*Obligatory 'I don't own Naruto so please don't sue me' header*

Subjugation Arc:

Chapter 10 - Chaos

Chaos.

That was the only proper way to describe the scene that Tsunade and company arrived upon when they walked into her office not minutes after Shizune's announcement.

Groups of jounin stood in the corner, analyzing sheets of paper, frantically arguing with one another, presumably over potential defense strategies. The looks in their faces proved that they were getting nowhere, and were beginning to panic.

Several labcoat-adorned civilians were all quietly discussing something atop a stack of haphazardly organized papers, all clamped together on a clipboard that one of them was holding. They were quiet, quieter than the rest for the most part, but the rising tension in the room quickly led to rising voices, and pretty soon, everyone in the room was shouting desperately to get their voices heard.

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were standing in front, close to Tsunade's now over-encumbered desk, talking to Shikaku and Inoichi rather vehemently. Hand gestures and shouts of disapproval could be heard occasionally over the racket as Homura and Koharu obviously did not like what they were hearing from the Nara clan head, who was passionately defending himself against the two Hokage advisors.

The rest of the room was filled with councilmembers – mostly from the civilian side. They bickered amongst themselves, switching arguing partners now and then as another would interrupt and distract their trains of thought.

The only ones in the room not talking were Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee, who were joined by Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuuhi. They were simply leaning against the back glass wall – Neji was looking out upon the Leaf village, while Lee clenched his fist in front of him and watched as well. Asuma and Kurenai, looking thoroughly exhausted, simply stood next to them calmly.

Tsunade burst through the door violently, cracking it off if its hinges slightly, quickly followed by a cringing Shizune and the rest of the Memory Squad.

As soon as the gathered congregation noticed the door fly open, everyone shut up immediately. All eyes were on the furious Tsunade as she entered the room; her high-heeled shoes click-clacking behind her, hair swinging wildly from side to side.

She quickly jettisoned herself around her desk, navigating through the hoards of people in her way, before she quickly sat down, closing her eyes and waiting for the ball to drop and everything to explode.

Everyone watched in complete silence as she made her way to her desk. They watched her close her eyes, take a deep breath, and lean forward onto her hands, leaning on the desk in front of her.

The instant she opened her eyes, the entire room exploded in a cacophony of angry, terrified, questioning voices – this time, all directed at Tsunade. No one could hear themselves talk, so they all began to shout louder and louder, before pretty soon even people down on the ground in front of the Hokage Tower started to turn their heads to look up at her office windows. Neji could have even sworn that he saw all five of the Hokage Faces on the mountainside in front of him cringe. After a quick Byakugan pulse, he still wasn't sure.

A heartbeat, as the entire room started to vibrate due to the noise.

"…"

Another heartbeat. People started to clamor in front of Tsunade's desk, each trying desperately to get close enough to her to make sure they were heard over the rest.

"…nnnn…"

Yet another heartbeat. The glass began to vibrate.

"….NNNNNN…."

The low growl from Tsunade's throat began to pick up volume. Still, the crowd of advisors and concerned councilmembers pressed forward.

"….NNNNYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Tsunade's eyes shot open, and she swung her fists forward, completely shattering her desk into thousands of tiny shards. The piles of papers that had accumulated the past three days were launched into the air, gently gliding down onto the heads of the flabbergasted audience around her. The sheer force of the punch ricocheted across the room, shattering most of the windows in her office and pushing back most of the closest people to her in one fell swoop. They fell to the floor with a collective thud, while Tsunade just stared them each down, leaking an astronomical amount of killing intent and chakra.

People on the ground were starting to gather below the tower, pointing up at the now broken windows and sheets of paper that started to fall from them, gliding down like leaves on a fall day. Glass littered the ground around the front entrance, and passerby had to duck and cover in order to avoid the falling debris.

This had the effect that Tsunade wanted, and the room was quiet once again. After another few moments of peace, she closed her eyes, opening them slowly, and turning to look up at the people in the room with a sweet smile that sent shivers down the spine of the collective mass of concerned citizenry.

"Now then; one at a time, please."

No one dared to speak up. Tsunade sighed, and looked at the doctors wearing labcoats standing off to the side, still in a panicked haze. "What's his condition?" She asked quietly.

