A/N: Please read this note, would you kindly? It has some important information.
Sorry for vanishing, I've been, and still am, very sick.
With luck, I should be able to update Untraveled Road next. That chapter is...quite long to say the least.
Many have asked me not to jump too far ahead as far as timeskips go, and I've listened. Also, references. ALL the references.
I'm still alive...somehow, albeit with poor health, hardly any energy and feeling listless. There's a reason for that, one I'm not entirely comfortable talking about, but it needs be said..
Alright, Neon, breathe. You can do this.
As I'm sure you all know by now, my grandmother isn't long for this world, and grows weaker by the day. She won't eat. She always sleeps and barely speaks. There's nothing that can be done. I've made her as comfortable as possible, but it feels like she's going to pass any day now and that...that hurts. That hurts a lot. I lost my grandfather to just such a decline, and it feels like this is going to wind up the same way. I hate this. I really do. My heart's going to break when she goes...
*takes a deep breath*
But you're not here for that. You came here for a story. I'll do my best to provide one.
Now then, its time for the usual questions!
Q: Sooo...is Salem tame in this story, or what? She scares me a little.
A: She should! Right now, Naruto and her children keep her in check. They help her ward off her darker impulses and push back the corruption/desire for destruction inflicted upon her by the Pool of Darkness. Take her family away...and you'll have a woman bent on revenge, a monster even worse than what we've seen in the sow.
Thankfully, Naruto's not easy to kill, and he's got an eye on the little ones at all times...
Q: Are the gods truly gone from Remnant. I'm sure they're watching. Aren't they?
A: The God of Light was badly weakened by Naruto, and the God of Darkness isn't foolish enough to face him alone.
How fortunate then, that they've handed humanity the tools to undo them. Gathering the Relics is a call they simply cannot ignore. Uniting them all but FORCES the Gods to return to Remnant. The God of Light said as much. They can't resist it, they can't ignore it; the call yanks them to the very spot of the Relics...and to the one who summoned them.
Naruto sees it as his chance to lift the curse on Salem. He's not wrong.
Q: How many children do Salem and Naruto have?!
A: More than you think, less than you expect. They've been busy since we last saw them. And yes, as stated, Naruto is training his progeny. They're a force to be reckoned with. Of course, now that his DNA -and that of Salem!- has been screwed about by the Pool of Darkness, not all of their children look alike.
It was quite interesting, taking votes for them...
Q: Ozma isn't done with them, is he?
A: Not by a long shot. He's not necessarily a bad person mind you, he still thinks of himself as the hero. In his eyes, Naruto and Salem are the wicked ones. They aren't of course, but unfortunately, Ozma believes they are. Terrible things happen when you demonize your enemies...
Q: Wait...removing Grimm masks?! Is Naruto creating his own race?!
A: *zips lips*
Q: I take it you've seen Salem fight. Is this one anything like her canon counterpart?
A: If anything she's even more dangerous; because she actually has someone to spar with. Daily. For hundreds and hundreds of years. She's plenty dangerous in the show of course; able to tank just about anything thrown her away and recover almost instantaneously. Hell, it took *SPOILER* just to slow her down. And we all know she'll be back.
Now then, I think I've kept you all long enough. Lets get on with it!
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes.
"I want you to have this."
"Oh? Must I use such a thing?"
"It'll help you keep calm, Salem."
"Fair enough. Now then...clothes. Off. Now."
"But the kids are downstairs-ha! Hey! Don't tickle me! Such a demanding wife I have...
~?
Kiss of Family (Interlude)
Hello, journal of mine.
Hmm. No, that doesn't feel right.
Greetings subservient tome of ink and paper? Yes, I rather like that one.
Or rather I would, if I were not forced to take time out of my day to write in this blasted book!
Why should I air my thoughts to those not of my Family? What purpose does this serve? It'll be fun, he says. You'll enjoy it, he says. Helps control your destructive impulses, he says. We have all the time in the world; so we should be finding new ways to spend it. Yes, I have been asked to write here by Naruto, my husband, the light of my life, father of my children, absolute MONSTER in bed-oh. Oh, dear. I'm rambling aren't I. Hmm. I'll save the gushing for another page.
