I OWN NOTHING
Odd question: who's your favorite She-Ra reboot princess? Mine's Glimmer – for the reasons I've mentioned. The Lord Of Pages' waifu is Scorpia.
-0-
As the princesses and the swordsman went up the spiral staircase made of fine marble with delicate wave patterns, the blond had to ask, "Does this place have a...bottom?"
His question had to be made as the path downstairs didn't seem to have an end. At the shrine there was a crystal platform which they got on. Looking down he could only see water and darkness.
Glimmer nodded, albeit doubtful, "Rumors say the most ancient texts which only Mermista and those with her bloodline can access rest deep in a secret chamber hidden in the volcano."
"Wait, volcano!?" he yelped in shock. "You mean we're going down near nature's instant boiling pot!?"
"Worry not, the library itself doesn't go that deep," Spinnerella struggled to not giggle at his reaction and smiled friendly and motherly to him.
"Meaning no lava or magma to worry about, dude," Netossa snickered. "Although, now you made me wanna test boiling that giant crab of yours. If only we could get it down close enough..."
She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, a hungry grin on her face as she thought of butter sauce to go with the Karkinos that was still tied up to their ship.
"Let's ask Mermista once she's not busy," Glimmer said to end the conversation short. "Anyway, get ready."
She held up a hand as the glass platform lit up with a light blue sheen to it. Everyone watched as that radiant light formed a bubble around them before the platform descended like an average elevator in a transparent tube. However, it came with the advantage of being an aquarium tour.
"Whoa..." Naruto marveled at the majestic sight of the ocean.
Multicolored fish swam in banks, merging as if being part of an abstract painting. Enormous whales scarred from battles with predators slowly passed by with their babies protected by their proximity. Even a giant squid bobbed up and down as it swam forward...into the maws of a massive shark.
"Another reason to think about visiting this place," Netossa told him. "On one hand, you can watch all this... On the other, well, you can end up like that calamari."
"Now I really want sushi," Naruto mumbled to himself.
"Please don't talk about food..." Glimmer pouted, surprising him.
Once again, he was as blunt as only an Uzumaki could be, "Huh? Are you hungry already?"
"I'm still mad you left me only one Snow Crow!" she shouted with an adorable glare.
"Oh that?" he asked rhetorically with a face-splitting cheeky grin, "Shouldn't you thank me you're not eating too many sweets?"
"Why you..." she growled and clenched a fist and the platform stopped.
"Glimmer, please," Spinnerella was once again the voice of reason.
"Right, but we'll talk about that later. You're lucky I forgot that for this long." the shortest princess pouted more, making her glare far cuter than before.
"Sheesh, stealing a girl's Snow Crows? Not cool, dude," Netossa told him with a disappointed look.
He just shrugged with a calm smile, "I ate them before her, so finders' keepers, losers' weepers."
"Ugh, I...I need to focus," Glimmer really wanted to lay it on him but reminded herself she controlled the platform.
"Wait, you're not shooting back any remarks?" Naruto asked with a moderate level of surprise.
Spinnerella turned to him with a simple explanation, "That's because of one of the Leviathan Libraries' security measure, only princesses and their companions can get in. As long as we have a magical link, we can use the archives. Princesses who aren't connected to magic need to ask Mermista for aid or one of the more magically attuned ones like Glimmer."
"Then only some of you princesses get all the cool stuff?" his summary got a blank look from Glimmer, a chortle from Netossa and a nervous smile and chuckle from Spinnerella.
"Yeah, we kinda lucked out," Netossa admitted, then ruffled her wild mane of blue hair. "Sadly, that luck tends to bite you in order to balance it. Magical powers and access to places as well as a kingdom all for us? We have to be taught from birth how to use that power, manage resources, keep our troops ready and alive, and... Well, you can see the toll it can take on Mermista if one mistake shakes everyone."
"I get you're tough, but it can't be that bad to have such luck," Naruto retorted with his arms crossed and a frown.
Spinnerella spoke next, "It's not easy being responsible for those under your command. Everything is even harder when they believe in you and you... Oh!"
As they spoke, the elevator slowed down, making all turn to Glimmer, "Oh...dammit."
Naruto realized too late he had been talking about a sensitive subject.
"It's fine, sorry." Glimmer said with a shake of her head, forcing a smile. "We're here to avoid that. Let's make this alliance better than before with the chance my father gave us."
"…It's not fine." He muttered halfway to himself, mostly to her, "I'm not the best with words. I won't apologize, apologies mean nothing. But…your dad wasn't wrong fighting for the people he loved. A teacher once told me this." He said, looking at the wall with a faraway glance. "It's okay to feel bad if you're cheated for being righteous, but you should never feel bad for being righteous. Never, ever feel your father or yourself are wrong for doing the right thing. That's my job." He turned back to her, giving her an earnest grin, "Now, we've got a major bitch to knock some sense into, right?"
Glimmer stared at him, her face gaining a soft blush before she closed her eyes and shook her head, "Why do you range from being the coolest person I know to being such a jerk?"
A rhetorical question, he knew that and so he just grinned wider.
Looking from the two of them, Netossa waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Spinnerella, who placed a hand to her forehead with a smile, "Not now, let them have their moment." The plump beauty whispered to her hotblooded lover. As they left the landing, the elevator went back up without prompt.
-0-
"There they go," Kyle, with a pair of binoculars atop his turret, told Adora.