One of them coughed into his hand, and took a step forward gingerly, obviously expecting to lose his head if he came any closer. "Uhh… well, ma'am, he's stable. But he's lost a lot of blood. And he's suffering from chakra exhaustion from running all the way here, full speed, nonstop from the Hidden Cloud village."

Tsunade nodded slowly, turning her attention away from the medical ninjas, and looking up at Shikaku. "Report."

Shikaku approached, unfazed by Tsunade's brazen display of power. He'd seen enough of it in the past as it was. Plus, he couldn't be bothered to be scared. That would be troublesome.

He nodded at her respectfully, before relaying everything he knew.

"At approximately 10:30 this morning, a Hidden Cloud shinobi brandishing a wide array of cuts, gashes, and bruises stumbled up to the front gates. The shinobi guarding the gates at the time summoned ANBU, who quickly arrived to subdue the unknown intruder after they neglected to respond to an identification request. He didn't resist – as a matter of fact, he collapsed in a pool of his own blood shortly after the ANBU arrived. Before he passed out, he said he needed to speak with you personally, Lady Hokage. After stabilizing him in the Leaf Hospital, we were able to determine the nature of his… visit here. Apparently, there has been an attack on the Hidden Cloud village."

After this last statement, several people began to murmur in the back – much quieter this time, and with less vigor. Tsunade could hear occasional grumblings of "serves the Hidden Cloud right", and "why should we help them".

She sighed, and gestured for Shikaku to continue. "Do we know who the perpetrator was? Was it the Stone? I know they have been on shaky ground with the Cloud for the past few months. But we would have heard about a declaration of war like that…" she grumbled to herself, staring off into the distance, deep in thought.

Suddenly, the back door slammed open once again – and in walked the very same shinobi that was on death's door earlier that morning. He was very pale, and was walking with the assistance of a crutch, but at least he wasn't bleeding everywhere. He had a small sucker in his mouth, and was panting heavily as he took each labored step.

Hot on his heels were two ANBU guards, a very flustered nurse, and the Hokage's downstairs secretary, who managed visitors to Tsunade.

"I'm very sorry, Lady Hokage. But he demanded to speak with you immediately."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as the Cloud ninja struggled his way through the crowd. As he approached (what remained of) the Hokage's desk, the jounin in attendance all tensed and several stepped in his way.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" A tall, black-shirted shinobi wearing dark tinted sunglasses and a bandana said.

Tsunade shook her head. "Let him through, Ebisu. We were talking about him anyway, it would be better to hear it straight from the horse's mouth."

Shikaku shrugged, and moved back to his previous position by the wall, while the two elderly council advisors narrowed their eyebrows and stared the boy down.

He couldn't have been more than 16 or 17. He was of average height, and had vibrant white hair that was singed on one side. At least the blood was gone now. He was wearing his tattered grey jacket over a hospital gown and a pair of white sweatpants. His Hidden Cloud forehead protector was tied around his waist absentmindedly, keeping the hospital gown closed. He gingerly held his side with his free hand, while the other operated the small crutch he had pilfered from the hospital before leaving for the Hokage's office.

Tsunade stared him down for a few heartbeats – all anyone did was watch the two of them watch each other curiously before the Hokage broke the stare and waved her hand at him. "What's your name?"

The boy shifted the sucker in his mouth, before standing at attention – as best he could in his current situation – and speaking. "My name is Omoi, ma'am. Chuunin of the Village Hidden in the Clouds."

Tsunade nodded once at him, signaling him to be at ease. She then pointed at the chair that was positioned in front of her fragmented desk. "Please, Omoi. Sit. I may be Hokage, but I am also still a medical ninja at heart. I can't bear to watch you suffer like that just for honorifics."

Omoi bowed, trying unsuccessfully to hide his wince of pain as he did so. After righting himself, he sunk into one of the seats with a satisfied smile.

Tsunade looked at the collection of untrusting eyes burrowing holes in the back of the young ninja's head. She sighed. Why are they always like this? He was obviously here for help. If it was true, and the entire Hidden Cloud village no longer existed, then there was a very distinct possibility that he was the last one.

