own," Naruto said, surprising her.

"Wait, seriously?!" Adora asked in shock while Catra hummed.

"It seems like it's not so different between us three 'apprentices'," she said sarcastically, looking at Naruto oddly. "I… It's not so different for me but I know I was a kid when I got taken in. I don't remember my parents before that."

"Seriously?" Bow gawked at them. "W-Wait, so, have you guys never had a birthday before?!"

"Birthday?" Most of the Horde squad said in disbelief while Naruto balked in disbelief.

'Wait, no freaking way!' That had to be wrong, right?! "I-I… I know what they are," he said in disbelief.

"N-Never heard of it," Adora admitted.

"Ditto," Catra said.

~NRK~

Glimmer's jaw dropped along with Spinnerella and Perfuma.

"W-What are they doing to these children!?" The Plumeria Princess said in horror. "H-How could they not know what a birthday is?! Do they even have parents?!"

Angella's expression broke for a moment to reveal concern and doubt before it barely controlled itself. "I didn't know about this," she frowned. "Hordak took these orphans in? Why? Why do these things? What exactly does he think he's doing? And, on that matter, those three odd ones were the orphans… and the boy, Naruto, ends up having magnificent magic prowess," she looked oddly suspicious. "..."

"You don't think they were taken in because of being oddly powerful, do you, mom?" Glimmer asked. "If that's the case then how would they not know Naruto's special… unless they-"

"Did know," the Queen frowned. "This is worrying information, you all. We can't let anyone know, especially not now… And, Perfuma," the woman hummed. "Did you ever need to move a large assortment of old wood and trees somewhere to be planted or removed?"

The Plumeria Princess blinked before grinning.

"Maybe~ And fire's not as bad when it comes to life starting anew in many ways," Perfuma said with bright eyes. "Ooh! We could turn it into an 'Away' ceremony!"

"Well, that's one way to keep the status quo in image," Spinnerella giggled a bit as Glimmer hummed.

"Still… They clearly shouldn't be in the Horde, they seem like they're just doing what they've known all their lives, I… I-I don't think they're bad people, mom," the girl said.

'I know,' Angella thought with a soft look at her youngest. 'Children without mothers, fathers, or even positive influences in their lives will fall into pits of darkness that can mold them into beings that shouldn't exist,' she frowned. 'This Naruto boy seems to hold a big amount of space in their hearts, he's likely their emotional core,' it seemed the boy was important in their lives in ways that could almost be construed as a 'parent'.

Or even a 'Brother'.

~NRK~

Getting filled in by an animated Bow about these things called birthdays where they got 'cake', 'parties', and other things, the six were intrigued, immensely so.

Naruto just snorted before explaining his plan on how to leave.

They all seemed fine with it, Adora and Catra included, before Bow led the group out of the hut.

Allowing Naruto to see his current wounds in some better light.

Still wearing his ripped-up pants and sandals, he didn't have on his shirt anymore which allowed the large number of bandages around his chest to show and got him aching a bit.

Oh, and also the missing arm but that was kind of accepted by him by this point.

"Damn, I got hit hard," he said with a wince, rubbing at his chest a good bit. "I can tell I'm healing faster and stuff but this stuff feels rough."

"From what we figured out, when you got… impaled," Bow said as most of the other teens winced. "That stuff had some kinda poison in it, you fought it off thanks to your powerful dna and stuff but you'll be dealing with it for a good bit. It seemed more severe but thanks to your new powers, you even being able to move is a miracle. You need better healing."

"Ugh."

"Yeah, uh, you're taking it easy for a long time, Naru," Adora said with a soft frown. "Dammit, great job, Leader. You really led your comrades to victory," she muttered.

Catra bumped shoulders with her as Naruto shook his head.

"It's not your fault for trying to follow protocol," the cat girl said. "None of us knew this would happen."

"But Naruto was right. You all had your own grievances and look where it led us," Adora grimaced at Naruto's missing arm. "Naruto's missing an arm, almost died, and the only reason we're all as untouched as we are was because he had the reaction time to protect us. He knew better and I didn't-"

"I don't blame you," Naruto said, his only hand on her shoulder. "People who lead have to make the tough decisions, between hunches and protocol, it's not that easy for you who's trying their best."

"And what would you have done?"

"Threw myself into the situation without you guys knowing," he shrugged as they gawked at him. "One, I have the reaction time to get out of there and I have my sensing skill. I'd have taken one look at the door the moment I was in the middle of it all. Ensuring you guys were safe was more important to me while I can also go in and check ahead of time. It's just my way of thinking and knowing what I can do, it ain't your fault."

