Chapter 3

They did what?

…

To my what?!

Three days passed before Naruto even showed a bit of movement. At first, everyone thought that he had simply twitched, but upon closer inspection, he had indeed flexed his fingers. This continued on for a few hours before he began to move more than just his fingers, and later his whole hand. Loken, Flakus, and Tarik were able to see how Sasuke had retreated into himself the longer Naruto stayed in his healing coma. It worried them, but to their surprise, he would come out of his self-constructed shell whenever Naruto did something to warrant a gathering.

What none of them knew was that he was just reverting back to his old self, becoming broody and self-contained as he contemplated the ways everything could go wrong for himself and Naruto. But it was not until the ninth day after that something extraordinary happened. Naruto woke up.

This just happened to be on the day that Horus Lupercal was also present to find out what his Mournivals newest project was. When he saw that it was two young boys, one of which was already outfitted with some of his legions augmentations, he grew ever more curious. So, with his curiosity piqued, Horus joined his two captains and single librarian within the viewing stall adjacent to the medical wing. It was there that he made his first discoveries.

"My lord, it is good to see you!" Tarik smiled winningly as he walked up and hugged his Primarch. Horus did not react for but a split second, but soon embraced his son. It was an odd feeling to hug such a giant, but with his own stature being what it was, it did not put him off much.

"As it is you, Tarik. Now tell me, what is this I hear about two boys being inducted into the Legion? I do not mind the act itself, but the secrecy behind your work seems to raise some unwanted questions."

"Ah, that would be because they are not normal humans, my lord. They have been subjected to some rather unique circumstances, and as such have been under surveillance this entire time. Their loyalty to each other is almost legendary as well. The blond one, his name is Naruto, would willingly die for the black haired one, who is called Sasuke. Their bond is similar to that of you and your own brothers my lord," Falkus explained. His words confused Horus for but a moment, as he was surprised that anyone else would have the same kind of bond he and his brother Primarchs shared.

"There is so much we can tell you about them, my lord; but it would be better if you heard it from their own lips," Falkus cast a small smile at his progenitor. It was a simple thing, but Horus saw the multitude of emotions that made it up. Fear, excitement, joy, anticipation, hesitation, and admiration. All of which was directed at him, and at something else he had yet to discern.

"Very well then, I shall meet them, and share words with them myself," Horus spoke with finality, his words deep and heavy, but laced with care and understanding.

Meanwhile, inside the medical bay, where Naruto sat up on his bed with Sasuke at his side. The two talked of things that had transpired during their eight-day residence on the new world. Naruto, for his part, was not entirely surprised to learn that they had traveled to a new world, let alone a new galaxy. He had seen the same twisted horrors of the Warp that Sasuke had and knew that nothing in their homeworld held anything like the monsters contained beyond the veil.

The closest he had come to was Kurama, and he was a massive fox, so he didn't exactly count.

"So, what exactly did they do to me. You mentioned implants?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah. Well, whatever it was that had gotten into that wound I gave you seemed to have been from that rainbow colored hell we stumbled through. They had to implant several organs into your system to boost your bodies ability to fight the disease. From what I understand of it all, they have started you on the path to becoming like them," Sasuke hastily stated. His words strung together so fast that Naruto almost didn't understand them.

"What do you mean, become one of them?!" He cried in confusion and horror.

"Well … The guys that found us, aren't exactly normal. They stand at almost thirteen feet tall, wear some pretty beefy looking armor, and can take one hell of a punch," Sasuke absentmindedly rubbed at his left hand at the memory of punching Garviel's helmet barehanded.

"EH!?" Naruto asked half star struck, half horrified. "What! They sound like monsters!" Naruto waved his hands around wildly. His wild gesticulations seemed oddly comical to those that could see him through the one-way glass. But without their laughter being transmitted over the vox, no one was the wiser.