...
...
...
...he's not entirely wrong about the venting, I suppose. My thoughts have been in disarray as of late. My hands were tense when I first put quill to ink, my jaw clenched as I set ink to page. And yet now, somehow, I find myself beginning to relax as I air my frustrations within this tidy little tome. Perhaps there is some truth to his words. Very well. I'll humor him.
If he insists upon keeping a private journal of his own, then so shall I. Anything he can do, I can do better.
Ahem!
Rejoice ye mortal, for you gaze upon the first written record of Salem, Queen of the Grimm, Lady of the Woods and Witch of the Wilds.
T'was not I who chose the last title. The mortals bestowed it upon me for reasons I can't be bothered to understand. Naruto's gained titles of his own, naturally. More than I, and I've not the time to list them all here. They call him King of the Grimm. The Golden One. Warden of the East. Protector of the Innocent. Destroyer of Gods.
Truth be told, I prefer the first one. It matches mine. Our followers agree.
You see, we have something of a following now. Only a few dozen worshipers, but their ranks swell with each passing year. Kill enough people and eventually some will start to notice you. Save even more and they begin offer you tribute. Protect them, offer them food and shelter with safety from the Grimm? Why, they'll follow you to the very ends of the earth. We've done just that.
My dear husband would rather save than slay, but to each their own, I suppose. This was his idea to begin with.
We are as gods to these mortals; we have begun to live in their world, to aid them, talk with them, walk among them. It is only right that we be worshiped as such. They gain our protection. In return, we gain them. With followers, we can expand our sphere of influence to the four corners of Remnant. With our word spread far and wide, more will flock to our banner. More followers means more bodies to throw into our search for the Relics. We have promised rich rewards to anyone who uncovers the Sword, the Lamp, the Staff, or even the Crown. Rich rewards indeed.
We will find them. We will use them. We will drag down the old gods down and put and end to this.
There will be time enough to make an ending afterwards. For now, there are matters to which we must attend.
None know not what we have done to the Grimm; indeed, I suspect they never will. How could they? Its not as if we advertise it. Once their masks are removed, the results are quite extraordinary. They lose most of their bestial nature and assume human form. Well, as human as a former Grimm can be.
With the change they become faster. Stronger. Smarter. They can think. They can reason. They gain powerful new abilities. They feel emotion-though their strange attraction to negativity persists in varying degrees. Some feel it not at all, while others remain drawn to it like a thirsty fellow unto water. We may well need to look into that if we wish to integrate such spies into society.
Regardless, they are, every man, woman and child, loyal to the cause. Why wouldn't they be? We essentially gave life to them.
Alas, the process is not necessarily foolproof; few things in this world are. Sometimes a Grimm survives the loss of its mask and transcends its sense of self. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it will go feral days after the fact and must be put down. Some are content to remain as the beasts they are. We do not force the change upon them. Blending light and dark? Who would've thought of it? Naruto and I are treading new ground and the possibilities are endless. After all, its not everyday one creates a new race from scratch. Its heady work.
Luna has them well enough in hand; as the First she's leading them through training exercises. For the time being, we're calling this new race...Faunus. Bit of a working title I suppose, but it will do.
Soon, we will have an army.
Now is the time to strike. Now is the time to launch our first operation. If what Ozma says is true, he will eventually reincarnate into a new body and become a thorn in our side forevermore. Will he be reborn as an infant, or an adult, I wonder? We don't know. Regardless, he will come for us. For our girls. He will not be satisfied until he has wiped our kind from the face of the earth.
I WILL NOT LET THAT HAPPEN!
...
...
...
Well, that's one quill broken. Time to use another.
But I digress. Our family has grown. We welcomed our fourth child only seven summers ago, only three years after our third. Naruto wonders if we should stop. Why? I once told him I wanted nine children. Kurama found that amusing at the time. My husband laughed. He thought I was joking.