Rogelio merely nodded and pointed the flare gun upwards before pulling the trigger with a soft hiss.
"About time, someone seems eager," Lonnie replied to the reptilian humanoid, narrowing her eyes at someone.
Looking down at the gigantic shaft in front of them, Catra turned her head around to Scorpia who smiled, Adora who staring at the depths in thought, and the munchkin trio. She labeled them that in her head because it made her snicker and her tail fluff in that way it did when she was in a good mood. Oop~!
Catra's eyes glinted like a pair of stars when it did it again, "Hehehe…"
Lonnie glared at her in irritation, the dark-skinned girl knew when she was being mocked by Catra, call it her insult-radar, "Something funny there, bristle-cheeks?"
Catra's hands clapped to her face, feeling up her very small and barely noticeable whiskers, AKA the marks she had in self-shame, "Shut up! They're not bristles! They're spots! Spots!"
"Uh Adora…a-are you sure a-about fighting three princesses? And the Forest Gale?" Kyle had to be the one voice of reason in the group.
Rogelio stood with a claw to his chin, looking down the shaft before he hissed at Kyle.
"I-I know that! It seems like it's a really bad decision and we must do it, b-but… There's a fourth one down there, too!" the skinny boy told his only friends, not that Lonnie was listening.
The lizardman narrowed his yellow eyes, a growl coming out as he gestured with his claws down at the shaft.
"W-well, if we had explosives, yes…but we don't." Kyle rubbed the back of his head.
Rogelio thought before he hissed again, this time more inquisitively.
"You're right, a surprise attack might work, b-but there's still four princesses! We'd need at least…um…" He looked back at Lonnie who was locking glares with Catra, Adora who looked more thoughtful, and then at Scorpia who, noticing she was being watched, cheerfully waved at him with a smile. "…Maybe thirty more people. And a couple more Force Captains." He surmised.
Rogelio rubbed his chin in thought, the two staring down at the black void again. The lizardman snarled, pantomiming strangling with his claws.
Kyle sighed and looked away, "Y-yeah…I know…Catra really does rile up Lonnie, doesn't she?"
Issuing a sibilant hiss of amusement, the lizardman clenched a fist, then the other and bashed both of them together. Grinding them against each other by the rivets of his claws.
"I don't know…I think for Lonnie she just doesn't like Catra much… Catra's got that thing with Adora, you know?" Kyle asked.
Rogelio pulled his claws apart and scratched the back of his neck, growling with his claws clacking.
"Y-yeah, it's a hate thing, I think. Sorry, buddy, the betting jar's not going to be ours this week…" he lowered his head with a sigh.
Rogelio patted his back comfortingly, snarling softly.
"Yep…I know. We won't get double portions this time, but we have won like ten times before, r-right?"
Patting his back more roughly but still in a very friendly way, Rogelio threw his head back and roared in amusement, a fist lifted to the ceiling.
Kyle cheered along him, "YEAH! We will win the next one! And make a new streak!"
"Uh yeah, hey, you guys can continue making out later, but what are we going to do about that?" Catra asked them with her usual level of snark.
Rogelio snarling viciously to Kyle.
"It's okay, buddy. She doesn't know about the wife and kids." Kyle told his friends and then looked at the fact that the elevator had come back up with no way to go down.
He then looked at Scorpia who shrugged with both claws to the side, "Don't look at me! I don't have a single magical spark in me. Besides, you know, the scorpion bits, but that's natural!" She said, hugging her tail happily as it wiggled in her grasp.
Adora walked onto the elevator and tapped the bottom with her broadsword, "Hm… There has to be some kind of mechanism or some trick the princesses used to get down there…" As she walked over it, she unknowingly touched the ground. Instantly, the bubble came back up and she gaped in shock at what was around her.
"WHOA! WHAT THE HELL!?" Catra's tail and ears spiked up, along with her hair as she saw her friend engulfed in magic. Her heartbeat accelerated to an uncomfortable degree. Not her usual level of excitement, no. She was terrified at this situation, "ADORA! WHAT'S GOING ON!?" She leaped into action, and went through the bubble, which sealed up after her.
Stepping forward, Scorpia walked through, the munchkin trio following her leap, "Oh man, this is so cool." The muscular scorpion woman cheered, clicking her claws together.
"What the hell, what the hell, what the hell…!" Catra flat out panicked, her claws scratching at the back of her head. As the panic grew, something grew and made her nearly cry, something Shadow Weaver had personally took her aside to tell her which flooded her mind with anxiety, paranoia, and genuine fear.
"That sword is a Princess weapon! It resonated with Adora. If you realize what that means, then you will listen now more than ever, insolent child. It will corrupt her, make her wish to understand the other princesses, it will cause her to leave you. Leave the Horde. Betray you. Make you her enemy. And cause her to become someone you don't even recognize. If you wish to avoid all of this, you will keep her safe and will never let her out of your sight. Anything that makes her closer to a princess will make it that much more dangerous to keep the only thing that gives you value. Won't it?"
Tears were being squeezed back behind her eyes, her head shaking back and forth while her claws gripped her shoulders tight enough to draw six dots of blood, "Catra!" Adora was right there. Her heterochromatic eyes looked up and saw the one constantly good thing in her life looking at her with genuine concern and love.
"A-Adora?" she was still there. She still had the same blue eyes she always possessed. Stumbling back onto her feet, Catra shook her head.