"Oh shut up, wait till you meet them, they aren't all that bad," Sasuke growled. Naruto immediately shut up at that and gave Sasuke a wide-eyed look. That is until he broke down into hysterics and laughed at him.

"Coming from you, that must mean they are at least half as broody and stuck up! Bring it, I've dealt with your Emo butt for nearly ten years, what's the worst they could do!?" Naruto challenged his brother.

"Eat you I suppose...," Sasuke trailed off, a wicked smile spreading his lips as he shot Naruto an evil look.

Seeing this, Naruto blinked and then became rather pale. "You wouldn't," He looked to his friend pleadingly. All he got in response though was a rather evil sounding laugh. He shot him a look of horror, and then went on to lament his choice in friends and how he wished at least Shikamaru was there.

While their little battle of wills and drama went on, neither paid much attention to the entrance of the infirmary. With a soft hiss, the door shunted to the left and right granting entrance to a giant among giants. This monster of a man wore simple robes made of thick wool, and pelts of Chthonian wolves draped across his shoulders and back.

This monster of a man was clean shaven, both of face and scalp. His face was rugged, like a broken stone of marble, it was cut in many different angles; though each cut, each blemish, and each scar, only added to the handsome appearance that he held. He held a stature of almost fifteen feet from tip to toe, and more than four feet from shoulder joint to shoulder joint. His steely gray eyes held wisdom and understanding befitting his age, and then some. They held a veritable rainbow of emotion within them, kindness, compassion, love, curiosity, happiness, excitement, fear, controlled anger, and a deep sense of loneliness.

He was burly, but not overly muscled. He was strong, not just in body, but of mind, will, and heart. He was the epitome of what a Primarch was supposed to be, the very pinnacle. He was the Emperor's favored son, his shining light in the darkness of the void, the first and only heir to the Imperium.

His name is Horus Lupercal, and he is the father of a legion. And this man, this superhuman, now stood off to the side of Sasuke and Naruto with an amused look on his face as he watched them bicker and insult each other as his own sons would do. For him, it was a surreal moment, to just stand and watch such small beings behave in such a similar way to his own men. It brought a smile, yet profound, smile to his large face.

"Sasuke, do you think we will ever see home again?" Naruto asked his friend with a bluntness that would have made Horus chuckle if he did not also want to hear the raven-haired boy's answer.

"I don't know Naruto. But, I do know that if we become these … Astartes … we will have enough time to figure out a way home once everything is finished here," Sasuke answered to the best of his ability.

"Hmm … everyone we know might as well be dead by then. But, if what you said is true-"

"-And it is, idiot-"

"-Then we might as well stay and help repay their help. Seeing as I couldn't fight off that disease, or whatever it was, without them," Naruto grumbled a bit towards the end, his pride wounded at how defenseless he had seemed.

"Oh cheer up baka, at least they aren't trying to kill us," Sasuke smacked Naruto in the arm.

Upon hearing the boy's mention of experimentation, Horus frowned. He knew of some people's need to experiment on living beings, namely Humans, but with how disdainful the boy had said those words made a certain image suddenly make itself known in Horus' mind. It was of an old campaign he had fought in with his Father. The two of them had deposed a tyrannical leader who had experimented on his entire population and turned them into beasts of war and lust. It was appalling and gut-wrenching, and something he did not wish to see ever again.

"Hello boys," Horus suddenly spoke up. His deep baritone resonated within the room. It surrounded the boys and acted like a warm blanket that gently draped itself across their shoulders. They were surprised by his presence, but not overly so. This was a surprise for Horus, as he thought he had moved into the room unbeknownst to his two charges. With that proven wrong, he was shown how great their skills of detection were.

"No need to be alarmed boys. My name is Horus Lupercal, and I mean you no harm," Horus stated evenly, his charming smile doing its best to put them at ease with his presence.

"Damn, When Sasuke said you guys were huge … I didn't think he meant bigger than some of the toads," Naruto, the blond gaped. Horus questioned mentally what the boy meant about toads when referencing his height, but brushed it off as a question for later.

