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.

3. Year Long I

~NRK~

"Why does my life need to get complicated?!" Naruto exclaimed as Perfuma grinned.

Back in the chambers of Bright Moon's tents, the group just stared at the large spiral-shaped gem in the blonde's grasp.

"What the hell is this thing?!"

"..." Angella just considered the blonde for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Naruto," she spoke, gaining his attention. "I… That golden gemstone you're holding is something that's very precious to you. No, one might even say that it's just as valuable as your own life."

The blonde looked confused while Catra and Adora balked at the item.

'That's a Runestone!' They thought in disbelief, Naruto holding the three-foot-wide magic stone in his hand, the crystal floating above his palm.

Not everyone knew what these were, though. Likely not their other teammates.

"It is?" Naruto asked, frowning as he stared at the gem. "I mean… I can feel this thing collecting energy from the world around us. It's like it's filling up," he uttered, confusing everyone this time.

"Really? Like a rechargeable battery?" Kyle asked as Perfuma's eyes widened.

"That's it!" She said with a big smile. "It's likely the thing that will power your grand transformation!"

"... Oh," Lonnie blinked in realization. "So, if Naruto wants to get that super big form, he needs this thing to be charged to max?"

Angella hummed as Glimmer balked along with Bow. "It seems to be the case," she said but, on the inside, she was utterly baffled. 'That's not a normal Runestone,' they didn't do that.

Runestones were supposed to be perpetually-charged fragments of their world's magic that could charge them, not the other way around.

What exactly was up with Naruto?

"Well… I mean, what do I do with it?" Naruto asked. "Do I put it somewhere? Keep it on me? This is kinda big," he admitted as he twirled the gem with twirls of his finger.

The gemstone spun slowly as he hummed.

"... I guess, considering everything I know right now… can I leave it with you guys?" Naruto asked Perfuma who gasped before grinning. "If it's taking in the power of our surroundings, having this thing anywhere else would be bad. Besides, it'd probably be better in the hands of someone who could hide it in a bunch of trees."

"We'd be honored!" The Plant Princess smiled. "Though, this will be new, I don't think I've ever seen two of these in the same place at once. I can hope for the universe's energies that this will go well!"

"... Gotcha."

"What he means is, thanks?" Catra said with a shrug. "Why is everything you're involved with so weird?"

"To be fair, I just wanted to help you guys, didn't expect all this extra stuff," Naruto said with a hum. "... Alright, go on," he said to his gemstone.

The item flashed before floating over to Perfuma who blinked before touching it.

Her eyes glowed before she removed her hand, her gaze going back to normal. "I think this will need to be put away very carefully," she said as Angella considered it.

'This will require a lot of observation,' this was too odd and unorthodox. 'A boy with a Runestone? So, a Prince?' It'd be appropriate… right? "It'll be interesting to observe this Naruto, our gratitude for your trust."

"No problem! Now, with all of us well-rested, let's get rid of some trees."

~NRK~

They nodded Bow, Glimmer, the Queen, and Perfuma.

"Alright, we'll… see each other again," Naruto grinned as he and Bow grasped hands before pulling each other in for a one-armed hug. "... Right," he said sheepishly, sprouting an arm so they could redo it.

Bow laughed as they did, finishing it off with a little thumb-war-flick-combo.

"Boys are so weird," Glimmer groaned. "Y-You just came up with that on the spot, didn't you?!"

"... Yeah," they admitted with dual laughs as the short Princess's eyebrow twitched. "It's just a guy thing."

"I'm noticing… Whatever, just take care of what you have to do."

"We will," Adora smiled as they adjusted their backpacks. "This whole situation is weird and we'll have to be careful with all this easily flammable wood," she said with the biggest fake grin known to man.

Catra ran a hand down her face as Lonnie snickered.

"She's hopeless," they said as Adora whined.

"C-Come on, I'm not being weird or anything!"

Naruto just shook his head and pat her on the back. "Alright, we'll return, hopefully, soon. If not, give us time," he grinned as they walked off with an old creaky cart and large bundles of wood.

"Thank you, Nature Hero!" One of the Plumeria citizens said.

"Thank you, hero!"

"Have a safe trip!"

"Plumeria will always welcome you!"

More and more of such cheers had Naruto rubbing the back of his neck. "Hehe, I promise I'll come back!" He waved back with a grin before running ahead. "Alright, let's get this show on the road!"

He threw his pack atop the cart before moving to the front of it with Rogelio.

"Match my speed, Rog!"

"Hmph!"

They ran off, their teammates running to keep up.

~NRK~

The explosion of flames sent up a smoke signal that had them covering their mouths.

"So, obviously, they knew what we were doing, didn't they?" Catra asked as Adora moved off to the side to call 'back-up'.

"Oh, definitely," Lonnie said. "... They seemed like good folk," she admitted nervously as Catra crossed her arms with a frown.

'I know,' it wasn't wrong to say, Princesses weren't bad people on principle, they were just people with crazy magic powers.

Which her foxy friend now had similar things to.

'It was a good thing he left it with them,' she'd seen the one Shadow Weaver kept trying to draw power from. Imagining the woman with two of them, one of which seemed to give power it pulled in, would be a bad formula for that old lady to have.

Especially because she'd likely use it against Catra, herself.

"Alright, we've got back-up coming with our story in place," Adora said as she came over, the six teens standing in a circle. "This was… certainly some kinda mission…" She looked at Naruto who shrugged.

"Yeah, it was, and we've got a ton of things to tell Shadow Weaver and Hordak," he frowned. "Traitors, they're after me, and I can use magic. Honestly, it's really serious stuff."

"I'm surprised you'd admit to having magic," Kyle admitted. "I mean, you seem to understand our leaders more than we do."

"Maybe but there's no point in hiding it," Naruto said. "It's better that I can use it out in the open so I can actually train it without having to hide it. Honestly, maybe Shadow Weaver can show me her good side and train me?" He asked Catra and Adora who looked surprised.

"Um, maybe?" Catra said unsurely. 'Would she want to train him?' Being perfectly honest, why not?

Shadow Weaver may not have liked Naruto but she apparently trusted him enough to try and protect them… them, her and Adora.

Like they were trophies. Like pets who needed to learn and grow up.

Catra's eyes narrowed off to the side as the six of them looked up at a Horde Copter.

~NRK~

Finally being let off inside the siege encampment, the six hurried inside of a temporary 'base' tent set up for them.

Going into the rather large space, they set down their things before just… sitting down on them in a bit of a daze.

All save for Naruto and Catra, the former looking at his stump of a left arm while the latter grimaced at something in her head.

Naruto hummed before crossing his legs, folding his arm into his lap, and meditated.

He closed his eyes as he felt the flow of Natural Energy around him before pulling on it oddly.

'Huh, never could do that before,' he thought as he absorbed some of it slowly-

It went in another direction, getting a pair of raised brows out of him before he realized what was happening.

'I can't use Sage Mode without that gem thing,' well, that put a bummer on things. "Hmm," well, might as well try out different meditation tricks-

"Hey, Naruto," he heard from his side, the boy opening his eyes to see Catra crouching beside him, the girl wearing a serious look in her eyes.

~NRK~

Walking around the perimeter of their camp, Catra kept her arms crossed as Naruto just minded the forest.

"So, what's up? You've been pretty annoyed about something ever since we made that fire," Naruto said to her as her face scrunched up in annoyance. "... Catra, what's up? Seriously, you look like something happened."

"She doesn't trust me," Catra said immediately after he stopped talking. "Shadow Weaver doesn't trust me at all, she wanted you to likely make sure I didn't mess things up, didn she?"

"I told you the truth, she didn't want me interfering with Adora specifically, yea, but she did say she wanted both of you to become better and 'progress'," Naruto twitched his fingers. "I can only tell ya what I said, she does see potential in you, I'm sure of it. I do and she'd be an idiot not to see it as well."

Catra groaned, blushing a bit before muttering with a small pout at him. "Yeah, you're watching me all the time, huh?" She teased back, the boy's cheeks reddening a bit. 'Gotcha, idiot,' she smirked at his sheepishly chuckling form.

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that but, in a way," he emphasized as she gawked at him with red cheeks. "You've got a great attitude, it's not weird for me to say that admirable, right?"

"I-It is!"

"Huh?!"

She powerwalked ahead and Naruto blinked before catching up.

She walked faster.

He followed.

Catra growled.

Soon, they were running, Naruto's smirking form running beside her before he pulled ahead and… T-That bastard!

Began running backwards, this sick boy!

"You bastard!" She shouted at him as they kept going, the two weaving in and out of trees, people, machines, and the like.

Catra's feline-like grace allowed her movement that was amazingly Chunin-like to the blonde, the girl's drive to please could be seen as bad but he knew it could be good.

Catra's eyes locked onto those bright eyes of his.

Those eyes that seemed to believe in her in ways that embarrassed her.

Eyes that saw potential that Shadow Weaver apparently didn't.

She grit her teeth, cheeks red, as they continued this game of literal cat and metaphorical mouse.

They kept going for, she doesn't know, however long before she was grinning without a thought, crouching atop a tree as the blonde stood on another's tip, the two watching the nighttime sky for a moment.

"Things are gonna be weird in the future, I don't know," Naruto said with a small confused smile. "But the sky typically doesn't change that much," he chuckled.

Catra observed his slightly glowing form for a moment before looking up at the moons of their planet.

"Probably, things really don't like staying simple, do they?" She asked as he shook his head. "Annoying," Catra shrugged. "I'm probably gonna ask the team when we get back but… D-Do you mind if I report the whole situation with the traitors as… my idea?" Catra asked nervously.

"Sure."

"I know you… what?"

"I'm fine with that, Catra," Naruto said. "If it helps you out, I don't mind, I did kinda put you on the spot when we were speaking with Hordak so I can't be bothered about you wanting to prove yourself," he grinned.

Catra's ears flickered and she scoffed off to the side, embarrassed. "Y-Yeah, well… thanks, I mean it… Naru."

"No problem."

~NRK~

Returning to their borrowed tent, they found two members of their team warming up cans of small sausages, noodles, and crackers.

Kyle and Rogelio worked at a makeshift station, greeting the two.

"Welcome back," the human cook said with a smile. "Adora went to go and speak with Captain Grizzlor while Lonnie's working out in the Gym Tent," Kyle smiled. "Sausages?" He offered as Rogelio brought out the paper plates.

Getting some food, the two 'chefs' putting the food on a simmer on a portable stove, they all sat down and ate.

With Naruto using his 'arm ability' to not worry anyone. "Hmm…" He swallowed before nodding to the two. "Food's good as always, guys, thanks."

"No problem, thankfully, it all comes from us pre-seasoning it," Kyle chuckled.

"Hmph," Rogelio nodded.

Catra considered her options before nodding, swallowing before drinking some water. "Alright, so, I spoke with Naruto," she began as the blonde nodded. "... I wanna take responsibility for informing Hordak and Shadow Weaver about the traitors."

Rogelio blinked, chewing his food, before shrugging. "Hmph."

"I mean… I guess if Naruto's fine with it, I don't mind," Kyle nodded as Catra looked a bit… embarrassed. "I just think, um, you'll have to really convince Lonnie, not us. Maybe she'll just think like me and let Naruto make the call but she's all for people getting what they deserve, you know that."