Adora held her shoulders with a firm yet gentle grip, "Catra? I'm here. I haven't gone anywhere, I promise. What happened?" Catra looked to the side, her expression one that Adora saw all too often. It was the same reluctant look she had whenever she didn't want to talk about something and would rather the blonde just drop it.
All confidence the cat girl usually had was gone, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Adora wasn't going to let go. She always did before, but not anymore. The Forest Gale had taught her one thing of value, when someone didn't budge and you wanted to get to them, you had to be as stubborn as the wind blowing a mountain.
"No, I will worry about it. I will keep asking and make you talk to me until I get it out of you. Catra…I'm sorry." Her ears perked at that shocking word, "…I've never been as good to you as you deserved… I let go and didn't think about your feelings enough, I'm sorry. I want to help you. And I don't care what Hordak or Shadow Weaver tell me, I don't fight for their approval. I fight so I can win, and make this world one where we don't have to anymore. That world is one where we're at peace. No more princesses, no more war, only peace."
Adora smiled at her, and her heart beat rapidly, finally for the right reasons, "…It…it's nothing… Please, Adora… Drop i-"
Catra was embraced with an intense strength that left her flatfooted, "NO! I won't drop it! I'm tired of 'just' dropping it! Every time you get like this, you're hurting! I'm tired of that! Please, Catra! Tell me!"
"Shadow Weaver told me that Princess sword could take you from me!" In one massive burst, with tears pouring down her face, Catra clenched her jaw and finally let go of that information. Adora had never acted like that before. Never kept pushing her until she got to the root of what she was upset about. The fact that Adora cared so deeply about her, and wanted her, wanted her for her. Not for Shadow Weaver. Not for Hordak. Nobody but her Adora managed to make a powerful chink in Catra's stone wall.
"It won't." Adora's firm words and warm hand gently rubbing Catra's cheek with a thumb calmed her at long last. "You also need me to look after you, and I will."
"Don't say that, now I better make up for being so lame." Catra grunted as she swiped a tear with her thumb, then glared at the others. "If any of you says anything about this..."
"Our lips are sealed!" Kyle yelped with his hands up.
"Yeah, what he said." Lonnie looked away with her arms crossed and a sigh.
Rogelio merely gave them a thumb up.
Scorpia...was Scorpia, "Don't worry, Catra, you can count on me to not leave you or let Adora stray away!"
The teary-eyed beefy warrior hugged her fellow captain and not-so-secret crush into a bone-crushing if loving bearhug. It'd be something many men would kill for regardless of their spines turning into a fine dust for Adora and Catra were sandwiched between Scorpia's plentiful flesh bags.
"Captain Scorpia, they need air!" Kyle exclaimed in worry while Lonnie just giggled and Rogelio sighed, pinching the bridge of his snout with his claws.
"No, they need the healing power of hugs!" the white-haired captain sobbed as the two went slightly limp.
Catra's voice came out muffled but as dull in embarrassment as it could be, "We're alive..." she groaned while her and Adora's cheeks were pressed together inside Scorpia's cleavage. With such size she could hide anything between her puppies, and the two girls managed some breathing room.
"Just let her get this out of her system, she'll let us go...eventually." Adora didn't believe that, even if she forced herself to.
-0-
Inside the library, or libraries as Naruto understood, was a simple tunnel system. In the quartet's descent he could see transparent tunnels made of the same light as their bubble connecting several domes, all with the same magical field keeping the water away from the books. Pure white marble floors and towering bookshelves made of stone housed countless, ancient books almost as old as time itself, and scrolls of old kinds displayed on luxurious silver, gold-inlaid stands. Last but not least, even the finely carved stone desks with pearls the size of fists and human heads as decorations.
And in the middle of it all was a monument of She-Ra and an actual mermaid. Said mermaid had long flowing hair adorned with seashells, a pair of starfish on each melon-sized breast as her only covering, a fit and toned flat stomach, strong yet feminine arms, and a trident in her hands. Once they reached their destination and were let into one of the transparent tunnels, they walked to a mural with cravings and paintings of all the princesses. Including one of Mermista herself at the very bottom, a family tree which showed only those who passed on the royal bloodline, all women.
Although that picture was of a young, short-haired, bright eyed little Mermista, not the one glaring at them, "Do you actually try hard to annoy me?"
Real-Mermista leaned over a counter of sorts. Looking closer, they saw floating holographic images of tomes with numbers and letters Naruto didn't recognize flashed before her eyes as she flicked them with a finger.
Glimmer approached her and put on a grin that wasn't teasing or confident, but a friendly one, "We're here to lend you a hand, remember?"
It made the unhappy princess somewhat thankful, "Uuugh, you're lucky I could use the help..."
"Wait, we're not going to spend endless hours in a library looking for a book, are we?" Naruto asked dreadfully.
Netossa sighed, "Yeah, even if there's a secret scroll to ancient martial arts, legendary weapons hidden behind shelves, or magical doors, I'm a fighter, not a scholar."
"Just shut up!" Mermista snapped in clear irritation. "Do you two ever stop talking? Don't you have, like, a million other hobbies besides flapping your lips?" She rubbed her temples with the middle and index fingers of both hands, "Listen, there are several tomes about the Sea Gate. At best, one of them has a solution for every problem related to it. And, in case they don't, one may tip us on what's going on."