"Haha, ah, I know, my height is a bit intimidating," Horus chuckled. He was not surprised by their reaction, but what the boy said next stumped him.

"Oh, no! That's not what I meant. It's just not normal for someone to get as tall as you are … Naturally, that is … I know a few people that can get a few stories tall. I was just surprised is all. Sorry if I insulted you!" Naruto waved his hands frantically as if trying to wave off any sort of ill-mannered thing he had said. But his actions simply surprised, and amused, the giant among giants. He smiled benignly and waved off the boy's concerns.

"No, it is simple misunderstanding child, no need to be anguished with it."

Horus took a step forward, his clothes ruffled as they skid across the ground around his ankles. He was now only ten feet from the boys. Not that he wanted to get much closer, but the two proved to be much more than what they first appeared to be.

"So, you are the Primarch Falkus and Garviel were talking about," Sasuke smirked indulgently as if he knew something the father of thousands did not. "They spoke highly of you, and not just of your military prowess," The black haired boy stepped forward, and did something unexpected, from both parties perspective. He offered the massive man his hand to shake. Horus eyed the hand inquisitively as if it were some odd puzzle that needed to be broken down and put back together to be fully understood.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke or Sasuke Uchiha. I am the last son of Fugaku, last of the vengeful few. I am pleased to meet you, Horus Lupercal, Son of the Emperor, favored Father of wolves," Sasuke half smirked, half smiled, as he looked up into the warrior king's gray eyes.

"Well met, Sasuke Uchiha, son of Fugaku, last of the vengeful few. As you know I am Horus Lupercal. But I am only just the father of wolves, nothing more, nothing less," Horus humbly stated. He knew that his father thought highly of him, but he would not indulge in those thoughts. He knew that they would poison his mind if he were to dwell on them.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto … um, I don't know who my parents were, but I'm the number one most unpredictable ninja in my village!" Naruto smiled brightly over Sasuke's shoulder as he suddenly appeared there, hanging off the boy. Hours blinked for a moment, as he tried to figure out when the blond had moved, and when he had gotten so close to him. He had been ten feet away, as Sasuke had moved to him for their proper introductions.

So, it stumped him in a hard way that he could not remember the exact moment he had noticed the boy missing from his bed. Nor did he remember when the boy had moved the ten feet between them to join himself and Sasuke in their little introduction.

The one thing he did know, was that the blond's bright smile was infectious. Horus soon found himself smiling at the two. One, for his professionalism, the other for his blunt personality and bright personable demeanor. It reminded him so much of his brothers' own, Johnson and Russ for his bluntness, along with Fulgrim and Sanguinus for his pure happiness and exuberance. He was like a bright ray of sunlight to a dreary world … Something that surprised Horus as he had never noticed how drab his life really was.

"Well then, Naruto Uzumaki; I say to thee, well met, and welcome!" Horus chuckled aloud. Both boys smiled at his deep laugh, even as the baritone resonated within the very fibers of their bones.

Back up in the observation room, Falkus and Garviel gaped in unabashed shock at how easy the two boys got on with their progenitor.

"So, Sasuke told me I'm being turned into something?" Naruto asked with a confused look directed up at the massive man.

"Yes. From what I have gathered, and heard, you came to us with one of the worst warp induced illnesses we have ever seen. It was a miracle that you had not succumbed to the poisonous miasma sooner. IT was through the technologies of my father and his scientists that we were able to save you. Granted, it was more us just helping you so you could save yourself," Horus informed him. The Primarch noted that the boy had turned slightly pale at hearing that he had been operated on, but regained his color when he learned that everything had turned out for the better. Horus also noted that the boy was apprehensive as if he could sense the 'But' coming. "But, with this process comes a price," Horus paused to take a breath. "You have been unofficially inducted into the ranks of my Legion because of this. This process does much to the body of a normal human being. Would you like me to tell you what it is this all means for you?"