Catra grimaced with a groan as Adora entered their tent with a thoughtful expression. "Sup?" She asked her, cupping her chin in thought.

"Well, Captain Grizzlor said that he'd inform Shadow Weaver in the morning. She's going to want to get your testimony, Naruto."

"I'm fine with that, I'll make sure to give her Catra's shining recommendation," Naruto said as the girl-in-question blushed before groaning at Adora's look of confusion.

"Huh?"

Explaining the situation, Adora winced as Catra's tail went limp.

"I-I understand, I do, it's just… Naruto deserves to get recognized for basically keeping us alive," Adora said as the boy hummed.

"I understand, I'm glad you think so, Adora, it's just… Not to trash your appreciation but I honestly don't need that much attention. If Catra wants the credit, I don't mind. Maybe, I can talk to Lonnie about it? She's an upright person but I'm sure she won't mind if I can tell her my side-"

"No, you can't," Lonnie said as she entered the tent without her cadet top on, wearing a white tank top in its place. "I don't know why everyone else is giving you the go-ahead but I won't. You were just as for this as Adora was," she shook her head at her leader's downward head. "I don't care, everyone makes mistakes… but owning up to them is a better quality for a Force Captain than someone who steals someone else's credit."

Catra grimaced at her before looking worried.

Naruto made to open his mouth-

"Naruto shut up."

"Mmmm," he grunted loudly into his mouth. "... Okay, I get it, I don't want to just trample on your feelings on this…" Naruto looked conflicted. "... Adora, did Captain Grizzlor tell us if we'd be off this mission? Or even if we'd be going back tomorrow?"

"He said it depended on Shadow Weaver," Adora said, knuckle under her chin. "... You have an idea, don't you?"

"Yep. Lonnie's right in that people should get the credit they deserve, so, maybe we should somehow get Catra her 'credit'."

"Great, he's on this," Lonnie rolled her eyes as Catra grimaced but frowned curiously.

"Naruto, what are you talking about?" Catra asked as the blonde frowned with a nod.

"You guys ever wonder if I was lying about my sensing skill?"

"It was total bullshit, huh?" Lonnie asked. "50%, at least."

"Yep and guess who still remembers that weird lady's signature?~" He grinned as they all choked. "If we can make it work tomorrow, hopefully we'll only leave a day later or still be stationed here the whole week, then we can go and find her. I know where she is."

"She's in Glossweed, isn't she?" Adora asked him, getting a nod for her troubles. "I see… Well… I'm fine with that," she said as Catra gawked before ruffling her hair bashfully.

"Yeah, well, Lonnie's probably gonna bitch at me if I let you guys do the work," she said before Naruto's chuckles got all their attention. "What? More ideas?"

"Yep. Lonnie wants you to be responsible for your victories and, well, I did say you had qualities to lead, didn't I?"

"This is gonna end in disaster," Lonnie sweatdropped as Catra's jaw dropped while Adora grinned.

"I-If we make Catra lead us, right?" Kyle asked, blinking in surprise before shooting the cat girl a nervous look. "I don't… I-I don't mind, Catra, I'm just not used to following you," he admitted as she looked down with a hum before nodding.

"I get that. Fine, that sounds like the perfect way to make this work," Catra grinned. "...
S-Still, we have to hope Shadow Weaver let's us-"

"I might," came a voice from outside their tent, shadows curling inside and forming a familiar sorceress in front of them. "You're quite annoying, boy," Shadow Weaver said as Catra and Adora scrambled to their feet.

Kyle swallowed before coughing on some food, Rogelio patting his back while Lonnie stood there with a look of shock.

"Hmph, at ease," the woman said to the two girls before focusing on Naruto. "..." Her eyes narrowed on the blonde fox boy with a frown before they widened as she slunk over. "You…. What did you do?" She demanded of Naruto who blinked.

"Um, what?" He asked.

"Why do I feel magic on… YOU CAN USE MAGIC?" The woman looked alarmed beyond reason, leaning back with a look of disbelief… that quickly shifted into distaste.

And not a normal kind, no. Naruto could see it with just her eyes alone.

For some reason, Shadow Weaver DETESTED him right now and he blinked.

"Um, did I do something? I mean, I kept everyone alive, that's what you wanted," Naruto said as he put his finished plate of food down and frowned. "... Ma'am?"

"..."The woman's hands clenched as her shadows curled around her… before it all vanished, the woman's glare on him. "Do not approach me for mentorship, boy, I won't take you in."

She vanished like that, leaving Naruto gawking along with the others.

"What?!" They all shouted but none was more shocked than Catra.

'W-What the hell was that!?' Didn't… Didn't the woman want to bolster her forces?!

What the hell was this?!

Adora just seemed concerned. "Why did she… S-She seemed like she hated you," she said to Naruto who nodded with a frown.

"I don't get it. Hell, I did everything she asked and yet it's like the moment she knew I had magic, she flipped," Naruto said with a sigh, ruffling his blonde locks. "I guess that mentor road is down for now. I don't want to learn under someone who hates me for no reason and she hates me a lot, guys, don't bring me up around her. I'm serious, for your own safety."

~NRK~

Shadow Weaver's hand slammed into her temporary quarters vanity mirror, the woman's hands burning with dark power as she growled audibly.

'Again?! Another boy with magic who'd see me as his mentor?!' It made her want to laugh.

And then kill whoever decided she was in need of such a joke.

No, no, she would not have this situation happen to her AGAIN! It'd never be allowed!

She growled at her dresser, hands slamming down onto its surface and cracking the wood.

"... I must keep his presence to a minimum," she hissed to herself, clawing at the wood. 'I will NOT allow another 'Micah' into this world,' Shadow Weaver swore.

She'd have that boy pleading for her mentorship and every inch of her mercy.

But, now, she had to make a change… or did she?

Shadow Weaver chuckled with interest. 'I need to find out everything there is about the boy… and I know just who to ask,' if the girl wanted to be of use to her?

Very well. Shadow Weaver would rake her for every bit of the blonde's secrets and skills.

She was her disciple, no? They shared things.

The woman's eyes narrowed.

Assumably.

~NRK~

The following morning, at the crack of dawn, Naruto nodded to the others in another set of disguises.

Wearing a black poncho with an orange turban around his head and a hidden face mask pulled up over his nose, he'd kept his footwear and goggles from his previous disguise.

"So, I was thinking about this all night," Catra said with a nod.

Wearing a pair of black bandages around her forehead, she'd put her hair into a ponytail and tucked her ear fur tufts into her bandages headband.

Wearing a white muscle shirt, a navel-length black vest, and her cadet cargos, the last thing she'd changed was a pair of Bright Moon sandals like Naruto.

"Even if we find her, we don't know if she has her whole posse or not," she frowned. "So, the first thing we do after finding her is to figure out a way to keep her isolated. Hell, maybe even spy on her to see what else she plans to do with Naruto."

"Alright," Adora said while releasing her hair out of its usual ponytail. "You're the leader," she smirked as Catra blushed before she grumbled as the blonde girl laughed.

Wearing some of Catra's toeless stockings, without shoes, she'd donned some tight black short shorts with white tunic above it and a dark blue mantle over her shoulders.

With her hair down and white face paint, she looked like the 'guest' they were supposed to be 'protecting'.

"Remind me why she's dressed like that again," Kyle asked.

Wearing some baggy-looking flowing brown tunics and pants sporting bird-like imagery in dark blue colors, he had on black boots, fingerless gloves, and a black headband that held his low-ponytail hair well.

Wearing similar outfits to Kyle but with a large cowl, Rogelio, and a mask, Lonnie, as custom pieces, the two others nodded.

The six looked to the yawning Shadow Weaver with nervous looks.

"... We'll be back," Catra said with a hand rubbing the back of her head. 'I'll make you respect, Shadow Weaver,' she thought as the woman hummed as if just awake. "Yeah, yeah, come on, we're going-"

"A moment," the sorceress said, confusing the group as she glided up to Naruto's raised-brow form. "... I'm not apologizing for the night before, boy, I'd detest having you as an actual disciple… but, pains me as it does, Hordak would flay me alive. No, I suppose I'll have to teach you something or another," she told him, surprising the blonde.

"... Look, I didn't have a big problem with you before," Naruto began.

"So, you did a little?"

"But you clearly have a problem with me, you're full of hate and darker emotions about me," the woman's eyes widened in disbelief.

'He can sense emotions?!' That hadn't been expected!

How much could he tell about her?

"Wait, dude, you can tell us if someone's lying?" Catra asked with excitement as Adora tilted her head.

"That's super-useful, Naruto," she grinned as the boy's blush was hidden behind his mask.

'The good ol' Catadora Double-Whammy,' honestly, they worked too well together when it came to his sensibilities. "Yeah. I can actually do it pretty well."

"Good… No, that's perfect," Catra grinned as she walked up to their strongest cadet, threw an arm around his shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

Naruto nodded occasionally before nodding again. "Last resort?"

"Last resort," she said, patting him on the back with excitement. "Perfect, the best kinda back-up plan! I've got this!"

Lonnie shook her head. "Yeah, yeah, ma'am, let's just go," she said with crossed arms.

"Ma'am, I like that," Catra grinned back at the scoffing girl. "Alright, Team Catra, let's go and capture a traitor."

They all nodded, Shadow Weaver huffing at the arrogant girl.

"Whatever but, boy, remember this," the sorceress said as Naruto looked back at her. "I can set aside my feelings to follow a goal, I'm sure you can tell that's true. So, when you return regardless of status, I'll be throwing you a bone of sorts. Mostly to do with those wounds of yours."

"Don't make it sound so promising," Naruto muttered while ruffling his hair. "Alright, alright, I will, teach," he smirked teasingly as she flinched out of sight.

---

"Alright, I will! ***** *******!" A boy grinned.

---

Her eyes widened before narrowing into a glower at the blonde's back, an overlaid image of another child following beside him.

'Never again.'

~NRK~

Making it to Glossweed hadn't been hard.

Realizing the depth of their job had been.

"G-Guys, there's like a million people here," Kyle said with a whisper. "How are we going to do this? Didn't Shadow Weaver say that this place had the most dangerous people in the kingdoms?"

"In a way, it makes sense how this bitch was around," Lonnie frowned. "Still… These people look as normal as any citizen can be. I don't see any tough guys."

"That's because they're all underground," Naruto said with narrowed eyes at their side. "And they're not entering through the front gates, come on," he told them as Catra nodded.

"Lead the way."

They followed the scout in and out of cover, traveling only for a few minutes to find what he'd meant.

Tunnels. One they'd found on the side of a small hill.

"No wonder this place can seem so normal but not be," Adora frowned as they traversed well-carved walls. "This is all man-made," she uttered, running her hands over smooth edges.

"The fact it was so deep within the forests down a hill is worrying," Catra frowned. "They really don't want normal people finding this place… And from what we saw of those corpses," Kyle shivered. "They know how to deal with them."

Naruto led the way with closed eyes, hand on the walls as he stretched out his senses.

They walked for five minutes at a slow pace, minding any noises or voices they heard before breaking into a large cavern the size of a freaking city.