"Did you find any yet?" Glimmer asked hopefully.
Mermista stopped rubbing her temples, cocked her hips to the side and waved a hand to show the ones she had come across, "There's like a thousand of them which mention it, I managed to narrow it down to disasters related to the gate." Another wave revealed the books and scrolls she spoke of, "Five in total in the arts, the history, the combat, the lineage and the She-Ra sections."
"I can get all of them in one go," Naruto eagerly raised his hand with a smile. "Once I find them, can I check some of the scrolls about swordplay?"
"Naruto, have more tact!" Glimmer exclaimed, but Mermista didn't care.
She just shrugged and snapped her fingers, making the image of the book and a small map of the library at the side float to him, "Like, sure, knock yourself out once we're done."
Glimmer recovered herself and nodded, "Alright, everyone takes one and we meet here when-"
"Hey, did you bring more princesses?" Mermista asked, pointing a finger up. "There's like...six new guys coming in."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Wait, I recognize those pincers and tail..."
Netossa clicked her tongue, "So do I...how'd they get past the magical defenses?"
Spinnerella hummed, "Maybe the Sea-Gate's power is thinning too much... Still, they don't give up, do they?"
"Neither should we!" Glimmer yelled determinedly with her hands shining with pink magic. "Naruto, how many clones can you make?"
"Clones?" Mermista asked slightly wide-eyed, looking at him in confusion.
He unsheathed his sword and took his stance beside her, "Again, I'm not sure, and it's risky if I don't have food, but..."
"Then go, meet us here once you get all of them so we can leave!" the shortest of the princesses told him.
"Alright, time to really get the rust off my shoulders." Netossa cheered as she rolled around an arm.
Spinnerella turned to Mermista with worry in her eyes, "This will be difficult, using my wind with so much water around...should I be worried for the domes?"
"I'm not sure, but there's the option of flooding the place so I can fight freely." Mermista said offhandedly with a flat tone. Arching an eyebrow, she continued, "Moments ago, I wouldn't have minded that, but you really want to help, so I may as well...care." Reaching into her back, she pulled out a silver rod which both ends extended, one of which had three blades pop out to reveal a trident. "The books can take water, but don't let those Horde bastards get anywhere near those papers, my father and I promised Micah to keep them safe."
Glimmer nodded with fire in her eyes, "Then, for my father, this library will stand tall and proud."
Such willpower in her had Naruto smirk, "Alright, I better pull my weight if I wanna help you finish your old man's job."
Such words touched her, a genuine smile on Glimmer's face towards the blond, "Thank you."
"Get ready, here they come!" Mermista snarled at them. Looking at Naruto, she glared, "You're coming with me, so don't get lost."
He smiled back, "Heh, so we got you to give a damn."
"Don't make me regret this," the mermaid felt her right eye twitch slightly.
-0-
Catra took a peek down the elevator, groaning loudly as she laid onto her back, staring at the distant ceiling, "Boooored… Adora, make it go faster…"
Sitting with her arms crossed and her sword on her knees, Adora had her eyes closed. Imagining Naruto sitting across from her, she stared at him in a simple game. It was a board with a bunch of pebbles and metal plates on its surface. When she moved one, he moved the opposite piece. The two matched each other with similar moves, all the while she tried to read him. Understand him to the core.
The mirage of Naruto gave her a smirk, "You believe that by engaging with Mirage Boxing with me, will enable you to fight me again? You know I've probably done the same with you in mind."
"But you don't know my techniques or anything about me while I've seen you fight," she pointed out, a matching smirk on her face as she pushed a piece into place, looking at him smugly as she had him at her mercy.
He stared at the board, then performed a move that had her jaw drop. His pieces were in place to destroy all of hers, "Knowing how I fight and think won't help you, Adora. Mirage fighting is to train your mind and hone yourself against a rival. Use it correctly and fight me with all of your strength and power, or you will lose."
She looked at him as he swiped the board clean, then reset the pieces. Crossing his arms with a smirk at her.
"Forest Gale, you…" she begun to say, until Scorpia bumped her out of her reverie, her eyes blinking in confusion.
"Heyo~! Adora, we're almost at the bottom, and…oh! Yeah, the Horde are sending in submarine backup! Ping, ping…" she made weird pinging noises with her mouth, everyone staring at her. She explained with an embarrassed pout, "…It's just me making sound effects."
"Wait, submarines?" Adora had been so focused on her mind game she didn't register that.
Scorpia beamed, "Yup, we've had them ready since day one to invade this place...but that force field of theirs makes it impossible, and Mermista's too fast to catch with a torpedo."
"So glad we took the boat," Catra quivered slightly at the idea of being in a submarine, although the underwater library she could take. Reason being the fish. She eyed a particularly fatty tuna and licked her lips subconsciously, effectively scaring the fish away.
"We're nearly there." Lonnie told them and pulled out her own stun-rod, the same kind Scorpia had to disable princesses.
"Oh boy, they're going to be ready for us, and it's four princesses..." Kyle gulped as he grabbed a small laser pistol with both hands and aimed it at the floor.
"Grr..." Rogelio replied and cracked his knuckles.
"Let's do this." Adora said and unsheathed her singlehanded broadsword, feeling a phantom pain on her left shoulder from the wound Naruto left her. All six Horde soldiers stepped out, finding the princesses just waiting for them while Naruto followed Mermista, "Stop there, Forest Gale."