"Um, sure … I guess," Naruto mumbled with a bit of trepidation.

"With this comes the changes I mentioned. You will become faster, stronger, more resilient, you shall have no equal, and you would never be alone. You would be genetically superior to almost anything in the known galaxy, and you would have no weakness of body or mind."

"Think of Kakashi-sensei, we'd be like him, but so much better. Maybe even as good as … him," Sasuke trailed off for a bit before he spat the word out like it was poison. Horus blinked at the name and title the raven-haired teen used. Horus blinked at how Sasuke had spat the word 'him' out and knew then that whoever this 'him' was, the boy hated him. Horus could almost feel the hatred rolling off the boy, but paid it no mind as he heard Naruto squawk and shoot his black haired friend a look.

"Kaka-sensei?! But he's a Jonin! And Itachi's an S-Rank missing nin! That bastard almost killed us!" Naruto shrieked. Sasuke shot him a glare at the mention of their failings against his brother, but made no move to scold him, he knew he was right. He also knew that Naruto had every reason to be skeptical of such a claim, not too many people could claim to be stronger than Itachi Uchiha.

"Who is Itachi? And why do you fear him?" Horus asked, intrigued by the sudden in he had into their pasts.

"He, is my older brother. That bastard killed off our entire clan!" Sasuke seethed suddenly as if the reminder of what his brother did was enough to set him off, and it was. He almost frothed at the mouth as his mind flew back over all the past events that dealt with his oni-san.

Naruto on the other hand just sighed and palmed his face. He looked up at the incredulous face of the Luna Wolves leader and shot him an embarrassed smile. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head before he explained.

"Horus, Sasuke's brother massacred his entire clan, his family when we were both about five or six years old … Ever since then the bastard has tried to kill both Sasuke and I a handful of times. Nearly killed a few of our teachers too when he went looking for me one time. Sasuke's been hell-bent on getting revenge on his sorry pale ass for the better part of a decade now," Naruto explained. He chuckled nervously as he witnessed the differing emotions cross over the Primarchs face. They were subtle, but with how much Naruto had had to learn to read people in his youth, he knew what to look for. The things he saw were surprising; surprise, shock, anger, compassion, understanding, pity, reluctance, and a host of other emotions. Some emotions Naruto had no idea as to what they were, having never seen them before or having them directed at him.

"How could someone, let alone family, butcher their own like that?" Horus asked, his tone was even, but Naruto could make out a small inflection that gave away his emotional state.

"He said it was to test his strength, that bastard! He said it was all so he could prove his worth! He even showed me how he did it!" Sasuke growled, his eyes flashing their Sharingan red as his anger overtook him.

Horus blinked in surprise and almost took a step back. He stopped, though, when he saw the blond reach out towards the last Uchiha.

"You're being an idiot again Sasuke," Naruto grumbled before he smacked him upside the back of his head. Sasuke tumbled forward and face-planted into the cold steel floor. Naruto chuckled at his friend's carelessness, the irony of which did not come to Naruto. Horus, on the other hand, stared at the raven-haired boy with interest, and a bit of trepidation. But, seeing as his chief librarian and captains of both the Tenth Company and Second Company respectively had done nothing to harm the boys, he held his judgment till later.

"What is that with his eyes?" Horus asked. Naruto shot him a confused look while Sasuke dragged himself from the floor. With a grunt of acknowledgment, Sasuke looked into Horus' eyes.

"They are called the Sharingan, or Copy wheel eye as Falkus would call them. They have the ability to photographically copy any and all information viewed by them into my brain. That means any information, any fighting technique, and any sort of power that uses chakra. I could, if need be, copy how someone talks, walks, acts, and feels, and become them," Sasuke told him. His voice was a bit strained, but he was back to normal. His eyes, though, were still the same blood red with black tomoe. Horus, while not visibly shocked by this revelation, was internally shocked by what the boy could do. It was a step up and beyond what any Astartes could ever hope to do, and the boy was not even inducted into the rank of his Astartes yet! But, before he would believe any of what the boys said to him, he would hold them in a sense of suspended disbelief.