Adora looked far more aligned with the fact that it was.

"Naru has a lot of advantages, it's not fair to compare yourselves," Bow said as the group reached a large table. "So, for now, just focus on eating!" He offered as cooks from the side brought over food and the like while people cheered. "For bud here, they're really thankful," he said, punching Naruto in the shoulder as he laughed.

"W-Whoa," Kyle blinked at the cheers. "I mean, he did basically save their forest," he chuckled a bit.

"Well, free food would certainly help right now," Lonnie smirked.

Getting seated, they were served food they'd never understood but loved from the first bite.

And, of course, their injured teammate decided to destroy their belief in him having a normal stomach again.

"Whew!" Naruto chuckled as he put down one more two-foot-sized bowl onto a pile of eight of them and numerous smaller bowls, the people cheering at his appetite. "Man, I haven't had food like that ever!" He laughed.

The others just stared at him in horror. "W-Where does it all go?" Bow asked with a dropped jaw.

"W-We can never tell ya," Lonnie shivered. "I-It's like he's a human trash disposal!"

Rogelio hummed competitively before face-flopping onto the table at three big bowls. "Mmmmmmm!"

"E-Even Lio's down!" Kyle wheezed.

Adora moaned against the table, again, three large bowls next to her with only two smaller ones by them. "I-I can't beat him here," she whimpered as Catra shot her the flattest stare known to Etheria.

With only two large bowls next to her, Catra shook her head.

"You're an idiot," she said before turning to Naruto. "And you control that stomach of yours!"

The fox boy sweatdropped. "Being honest, I was hella hungry and did use up a ton of energy," he admitted sheepishly before there was a commotion in the crowd. "And here's Glimmer and the Princesses," Naruto said nervously.

They arrived, looked at the state he was in and gawked.

"Um, well, ma'ams and Glimmer, I have a killer appetite."

~NRK~

"W-Where did it all go?!" Glimmer asked Bow who chuckled nervously.

"Um… somewhere?" He said weakly. "I don't know, Naru seems to have a blackhole in his stomach that spits out nothing but nutrients!"

Now sitting in Bright Moon's discussion tent, the Horde teens sat on one side while the Rebellion sat on the other.

Naruto and Adora sitting in the middle of their side. "So, uh, ignoring how you just saw me a moment ago," the boy began with an embarrassed grin and a couple bows. "Pleased to meet you, ma'ams, and thanks for taking care of us," Naruto said with one last bow at the table that Adora followed.

"Y-Yes, you did my squad a big favor," she said.

"At ease, your appetite aside," Angella began as Naruto blushed. "You've not offended us."

"I-Is that jab at me?" Naruto asked weakly.

"... Perhaps."

"Oh, man."

Glimmer snickered along with Bow as Perfuma smiled brightly. "So, young man, what exactly are your plans from here on out?"

"Um… well, getting more rest than the world's ever seen?" Naruto said. "Bow told me everything, I'm not in any kind of good shape right now."

"It's true," Spinnerella said kindly. "Poison, impalement, missing an arm, one would say you went through enough combat for a lifetime."

"Ehh… maybe a bit but I've got a path ahead of me and people to help, I can't say staying out of combat is something I can do when I have power to change things."

"So it seems," the woman smiled sadly. 'He's truly a valorous boy,' she thought.

He fought for good despite his faction, he protected his friends and family.

Naruto seemed to just want to be a good person and she couldn't fault him for that.

"Well, while you rest here," Perfuma smiled. "We did have a few low-stress jobs to deal with," she told them, confusing the kids.

'What?' Catra blinked.

"We have some old dead wood to move, even after your bright help," she said as Naruto perked up with Bow, the two boys locking eyes.

'Jackpot,' they said with dual nods as the others shot them some looks.

'That's so cute! They're so bad at this!' Perfuma squealed mentally. "Yes, it'd be a nice small trek that needs to be done. The wood burns easily," she emphasized. "And I doubt you want to be crowded by my citizens like you were earlier," she giggled embarrassedly.

"That'd be pretty good!" Naruto grinned. "Something low-stress is actually perfect!"

"Yes but that can wait until the following morning. There are a few things that I would like to discuss with you," Angella smiled kindly as the boy nodded.

"Ask away."

"You can do magic, Naruto," Glimmer said as the boy nodded. "Have you considered what you'll do now?"

"... Honestly?" Being really honest. "I don't know," he'd never considered this before.

Having magic? Was he supposed to do something?

"How is your control over it?" Angella asked softly.

Naruto looked at his left arm and focused.

A familiar glowing limb sprouted, the appendage forming a perfect copy of his right arm but with clawed digits.