"This is it," Catra whispered as they all hid behind a wall. "How this place doesn't get found is beyond me."

"It's so deep in the ground, h-how long did it take for this to be made?" Kyle wondered.

"I'm more worried about security," Lonnie frowned, looking behind them. "Naruto didn't sense anything magic or people. So, why would they be so lax if we saw the clear example of what happens to people they don't want here?"

"Hmph," Rogelio shook his head while pointing at his nose.

"Ro's, right," Naruto frowned as they watched the large number of bandits, mercenaries, traitors, and more. "There's something up, there wasn't anyone around and we'd know by now, wouldn't we? Catra," the girl cupped her chin. "I think they're panicking due to two days back. Something about this tells me these guys aren't gonna be here for too long."

Catra's eyes snapped around the place.

'He's probably right,' she thought, noting the actual number of people here.

With how big this cavern was, wasn't this amount too small? Why make something this big for what was, barely, a quarter the amount of people and shops?

"...?" Her eyes snapped to a small commotion.

"I'm getting my ass out of here!" One of them shouted as he grabbed his wares and threw it on the back of a cart with giant vicious-looking birds at the front. "If that crazy woman wants more people, she can go and get bent in the Crimson Waste next! I'm not joining!"

He shot off with his small caravan, leaving grimacing, grumbling, or laughing individuals around.

"Crimson Waste?" Naruto asked and got shakes of the head all around.

"Keep it in mind when we're back at base," Catra said. "For now, that seems interesting. If we're lucky, what the hell is that skank gathering people for?"

"Another attack?" Adora frowned.

"Or she's planning her next 'siege'," Lonnie said while twitching her fingers. "Both options aren't great."

"We still need to find her," Catra said before nodding to Naruto. "Let's go, lead the way."

They circled the area, doing their best to look nonchalant about their presences.

It'd worked so far, sure, they got a few weird looks but, oddly enough, one look at Naruto's lacking arm seemed to gain some respect.

"I guess they know you've had a tough life?" Kyle attempted.

"If it gets us cred down here, sure," Naruto shrugged as they made it past a few stalls. "... Stop," he said to the group as they reached the door of a raucous 'bar', the sounds of clanking glass giving them an idea of its use. "So, plan of action?" He asked, scratching his chest a bit.

"How is that, by the way?" Lonnie asked, concerned. "You don't seem bothered…"

"It's just itchy sometimes."

"..." Catra observed the blonde before nodding. "You'll tell us when it hurts, right, Naruto?" She asked him as he opened his mouth. "Promise?"

Naurto let out a breath before grinning with a nod. "I will, promise."

Catra felt her shoulders sag a bit as Adora smiled. "Alright," she grinned before looking pensive. "What do we do? She's seen most of our faces."

"Yep," Naruto said as he strode forward. "Our faces. Lonnie, Adora, come on, we're up," he called as the girls-in-question nodded and followed him. "Guys, just rest around somewhere, we'll be back."

With his 'plus two' behind him, Naruto opened the bar door gently, not gaining too much attention as he entered with his comrades.

"This way," he said before gesturing to the bar counter-

He was already beside Adora, gripping the wandering hand of a thin lanky man who choked.

"Keep these to yourself," the boy hissed in a different voice, throwing the man's limb back at him before gesturing for his friends to walk ahead.

The man pouted as his fellows laughed at him, Naruto's eyes snapping to him with an intensity he grimaced at.

"T-Thanks," Adora didn't know what would have happened had Naruto not moved out of sight.

She has a feeling she would have just blown their cover.

"Forget about it, let's go and find that hag."

Lonnie's eyes looked around with a glare, minding the laughing men and women or even the ones at the bar-

'There she is!' Her eyes narrowed further as Naruto had them situated at the end of the bar.

"Yo, old man," the boy called out, money on the table that had the barkeep's attention. "Surprise us, give me something that'll get me buzzed."

"Hmph, a little young but you know how this works," the man said, swiping up the cash before pulling three medium-sized glasses out from beneath the counter along with a bowl of steaming nuts. "On the house."

Naruto hummed as he pulled the snack towards Adora. "While we're on that, some info, ya know?" He asked, hand on the counter.

The man's eye snapped to a small parting in his fingers. "What kind?"

"You heard about that crazy thing from a couple days ago? What the hell went down?"

"Hmm, we think it was the Princesses or some craziness because everyone says the Queen was here for some damn reason," the man explained as he wiped the counter by Naruto's hand, the boy removing it and his rag swiping by in an instant. "Chackle over at the end there apparently got robbed of some opportunity."

"Chackle?" Lonnie asked.

"The hazy one."

Lonnie's eyes barely stopped themselves from frowning.

"What happened to her?" Adora asked.

"Got knocked the fuck out and then woke up before coming here. She's trying to join up with some people in the Crimson Waste to attack the Horde," the man shook his head as Adora's jaw dropped.

"I-Is she crazy?!"

"Probably. I don't know, that little lady has some weird-ass bone to pick with them and she seems to have some secret weapon. Nobody knows what she's on about but she's got connections 'high' and that's not something you mess with, kids," he said before slating out three drinks with some lemon wedges.

Taking his drink, Naruto lifted his head while pulling up on his mask.

The bartender nodded, impressed, as the fox boy downed the whole thing before smacking his lips.

"Mm… hmm," he blinked. "Whoa, old man, that stuff kicks ass," the man smirked as Adora blinked before nursing a bit of her own drink.

"I-It's very fruity, Connie," she said to Lonnie who nodded, the girl doing as Naruto had with a hum.

She burped into her hand as the barkeep smirked in amusement. "Geez, what the hell did you put into this?" 'Connie' said with interest. "Smck… Yep, that's fruity alright."

Naruto chuckled as the man tended to another customer, the boy throwing a couple hot peanuts into his mouth before chewing with a nod. "Hmm…" He swallowed. "Thoughts?"

"The Crimson Waste… If it's where she's going, we'll need more info on it," Lonnie said as she adjusted her face mask.

---

Sitting outside in an underground bakery, Catra leaned back in her seat with her legs crossed, messing with her earpiece.

'Crimson Waste… didn't Shadow Weaver speak about that once?' Likely one of the times when she was snooping on the sorceress. "Alright, what about Chackle?"

-She seems to just be trying to gain bodies. We still don't know what the hell this 'secret weapon' is and that's not good- Adora said over the line. -Should we get out of here?-

-But we need to listen in, right?- Lonnie said. -Besides, we're here to grab that witch, we can't leave here empty-handed-

True but, at the current moment, they weren't 'empty-handed'.

'What would a leader do in this situation?' Prove her worth, that's why she had agreed to lead. "... Sit in there for another half hour and just see if you can't pick up 'something' from her. Maybe she'll make a scene and storm out?"

"I-If she's really gathering people…" Kyle looked down in thought. "Isn't she going to places where there'd be tough guys?" He asked as Catra's eyes narrowed on the table. "And if that's true… What if she knows someone strong is going to be there-"

-Oh, shit- Lonnie said with a wheeze, the sound of kicked-open doors reaching even over the earpieces. -G-Guys, that's fucking Huntera and Octavia-

Catra's eyes widened. 'The defector?!' That wasn't good!

She knew their faces!

---

Adora pulled more of her hair in front of her face as the duo sat right next to them!?

'Oh no,' she groaned mentally. 'No, no, no, no!' This wasn't good!

Naruto, meanwhile, frowned beneath his face mask as the large muscular woman to his side spoke to the barkeep.

"Yo, Keep," the woman said to the bartender. "You know where Chackles is?"

"End of bar, Hunta, are you actually here to screw with me or screw me?" The man asked without a hint of fear nor embarrassment.

Adora's red cheeks nearly burned through her face paint as Lonnie snickered.

Naruto's eyebrow just twitched as her turned his head to see 'Huntera'.

She was a tall with lilac-colored skin covered in slight scars, pointed ears, beady black eyes against yellow sclera, and white hair pulled up into a tight ponytail, one strand coming over her left eye.

Wearing bronze greaves covered in white accents, torn-up gray spats with dull-gold plating on the sides, a navel-length open vest of similar colors and additions over a black tube top crossed-over by red cloth, and fingerless black gloves with white wrappings around her wrists.

She shot the man a roll of the eyes. "You keep asking about that and it was one time," Huntera grumbled. "You know how I swing."

"You mind swinging back?"

"I might… with a fist."

"Right, looking for Chackles," the man shrugged as she chuckled, rolling her eyes. "End of bar, looking for you?" He asked, confused.

Huntera frowned at that. "I… I think so… Give me some hints," she placed some money down on the counter. "You know what it is? She's putting a big amount on this, Clark."

Clark frowned. "If you came, I'm assuming she put some form of description on it… No, I don't know," the man said while leaving the money on the counter, the woman with Huntera frowning.

She was a green-skinned, fin-eared, woman with a single visible black eye against yellow sclera, the other one covered by a black cloth.

Wearing a large cream-colored cloak, a black sash, and a stun baton on her waist secured by a brown belt, her 'hair' wiggling slightly in sporadic fashion.

Octavia of the Horde.

Oh no. 'What the hell is she doing here?' Wasn't Huntera a defector? Why was Octavia with her?

Was… Was she also a traitor?

"This isn't good," Naruto whispered to his comrades, not flinching as he felt Huntera's eyes snapping to his back. "... You're that Huntera I've heard of," he said to her simply, brushing his thumb against the side of his empty glass.

"Oh yeah? And what would a kid like you be looking for?"

"Kid? Lady, I'm just short."

Huntera smirked at him as he rolled his eyes. "Oh? Couldn't have guessed," she chuckled before turning back to her drink. "Word to the wise, don't go 'listening' for me."

"It's hard not to," Naruto shrugged. "I mean, not many people escape from the Horde, those guys get names," he admitted as she hummed while Octavia's eyes narrowed. "Besides, I just heard of you, I ain't looking for trouble."

"Hmm, smart, I guess some of these idiots can take a hint or two."

"... About just looking for you, right?"

"..."

"About looking for you, RIGHT?"

"Ehh," she shrugged as his eyebrow twitched, getting a smirk out of her. "Among other things," Huntera got up. "Alright, let's go see what Chuckles has for me," Clark smirked. "Seriously?" She muttered with slightly red cheeks, picking up her money. "... One time, tonight, you'll get that 'good good'."

"Yes," the man fistpumped as she blushed before rolling her eyes and muttering.

"Perving bastard," she said before heading towards the end of the bar. "You're a bitch."

"Always here."

"Dammit. Chackles, what the hell do you want with me?!" Huntera shouted loudly without hesitation, no one really giving her obvious looks.

… Obvious looks, Naruto caught how the room got a bit quieter and how eyes flickered to the two now-standing women.

"T-This is good," Adora said with pink cheeks. "... A-Ahem, they were…" She burned brighter as Naruto shook his head.

"Let's not think too much about that," he said as Lonnie snickered.

They listened in.

"I'm gonna need your help, alright?" Chackles said as Huntera frowned with crossed arms and a raised brow. "This isn't going to be that dangerous, we're just gonna be doing a bit of your namesake."

"You want me to hunt with you? I mean, you could have just paid for that. Why are you calling me out here?" The taller woman looked curious.