She shook her head, closing her eyes. All of his friends, all of his family. Who could have done such a thing?

Tsunade didn't want to think too heavily on that, because she had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn't like the answer.

"Omoi."

The boy sat up straight again. "Yes, Lady Hokage?"

"What happened out there?"

The boy blinked, before letting out a long, pained sigh, obviously still in pain from the injury in his side.

"I… I was on my way back to the Raikage after a simple C-ranked solo mission. I was a few miles out… but… I could feel this corrosive chakra coming right from the center of the village. It felt bad – very bad. Like pure hatred." He slammed his eyes shut.

"Then… then there was a bright flash of light. And a shockwave. It was blinding – so powerful. I've never seen something so massive… so terrifying. I could feel the energy from where I was, almost near the ocean. I… I had forgotten a mission scroll at the small village I was working in that morning. If I hadn't had to go back for it…" his expression was very pained.

Tsunade sat absolutely still for a moment. 'Why does this always happen? When will we ever learn?' Her eyes narrowed when she remembered Jiraiya's bold promise to her, back when he took in three orphaned children of the Hidden Rain.

"Tsunade… that boy… he's something special. Those eyes are only a part of it. He's going to do great things in his life, and I want to be there to see him through it. Or, at the very least, set him on the right path. If anyone can solve the tumultuous cycle of pain and suffering in our world, it's him. I believe in him."

Then, she thought back to a few days before he left for the last time. It was their final meeting, under a shaded oak tree in the middle of one of the Leaf village's outer forests.

"Naruto… he has that spark. I may have been wrong in the past, but I believe in the great Elder Sage. He has to be right. Our world is doomed to repeat itself until someone like Nagato, like Minato, like Naruto – until a hero comes and saves us from ourselves. I believe in him."

A single tear drifted its way down her cheek, unbeknownst to the crowd of Leaf citizens gathered around her – at a safe distance, of course.

She surreptitiously wiped the stray tear from her face, before sniffling to herself and looking back up at the boy.

He was still lost in his own thoughts, head down, and eyes braced for whatever came next. But to Tsunade's surprise, he continued speaking, although mostly to himself.

"That chakra… that was tailed beast chakra. I'm sure of i-"

"We need to figure out who did this! They can come here next!" shouted a council member from the rear of the room. A wave of supporting panic swept across the Hokage's office, and the tide of voices began to come in once again.

"We're next!" called another civilian.

The chatter quickly developed into a roar that was dull at first, but quickly heightened. Tsunade could only shake her head at her fellow Leaf citizenry.

"Relax!" she bellowed, but this time with a calm aura. "I, as the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, promise to never let that happen. But to do that," she glared around the room, "I need silence. We need to hear his story. Unless, of course, you are done now, Omoi."

Omoi shook his head. "No. I… I saw… him."

Another roar from the crowd.

"ENOUGH!"

Another silencing from Tsunade.

Omoi didn't ask to continue this time. "He… whatever he was… an it, maybe even…" his mind started to wander, until he locked eyes with the glare of the Hokage, and immediately re-railed his derailed mind.

"…He was dragging… our jinchuuriki. Lord Killer Bee, and Yugito Nii. The Eight and Two-Tails of the Cloud."

Tsunade rested her forehead on her folded fingers once more. "Let me guess… tattered robes, ragged looking body, spotty orange hair."

Omoi blinked. "How did you…?"

"Lucky guess." She smirked humorlessly. "In that case – Shizune. Kakashi. Tenzou. Shikaku and Shikamaru. Sakura. Neji. Lee. Kurenai. Asuma. Omoi." She looked down at the boy with a small smile. "You all stay here. The rest of you… get the hell out of my office."

Her last sentence was spoken softly, but its meaning was immediately misconstrued.

"What do you mean?! That thing is still out there! We have to-"

"GET. THE HELL. OUT OF MY OFFICE."

The young jounin gulped, before making his way towards the door, like the rest of the cavalcade.

Homura and Koharu, however, seemed to take that to mean that they too could stay. And stay they did. Tsunade didn't even bother to look up.

"What, are you two old fossils hard at hearing now? I said leave."