"And where does this ability of yours come from?" Horus asked.

"Well, legend dictates that it came directly from what you might call our god ... but everyone mostly says that he was a simple man that was granted exceptional power because of his own mother's misdeeds. She had eaten this fruit that had supernatural powers attached to it and then began to rule the world with an iron fist. She was supposedly fair and just, until people began to become upset with her rule, or something just as asinine, so she started blowing everything up in a fit of rage, her son came out and overthrew her, gave everyone his powers, wondered the world, had a family, and his sons split the power that resided inside him and manifested their own within their eyes. One was the Sharingan, and the other was the Byakugan... I think, Its been years since I heard the tale, so I'm not really sure what all happened in the legends. But the short version is that I'm descended from the elder brother, somehow, and another clan, the Hyuga are descendants from the younger. I think," Sasuke trailed off. He paid no attention to the incredulous look that Naruto was giving him, and simply stared into the gray eyes of Horus as he wove their ancient history to him.

"This sounds interesting," Horus pondered the Uchiha's words quietly. He was intrigued by how their people obviously saw a man that could have been their god, the fact that they prescribed him to be a mere mortal as something to look into. "How is it obtained now, is the power lost?"

"No, as long as I produce an heir, a child of my blood, then I will pass on the Sharingan to the next generation. As long as my seed is not altered into invalidity that is." Sasuke looked at Naruto and frowned at his bare chest. Horus caught the haunted look and sorted the immediate question away for later, better in private than out where things could get unnecessarily heated.

"That is an interesting turn a phrase, Sasuke," Horus upturned a brow at the young boy before him. His mind raced with the potential uses that the two boys could supply him; almost limitless in their potential if what he had heard and seen was true, and not some murmurs farce. "Why would you say anything about being genetically altered? Specifically altered enough to be infertile?" Horus could already see the answer in the young man's eye, even as he opened his mouth to say the words he knew. And Horus already knew what he would say to him. A small smile, imperceptible to any that had never met him, graced his lips.

unbeknownst to him and his Astarte sons, Naruto and Sasuke caught the night imperceptible smile.

"Well, how can I get stronger than this dead last if I don't go through the same treatment as him?" Sasuke asked. His arrogance faked and perfect in the Primarch's eye, just enough to assure him that the boy was serious, but not enough to make him even think about reconsidering any thoughts he might have had about the boy.

"HA! You will both make fine Battle Brothers! My Father will be pleased with you both... Very pleased!" Horus laughed loudly and not at all fakely at the audacity of the boy.

"Then we get to be like you?!" The blond haired boy asked with unbridled excitement. Horus laughed even louder and, none too gently he regrettably might add later in private conversations, slapped Naruto over the shoulder with his massive hand. Surprisingly the boy kept his seat, though the sound of popping bones and the sudden sag of his shoulder did tell that the Primarch had just dislocated the young man's shoulder.

Naruto blinked at the dislodged limb and subsequently fainted. Sasuke blinked and tilted his head a bit in silent contemplation at the sight of his unconscious brother. Horus stared blankly at what he had done and internally ran in circles. It had been hundreds of years since he had done something so foolish, but the fact that the boy had taken most of his strength and simply just got a dislocated shoulder from it befuddled the massive man. No other man had ever done that, as most simply died on impact with his hand or were flung far away from him by the simple force of the gesture.

"Well, It seems we finally found a way to shut him up... Dislocating a limb does it simply enough I guess," Sasuke quipped nonchalantly. He then barked a laugh and looked up at Horus with his blood red eyes. "So, when do I go through with the operation?" A brow quirked up in question as he stared Horus right in the eye.