"Because, I need to assemble a squad and this place is usually the best place… but it's not, not right now. For now, if you're cool with it, I'm gonna be grabbing at least a couple more people. One of 'em is gonna be… from an interesting place."

"Oh yeah?"

"Not here," Chackles said with her arms crossed. "But, do I have your help? You'll get something up front and then at the end."

"..." Huntera shot the shorter woman a very raised brow.

"Oh my God, no, this isn't sexual!"

"I never said anything," the 'Hunter' woman shrugged. "Fine, I'm in… for now, I need as much information on this as possible before full-on joining in. You know my rep."

The hazy woman nodded before gesturing to the side. "Anyone else looking to join?!" She called out to the bar.

The area was silent, many of the others scoffing, shaking their heads, or even outright leaving in her face.

"Bastards," she kissed her teeth before shaking her head. "Whatever, let's go and talk shop," Chackles gestured to the back, throwing a jingling bag at Clark. "Make sure no one follows us" she told him with another jingling bag in hand.

The two walked around the counter towards the back, Naruto's senses following down.

"They're down below," Naruto said.

---

'Below,' could they get there in time? "Dammit, we don't even know where they'd be without Naruto here and I'm not sure if I want him out of the bar yet."

"Well, we didn't bring any equipment for that," Kyle frowned. "So, what do we do, l-leader? They're not gonna get anything from her like this."

Rogelio's eyes flicked around with a narrow gaze, minding their personal space.

Cat's hanging foot ticked quickly as she thought about their next move.

'Crimson Waste, Huntera, it's a plan to go find some kinda beast, and she's gonna have a team, right?' Was that good enough? '... We're not here to fight as much as it pains me to admit it.'

Outing the Horde's presence here would just be a bad idea, downright catastrophic if these people were as dangerous as implied.

"Dammit," she drank from her coffee with a grimace. "..." Catra held her head while tapping on the table surface. 'Dammit! Is there anything we can do?!'

-So, barkeep dude, I was at an annoying gathering recently and lucked out with whatever it was that lady did to break it up- Naruto's voice came over their earpieces. -What exactly did she do to get so much heat? I'm not trying to be here that long and find out-

Kyle perked up.

-Hmph, well… If you're looking to stay out of trouble, stay away from the Fright Zone like any sane person. If I'm right, that woman's looking for some crazy powerful artifact, that's it-

There was the sound of crumpling paper and coins.

-Thanks, dude. It's better to know what to stay away from in these parts, good God-

-Hmph, spoken like a professional coward, that'll keep you alive, trust me-

-... So, you and Huntera?-

-Hehehehe-

Catra ignored that part as she considered the key information Naruto had just attained for them.

'An artifact… in the Fright Zone?' What could it be? "... You three, come back," Catra whispered. "We've gotta approach this differently."

~NRK~

Meeting back up in a different underground cafe, the six chatted in a deep booth.

"That's…" Adora grimaced as a thought sprung to mind. 'They mean… They mean the Runestone, don't they?' The one Shadow Weaver had that she and Catra saw on occasion.

Chackles wanted the Runestone from the Horde.

"I have a few ideas on what it'd be," Catra said, noting Adora's worried nod with a frown. 'Yeah, it's the Runestone,' still… "They're planning to attack the Horde, that's crazy, what could they be thinking?"

"If I had to guess, it's one of two ideas," Naruto said. "Either she has enough ideas and power to attack the Horde… OR," he frowned. "She'll get enough power to distract the Horde so she can sneak around to find this 'artifact'."

"She has cloaking technology," Kyle said nervously. "Without Naruto around… would anyone even notice in that kinda chaos."

Rogelio shook his head. "Hmph," he grunted with a frown, Catra nodding.

"So, that means it'll most likely be the second one. There's no way that some random woman could scrounge up enough power to fight the Horde. It'd make no sense," she grimaced. "And if that's the case, it means we don't know when she'll do this."

"High chance it'd have to happen at night, right?" Lonnie asked. "Attack when everyone is asleep."

"But that's obvious," Adora said. "And the 'Horde never sleeps' is one of our mottos, we'd have only a slightly smaller force at night that could easily become full force if she attacked us like that."

Naruto closed his eyes in thought. "... For now, we need to go and inform Shadow Weaver of the mission results, ma'am," he said to Catra who groaned.

"Yeah, yeah, come on," they got up. "Don't let anyone sneak up on us, we're getting out of here before any more craziness happens."

~NRK~

Finding the exit, they snuck out with eyes roaming around-

"Good work," Shadow Weaver said from in front of the entrance, nearly scaring the soul out of the six as bodies laid around her feet. "Come, it's time for you to explain your mission, Captain Catra."

They blinked at her before nodding and following along, eyes going to the broken, groaning, or utterly unconscious bodies of more underside 'dealers'.

~NRK~

Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed as her hands clenched, the group close to their encampment.

"Those cur," she had to, reluctantly, give Catra credit.

This mission of hers had done more for Shadow Weaver than the sorceress was willing to show but it did and that needed addressing.

"So…" Catra said with a small smug grin as the sorceress rolled her eyes, hand on her head as the other wrapped around her side. "Come on, say it! You know I did good this time around for sure."

"... As much as it pains me to admit it, you did," Catra grinned wider. "Perhaps there's a future for you, I won't be the one who says either or. For now," she turned to Naruto as the boy pulled his face mask down.

"So, what's this about a 'bone' you spoke about?" He asked curiously.

~NRK~

"4… 489… 490," Naruto grunted, sweat falling down his brow as his nose came down again and nearly touched the ground before he was going up again. "491…"

Shadow Weaver just stared down at the boy currently performing one-armed handstand push-ups with her sitting on his feet. 'What… the hell is this boy?' She'd done this for some fun.

Make him sweat a bit, make him feel some pain… but that ALL went out the window!

WHAT THE HELL!?

Catra wasn't much better as she and the rest of the boy's team, along with many of their cheering soldiers, watched the blonde go down again… on his thumb.

"4… 497."

"This isn't actually possible… r-right?!" Kyle asked in disbelief as Naruto's form went up two more times.

"4… 499," the blonde said with a grin, going down one more time before coming up with a small jolt. "500!" Naruto declared to Shadow Weaver.

The woman just held her forehead in both hands. "What in the world have you been hiding about your body?" She asked him in disbelief as he chuckled nervously, going off his thumb onto his hand.

"H-Hey, that's 500 on both thumbs! Now, give me some ideas!" He asked her. "And, uh, can you get off of me?" Naruto asked as the sorceress groaned into her hands before 'blipping' into a shadow before reappearing in front of him.

A single push up flipped the fox boy back onto his feet as Adora blushed next to him with a towel.

"Thanks," Naruto said with a long breath. "Honestly, never did stuff like this before, it's kinda interesting," he added with interest at the clearly gawking magician. "So… magic help please?" He asked again even as Adora cleared her throat off to the side.

Lonnie just grinned pervertedly while Kyle blushed and looked away from the slightly huffing blonde.

Catra's eyebrow twitched. "Is this where all your effort goes?" She asked the blonde in disbelief, cheeks reddening a bit as he pulled at the bottom of his shirt to fan it. 'W-What the hell is wrong with him?! Where'd all this stupid strength come from!?' It made her muscles hurt to look at.

And would Adora stop SLOBBERING over him!?

"Y-Yeah, um," the blonde girl focused only on her teacher. 'He's fit,' it made her mind burn with images she'd never allow to spread. "M-Ma'am?"

Shadow Weaver just looked done and waved him off, a swirl of black magic forming above the blonde before dropping something into his hands. "Go, read that, I don't want to look at you," she said before gliding off to her tent with a drained look.

"Huh…" Naruto looked at the title of the book.

Healing Vents.

---

Lonnie and Rogelio laughed at the blonde as he returned to their tent, wearing a clean set of their cadet uniforms with a towel around his shoulders, bare feet taking the grinning boy to his cot.

Adora didn't look at him along with Kyle while Catra was grumbling about something.

"Whew! Ya know? If she just wanted to train me, I'd have been all for it. Shadow Weaver seems to really get my training vibes," Naruto chuckled as Lonnie let out one more laugh before chuckling.

"You're like some kinda weirdo we don't know," she said as the lizard boy nodded with crossed arms, the two sitting on their beds.

"Hey now, I'm gonna start putting in actual effort now, might as well start strong with a possible teacher," Naruto shrugged before picking up his book off his bed. "Well, time to see if I can't get these healing ideas from her," he added as he sat down on the edge of his bed and opened the book. "Those push-ups weren't doing my chest any favors, I should have been able to do more than that," Naruto said without thought as the others wheezed or laughed, in Lonnie's case.

"E-Excuse me?" Adora asked, cheeks red. "More of those… p-push-ups?"

"Yep but this wound ain't doing me a solid. Gotta fix it."

'Fix it', huh? Adora could consider a couple 'options'-

"R-Right! Um, what's the book say?" She asked, diverting her thoughts. 'I am not thinking about Naruto like this, am I?!' It was way too embarrassing!

"Hmm, well, the first thing it says is-Hey!" Naruto began to say only for a weight to settle on his shoulders, Catra crouching on them. "C-Come on, I'm trying to read!"

"Will miracles ever cease?" She huffed at him, looking down at his book. "Read, soldier."

Naruto rolled his eyes before continuing on. "Anyway, this thing says that there are natural healing places around the world," he began, turning to the next page where it showed numerous pictures of different bodies of water, sand, and steam. "... And it seems like most of these things are somewhere near Bright Moon's mountain range."

"S-Sounds like a long journey, it'll take some time," Kyle noted embarrassedly. 'Forget his abs! Forget his abs!' Kyle wasn't a pervert, he thinks.

He'd bathed with all the other male cadets before, had slept in the same room as all his fellow cadets before, and never had this problem.

'He's bringing out the WEIRD in me,' he whined mentally.

"It will be and I don't think I'll make it to that one but it says that there are some kind of hot sand baths in the Fright Zone," Naruto told them in surprise. "Huh? Wait, so the Fright Zone isn't just all these green goop and stuff?"

Adora blinked before getting off her bed and leaning over his shoulder. "It isn't?" She asked as the others crowded around. "I didn't know we had long arid plains."

"Yeah, it says there's some by a royal family… here? In the Fright Zone?" Lonnie asked in disbelief as Rogelio blinked in surprise. "This is so weird, I didn't know Shadow Weaver had this kind of stuff."

"Yep," Naruto said as he turned the page. "Apparently, there's only a few locations compared to Bright Moon's left side. There's one by a volcano… near an old destroyed kingdom of fire? What?"

Catra blinked at that. "It says that it used to exist but doesn't go into details," she noted, toes drumming against the blonde's stupidly comfortable shoulders. 'I kinda like being up here,' not to say she liked being like a parrot… but his shoulders were comfy.

Who would have known?

~NRK~

The next day, they left the lands of Plumeria and headed back to homebase.

"Catra and you all will inform Lord Hordak of her findings," Shadow Weaver said. "He'll decide what to do with the information afterwards. Following that, boy, you will be training with I, Adora, and Catra from now on, unfortunately."

"Don't sound so happy," Naruto grumbled as Catra smirked while Adora tilted her head.

'I wonder if she'll have us do similar exercises,' honestly, she was kind of looking forward to it.