"Okay, this should make life a lot easier," he chuckled as she blinked in surprise.

'Is his innate control so perfect?' How ridiculous. 'It's good it fell into his hands above anyone else,' such easy control would have been worrying in the hands of a more loyal Horde soldier. "Your control is rather amazing."

"... Honestly, I don't think it is," Naruto said as he flexed his digits, Adora staring at them. "How can I put this… it's not me shaping it, I'm just filling my left shoulder with it and this happens," he explained. 'If I'd never had chakra before, this would be horrible.'

Ah, okay.

His magic had small intricacies that he could kind of tell. It'd likely take time to understand them.

"Whoa," Bow tilted his head. "What about that odd form you got?"

"That is… I got nothing," the archer sweatdropped. "Bow, this happened, like, six hours ago. I was just really feeling it back then and ran with it. All I know is that this power can purify things, gives me a super form… for some reason," he chuckled nervously. "And requires a lot of energy and set-up. It's gonna need some training."

"Aw, man," Glimmer whined as her friend chuckled. "Well… it'd be kinda weird for you to just get giant monster-throwing power out of the ether," she pouted.

"R-Right! Naruto, you threw like a building-size giant spider!" Kyle said before pale and shaking. "A-A building-size-"

"Easy, easy, breathe," Lonnie said as the boy held himself and shivered up from his toes. "Still, he was right that you got stupid-strength. How'd it feel?" She asked.

"Weird. Well, how can I put this? It's like I know I've got strength but I don't know what it is until I use it," Naruto said with a shrug as he flexed the limb. "I've got magic and no idea on how to use it. Trust me, I'm kinda at the bottom of the ocean with no idea how to swim."

"Well, it'll work out," Catra shrugged as he chuckled. 'Will Shadow Weaver actually take him on as an apprentice now?' Once word got out, and she's sure it would, Catra knew the woman might take him up like hot crossed buns. "..."

"You good?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah… It's whatever."

'Oh no,' not this again.

"A new form, you said?" Angella asked Bow with confusion. 'I never saw it,' the boy had just been glowing.

Had he changed? She'd never seen it.

"Oh, yeah, mom! It was crazy!" Glimmer said. "He got all weird and gold colors and stuff!"

'Thank you, my daughter,' Angella thought sarcastically. "I see, I don't suppose you can do it now, can you?"

"..." Naruto crossed his arms in thought, form glowing gold. 'I don't remember the feeling,' focus-

The gold 'poofed' away and, in its place, was a chibi Naruto.

The 'smol boy' was blinking in confusion, golden eyes looking down at himself in disbelief as every part of him seemed to… smallify.

"Are you serious?!" He whined with crocodile tears.

"He's so cute!" Glimmer grinned with shining eyes as Bow laughed.

"No! Not cute!" His voice had even gotten small and nasally. "DAMMIT!" His fox ears flopped as Catra started laughing, face-down on the table. "Please tell me this goes back to normal!"

Adora's eyes shined with interest as she leaned down-

"No, do not lean down to m-My cred! All of it is gone once this comes out!"

She covered her mouth in interest at the three-foot-tall boy.

"He's so small," Kyle said with a laugh as Rogelio snorted off to the side.

Perfuma wore an utterly serene expression as Spinnerella blushed at how small he'd gotten.

'I-I could just cuddle him!' She wanted to, so badly.

Angella sweatdropped at the pouting chibi boy. "I… Believe this isn't it?" She asked with a small smile. "He is cute, though," she admitted as the boy whined again.

"I'm just done," Naruto groaned as Lonnie smirked.

"Look at you, fear will be cast into every woman's heart before they realize you're huggable," she snickered as he flopped face-first onto the table, again. "Truly, you are all-powerful."

"Mmmmm," he mumbled something into the table before looking up at the Queen. "... S-So…"

"Yes…" She said slowly. "I believe we should, ahem, wait out your timer," Angella said diplomatically. "I don't think we can solve anything as you are."

"Please don't say that, my feelings," the boy pleaded as she smiled some more.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure."

"Dammit."

Five minutes of prodding, joking, teasing, and grins revealed he returned to normal but with the downside of looking so embarrassed.

Naruto just held his head down on the table for the third time. "Kill ME!"

"Hmm… no," Angella smiled.

"Ugh, well, my social life is over," he muttered before lifting his head up with a squinty-eyed look that really reminded Angella of a fox. "So, uh, ignoring my size malfunction, what can I do for ya, ma'am?"

"Just curious questions," the Queen said simply. "Do you know the effect your powers have on Princesses?"

"... Kind of?"