"Lady Hokage. You know good and well that we can't just do that. You have the council to answer to."

The slug Sannin growled. "And what good is this title if I can't make the damn decisions around here? This isn't a democratically elected society. This is a military dictatorship. We exist as a village because of that. Now get the hell out of my office, before I instruct my ANBU to give you a helping hand."

The two old advisors simply narrowed their eyes, before turning on their heels. "You'll regret the day you don't take input from your citizens. The council will ha-"

"The council can go right to hell, along with you two. And besides," she gestured to the assembled group of people before her, "I am already taking input from my citizens. It's what I've been doing for the last three days. Hell, for the last three years. So climb back up on your high horse and don't let the door hit your pompous asses too hard on the way out."

The grumbling old shinobi did as they were told, but that did nothing to help satiate the Hokage's seething expression. Finally, once the door settled unevenly on the shattered door-frame, she ran her fingers through her hair, and let out a long, pent up sigh.

"Politics. I am sick and tired of this game they play, every time." She finally looked up at the gathered members, before frowning.

"Tenzou, I told you to stay. That should have implied that I wanted you to come forward as well."

A masked figure walked out of the darkness in the corner of the room, and bowed deeply to the Hokage. "My apologies, Lady Hokage."

She waved him off casually. "And take your mask off. You won't need it from here on out."

After a contemplative moment, the ANBU nodded in acknowledgement, and plucked the mask from his face.

A pair of harsh brown eyes, framed by a grey face-style forehead protector, greeted her as the porcelain came down with his hand. He bowed again slightly, and expressionlessly.

The rest of the squad, save Kakashi, watched in mild fascination. It wasn't every day that an ANBU Black Ops member had his identity revealed.

'This must be serious,' thought Neji, as he lowered his eyes.

Tsunade noticed this, and immediately asked him a question. "That reminds me. Did you find anything?"

Asuma was the one to respond. "I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade. Our search in the northern Land of Fire led nowhere. Although… we did experience quite a sizable tremor a few days ago. We didn't think anything of it at the time, but…"

"Yes, that happened here as well. Given our recent intelligence, the timing corresponds almost perfectly with Omoi's description of the fall of the Hidden Cloud," Kakashi analyzed, looking from Asuma to the Hokage. "That must be one powerful jutsu."

"Yes, well – when you're a tailed beast, the impossible become mundane." Tsunade leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.

"I beg your pardon, Lady Hokage?" came Kurenai's voice. "Tailed Beast?"

She merrily nodded. "Yes. The perpetrator was Naruto. It had to be." She sighed again, shaking her head solemnly. "What went wrong? He still seemed… human in the memories we witnessed. Why is he doing all of this? Joining the people he was trying to fight off for all those years?"

"A lot can happen in two years," mused Shikamaru. His father raised an eyebrow at his cryptic answer, but he didn't say anything.

"Tsunade took a deep breath, then looked back around the room. Her eyes settled on Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Sakura. "Alright. First of all, although it shouldn't have to be said, anything regarding Naruto's heritage, or anything else we experienced in those memories are to be considered SS-ranked secrets. Don't tell a soul." Then she looked at the rest of the conglomerated shinobi. "The same goes for the rest of you, regarding what I'm about to tell you all."

After a moment of silence, Tsunade took that as a signal of affirmation and continued. "Naruto will be returning to the Leaf, if he hasn't already. He… has a plan for something. We know of at least part of it. I can't say whether or not it's changed in the last two years, but… it's a start, at least.

"According to the resources we were able to gather from our last encounter with Naruto Uzumaki, he is planning on resurrecting his father, in an effort to undo the seal that Jiraiya left on him. From what the Fourth Hokage told Naruto in his memories-"

"I beg your pardon?" Shikaku stated plainly. "Did you just say the Fourth Hokage?"

Tsunade only nodded slowly. "Yes, I did. He sealed part of himself in Naruto simultaneously with the Kyuubi on the day of his birth, in an effort to reseal the beast should the seal come undone. He also set it up in such a way that in the event Naruto died, he could return to deal with the Nine-Tails from within the seal somehow."

"So… Naruto really is dead then? He's been possessed by the Nine-Tails?" Neji asked incredulously.