Naruto had proven that these exercises were possible and good for the body, she'd like to push herself some more!

They landed moments later, the magician leading the way out and into their citadel.

As they did, Naruto blinked at an odd creature coming out and down to them, Shadow Weaver huffing at it as it landed on Naruto's shoulder.

The odd creature blinked before tilting its head at him, Naruto scratching his chin and being rewarded with a smirk.

Bearing light green skin, wings, and hair, it had pure yellow eyes with dagger-like ears.

Wearing a small pair of black pants and a similar-colored top with a red 'X' over it, the creature's tail wagged happily as Naruto blinked.

"Aren't you Hordak's… pet-thing?" Naruto asked and the creature tilted his head before scrambling around the blonde's torso and ending up leaning over his shoulder. "Alright… He wants to see us, doesn't he?"

The creature nodded before pointing to an entourage of soldiers coming up to them.

"Lord Hordak is expecting you," one of them said, Shadow Weaver humming before shrugging- "You as well, ma'am."

"What?" She frowned behind her mask. "... Hmph, very well."

They followed the pack of six soldiers before being ushered towards an 'Urgent Elevator', a creation meant to directly send them all to their leader, himself.

Blinking as they shot up at insane speeds, Catra ran her hands through her hair with a nervous expression.

"It's fine," she told herself as Naruto and Adora shot her comforting smiles. "Hmph, blondes," Catra muttered.

Their ride stopped before the hissing doors opened to reveal a dark room 'decorated' by the red lights of machinery aplenty and shifting machines.

"It seems there was an issue in your mission," Hordak said as the creature on Naruto's shoulder shot up before lazily gliding over to the man's own.

Their leader stood up from a mechanical throne that hissed out steam before turning to face the mostly nervous cadets.

"It would seem there was more to this mission than we could ever imagine," Shadow Weaver said before moving out of the way. "Catra will be explaining the situation."

The man's eyebrow raised as the catgirl swallowed, walked forward, and fell into a kneel.

"Yes, sir, there's a lot to say. Almost too much," Catra said.

"Speak, what happened? I'm hearing word of giant spiders and the Queen being there," the man said with a frown and cupped chin. "We weren't aware of these things."

Catra nodded. "We didn't see it coming either…" She said before explaining the entire situation up until meeting their 'Horde friend'.

Hordak's eyes narrowed at that. "What was her name?"

"Chackles. That's what we figured out after I sent cadet Naruto, cadet Adora, and cadet Lonnie off to gain information at an underground base-like area," she explained as his eyebrows rose in shock. "Sir, there were so many people hidden under Glossweed, that place is way too big for the amount we saw, there are likely thousands of people hidden there from the Princess's eye."

Hordak frowned deeply. "That is concerning, what else happened?"

Catra continued from then on with… Naruto's 'situation'.

Hordak stared at the boy in disbelief as he lifted his scarf to reveal his flapping sleeve. "..." The man's eyes narrowed as he grimaced. "Do you feel anger, Scout Uzumaki?" The man asked. "Does this mar on your form bother you?"

Naruto blinked at the… emotion in the question, looking down at his sole hand. "... In a way, I am angry but I'm fine if this was the price to pay to keep my team safe," he clenched the hand as Hordak stared at him in confusion.

"Despite falling to lesser efficiency?"

"Um, actually, about that…" Naruto chuckled nervously as Shadow Weaver huffed and crossed her arms, confusing their leader. "Catra'll explain it but I'm actually more efficient now than ever."

Catra nodded rapidly, confusing Hordak further. "Sir, due to immense trauma, Naruto is capable of using magic."

Hordak's eyes snapped from her to Naruto and then to Shadow Weaver. "Is this true?" The man asked, surprised beyond belief. "Shadow Weaver."

"Yes, the boy possesses magical abilities that can be… trained," she strained to say it.

Naruto demonstrated, forming his glowing left arm much to the Horde Leader's fascination.

"I see," the man rubbed his chin. 'This will change things,' likely for the best. "Shadow Weaver."

"I've already brought him under my tutelage… though, there is an issue with him that needs addressing," she admitted as he frowned.

Catra explained the situation, 'faking' to the Princesses and Queen, and their examinations.

"Poison such as that," there was an odd emotion in the man's voice that had the bowing girl looking up at his face.

At the man's… sympathy? What?

Adora and the others simply stood on standby, hands behind their backs, but her eyes grew curious.

'His eyes…' There leader felt sympathy for her blonde friend before with his missing arm but now, with the explanation of the poison, the man seemed downright empathetic.

"... Continue," Hordak said, closing his eyes.

Catra nodded.

She continued all the way up to there side mission where Hordak's eyes narrowed and he growled at the air.

"It seems that we have traitors in our midst like the Queen," Shadow Weaver said. "I'm sure it's obvious but that's not good. If they know about that artifact…" She let it hang and their leader grimaced further.

"Chackles… I'll need to look through our databases, she likely hid her real name," Hordak sighed before folding his hands behind his back and pacing in front of Catra. "... Crimson Waste, those lands shouldn't be capable of producing anything worth fighting against but it seems that two defectors have found their hands shaking… Cadet Uzumaki, Cadet Catra, Cadet Adora," the three perked up.

The creature on the man's shoulders snickered before he pulled something from his pocket and handed it the items.

"Your services have been of note, you followed protocol as you're ordered," Adora blushed. "You've gone above duty to support the Horde," Catra grinned. "And you've gained things that will allow our actions to become more ironclad," Naruto's eyes closed. "Take these promotions with pride, you've earned them."

The flying creature came over before placing an emblem into Catra's waiting hands.

It was crystal-like, green, and bore the Horde symbol within its depths in a darker color than its 'container'.

Naruto and Adora received one as well, theirs gripped tightly.

"Force Captain Adora, Force Captain Catra, and Force Scout Naruto," Hordak turned to them with a smirk. "You are now instated. You'll be given a rundown of your new values, permissions, and more precious information at orientation… Hmm, I believe we can find a Force Captain to help guide you all," the man considered something before nodding. "Shadow Weaver, attain Force Captain Scorpia, she's…" the man rubbed his chin with thought. "Capable of welcoming these three further into our ranks."

"As you desire," Shadow Weaver said. "Is there anything else? Likely to do with the boy's tutelage?"

Hordak hummed. "At present, work to enhance his sensory abilities to their highest level, it'll be to all our benefit that he's as fitting for his rank as possible."

"As you wish."

~NRK~

Now sitting in one of the training rooms, the six just balked at the chosen three's new badges.

Catra looked excited.

Adora smiled weakly.

And Naruto leaned on his knee in thought.

"I-I guess it really happened despite everything," Kyle said as Lonnie and Rogelio nodded. "So… What do you think?" He asked Naruto who closed his eyes.

"... For now, let's not worry about the big picture, alright?" The blonde smiled for them, getting relaxed shoulders from the group. "I don't want to have you guys stuck in your thoughts all your lives. For now, we've gotta meet this Scorpia lady and, well, get used to our new permissions."

"Yes!" Catra grinned excitedly as Adora wore a small smile.

"We can use more training facilities than before, I know that," she said.

"We also don't need to worry about food vouchers," Catra said with excitement as Kyle swallowed hungrily. "And we can gift vouchers, KYLE," she said smugly as the boy's jaw dropped.

"Y-Yeah, ma'am!"

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."

Lonnie groaned as Rogelio chuckled, Naruto sweatdropping at the side.

And then there was a 'shudder' as doors opened and two figures entered the room.

Shadow Weaver hummed before moving to the side and gesturing for a figure to come forward. "Force Captains and Scout, meet Force Captain Scorpia."

"Hiya!" The woman who'd entered grinned kindly.

The entire group was stumped almost immediately.

'Scorpia' was a tall, well-muscled, woman with fair skin, a large tuft of white hair that came down between her eyes, and black lipstick.

She was also as her name implied, ridiculously enough in Naruto's mind, part scorpion. What with her long scorpion tail, carapace-covered cheeks, spiny shoulders, and literal scorpion arms, Catra wondered how this woman got dressed much less commanded.

Wearing a red vest with, yes, a boob window, burgundy tights, some odd sandals on her feet, and a similar badge to the trio, she grinned happily.

Adora was just surprised by this woman's seemingly kind smiles. 'It's… genuine?' She blinked, a large question mark forming above her brow.

And then she wheezed as she, Naruto, and Catra were caught up in a hug. "WELCOME!" Scorpia grinned as she nearly hugged the life out of them.

"C-Can't… breathe," Catra choked.

"T-Too tight!" Adora wheezed.

"W-Woman, please, stop! You'll kill us before anyone else!" Naruto pleaded.

"Huh? Oh, sorry!" Scorpia said quickly, dropping them into a heap on the ground.

"S-She's strong," Adora wheezed one more time before Naruto groaned with her and Catra on his shoulders a second later. "... R-Right," she said, embarrassed.

"Oh, you're a strong one like me!"

Naruto chuckled nervously as Catra crossed her arms and leaned back in her 'seat'. "Are you being serious right now?" Naruto asked her with a trembling brow.

"Hey, you're the seat," Catra shrugged as Shadow Weaver's eyes went flat.

'He's infecting them,' the woman thought with narrowed eyes at Adora's embarrassed laughter. "Yes, well, Force Captain Scorpia is going to give you all a rundown on your new duties, permissions, and responsibilities… save for you, boy, come this way," the sorceress said as she beckoned Naruto to the side.

"Huh?" Putting down Catra and Adora, he jogged over. "What's up?"

"... You seem to hold your promises to a high standard, it seems," Shadow Weaver huffed. "And I, unlike many other lazy magicians, am as well to my contracts. You wish to be healed, what did you find out from that book?"

"There's all kinds of healing places only in certain parts of the lands," Naruto said. "Two separate places to the sides of Bright Moon, one of them being an old kingdom?" She nodded. "And there are some here in the Fright Zone, in a land covered by lots of rock and stuff by a royal family?"

"Yes, that is Scorpia," she pointed to the animated scorpion woman who was explaining things to Catra and an attentive Adora. "Her family gave into the Horde upon our arrival, even offering their Runestone."

"... Wait, what?"

"I figured you wouldn't know what that is," she shrugged. "For now, just know this, those are nearly invaluable objects of power and use that we need to either contain or destroy. Amongst all else, they're also a symbol of being a Princess."

Wait… "So, Scorpia is a Princess?" Naruto asked and Shadow Weaver nodded. 'How the hell is she even on this side?!' He wanted to ask.

She saw it on his face. "She's grown up in the Horde for as long as every one of you has, that's all that needs to be said. Now, back onto the book, your body's resistance is admirable in some ways but it didn't rid you of the poison and I'm sure this will get in the way," Shadow Weaver frowned. "We'll need to rid you of it… And Mystacor will likely be your best chance."

"What is it?"

"A hidden kingdom no one else knows of save for a special few. The location is hard to grasp for normal people, its form hidden behind a barrier of magic and numerous floating isles. That's why you'll be learning how to find it through my teachings and go there to absolve yourself of this annoying road block."

Naruto nodded before bowing to her. "Alright, teacher," he said genuinely and honestly, confusing her.