"I understand, it must seem weird to interact with me on that level," Perfuma said as Naruto nodded.

"It's never happened before."

"It's fine, we promise. It's just… your powers are oddly effective. I've never felt anything like that before and if it's 'Nature' you identify with, it's kind of weird."

"..." Naruto hummed. "Well, if you consider 'nature' like a big bowl of soup, your powers are just a part of that soup… kinda," he got squinty-faced again as Bow snickered some more. "So, like, if you were vegetables in a broth-"

"Okay, we get it, you're obviously hungry again," Catra groaned into her hands as Naruto pouted.

"I'm not-" His stomach growled. "That hungry," Naruto recovered as Adora sweatdropped. "Alright? I'm just saying that it makes the most sense. It's like eating nothing but veggies before knowing that and meat go in a soup together."

"Whoa, I kind of get it," Glimmer said with sarcastic disbelief and a twitching brow. "Are you just obsessed with food?"

"No… just noodles… and soup… and broth-"

"Same thing," Bow said with a grin. "Basically, he means it's like 'Nature' on a bigger plane I guess? Like, if Plumeria considered 'Nature' as plants and trees, Naruto considers 'Nature' as everything related to it… powers-wise. He's pulling on something on a bigger scheme if you get it."

"I suppose," Angella cupped her chin. 'So, since his powers pull from a more vague concept of nature, he can align with the natures of Runestones…' If that was the case, there might have been something more about the boy that'd become critical to both sides' existences. "I can grasp Bow's words. So, onto more relevant matters, what will you do about your healing, Naruto?"

"Huh? I mean… rest?" Naruto asked slowly as she shook her head. "Is it really worse than what Bow said?" He asked once more, Bow looking confused.

"Ma'am?" The archer asked nervously. "What are you talking about?"

"I'd been observing him, for a time, to see how his body reacted but I wonder if your powers don't help your nerves and the like restore their functions," Angella began, confusing the blonde. "The poison used on you is one that's hard to cure and does more than paralyze. It deteriorates nerve signals and breathing, it's one that's normally used to subjugate large beasts but you show no adverse effects."

Catra growled while Adora frowned.

"She was a sick woman," the cat girl hissed.

"She really was the worst of the worst," the human girl clenched her hands.

Naruto just sighed. "All we know is that she was clearly out to get me… and will be back," he said with a frown. "Her and whatever other weirdos want a piece of what I am, now."

Angella nodded with a frown. "It's going to be a harsh journey for you…" She considered something. "But there are places in the world you can look to for tutelage, many of them. Some big, some small, it'll be up to you to find them."

Glimmer's eyes widened. "Like-"

"Glimmer."

The girl's mouth shut closed as she rubbed the back of her head. "Y-Yeah, my bad."

Naruto hummed before nodding with a smile. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll find a good place to start, that I can promise ya," he grinned. "And I'm pretty good at keeping those, don't ya know-da-Hmm!" He covered his mouth.

"Wait, right, you did say something weird back there," Catra rubbed her chin with a raised brow as Naruto blushed.

"I-It's nothing! Don't worry about it-Dattebay-dammit!"

"No way," Bow started laughing. "You have a verbal tic!"

"Bow, you're NOT helping!"

"A verba-huh?" Lonnie asked in disbelief, shooting the blushing blonde fox boy the biggest raised brows… that was followed by a grin. "Well, well, well."

"Lonnie, i-it doesn't have to be this way-"

"But it is."

Adora just looked fascinated while Catra smirked.

"Interesting," they said in unison as Naruto's eyebrow twitched.

'Just great.'

~NRK~

The following morning, the teens, all of them, slept in a large makeshift tent that had been loaned to them for their, Naruto's, services.

So, when they awoke, they'd been prepared for a lot.

But Naruto's form of weirdness just couldn't control itself.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! A yell roared throughout the settlement, Angella blinking as she walked across the cool grass of Perfuma's settlement.

"You don't suppose something weirder happened this time, do you?" She asked her fellow Princess who grinned.

"I had a theory. I mean, if Naruto's powers are similar to our own that'd mean he has a-" Perfuma began to say, throwing open the teens' tent.

She grinned as Angella blinked and leaned in-

"Young man, what have you done to yourself?" The Queen asked the fox boy who was staring at the odd spiral-shaped gem sitting within his grasp.

The others awoke to his cries and just stared at him in utter disbelief.

The fox boy only had one thing to say. "You know what? I'm going to sleep. Good night," he said before flopping down. "I'm way too young for this shit."

~NRK~

And that's a start to another one, I hope yall like this two-parter.

~NRK Out~