Well, the joke, as they say, is on him. I did not speak in jest.
In any case, we've named our youngest Morrigan. Such a clever little girl. Always asking questions, always eager to learn, always seeking to improve her station. No doubt she feels pressured by her sisters. Such ambition is a worthy thing indeed, but we'll be keeping an eye on her. Just in case. It would not do for her to become reckless.
Without my family, without my girls, I fear for what I might have become.
I love my husband. I love my children. I cherish them.
None will take them from me.
(.0.0.0.)
Time meant little to one such as Salem.
Years, decades, centuries, they all tended to blur together after all same. She did not change. She did not age. Neither did Naruto. For the two of them, the passing of time was marked neither by war or strife, but by their children. Daughters, really. She would have killed for a son, but it just didn't seem to be in the cards right now.
Still, she loved her girls all the same. All of them.
Their genetics may well be wild thanks to the pool of darkness, but she didn't much mind. Truly. It made their offsrping one of a kind. No two girls looked alike. They were, each of them, different. Unique. Their talents lay in different fields. Naruto's training aside, they had each been borne with gifts of their own. Wienne, could commune with beasts. Eri commanded deadly magics that threatened time itself. And the younger girls had skills all their own, powers they were even now harnessing-.
"Mother!" A young voice cried out suddenly, plucking Salem from her maudlin thoughts. "Look, look! Over here!"
Drawn from her dark thoughts, the Queen set down her journal and looked up as one of her children scampered towards her, nearly tripping on her blue robes.
Dappled sunlight spilled into the yard. Bright blue eyes met hers across it, framed by a wild smile and long azure hair. Her progeny held up her hands, revealing a perfectly formed ice crystal within. Though her brow furrowed with the strain of maintaining such a meticulous jutsu, a tentative smile nevertheless plucked at the corners of her mouth. Even a blind man could see what she wanted. The girl was all too transparent. She squirmed under her gaze, all but hopping in place, waiting for her mother's words.
Praise me! Her wide blue eyes seemed to say. Say you're proud of me!
She favored her daughter with a small smile. A pale hand descended upon her head to cup her cheek.
"Well done, Esdeath." she hummed her name. "You've come far in such a short time."
A winning smiling flashed out at her, bright as sunlight on ice.
Here stood the third of their children, and by far the most prideful. Their children aged slowly and Esdeath had been born in the shadow of her elder sisters, too young to do anything but watch while Wienne and Eri were ruthlessly trained in the art of death-dealing by their father. By the time Naruto felt it safe enough to teach Esdeath himself, her sisters were already in a league of their own. The gap between them was too wide for her to bridge. It didn't help that she'd been born with a rare bloodline that he knew next to nothing about, and as such, couldn't properly train her in.
He could teach her many things, but not this.
Indeed, Naruto had taken one look at Esdeath's icy abilities, muttered something about a stranger named Haku, and started to teach her other things. She soon learned of magic and chakra, but in this, their daughter was alone. There was no one to teach her. She would have to find her own way come hell or high water. As such, she was all too eager to show any progress she made.
"I can make it bigger! Watch!"
Before Salem could think to warn her, the delicate crystal rose from the girl's palms to hover over their heads. There it wavered. She knew what came next and warded herself with a quick spell. After a moments thought, she made to do the same for her daughter. Alas, she wasn't quick enough. Without warning Esdeath's magic spell guttered out, becoming so much water overhead.
With nowhere to go, said water crashed down on Esdeath.
Drenched from head to toe, the poor girl child sputtered impotently and wailed at her ruined robes. "That wasn't supposed to happen!"
"I think not!" Light laughter answered her across the way, echoing softly. "Did you fancy a bath, dear sister?"
"Shut up, Morrigan!" Esdeath rounded on them, teeth clenched with anger. "You...you distracted me!"
"I?" Salem's youngest wrinkled her nose and rose, leaving her little herb garden unattended for the first time in weeks. "I did no such thing. 'Tis not my fault you have the self control of a child."
"I'm older than you!"
The rejoined proved swift and merciless. "In body, perhaps. Not mind."