---

"Always trouble, aren't you?" She said as he chuckled before bowing to her with a wink.

"Sorry, teacher."

---

She blinked, hands clenched, as Naruto stood back up. 'NO! I will NOT allow another to…' Her heart burned with hate as she reached out and cupped his chin. "Listen well, Naruto, do not mistake this as kindness. I'm forced to make you into something and I can't have Hordak breathing down my neck," she told him, thumb near his lips. "You will find Mystacor and go to heal yourself. The magic arts aren't easy to learn and are study-intensive, I know your scores are more truthful than I can imagine."

He grinned nervously as she rolled her eyes and released him. "H-Hehehehe," he chuckled shakily as she glowered.

"Your first step to finding it will be to learn how to establish a barrier. This will be useful throughout your entire life, knowing how barriers work will familiarize yourself with their concept," something swirled out of the air.

Naruto blinked before a swirl of darkness snaked around his throat and left the item there. "H-Huh?! Lady, what the hell?!" He exclaimed, pulling on the black choker with a red gem within.

He gained the others' attention. "M-Ma'am?!" Adora asked as Scorpia looked and smiled.

"See! Even your master can give out gifts and stuff! Why, I knew she was a nicer gal than I thought!" The oblivious woman said as Catra's eyebrow twitched before she frowned at Naruto's clear displeasure.

'That's not a normal collar,' if anything… it made her concerned.

"Don't mind us, Adora, I'm simply giving his lessons some incentive," the sorceress said as she twirled her finger.

There was an audible click as the gem in the choker glowed.

"That will help you, boy," Shadow Weaver looked pleased as Naruto paled. "That will 'incentivize' you everytime you fail to perform. It's a simple thing, really."

"What?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

'Hm, hm, hmm, yes, this will be quite delicious,' Shadow Weaver chuckled. "Now, you'll be learning to form a barrier, break a barrier, and read a barrier. These are the basics," she declared as he grimaced before sighing.

"Fine but you better take this off when I'm good at all of this."

"Yes, yes, you big baby."

'God, what's Bow gonna think about this?'

~NRK~

About what he expected as his face fell into his hands.

Bow and Glimmer gawked at both the badge and collar.

"D-Did she put a leash on you?!" The Princess balked in horror as Naruto groaned. "Naruto, this is seriously not cool!"

"S-She put a collar on him, does the Horde have no shame?!" Bow asked dramatically. "You're a minor!"

"What the hell does that have to do with any of this?" Naruto asked him in disbelief.

Bow blushed. "U-Um, well, ahem," he cleared his throat as Glimmer reddened a bit. "... Nothing, nothing at all. Just… B-Be careful at night, maybe?"

Naruto was now concerned.

~NRK~

The following morning, Naruto, Adora, and Catra left their Force Captain Orientation with groans from the first and last member of the trio.

"That was informative," Adora said with a smile. "Simulation rooms, personal machines, personal rooms, and more, we have more things at our disposal," she told them as Naruto nodded with a miffed look. "... U-Um, Naruto, it's not hurting you, is it?" She asked worriedly.

She didn't want her friend in pain, not after earlier that week.

He'd gone through enough.

"I'm fine, nothing's happened… yet," he said slowly. "I don't like it but if she says it'll help, I guess I'll have to deal with the 'punishment' this thing throws on me."

"You're not dumb, that thing is gonna suck I bet," Catra frowned. "I just don't get it, why's she got such a hater boner for you out of nowhere? It's like she's hated him for years," she said to Adora who also frowned, the blonde girl cupping her chin.

"I don't know, she's never interacted with Naruto before," she looked at the blonde boy who shook his head, tail wagging slowly back and forth. "And if that's the case, doesn't that mean this is recent?"

"Maybe, it could also be because I remind her of someone she hated," Naruto shrugged. "Shot in the dark," he said as they went down a hallway to their new room of interest.

The Simulation Room.

"So, what's it like?" Catra asked with excitement. "How did you get a high score?!"

"Well, it's got different settings," Naruto began as he took off his badge and flashed it to a scanner by the door, a large green digital sign above it flashing 'VACANT (5)'. "Good, we can grab a room, come on," he led the way in, flapping sleeve gaining a passing cadet's attention in disbelief.

Once they entered, they went down gray halls to the first door they found and found another 'VACANT' sign above it.

Going in, Catra and Adora blinked at the large dark blue room covered in square-like patterns all over save for one area by the entrance where a series of computers sat.

"Um, well, thankfully this part is a lot easier than trying to work on an actual computer," Naruto said as he gestured to the knobs by a screen. "You can change your opponent types to machines, people, animals, monsters, or even Lord Hordak himself."

"Wait, seriously?!" Catra asked with a look of disbelief. "W-Wait, so, if Hordak is in there-"

"Yep, so is Shadow Weaver. From what the technician from before told me, Hordak comes by here often to 'update' his skills in it while they guessed Shadow Weaver's level."

Adora blinked in wonder, wondering about the possibilities of even being close to beating Hordak. "So, wait, how does it work?"

"There are three 'combat' settings and 'training' settings," Naruto began. "Focusing on the combat ones, we've got Survival, which basically means run out a timer. Battle, which is what it sounds like. And, finally, Retrieval which has you protecting some random digital item from them."

The two girls considered their options.

"These things can handle up to twenty people at a time, ya know? Commander and infantry test practices. So, we can come in here with whoever we want."

Adora considered that. 'How could we best use this room?' If she wanted to help her comrades raise their skills… "Naruto, the three of us, can we practice the 'Battle' scenario?" She asked him, surprising the fox boy.

"I mean, yeah but you seem to have something in mind here."

"I… I want us to fight the approximation of Shadow Weaver."

The two looked at her in shock, Adora's determined frown confusing.

"I've always wondered how I measured up to her, you know? And now that I'm a Force Captain, I have the chance. I want to take as many tries at getting better as possible. Whether it be against Lord Hordak, Shadow Weaver, or even you. I don't want anyone to sacrifice themselves for us again."

Naruto's eyes softened as Catra bit her lip while looking at the missing space where Naruto's arm used to be.

"I understand," he whispered, core 'throbbing'. 'What?' Naruto blinked as he held a hand to his chest. 'What is it?' He wondered mentally.

Weird.

"Alright, well, there are more settings, by the way. How aggressive do you want her to be?" Naruto asked, shaking off the weirdness. "That and do you want her to be using weapons? Magic outside of flying, gliding, and teleporting?"

"... Might as well go all-out, huh?" Catra offered with a smug grin. "I mean, it's not impossible to just try again and not die, let's do this!"

"Catra's right! Naruto, the highest settings possible!" Adora declared as he chuckled before turning the levels, knobs, and sliding his finger up the screen where a bar next to Shadow Weaver's image was pushed to the highest point.

T-Minus 1 minute and counting. A voice from above announced as Naruto walked over to the two girls with a nod, their faces appearing above with Digital Shadow Weaver's.

From a nearby wall, melee weapons shot out and were presented along with shields, guns, whips, and even some support tech.

"Whoa," Catra grinned as they hurried over before picking their tools.

Adora considered a staff and sword… Huh?

'Why am I considering a sword?' She'd never used one before, much less was proficient in it. 'T-That's weird,' Adora picked up the staff with a small frown? '... I don't want to use this,' she thought as she slowly put her staff back onto the rack.

She grabbed the sword and smiled despite her thoughts.

'Maybe a new approach won't hurt.'

Catra, meanwhile, considered her options. "Hmm," as a fighter, Catra didn't really use weapons.

She knew how to wield a good amount of these, standard training and all that, but she never personally went to a weapon.

Movement caught her attention and she saw Naruto pulling an axe off the rack… two of them. "Oh, mixing it up?" She asked him.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded with a chuckle. "I used that one axe for a good while, I got used to it and figured I might spruce it up," he said. "When I get the chance, I'm gonna head on down to the weaponsmith," he flexed out his energy arm before gripping both axes tightly. "Normal axes won't last, the last one broke after my attacks."

"Dude, it dragged a giant spider monster."

"She's got a point," Adora said. "Anything would break after such abuse."

"Maybe but I need something strong and sturdy, I'm hoping I'll find something like that when I go there. For now," he nodded. "I've gotta get used to dual-wielding axes. I'm already adding sword swings to my morning routine in my head… Yeah, I'll also need to get weights for those, too."

Catra rolled her eyes at him before looking at the assortment of things.

'Hammer in the lessons,' Catra thought with a neutral expression as she picked up a battle hammer. "Alright, let me see about literally bashing some skulls," she grinned ominously as the timer above went down to 15 seconds.

All around them, metal pillars sprouted in forest-like manners before a flash in the distance got their attention.

"There she is," Naruto said. "Be careful, aggression at '12' isn't something to play with, Catra," he said as virtual film formed over their bodies.

It flashed thrice before vanishing, Catra looking down at her hands. "And that is?"

"It makes the hits a bit more… rough."

5… 4… 3…

"Strafe around!" Naruto said as he began to jog to the side, axes held out in his hands. "Don't stop moving!"

1.

Catra's eyes widened as she and Adora barely ducked in time.

The slice of digital shadow tore through the 'trees' and crashed loudly against the wall behind them.

"What the hell!?" Catra said before Adora took off with narrowed eyes. "D-Dammit!" She ran forward.

The sound of yelling and clashing reached her ears from the right. 'Of course, he'd be the first one to make contact,' ignoring Naruto's head start.

The boy was fast as she'd know firsthand from earlier that week.

So, the cascade of slicing shadow waves didn't surprise but the amount did give her pause.

Catra jumped over one, slid beneath another, stumbled around one more, and barely blocked the last one.

Said blow sent her flying back into the bottom half of a cut tree with a groan. 'Is her magic this strong for real?' Or was this too strong?

Or, worse yet, too weak?

Catra could see the fighting blonde now and watched him completely.

Naruto's right axe swung behind him as the boy soared overhead of the digital sorceress.

A shadow-burning palm blocked the cut, repelling him but Naruto seemed to roll with it.

Literally, turning and landing all in one move before he kicked out at the hologram's stomach, sending it screeching back before its arms swung out and then in.

Trailing flames of black spread out before caving in and crashing together in a burst of magic Naruto was already above.

Then, the crashing shadows sprouted like a porcupine.

The fox boy's eyes glinted in a way that entranced her.

And then he reacted.

One ax came down onto a spike and cleaved through it, Naruto swinging with the back of his other ax.

It landed on the spiny black ball that sprouted another spike towards his face.

And missed as he swung around a spike with that last blow of his axe, the boy's feet screeching against the ground as he landed a bit away.

Shadow tendrils gave chase and he chopped, rotated, slashed, and parried.

It was downright ridiculous. 'He can move like that even with the pain,' it made her feel pathetic.

This injured boy kept going and didn't stop.

She shouldn't either.

Catra's eyes narrowed before shooting off towards the middle of the mess of attacks.

She rushed the digital sorceress whose head turned on a dime.

She grit her teeth before barely skipping back, a line of black magic carving just past her front.

'It's fast!' Focus!

Her toes touched the ground and she threw herself to the side just in time for that line of black's sudden explosion of spikes to miss… barely.

The film around her reappeared for a second, the side of it torn before it resitched itself and vanished from sight. 'That's how it works,' she realized.