"Are you, like, trying to piss us off by ignoring us?" Mermista asked with a cocked eyebrow, then turned to him. "Seriously, what's the deal with a town hero like you?"
"Let me tell you later," Naruto hurried the sea princess.
"I'm taking you down, Forest Gale!" Adora angrily told him just as well as her fellow captain and troops. "Catra, Scorpia, I'm leaving the others to you!"
Netossa smirked and clasped her hands, forming two wireframe swords. "In your dreams, blond-"
Any confidence she had was put on hold when Adora ran straight at her, dragging the tip of her sword on the dry sea floor. Sparks flew from the tip and the rock while she approached four princesses without any fear. The other soldiers went at the princesses, Kyle staying behind and taking aim nervously.
"Scorpia, jump in front of me!" Adora shouted all of a sudden.
"Okay, got it!" the most muscular of the fighters replied and leapt between Adora and the princesses, which the blonde captain used to hop on her shoulders and effectively jump over the princesses! And to do so easier, she swung her sword in time with her jump, the sparks of steel and stone blinding Netossa, the closest one, for Adora to keep run behind them.
"Ugh, that little..." the blue-haired princess blinked to regain her bearings, but the sound of electricity jolts got her to react faster.
Without further complaining, she clashed swords against Lonnie's stun-rod, keeping it at bay.
"You're mine!" the soldier smirked at her fellow dark-skinned girl.
"Hah, too slow!" Netossa heard Catra snicker before getting kicked on the side and sent rolling until stopping.
She quickly got up on one knee, glaring at the two girls, but she wasn't alone, "That tears it!" Spinnerella snapped as she twirled in place, sending forth a wave of wind which pushed back the two warriors. Both flew up briefly before crashing hard on their back for Lonnie and face for Catra. "I'm not one to be easily angered, but there are limits."
Spinnerella lost her smile for once, her eyes narrowed. Catra and Lonnie felt like a pair of lion cubs staring at a lioness whose meal they attempted to steal for themselves. One more twirl sent yet another powerful blast of air towards them...only to be halted by Scorpia's bulky Amazonian form!
"Whoa! That's a nice breeze!" she chortled as she literally dug her feet into the sea floor, stabbing both with brute force. Her large arms blocked the wind like the natural armor they were made of, and she smiled to Catra, "Hey, you don't mind if I tag in, do you?"
"The more the merrier!" Lonnie growled, glaring at Catra.
"Oh, you know you liked me giving you a foot," Catra smiled nastily at her pun.
As for the others, "Yikes!" Kyle yelped as he ran to the side with his gun held in both hands beside his head and dodged a blast of pink glistening energy by rolling forward. Once he stopped near the counter, he took a deep breath to calm himself, "I can do this...I can do this..." he shut his eyes first but opened as he poked out and fired without thinking too much.
"Missed me!" Glimmer taunted him by teleporting away from the shot and readied another pink energy volley in her hand...only to teleport again, "Wow!" she exclaimed when Rogelio swung down at her, his fists were hard enough to crack the stone floor. The realization of how strong he was got her on her toes.
As those fights went on, Naruto and Mermista dealt with the girl hot on their heels, "Found one!"
Naruto cheered as he held an old scroll in his hands atop a towering shelf. Mermista waited down below with as much patience as she could. When seeing Adora come at her, she rotated her trident on one hand to parry a savage blow which sent her skidding back.
"Grr...why couldn't I have gotten off my ass earlier?" the green-skinned princess groaned as she used her trident defensively.
Adora didn't give her any other option but to put up her guard, "Take this!" she shouted while waving her sword to the side. "Roaring Sword: Bloodstained Claws!"
As she said that, she threw herself forward like a spinning top, her body spinning so fast she delivered three near-simultaneous slashed that Mermista's trident barely stopped. And it finally got a reaction out of her, shock.
"That style..." the mermaid gasped, and then had to duck when Adora practically glided to her for a stab.
"Roaring Sword: Piercing Fang!" the Force Captain practically glided towards her, zipping over the ocean floor to impale her.
"Like that'll work!" Mermista's eyes widened when a scroll landed in her arms and a wooden sword stopped the captain's blade! "So, you Horde soldiers actually have proper sword fighting!?" Naruto smirked, an inexplicable excitement pumped his blood at the idea. "Good, it means I can be the greatest swordsman in the world by showing you up!"
Adora gritted her teeth as both were at a stalemate, "Don't get cocky, I've studied intensively on my way here."
"And I've had five years of practice, so it doesn't matter if you got two styles when I know my way around a blade!" He growled and pushed her back, only to be surprised when both got into a stalemate, "Heh...so you actually pack a punch." She smirked back, but he focused more on the matter at hand, "Oi, Mermista, check that scroll and tell me if it's what you need!"
"Right," Mermista got out with a nod and wide eyes.
"Coming through, dude!" Netossa exclaimed while she and Spinnerella ran after Catra and Lonnie.
The two dark-skinned girls exchanged swings of their weapons while the cat girl flipped around wind blasts. Kyle's luck had him hiding behind Rogelio who used a large rock table to block Glimmer's magical blasts while he fired over the makeshift shield. Scorpia, who had an arm tied around her torso with an energy web, awkwardly held onto a walkie-talkie with her free claw.
