Hey guys, double update! Yay!

When you're done reading this chapter please be sure to answer the question at the end, in a review. I really need feedback for the issue at hand. ^^

"Indeed he is," Tobi answered contemptuously as Sakura once more heard that telling grin. She'd emitted a gasp of shock upon hearing that Naruto was in this sanctuary but upon receiving Sasuke's glare once more, Sakura had quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

Sasuke turned back to Tobi and emitted a low growl before responding: "I'm not going to free you, moron. Tell me where Naruto is and I'll go to him."

Tobi seemed indifferent at this outcome. "Suit yourself."

He explained a moment later: "Walk to the back of the room, and look for the stone in the wall that has our Uchiha symbol on it. You should know what to do from there."

Sakura watched as Sasuke followed the man's instructions and walked to the very back of the dojo, scanning carefully the row of neatly mortared stone bricks with his Sharingan. After a few second, Sasuke seemed to have found what he looking for because he stopped and came to stare at one spot in particular. Sakura was too far away to actually see the symbol.

He laid out his palm flat against the stone and then proceeded to weave a couple of hand signs with one palm, muttering something beneath his breath. In the instant he was done, the very room started shaking around Sakura, feeling like an actual earthquake this time.

A second later, the very ground they stood on started rising at a mortifyingly fast an elevator, Sakura found herself forced flat onto her back, lying down as the extreme speed multiplied the force of gravity acting on her weak form.

Sasuke remained standing the entire time. Even as the rounded walls around them descended into the floor in an intimidating manner right next to him. The streams of sunlight showed through new walls that had windows in them before being swallowed by the ground as well. More and more the shadows danced around Sakura as they were pushed to the top of this Uchiha sanctuary.

It seemed like a century later until they stopped.

When Sakura sat up again, she found chills ringing down her spine as frosty air nipped at her pores. Every breath she took was also labored and hard to consume, signalling to her that there was significantly less oxygen in this altitude. Oh god, how high up were they?

Sakura saw that everyone seemed to be having less trouble breathing than herself, probably due to them still having their chakras. Even Gaara, unconscious and exhausted as he was, could inhale soundlessly next to her -whereas she was already wheezing.

In a couple of seconds, Sakura collapsed back onto her back as she felt her body spasm from the inefficient amount of respiration.

Just as Sakura thought she was going to die, a firm hand landed upon her upper arm and pulled her back sitting up. Immediately, her mouth came into contact with another's.

She recognized the feel of the kiss. It was Sasuke. She immediately felt energy seep back into her as relief came to all her muscles. The man was sending his own chakra energy into her body, to allow her to breathe in this high altitude. His right fingers laced with her left ones as he too sent energy into her through their palms.

Sakura felt warmth pool into the center of her chest as her body regained homeostasis. Ironically however, her heart was actually pounding faster than before. When she felt good enough, Sakura tried breaking the kiss but Sasuke refused to let her, and instead just tightened the hold he had on her palm; his other hand also came to grip her upper arm, keeping her pressed to him.

Eventually Sasuke did break the kiss when he was satisfied with the amount of chakra he'd transferred but he nonetheless still kept the girl up close. Sakura tried making him let go but Sasuke only tightened his grip further. In the end she was near wincing from his extreme squeeze on her upper arm; Sakura raised pleading desperate eyes upwards to look at Sasuke.

"Wh-what are you doing? It hurts!" she exclaimed while once more trying to shake him off but Sasuke held strong.

He wrenched her forwards so that his pretty mouth now pressed against her cheekbone to whisper menacingly: "Don't think I've forgotten about you and Gaara, Sakura."

His already painful grip turned agonizing as he seethed: "You kissed him."

The pinkette's eyes that were already tearing up, now widened in horror. "No, that- that wasn't what you thought. H-he pulled me!"

Sasuke's upper lip twitched. "You were also holding his hand earlier."

Sakura cried out as she started losing all feeling in her right arm. "Sasuke! You're really hurting me!"

The man tsked and in a second, he let go, throwing her onto the stone ground. Sakura managed to break her fall with her elbow and quickly started massaging her tortured arm. While doing so, she turned to look at Sasuke, fear and anger fighting within her for prominence...in the end, the prior won, and all she could do was just quiver in fear as he flashed dangerous dark eyes.

"I'm not through with you yet, Sakura," he dictated coldly. "When I get you back inside your cage, you will never leave it again, you hear me? You'll beg for an ounce of sunlight, for a breath of fresh air but I guarantee you won't get any, ever."

The pinkette could only watch him in horror with a half dropped jaw and wide distended eyes. She found it hard to breath again.

"Y-you can't be serious!" Sakura cried out even though in her heart she knew he was. The pinkette watched him stand up and leave her with her shallow breaths.

Absolute fear and misery coursed through her veins because she knew he'd meant every word. Sasuke never made empty threats. On top of that, she knew exactly what would happen the next time she was alone with him.