Tsunaded shook her head this time. "No. It's a long story. But the short end of it is that Naruto's consciousness was ripped from his body and transferred to the Nine-Tails. Effectively, he is the Kyuubi."

Neji blinked. "What?"

Lee leapt in front of his teammate, extending a fist valiantly into the air. "But I know Naruto! He would not allow such a thing to happen under his watch!"

Tsunade shook her head again, this time mostly to herself. "I really should have just started from the beginning, shouldn't I?" She sighed and looked back up at the green-clad boy standing before her. "No, you're right. Naruto would never have allowed something like that to happen. But… he didn't know. Not until it was too late, that is. That idiot Jiraiya screwed everything up."

She pounded one of the jarred edges of what remained of her desk, causing it to splinter off and topple to the ground.

"If I may, Lady Tsunade…" came Kakashi's voice, with a nervous eye-smile, before she could cause any further damage. He turned to the rest of the assembled ninja and immediately stonefaced. "Our mission will be to travel to the Uzumaki Mask Shrine on the outskirts of the Leaf, set up an ambush, and capture Naruto Uzumaki at all costs."

"The Mask Shrine? What does Naruto want with a decrepit old building like that?" Asked Shizune. She was pale in the face due to the amount of destruction she was anticipating having to clean up after, but was still paying attention to the conversation enough to pick that up.

"Minato-sensei, before he died, researched extensively into the key jutsus of the Uzumaki clan and the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools. One such jutsu was the Reaper Death Seal, which was the method by which he sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto on the day of his birth. He was obsessed with it for quite some time – after most missions, when my team and I would celebrate or rest, Minato-sensei would be up for days at a time, trying to tweak the seal to create some sort of loophole so that it could be used without the caster's life being sacrificed in the process."

Shizune frowned at that, but Kakashi continued.

"But in the end, he never succeeded. He did, however, apparently find the loophole that he wanted, but not in the seal configuration he had. A few months into Kushina's pregnancy, he traveled to the ruins of the Hidden Whirlpool village himself and found an extensive library hidden behind an immensely complicated sealing barrier. I remember the look on his face when he came back with nothing short of an entire bookstore on his back. It was like Chouji in a barbeque restaurant."

Asuma angered slightly at the blatant joke on his student's behalf, but he quickly sweatdropped – acknowledging that Kakashi was right. No one could be happier than Chouji at a barbeque buffet. His wallet could attest to that.

The copy-nin smirked at the Sarutobi's reaction. "Well, he spent quite a long time going through the library; cataloguing everything, learning new techniques, the whole shebang. Apparently, though, he found a book describing the history of the Reaper Death Seal and its usage in the Hidden Whirlpool village in detail – but kept it secret. In it, according to what we heard him tell Naruto, he learned that after one's death, if you summon the Shinigami and use one of the masks currently hanging in the Mask Shrine, you can force it to slice open its stomach, releasing the captive souls to the outside world again. The only catch was that any damage inflicted upon the Shinigami would also be inflicted upon the summoner, meaning that it, too, was a forbidden technique."

Kakashi shrugged. "I guess that since Naruto isn't exactly living anymore, he can perform the trick without too much harm to himself." He scratched the back of his head in thought. "Now, what happens to the released souls once they are freed remains to be seen. But with our current goals in mind, we probably won't get to see it. Our primary objective is to capture Naruto, and bring him in for questioning regarding the destruction of the Hidden Cloud."

Tsunade nodded, seemingly calm again. "Agreed. There is without a doubt that the Hidden Stone will press us to take action against our missing-nin once they find out he was the one that did it."

Omoi perked up, finally finding use for his presence. "Does that mean that you know… know who did it? For sure?" He winced, but waved Shizune off as she rushed to his chair to help.

Tsunade turned, looking at the Hidden Cloud ninja with an air of suspicion about her that wasn't present when he first arrived. "That begs the question… " she began, ignoring Omoi's query. "Why did you come here? You could have gone to the Hidden Stone instead. The Leaf and Cloud aren't exactly on very good terms right now."