"So, uh, guys, mind sending us a volley? We're trying to break down the libraries!" while the buff woman requested backup, she barely managed to break her arm free from the magical net.
She got a crackle of, "Affirmative, Force Captain Scorpia."
The scorpion woman looked around carefully, frowning despite her order, "Big waste to ruin all of this, but those were our orders! Girls, might be time to leave!"
Calling out, she noticed too late that Kyle was sent spiraling into her, "HELP!" the skinny boy yelled as he soared the air just to crash against her, hitting her rock-hard abs and going flat against them.
Without even feeling the strike thanks to her natural hardness and training regime, she reached down, holding his shoulders to peeled him off her carefully, "You, uh, okay there, Kyle? Buddy?"
He was seeing stars, because there seemed to be at least two other Scorpia, one of them looked very different to the one he was staring at, "Yeeeep…just fiiine… Scorpia one and two!" he said dizzily. Scorpia looked to the side, seeing no one there. "Yeeep… Just fine… Wahey!"
At last, he collapsed limply.
Rogelio flipped back as Glimmer flashed into view, both hands smashing together and then pulling apart, creating a long cloth of purple shimmering light! "Brilliant Mystic Arts: Angelic Restraining Prison Raiment!"
When she threw the cloth forward, it wrapped tightly around Catra who was in the middle of a leap. She yowled and rolled onto the floor in shock. Every attempt to break free only made the cloth tighten further.
"Catra!" Adora didn't have the ability to interfere, as Naruto was clashing swords with her, waves upon waves clashed as the two forced their heads together with fierce glares. "You know everything I'm going to do, but I also know everything you're going to do, strange, isn't it!?"
Naruto's grin widened until he heard Mermista, who had been reading the scroll as fast as possible, call out, "Like, yeah…uh…that's cool and all but… LOOK OUT!" A torpedo crashed through the walls to everyone's shock and horror.
"Dammit, we gotta retreat now!" Lonnie snapped.
"No way, we ought to end the pest here and now!" Catra shot back.
Adora started to panic but forgot who owned the libraries until Mermista clapped both hands, reversing her wrists before pushing them forward with her fist impacting her opposite hands palm. "Howling Mystic Arts: Endless Blue Torrential Seas!" She unleashed a flood of water, punching her fist forward, her eyes turned pure blue as the torpedo was shoved out by force.
"Can't the domes hold them back!?" Naruto asked, but got his answer when a second torpedo made a hole in the energy field.
Seeing that, the princess panicked, "The Libraries are connected to the Sea Gate, meaning we're running out of time!"
"Let's make some, then!" the boy's shout sparked a fire inside her, maybe his confidence was contagious or she really wanted to believe in a second chance.
Turning around, she yelled furiously at the group, "They have, like, five subs! We need anybody who can go into the water with me to defend the Leviathan Libraries!"
"On it, Mermista!" Spinnerella rotated her hands about, thumbs pointing up along with her other digits, the opposite hand pointing down above that, "Whirling Mystic Arts: Emerald Prismatic Protection!"
"Oh, no you two don't!" Adora kicked Naruto away, running towards them with her sword held down, carving into the ground, "Lashing Sword: Scorching Ravaging Sundowner!" When she swung it forward, along came a wave of burning hot fire!
Netossa landed in front of the wave, both her swords spinning about her wrists before she planted them in the ground, her hands on their hilts, "Nice try blondie! Binding Sword: Weavers Wicked Ways!" A swarm of threads rippled from the impact points of both swords as Spinnerella created a bubble that enveloped her. "Someone keep my baby girl safe!" the blue-haired princess snapped at them.
"You got it!" Naruto said as he flipped skywards, landing into the bubble while Glimmer flashed inside before the thick princess lifted their bodies out and through the hole in the walls.
"You're not staying her alone with them, are you?" Mermista asked her fellow princess.
Netossa just smirked, "Is that concern?"
"Forget I asked," Mermista replied before her lower body turned into a mermaid's tail.
She dove into the torrent of water flooding the dome they were in, her fist gripping her trident as right outside were at least ten different submarines. They were dirty grey monstrosities with the Horde's emblem placed upon them, tipped with a head that vaguely resembled the mouth of a great beast. They possessed fearsome black rotors, and at least two gripping arms which ended with blades claws.
Seeing everything they did to try to destroy the Libraries, Mermista's eyes glowed in the dark water, her expression one of fury. She moved her trident forward, and from within the sea a great torrent whooshed through the waters! Hitting one sub, she pushed it against the other, dodging torpedoes all the while! As the two ground together, she pushed hard and brought forth a great explosion.
The fire and force that rocketed out made the water create shockwaves, "Damn, so that's why they don't mess with her underwater." Naruto mumbled in awe an excitement, a wide grin spreading all over his face at the idea of learning her kingdom's sword style, "I can't wait to learn the Howling Sword!"
Mermista continued, "Don't let me do all the work, then!" Spinning her trident in front of her, she watched as Spinnerella clapped her hands together, moving her palms so that they were flat against each other, one pointing to the side and the other pointing up.
Summoning the power of the air she had at her command and focusing it, the wind mistress called out her attack, "Whirling Mystic Arts: Gale Toppling Mighty Elm!" An underwater cyclone ripped out of the bubble, Naruto sprinting through the line of air that opened, his sword held out just as he announced his next attack.