Salem watched her children squabble with a soft smile.
Their youngest was a little black-haired beauty of seven years with fair skin, cutting wit, and piercing golden eyes not unlike those of a hawk for her age. Unlike her elder sister, she eschewed robes entirely and favored a loose black tunic over which she'd thrown a heavily-embroidered violet shoulder mantle for ease of movement. Also unlike her sister, she wasn't shy about voicing her opinions.
But it would seem Esdeath had finally grown weary of her teasing. "I'll skewer you!"
Fire flickered at Mori's fingertips, purple flames blooming in each hand. "You are welcome to try!"
"Esdeath, no." Naruto's voice drawled further down the line. "Don't fight with your sister. If you're that irritated, borrow one of the Hounds and go on a hunt.
The ice-wielded perked up at once, her anger forgotten. "Can I?!"
"Sure. Just don't stray too far. Take Sebastian with you."
She squealed happily. "Yes, father!"
"And change your robes!"
Salem quirked a brow as the gleeful girl scampered off toward the stables. Had that been her goal all along? She tutted softly, shaking her head. Honestly, that girl. She only ever listened to Naruto. Wienne and Eri drove her to distraction. Such a shame they were such good girls, but stick the four of them together and they became quite competitive. Thankfully those two were sleeping off last night's training back in the house. Crisis averted there. For now, that left her with a very cross Morrigan.
"Come here, child." she called to her youngest. The girl didn't move. She blurred.
Salem patted one knee and tried not to squeal when her youngest all but bounded into her lap. It was the easiest thing to balance her slight weight against one knee. She'd never get tired of that. Wienne and Eri were too old for such now and seldom home, ever eager to go on adventures of their own. It wouldn't be long before they discovered boys. Sage preserve them. But for all her fire and fuss, Mori was very much a mommy's girl. She liked to be pampered and preened like any other girl, as was her right. She was a child of two demigods. Pride was her right. Yet there was still much for her to learn.
"Do you know why your sister was angry with you?"
Morrigan shook her head.
"We are family, dear girl." Salem clicked her tongue as she pulled a comb from her belt pouch. "You insulted Esdeath and wounded her pride. She's a prideful girl and worked hard to get where she is now. Surely you can see that?"
Her little sparrow hummed and kicked her legs quietly, eyes sliding shut as her mother began to brush her midnight tresses with slow strokes. Every girl liked having their hair brushed and Morrigan was no exception. She took good care of her hair, and it had grown long indeed. Finally, she found her voice.
"Perhaps she should grow thicker skin."
Salem set the brush down and flicked the back of her daughter's forehead. "Morrigan!"
The child quelled under her glare. "Sorry, mother...
"Don't be sorry." Salem tucked her closer. "Be better. We have enemies enough without fighting among ourselves."
"Why, though?" Morrigan demanded. What an curious child. When she spoke again, her voice was very small. "Why do they hunt us, mother?"
Salem's throat closed. She disliked that question. Why were they hunted? Why were they hated? Why couldn't they be normal? What could she tell her? The truth? Sometimes the truth was too painful. She never had an answer, or at least none that would satisfy Morrigan. Someday, she and her sisters would venture out into the world. What would they see? What would they find? Would they be shunned? Would they be ridiculed? Would they be hunted...or worse? She tried not to think overmuch of such things, but they had begun to haunt her thoughts as of late.
Sensing her disquiet, Morrigan frowned. "Mother?"
"Because they fear what they do not understand." a familiar voice answered for Salem, rescuing her. "Its human nature. Give them a chance, and they may surprise you. Your mother certainly surprised me."
Red eyes flicked northward.
Although his tunic and breeches were stained with dirt and and his sleeves torn from training their acolytes, Naruto looked much as he always had. His eyes were a bit harder, his smile careworn and he'd begun to grow a beard -which soon be shaved if Salem had anything to say about it!- but in the physical sense, he was every bit as she remembered him. Truly he had not aged a day. He'd even left a few buttons undone, exposing the taut plane of his chest...
'My, my...