Was that...all she had to look forward to? Rape and more rape, locked away inside a metal chamber? Forever?

At this last realization, Sakura was no longer able to contain the sobs from within her chest. Her entire being quaked in heartache as she sucked on her fist, a desperate attempt to calm herself.

Sasuke tsked as he heard and glanced at her weeping sight for a moment before turning away. She'd done all this to herself. Kissing Gaara, showing compassion for the boy...gah, even now he was filled with fury at the memory of their obscene kiss.

Sakura's sobs did nothing to quell his fury. Instead, he tried calming himself by focusing on the situation at hand.

He'd been in this sanctuary before but never up here. Taking in his surroundings, he saw that they were literally up in the clouds. Obscuring mist surrounded him on all sides and made the stone platform in which they all stood on look ethereal, as if they were in Heaven.

Even without walking around Sasuke could pretty much already see everything there was to see. There were no walls or visibly solid substances up here save for one thing: standing erect right in front of the edge of the stone platform in which they'd rode in on, was a waist high stone bed, lying on top of which was none other than Naruto Uzumaki's unconscious form. He had a silk blanket covering him up to his chest and down past his feet, draped over the edge of the stone.

Sakura saw this too, through her quiet trembling sobs. How long had he been up here?

She wanted to race to the boy's form, to check on his vitals but fear of Sasuke's dangerous jealousy stopped her.

The Uchiha in question quickly stepped up to the sleeping boy until he stood right against the edge of the stone. Then he drew his katana.

Sakura gasped, her sobs dissolving away immediately. Luckily the gasp hadn't been loud enough for the Uchiha to hear.

Oh god, oh god, oh god.

He was going to kill Naruto!

Sakura couldn't lose another friend, she just couldn't...but what could she do? Sasuke would just get angrier with jealousy if she showed any sort of compassion for the boy, wanting to kill Naruto even more as a result...and he would never believe that she just thought of the boy like a friend!

"Tobi, please you have to do something!" she whispered to the still pinned on his back masked man who didn't seem any bit worried.

"Don't worry, just watch and see," the man stated with an obvious sounding smirk.

Just as Sasuke's sword collided with Naruto's abdomen a large puff of smoke appeared through the air. Immediately, the Uchiha swore. That was a clone! Just as he made note of that Sakura's scream of terror tore out from behind him.

Sasuke turned around and found that Tobi had freed himself and was now holding Sakura hostage with a kunai against her throat.

It'd all been a trick! Damn!

"Did you really think I would take you to Naruto so easily?" Tobi stated gloatingly.

"Let her go," Sasuke growled out, dangerous and low.

"You're hardly in any position to speak to me like that now are you, dear nephew?" the crazed man chided while standing up and forcing Sakura to follow him. The kunai was pressed hard into her neck and already cutting painfully into her skin, on the verge of breaking it.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Sasuke shouted in fury, losing all semblance of patience.

Tobi laughed. "Just a little fun."

And with that he suddenly stabbed Sakura in the abdomen with a hidden kunai he'd kept behind his back the entire time. Sakura gasped as Tobi let her fall; before she hit the ground, Sasuke moved at chakra speed and caught her in his arms.

The kunoichi gasped as unimaginable pain shot up her body from her stomach, causing her to shudder and sputter for breath. Sasuke looked just as pained above her, his fist tightening into fury as he cradled her; the Uchiha's head turned to glare at her attacker -who was half de-materialized inside his chakra whirlpool again.

This time, he was taking Gaara's sleeping body with him, just like he'd done with Naruto.

Sakura wanted to stop him and even parted her lips to beg Sasuke to do so...but her voice box just wouldn't function. Along with that her vision was also blurring far faster than a normal stab wound should have caused. Sakura knew the kunai must have been poisoned.

Right as she came to this conclusion, a spew of viscous blood erupted from her lips, staining Sasuke's shirt and pants while the residual leaked out from the corners of her mouth, dribbling down her cheeks. The Uchiha's face was almost as pale as hers, his mouth parted in silent horror as all he could think to do in the moment was to cradle her morbid form.

This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening.

Not again.

Sasuke turned to glare absolute hatred at Tobi, who was now more than three-fourths sucked into his iconic whirlpool; Gaara's unconscious being already gone, having been taken in first. Right before the masked man completely vanished, he held out his palm for one final gloating insult.

In his hand, he held Sakura's crystal ball.

Sasuke's mouth fell completely open in shock and horror.

Then Tobi disappeared.

So there's still quite a bit of the story left to be told but at this point, I need to start setting up for the ending. Right here, right now, is where the story diverges. I have THREE potential "directions" to go for this story and each one means different endings.

So I would like to give my reader's the power to choose. What would you guys like to see?

A sad ending? A happy ending? Or a sequel?

I admit I am leaning towards one in particular but I haven't definitively chosen one yet, I'm going to wait and see what kind of feedback I get. So please review and tell me your thoughts. ^_^