Chakra lines shot around him and brought a corona into the ocean depths, "Whispering Sword: Emerald Hill Implosion!" He shouted in his mind while holding his breath. The young swordsman then threw his sword forward, punching it with both fists in a one-two combo. It formed a spiraling spear, a drill which pierced through another sub and sending it into flames!
Glimmer flashed through the ocean, appearing inside the fourth. Shocking the entire group of Horde troops, she held both hands out, her eyes gleaming pure amethyst, "Brilliant Mystic Arts: Floodlight Double Piercing Rays!" Spinning in a circle, she carved a hole on the bottom of the submarine with twin beams of light. As the submarine sunk and soldiers went for the escape pods, she smiled while her legs shook.
Flashing back into the bubble, she collapsed onto her knees, panting softly as her mastery over her powers was still incomplete, "You're doing great." Spinnerella told her gently with a pat on the back, smiling at the chunky girl who got to one knee, watching the fighting outside.
Fear covered her face soon after, "We...aren't going to have an easy time." Glimmer didn't like the odds they were having when seeing double the number of submarines appear. It was like the hydra, cut one head just to see another take its place. Mermista was finally having problem as the new submarines came with battle mini-versions of themselves just as well armed with mechanical limbs and torpedoes.
"Oh great..." she cursed and swam at high speeds to avoid seven missiles cutting through the water straight at her. Twirling her trident in her hand, she summoned forth a new torrent, "Howling Mystic Arts: Sea's Widow Wail!" Throwing forward a palm, she created a barrier which blasted the torpedoes back and away from the library, but the projectiles landed and cracked the ocean floor.
She felt a pat on her shoulder and spun her head to look at Naruto, who pointed downwards, "Is that...?" Glimmer saw the lines of burning orange lines and realized what her bodyguard had in mind. And as if the universe wanted to confirm her idea, a pillar of lava shot out thanks to the explosion!
"You want to make a freaking eruption!?" Mermista exclaimed in shock, unsure of whether he was crazy or stupid.
He just nodded and pointed at the libraries, holding a hand so she'd take him there, "Wait, what're you-" Spinnerella shouted, but the two were already returning. More torpedoes were fired into the libraries, the resulting explosions sent the shelves collapsing. Somewhat fortunately, the water extinguished the fires, but it didn't help much.
-0-
"Shit, shit, shit, we need to go!" Lonnie yelled as she and the others couldn't get past Netossa's shield net, a special bubble which kept their attacks at bay.
"Wait, they're returning." Adora halted her with her firm voice, "They must have a plan..."
"A suicidal one!" Lonnie yelled as she and Rogelio carried Kyle, each wrapping one of their comrade's arm around their shoulders. "We need to get out, now!"
"Adora, I hate to break it to you, but we can't hold our breath unlike Mermista." Scorpia tried to dissuade her with a nervous smile.
"I'm staying a little longer, but I can get you out." She said and narrowed her eyes on Netossa, "I'll be back."
"Sorry, only one girl can return to my arms." Netossa quipped.
"I'll-" Adora started only to have Catra enter her field of view.
"Sorry, but I'm not letting you die!" the cat girl exclaimed and jabbed her in the gut hard enough to knock the wind out of Adora, "Everyone, let's get moving!"
"But..." Adora started.
"Blame it all on me, I can take whatever Shadow Weaver dishes out!" the feline warrior snarled. "Don't you dare get killed on my watch, you hear me, stupid!?" her furious shout was accompanied by her carrying a breathless Adora on her shoulder and turning to the others.
Once alone, Netossa sighed in relief, "Okay, now...how do I get out alive?" She looked outside, crossing her arms. Rubbing the back of her head, she took a deep and heavy breath and then dove into the water.
Outside, Naruto pointed at the lava flow to Mermista, the oceanic princess staring at it with a distant expression, "Good news is, I think I know why the Sea-Gate was failing, it's been using all of its energy to keep the volcano in place. Bad news...to make it erupt, you'd have to go deeper and strike the earth hard enough to redirect the lava. With that threat out of the way, the Runestone can channel all its energy to protect the Sea-Gate again and the city, but...uh, you should know this, you might, like, die. Seriously. Die."
"What!?" Spinnerella exclaimed in shock, "Naruto, no, we need to get out of here!"
Glimmer agreed, "I can teleport you all back, so-" he shot her a determined look before aiming towards Netossa, jabbing his finger to tell her to get the other princess and forget him. "Wait, you're coming too! Don't you dare just..." any words she or Spinnerella wanted to say next were cut off when he raised his sword. Azure energy radiated from it and helped him unleash a wave of pure chakra which sent the two right into the flooding library, "Naruto!" the short princess cried as the chakra infused water pushed them away.
Mermista was shocked, "Do you want to really keep it up out here?" He nodded at her, giving her a thumbs up before he took his sword in both hands, his eyes glowing azure in the deep sea around them. For a brief if infinitesimally short second, Mermista withheld a gasp as she saw both her father and King Micah in that expression of resolute confidence. "…tch…just my luck. I've got another idealist on my hands, uuuugh! You better not die, alright!? Let's go! Howling Mystic Arts: Charybdis' Lament Scylla's Wrath!"
Glimmer tried to break out of the bubble as she saw the two make their move, punching it with tears in her eyes, "You stupid boy! Come back!" Spinnerella held her back and watched the aquatic princess do both her father and Micah proud. Throwing her trident out like a javelin, Mermista clenched her fists, holding them above her head and then throwing them forward. A wave of water roared out from them! It swirled around her trident, forming an enormous whirlpool, the suction of which pulled Naruto into it! Riding the whirlpool, Naruto used its increasing momentum to charge up his own move.