Her tongue flitted out, wetting her lips before she remembered she was holding Morrigan. Blast it. If there was one thing she regretted about having children, it was that she couldn't simply ravish him on the spot these days. Wouldn't want to scar the girls. Once again, she counted herself thankful that Wienne and Eri were sound asleep. No doubt they'd make a meal of this. Morrigan may not resemble either of them, but she was undoubtedly Salem's child. Of that, there could be no doubt.
She had Naruto's inquisitive spirit.
Sure enough, the girl brightened with she saw her father approaching; indeed, her golden eyes all but danced as the blond sat down behind Salem. A quick tug pulled her into his lap, and Morrigan with her. The latter giggled as she gazed up at them both, her earlier anger all but forgotten in the presence of her sire. She was ever curious to begin with, but whenever he was nearby she became even more so.
"I've been meaning to ask," Such an inquiring girl, her Morrigan. "How did you and Mother meet?" In years to come, that wouldn't change. "She never told me the story, and I wish to know."
"Oh?" Naruto wiggled a brow as he pulled Salem closer. "Its quite the tale." he nuzzled her neck. "Do you want me to tell it, or your mother?"
"I wish for you to tell it, father." then, after a moments pause, Morrigan added almost girlishly, "You do the best voices."
Naruto smiled as Salem leaned into his embrace. "Well, it all began a long, long time ago...
This was her family. She would protect them. All of them.
Nothing would harm the blood of her blood.
So she swore.
A/N: Felt good to write that.
Spotlight didn't focus as much on Wienne and Eri this chapter, wanted to give the other girls a chance to shine.
This was more of a build up chapter for coming events, both big and small. Rest assured the "journal" bits won't become a regular thing unless you, the reader, want to see them. Otherwise, this was something of a one off and we won't see Salem's journal again.
Changes are a coming, earth-shattering events that will change the very face of Remnant itself. Hope you're ready.
Right then, as ever, Reviews are love, Reviews are Life. Reviews keep me hopeful.
Without them, I just can't seem to write these days.
So in the immortal words of Atlas...
...review, Would You Kindly?
Every bit helps out!
As ever:
SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
(Previews)
"Here is your king." he threw the severed head into the crowd below, uncaring of their screams. "Look at you! Like fat pigs you feed and feed and complain only when your meal is interrupted." his eyes flashed with fury, an angry snarl tearing its way out of his throat. "I'm sick of it!" firm fingers clenched into claws, "All you do is take and take, and take! You leave only misery in your wake! NO MORE! You are blind! But I will MAKE you see!"
A giant fox loomed over him, jaws gaping wide.
"If this is what it means to be human...then I reject my humanity."
Salem awoke with a start. Heart hammering, she stifled a shriek against her palm.
Naruto stirred beside her with a groan. "Dreams again?"
She rolled over and buried her head against his scarred chest with a soft sigh of her own. "They're getting worse."
"I meant what I said, you know." He pulled her into his arms. "I'll always love you. I'll never leave you. Never."
"But what if I hurt you?" she babbled, caught in the throes of fear. "What if I kill-
He pressed a warm kiss to the back of her neck, followed by another.
"Then I'll come back and love you even more."
She held him tight.
And then the door opened.
She glimpsed one of her children in a white shift, clutching a teddy bear to her chest.
"Mommy, daddy, I had a bad dream...
She yawned. "Well, don't just stand there. Come here, little one. There's plenty of room."
His spy reported diligently.
...they...they have found a Relic, my lord."
Ozma buried his head in his hands. "Which one...?"
The silence was telling. Dread coiled in his stomach like a serpent.
"Found our own academy? I like the sound of that. You do realize this will enrage Ozma."
Salem looked up from the blueprint, red eyes alight.
...good. Let him stew. I care not for him!"
"If they cannot understand, then they will be made to understand!" her fist crashed down, splintering the table. "Enough hiding! Time to take action!"
Naruto quirked a brow. "What did you have in mind?"
"We will rule."
"LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! LONG LIVE THE KING!"
~Nz.