And then Adora fell upon the digital mage from behind, blade raised before being brought down.

It missed barely, the hologram rolling to the side before the girl was blocking a burst of shadows with the side of her blade.

She was sent flying and was only safe thanks to Naruto's timely intervention, the young man catching her and landing.

"Easy," he told Adora who nodded, back on her feet. "In a way, I wonder if this isn't really accurate?" Naruto considered as Catra landed by them. "I mean, this copy seems to-"

They jumped over a slashing darkness.

"Know you guys well!" Naruto finished as they landed.

His eyes narrowed before he was strafing around the hologram with his glowing arm reared back.

The digital magician's eyes snapped to him before a trail of spikes shot out at him.

Naruto spun over it before, mid-spin, sending an axe spinning through the air at the digital woman.

She jumped back just in time for Adora's sword to swing for her neck.

The digital magician caught it, Adora's arms trembling as she tried to push.

Then, Catra came flying by with her hammer reared back.

"SURPRISE!" She swung.

The hologram's head snapped back before being sent flying, the cat girl grinning as Adora sighed in relief.

"Thanks!" She said as they gave chase, their digital enemy recovering sluggishly. 'Anyone would be disturbed by such a blow.'

Would their teacher be this hard to knock off-balance?

Naruto reached the woman first, a dropkick slamming into a shield of darkness before his axe hooked over the edge and tossed him above it, his body swinging backwards along with his other axe.

The blow was blocked by another shadow spike that Naruto's eyes narrowed at before he threw himself over the thorn while Catra swung at their opponent's midsection.

She was deterred by the woman's hand almost slamming down on her shoulder, a burst of darkness throwing her back as Adora ran in.

Her first slash was blocked by a shadow ball, the obstruction alarming her before she ducked low and swung hard.

A spike shot down from the shadowy wisp and blocked her blade.

---

"No magician worth their worth will allow their bodies to remain so unprotected," Shadow Weaver scoffed as she raised her shadow-burning finger. "And I am no pathetic magician."

---

They attacked again and again, rare attacks of random focus hitting the hologram but that was it.

Naruto played 'savior' as he helped the two out of close-calls they couldn't dodge normally and that fact alone left him at mercies he shouldn't have been in.

Meaning they lost with the hologram at 'half health' from a large bar that appeared below her picture in the space above.

"D-Dammit," Catra groaned on the ground as their surroundings returned to normal. "Stupid freaking hologram," she grumbled as Naruto chuckled.

Adora didn't look so expressive, eyes going from the chuckling blonde to the ground. 'We'd never make it,' not without Naruto.

The blonde boy was just too vital to this battle that he'd essentially been the only reason they even got those extra hits on Digital Shadow Weaver.

"Hmm, so this is where you all would first go," came the voice of the real-deal, the sorceress entering the room without issue. "... Hmm?" She raised a brow at the image above.

Adora and Catra cleared their throats with blushes aplenty as the woman's eyes squinted on the chuckling Naruto.

"They really wanted to see how we fared against you," he admitted to the older magician. "Honestly? Can I ask? Do you know how you compare to your hologram-self?" Naruto asked curiously.

The sorceress huffed at him, still looking at the image above. 'Were they so strong?' No, the answer was likely right in front of her, the only one not looking as drained as his comrades. "... Hmph, I'd have to review your combat data, I don't frequent this place, no need."

"That's a bit much, ma'am. There's no such thing as someone who's too good at combat."

"To you," Naruto snickered as she huffed. "Now, clean yourselves up, Adora, Catra, you two will be learning alongside him about more magical basics. This will help you all in the end… And, I suppose… as much as it pains me," she groaned as Naruto blinked before a swirl of shadows formed in front of him before depositing something.

"... Oh, I get it," Catra blinked as Naruto sweatdropped at the clothes. "Welcome to the school, I guess," she told him.

~NRK~

Clean and now fully dressed, Naruto blinked at his outfit.

Dark red leather boots with a pink stripe down the top of the tongue to the tip, some slightly baggy dark red pants with dark pink suns on the thighs, an odd black waist mantle, and the weirdest part?

A red elbow-length fingerless cloth-like leather gauntlet with black bars on the back of his hand and an open red dark jacket with black borders… with nothing else.

"Is the lack of a shirt really necessary?" Naruto asked the sorceress as she cupped her chin.

'Anything to ignore that wretched dress code,' she'd make him as opposite one of them as she could. "Yes, it's necessary. Magic of one's surroundings is actually kind of important, it's why most mages wear cloth clothing and nothing heavier. It gets in the way," Shadow Weaver was being honest on that point.

Magic of an area was a fickle concept that needed close attention.

If it bothered the boy to the point that he thought she was lying? Great for him and crap for him.

A win-win, one might say… well, if that 'one' didn't want her student ogling the target of her detestment!

Adora blushed bright red as Naruto whined again, crossing his arms with a huff and ignorant to her quick glances and completely nervous expression.

'I might have wanted to throw in a tunic,' what's done was done, unfortunately.

She didn't want to give that much fashionable attention to the magic boy if she could help it.

Catra scoffed at him even if she wasn't hating it. 'I never thought about it but he's got no body fat,' it was kinda bullshit.

But, hey, a 'show' for her, she guessed.

"Now," the three's attention went to her, Adora's the most shaky. "... To begin learning barriers and the basics of them, Naruto, it will require experience first and foremost," Shadow Weaver said before twirling her hand at the box.

Naruto blinked at a familiar black box forming over him. "Ohhhh-" He'd begun to realize before being cut off, completely covered.

"T-That was a barrier, it makes sense," Adora said, swallowing a bit. "Still, Naruto can't tell what we're saying, can he?"

"No, this barrier is meant to hide internal noises and block-out external ones. It's necessary a lot of the time," Shadow Weaver grumbled. "But, another facet of barriers is the alteration of their properties."

The black box became transparent, allowing Naruto's meditating form to be seen.

'Meditation?' She wasn't aware that the boy had some understanding of it. 'Still, without understanding, one can't just break a barrier-'

Then, the blonde began to glow and her eyes widened at the sight of golden energy slowly eating away at her barrier?!

In ten seconds, it was gone, leaving behind a grinning blonde. "Hehehehe, so that's how that works!" Naruto chuckled something 'twinged' in the back of Shadow Weaver's mind.

"Huh? How can you do that?" Catra asked him in disbelief.

"Well, for one, there are, like, points in the barrier that can be flooded with energy," Naruto said with a nod. "I just push some into 'em and 'poof', I'm breaking the barrier. It kinda takes too long, though."

"That's still amazing, Naruto!" Adora grinned. "If we don't have to worry about barriers, we don't need to worry about magicians too much."

"I mean, I doubt it's that easy," Catra shrugged. "Shadow Weaver can just throw stuff at us, it's never let her down before," she muttered.

Naruto sweatdropped.

Shadow Weaver, meanwhile, felt the uncontrollable urge to attack someone. 'He's JUST like HIM,' she'd tried.

Lord knows, she tried but she couldn't deny it any longer.

It seemed another 'traitorous Micah' had been born into this world and she'd not let that stay.

"I see, you've got talent, don't you?" Shadow Weaver asked as Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"I've sensed things almost all my life, it's not hard to look for specific parts, ya know?" Naruto said with a tilt of the head as she kissed her teeth.

"So it seems… Then, do you know what you did?"

"Uhh, eat the barrier?"

"No, ignorant boy, you overloaded it," Shadow Weaver explained, pacing in front of the three. "There are several methods to breaking a barrier: Waiting out its special conditions, finding a spell or tool, doing as you did; overloading it, or Slipping Through. The last is a special method meant for those with particular skills and affinities and usually it's not their entire being but parts of it. I can Slip Through most barriers and leave small spirits of my whims."

'That can be terrifying,' Adora thought. "So, is there a preferred method?"

"Of course, my child, the one the boy chose is the most barbaric," the woman's eyebrow twitched as Naruto chuckled nervously. "But the fact he was able to do it so easily means… That he holds a high amount of internal power," worryingly so, in fact.

Ten seconds was slow but the fact the boy could apply himself so quickly to do so made him terrifying.

'I'll need to readjust my own barriers,' how annoying. "So, with that in mind, his control needs tempering. I can sense the amount you used. You could have demolished that barrier in a fifth of the time if you knew how to apply it well."

"Yeah, I figured," Naruto sighed. "Still, that's why we're here, yeah?" He asked her and those eyes of his…

They seemed to give her something she didn't think was possible.

Was that… respect? From him?

"I think I might need to lay down."

"Huh?" Adora blinked. "Um, ma'am?"

"I'm fine, Adora," the boy was seriously throwing her sensibilities out of order. "For now, we'll demonstrate each Barrier-Breaking Method."

~NRK~

Lunchtime came and went, the six of Team Adora standing before not their usual instructor but Scorpia.

"Hey, Scorpia," Naruto shot the woman a wave as she tilted her head at him before smiling.

"I knew she was just being coy with you, she finally gave you her seal of approval!" The scorpion woman grinned as he sweatdropped. "Now, I'll be taking over you guys' training from here on out. The thing is, Cobalt, your previous instructor, isn't used to teaching Force Captains. I've got some ideas on how to help you guys!"

"Oh yeah?" Catra asked, fiddling with her badge with a grin. "We went through orientation, ya know? What more is there?"

"A lot of small unwritten rules if you get me," the older Force Commander said. "So, for one, we'll start with the thing you three used recently, the Simulation Rooms. All things considered, those places are fine to go to whenever. Obviously, you can't force your way in without a fight to use the room but there are days and times where you probably shouldn't," she tapped her claws together worryingly. "Lord Hordak goes in there around every Friday or so to update our systems and to train himself, I believe."

"Really?" Naruto asked intently as Adora's jaw dropped at him. "When exactly?"

"Naruto!" The blonde girl whisper-hissed at him quickly.

"Oh, usually, he's in there for about four hours! It takes around an hour to scan his biometrics and then he goes through a lot of the settings!" Scorpia grinned as Naruto rubbed his chin with one of his own.

"Gotcha, just curious."

'Oh no,' Adora feared for his sanity. "O-Other things!" She squeaked. "A-Actually, Scorpia, Naruto did want to speak with a weaponsmith!" Anything to take his mind off this craziness!

"Oh, you're one of those types," the scorpion woman said to the fox boy. "Well, we can go now!"

~NRK~

Navigating to one particular spire where large billow smoke towers reached into the sky, the group entered and stared at all the moving bodies.

From machines to pipes to materials to tools and more, they saw all sorts of stuff as they walked around a single layer of it.

"So, this is how it works," Scorpia smiled. "You can choose from an assortment of materials we have, tech, and/or bring some yourself to be made. You can even choose a space and make the weapon yourself but most guys don't do it. Too much hassle for a weapon that could be outstripped by an enemy's magic or our own guns and standard weaponry."

"..." Naruto cupped his chin at the list of materials to make a weapon out of. "I want to make a weapon that's as sturdy as possible, Scorpia, will any of these do?"

"I mean, usually, steel is pretty tough," she said. "I mean, how sturdy could you possibly want it?"

"Well, how to put it…"

"What's the toughest metal on Etheria?" Catra asked, interrupting Naruto. "He wants something to fit that," she spoke for the blonde who sweatdropped.