"Stop him! That's an order! Force Captain Scorpia, we are unleashing all torpedoes!" the panicking of the soldiers in the submarines only brought a worried expression to Scorpia.
"Belie that! We're still here, you'll only cause a volcanic eruption and kill the Forest Gale!" She really didn't want him to die. A guy like him wasn't so bad to have around. She might be a member of the Horde, but Scorpia had never really enjoyed the icky nature of warfare. She'd do it, but she never felt right about it afterwards. Half the time she had killed before, she always got extremely remorseful and guilty about it. She couldn't take pleasure in murder.
"FIRING ALL AMMUNITION!" As the torpedoes flew like a black army of round shapes as the boy neared the cracks their explosions made.
Placing both hands upon the sword, he concentrated with all his strength and chakra channeled from his whole body into his blade, and then swung it down, "Whispering Sword: Irradiant Blossoming Harvest Moon!" The water was cleaved in a single motion. For a brief second, everyone saw the teenager standing in the middle of a blank space of air. His eyes shone a pure sapphire blue, a wave of wind echoing through the abyss. He silently whirled his wooden sword around, letting it clunk into the scabbard.
"Did he..." Glimmer choked out, tears staining her cheeks until the reaction happened. The volcano didn't just erupt, it exploded! Gouts upon endless streams of fiery magma shot up into water, the rush of heat blowing Naruto back through the oceanic currents.
"Oh sh-" a soldier in one of the submarines cursed halfway when the lava hit the subaquatic war machine. Others were hit by heated up rocks which were blasted from the sea, crushing them and sinking them. It was a complete loss which forced a few to successfully retreat while most were taken down.
As the wind-wall was crushed by countless tons of cold dark water, the young swordsman let a grin fade on his face, 'Everyone here's fighting for something so much bigger than them, I can't really let them leave me behind... I had to go all out...' His body hit the ocean floor limply after he exhausted literally all his chakra in a single strike. His eyes closed as he felt his consciousness fade.
Alone in the world, outcast from society, yet all will know this name. The Forest Gale knows no title but hero.
He was drowning, he knew it, and he had expended everything he had to save Mermista's domain. Ironically by triggering an underwater volcano that the Sea-Gate and her Runestone had been trying to keep from going off, but what could he do? Just let everything go to pot? That wasn't his way. In the distant fading sparks of his thoughts and memory, he saw what looked like a beautiful mermaid reaching down for him. A glimmer of pure heavenly light just above her.
A mouth was on his lips, kissing him and blowing air into his lungs. A dark-skinned fist clenched, then pulled its grip back. The fading images caressed the contours of his brain gently, before he felt life enter his lungs. He popped his head up, coughing weakly, and shook it out. Looking around, he was on the shore to the libraries' entrance, Spinnerella and Netossa looking at him with varying degrees of concern. Spinnerella looked like she was relieved he was alright, but Netossa had a huge grin on her face.
As he looked at her in askance, she pointed to the side with her thumb a few times at Glimmer with a burning red face, "…Glimmer? Did you make out with me?" he asked her bluntly just to make sure it had been her breathing life into him. He really needed to know tact, for the answer was obvious when she placed her head in her hands, her blush growing in size and redness.
Netossa cracked up in loud fit of laughter, further mortifying the small princess, "Just don't m-make a b-big deal a-about it!" she frantically told him.
Rubbing his chin, he couldn't help but chuckle, "At least my first kiss was with a really cute girl."
"Hey!" Glimmer grew much redder, making Netossa's laughter increase in volume.
"Uuugh, couldn't I have gotten, like, saner allies?" Mermista sighed to herself, and yet a small smile tickled the corners of her mouth.
-0-
And that's my rap!
Unlike other chapters, I can't really claim ownership for most of this since my friend The Lord Of Pages had a blast writing this piece. Both of us want to see the full potential of this show and therefore we go crazy when discussing how to improve our writing and do this story justice. Trust me, we've fought long and hard to decide what the Hell to do with this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!
Anyway, before you ask, Naruto used literally ALL his chakra to strike the right point which Mermista directed him to. As he gains more sword techniques, he won't need more of that. Trust me, I plan to go full on Wuxia film if the princesses using their magic in this Dynasty Warrior moves is any indication. By the end of this story I want Naruto to be able to cut a mountain in two like Frog from Chrono Trigger. Now I'll leave you with my beta's words.
Beta's Notes: Heyo everyone! This is The Lord Of Pages once more, I was responsible for half the chapter again. I was also responsible for the little poem at the end, to give it that proper Thunderbolt Fantasy feel. We'll gladly accept ideas for other poems for characters, so please feel free to give us some ideas! As you can see, we were glad to give Mermista and Glimmer some magical techniques since they're so cool when they want to be. Netossa being a badass dual wielding swordsman was more or less my idea, and Spinnerella being unironically the strongest person in the room when she's in the mood to kick ass was also my idea. We love these characters and want to use them to their fullest potential, so we hope you enjoy this chapter! And since this note is getting too long, I'll cut it short. This is The Lord Of Pages heading off, so for now, so long, farewell, until we meet again!
Swordslinger out!