"Well, she's not wrong," he said.

"Hmm…" Scorpia tapped her lip. "Well, in that regard, it might be something from…. That place," she frowned as he perked up.

"That place?"

"Well, there are places where powerful minerals and stuff would come from. My family used to have a whole industry about it," she shrugged. "But they went away and cut ties with us a bit back, not sure why."

'Really?' The entire group wondered nervously at the oblivious woman. 'You REALLY can't think of one reason?'

Okay, so maybe the woman wasn't 'bad' but she might be 'stupid'.

"Please, tell me where it is," Naruto asked with a bow. "I need to find something to make my own."

"Hmph… Well, I don't think it'll be that bad to let you know," Scorpia smiled. "Well, the hardest, sturdiest, stuff usually comes from places with a lot of pressure. So, there was our old industry in an old part of world near Bright Moon. It was a fire kingdom ruled by the Fire Princess years ago."

"Wait, you know about that?" Lonnie asked.

"Oh, yeah, my grand pops used to go there a lot when he was younger. Turns out, the place there is a big desert thing and he liked to walk through it. Scorpionis, heat, we get along. Well, he started a business there drilling for powerful stones and I remember him saying that it used to be so hard to get pieces and bits off of their surroundings. That might be what you're looking for but, Naru-Naru, you might want to give up on that. The Fire Kingdom wasn't that big but it went down and DOWN. It's basically really deep."

"... Maybe, as one person…" Naruto considered something before his eyes gained a glow. "Alright, I know what to do," he grinned before bowing one more time. "Thanks, that gives me something to work with, Scorpia," he nodded as she smiled brightly. "For now, I'll just work with my fists, I guess."

"Still, it wouldn't be bad to try out what we do have for materials," Adora said. "... I-I kinda wanted to have something made for me… too," she admitted.

"Really?" Catra was surprised. "What? A staff?"

"... No, I… I want to make a sword."

"That's new," Kyle said. "Usually, you use the staff, Captain."

"I know, it's weird but I… I-I recently wanted to branch out. Naruto's got magic in his pocket now, that's a whole new avenue of methods he'll wield. I don't want to fall behind."

"Hmph…" Catra considered something. "Well, why not technology?"

"When in doubt, technology won't let you down!" Scorpia said. "Sometimes, it's super-useful. There's probably tech you can put into our weapons to get something to work for you."

"Yeah…" Catra cupped her chin before grinning. "And I do wanna to do that. I need a hammer with stun baton capabilities."

"Well, come on! I'm sure we can do something about that!'

~NRK~

That night, Naruto and many of his former cadet-comrades showered before topics went to his missing arm.

"So, seriously? What happened?" One of the others asked as Naruto used his magic arm to help scrub his hair. "You lost an ARM! D-Did Catra get angry?"

"Was it Adora?" Another asked. "I always knew she had a sadistic streak!" He said in fear.

"What?" Naruto sweatdropped as Rogelio shook his head. "Guys, come on!"

"But they're Shadow Weaver's students!"

"Didn't you just become one?!"

"D-Does she make you dress like a girl?"

"Is she mean?!"

"I bet she uses magic on you! You have a collar and everything!"

Naruto blushed as he remembered that particular object. "S-Shut up! I don't know what this thing does yet but I know it won't end well. She seriously doesn't like me for some reason."

"Hmph," his lizard comrade 'said'.

"We tried but nothing made sense. I think she just chose me as a her pick-on cadet."

Kyle chuckled nervously at that. "W-Well, at least it's not the worst thing?" He tried. "She gave you a whole new outfit so you don't wear the cadet uniform anymore."

"I mean… Eh?" Naruto shrugged. "I could do with a shirt but she decided that'd be the outfit."

"It's kinda nice," another said with a blush as Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "Come on, man, we know but it helps."

"Right."

~NRK~

Catra's eyebrow twitched at her fellow cadet's gossip.

"So, come on! What exactly did Naruto do to get on Shadow Weaver's naughty side?" One of them asked with a perverted grin and laugh as many others followed suit.

"She put a collar on him!"

"Honestly, not the first I've considered it. He seems so easy to dominate," another said as those same girls laughed or blushed.

"A-And now he has no shirt."

"Definitely see that he gets to work. Does he have, like, no body fat?"

"Seems so… Wanna find out personally?"

More laughter rang out as Lonnie shook her head with a roll of the eyes, minding a shower cap. "Damn, it's wet in here beyond the shower," she muttered as she loafa-ed her arm. 'But I'd bet I'm not the only one who thinks so,' her gaze went to Adora with a raised brow.

The normally unbothered girl seemed frozen in time with the reddest cheeks know to the Horde, her jaw quaking at some kinda obscene horror only she saw.

"Would you chill out? It's not the first time they've done this."

"I-I'm not worried, Lonnie!" Adora whine-whispered back as she turned on the water to bone-chilling cold. "I-I'm just not feeling it today."

"I'd bet it has to be because you were all-alone with Na-Ru," Catra whispered from off to the side as Adora burned up.

"H-He's got nothing to d-do with this!"

"Is that how this sounds?"

"She's got a damn stutter," Lonnie said in disbelief as Catra rolled her eyes.

She prodded Adora's side and the girl squealed.

"D-Dammit, Catra! I'm thinking!" Adora exclaimed.

"About who?"

"I-I never said it was anyone!"

The look on Catra's face was priceless, Lonnie laughing at it all.

"Is she being serious?"

~NRK~

Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he put on some pajamas dammit.

"Would every single one of you stop looking depressed?!" He asked the cadets in disbelief.

Lonnie, Rogelio, and Catra snickered off to the side.

Kyle just blushed and Adora looked out of it.

"Goddammit!"

~NRK~

The following morning, after much annoyance with his former-simiarly-ranked comrades, Naruto grumbled down a hall with Catra and Adora.

The latter looking so mortified. 'I-I dreamed about Naruto,' it'd been the damndest thing, too!

It'd been so vivid a-and lewd.

Adora only had those kinds of dreams once in a blue moon and usually it'd be between either Catra and Naruto but this time it seemed downright laser-focused on her foxy-

Fox friend! NOT 'foxy'!

As Adora steamed in horror, Catra just wore a small blush.

'Hmph, that's a new one,' she thought without too much issue.

She had a wet dream about the two blondes again. It happened every now and then.

Sometimes it was Adora. Other times, Naruto. This was the first time it was both and she was 'watching'.

'Maybe, I am pervert,' she wondered.

They made it to a specific Simulation Room, one that was already reserved thanks to Shadow Weaver.

Going in after Adora scanned her badge, they walked in and simply went to room 1.

When the doors opened, they found their teacher within and a technician stationed at the computer by the door.

"Alright, we're in for some training, I guess," Naruto said as they walked up to her. "Ma'am?"

"Good, you're here, we'll begin immediately," Shadow Weaver said before addressing the technician. "Create the rooms."

He nodded before working the computers more in-depth than Naruto had the day before.

Behind the woman, an assortment of bars shot up and around before forming a trio of rooms, each one after the other biggest than the last.

"Today, I'll mostly be having Adora and Catra observe your trials. I need to know where you truly stand when it comes to your tutelage."

"Alright," Naruto nodded. "Though, there was something I wanted to ask," she crossed her arms. "Is creating a spell hard?" He asked, confusing the three.

"Huh?" Adora blinked while Catra hummed while leaning back on a foot.

"I mean, it is magic," she threw in as her sister student nodded slowly.

"I mean… I guess you're right."

"Why? That's incredibly ambitious and foolish. Do you think yourself a genius?" Shadow Weaver asked with narrowed eyes that squinted further at the boy's shake of the head.

"No, I'm not. I'm well aware of who I am when it comes down to full-on book studying," Naruto said as she saw his glowing eyes. "But, amongst all else, I know I need to make this one idea I have work. There's too much good that can come out of it," he grinned cheekily as she rolled her eyes.

"... Hmph, if it'll keep you busy… Yes, spells are incredibly hard to make but not impossible. They simply require studying to form magical formulae, equations, linking concepts, and more. It'd be beyond you-"

"No it's not," Naruto grinned competitively as the sorceress's eyes narrowed. "Just because it's hard doesn't make it impossible, there's no such thing and I'll prove it to you."

"You ignorant little worm! You'd call me a liar?!" She bellowed.

She knew the boy was trouble!

"Hehe, not a 'liar' but I'll make you believe in me," Naruto declared with a clenched hand. "Teach me everything you can, even if it's just the basics, I will make a spell that'll blow your socks off… If you wear those, I know Catra doesn't-"

"I SEE, you want to raise an ante?" Shadow Weaver craved his failure. "Then, how about so?" Naruto could feel her grinning behind her mask. "I'll teach you all that's, hmm, necessary for such development in a year. Once I do, you'll be given half a year's time to concoct this so-called 'concept' of yours."

"You're on!"

Such foolishness, she wanted to bask in his failure. To bathe in his struggles and torment his despair.

Shadow Weaver would see his bravado fall around him.

Ah, yes, chains would look fetching on him.

"N-Naruto?!" Adora hissed as he shook his head.

"I will make that spell and…" Naruto grinned as Shadow Weaver scoffed- "You'll tell me why you hate me so much."

The area was silent as Shadow Weaver froze, Catra blinking at the woman's still but quickly trembling form.

"..." The woman's eyes vanished within the shadows of her mask.

"I want to know what your deal is," Naruto said with a frown as Adora slowly held his shoulder with worry. "You hate me for some reason, hell, yesterday it got worse and I'm tired of wondering… So, if we're gonna put up an ante, I want your respect and reason for why you hate me so much… And what do you want if I fail?"

"Boy I will carve my brand into your chest," Shadow Weaver hissed as the three teens grew startled. "You will serve I and my students as a slave and servant. No move you make will be without consent on our call," she said as she loomed over the frowning blonde. "Is THAT acceptable?" She raised her hand, a harsh red glow around it that lit-up Naruto's face.

Naruto's eyes closed as he released a breath and Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed-

Their hands clasped a moment later, the sorceress's eyes glowing as his own did.

Those disgusting eyes full of 'understanding' and 'truth' she detested.

"Alright, deal but you have to give me the best you can. You sabotaging me isn't going to make this fair."

The red light began to glow gold and Shadow Weaver's eyes widened before they narrowed again.

Gold and red battled for a time before… Naruto winced at the red marks climbing up his arm before they formed a trio of black marks connected by a thin line around his forearms.

Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed as three golden spirals formed along the back of her own forearm, the black gloves not impeding the seal in the least.

They let go and Naruto crossed his arms with a nod. "Alright," their eyes locked. "Let's do this-?!"

Catra had already decided to choke him as Adora wheezed in front of the being-choked blonde.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" They shouted at him.

"I-I'm-!"

"C-Choke him more! He needs to learn!" Adora said with a look of disbelief.

Shadow Weaver threw the three a flat look before looking down at her arm.

'Annoying,' it almost made her want to void it outright. 'We'll see how determined you are, boy,' there were many a thing Shadow Weaver could have done before the blonde enforced that additional 'rule'.

Now? She had to teach him to the best of her ability no matter what.

Annoying.

~NRK Out~