Omoi nodded. "Yeah, and the relationship between the Cloud and the Stone was even worse. But it was mostly because you were closer. No one else would concern themselves with helping out the Cloud, but I figured that the Leaf was my best bet. Your people are world renown for being kindhearted."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Yeah, just wait till you have to get up close and personal with those three old war hawks," she muttered to herself, before snapping back to reality. "Regardless, we have work to do, people. Kakashi, where is Gai? He is supposed to be coordinating the strike team with you."

Kakashi blinked, wide-eyed. "You mean he hasn't reported back from his reconnaissance mission yet? He was supposed to be back yesterday."

"I don't know. I wanted to check with you first before I sent a rescue squad." She pulled open a wobbly drawer from what was left of her desk, grabbed an empty sheet of paper, a pen, and a stamp with ink. She scribbled a few words on it, signed her name, then quickly slammed the stamp down on the paper, notarizing it.

The paper, now emblazoned with the Hokage's signature and seal, was handed to Asuma. "Asuma. This is an A-ranked recovery mission. You are to take Izuma and Kotetsu, as well as Shikamaru, and find Might Gai. Bring him – and yourselves – back safe and sound. Leave as soon as you are able to."

Asuma bowed to the slug princess, before walking out of the room through the askew door, slowly followed by the grumbling Shikamaru.

As soon as the door wobbled shut, Tsunade ran her hands through her hair again. "Great. Another wrench in the works. This day keeps getting better and better."

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Gai blinked, and stopped dead in his tracks.

He could hear the rusty voice coming from directly behind him, but when he shot around to see who was making the noise, there was no one there.

Just the trees and the lonesome gravel path he had been travelling on for miles. The blue sky opened up around him, cheerfully supporting him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" the green-clad jounin responded, taking a greater look around his surroundings.

"Oh, nothing much really. A nice book, maybe some sushi. And for you to stop spying on me, of course." Gai could have sworn that he heard the voice grin evilly at the dry delivery of the joke.

Narrowing his eyes, Gai took a step back, getting into his taijutsu pose. 'I remember that voice from somewhere…'

"Oh, a taijutsu fight, eh? That's what you're after? Well then, I suppose I can oblige to that."

The voice came from directly behind Gai this time, who spun around to defend himself from his attacker, kicking up a storm of dust around him.

After a half-assed swing from the opponent, the bushy-browed man smirked. "Ah, so you're a sneaky one! That's a most unyouthful trait in battle."

"Oh please. We're shinobi. We take whatever chances we can get. If I can kill you through less than honorable means, you'll still be dead, and I'll still be out and about, doing my thing." The voice called out from behind the dust cloud, as it began to dispel.

Gai watched in mild curiosity as a figure began to be made out in the dust – a spiky haired individual with a blade mounted to his back. From the silhouette alone, Gai could only make out what looked like three legs – but as more and more of the man was revealed, he realized that the massive blob on the right side of his body was actually the bottom of the blade, making it massive in size.

A large brown strap extended across his cloaked chest – a cloak speckled in red clouds on a black backdrop.

Akatsuki. And none other than Kisame Hoshigaki – the tailless tailed beast.

Gai gave a cheeky smile at the shark beast, still in position. "Ah, so you figured out I was following you, eh? Well that's most youthful of you. I'm impressed."

Kisame smirked back. "Well, you never were the greatest at anything other than taijutsu, Might Gai."

Gai frowned at the missing-nin before him. "What do you mean? Have we met before?"

It took everything Kisame had not to sweatdrop and ruin his grand entrance. "You mean you don't remember our fight in the Leaf village three years ago? A pity. I was certain you would have remembered almost getting yourself killed. I certainly would have."

Gai only shook his head. "Of course not. But I really must be returning to the Leaf now, I'm long overdue. As much fun as it is watching you meander around the Hidden Waterfall Village."

Kisame smiled mischievously. "Oh, but you know I cannot allow that to happen."

"I was kinda hoping you'd say that," chuckled Gai, as he launched himself forward and into the air.

Drip.

"…"

Drip.

"…?"

A blink. A groan.

A cough, and a wheeze.

An untenable dryness in his throat.

A… strange weight on his chest?

Another blink, and an attempt to sit up.

A shot of pain throughout his body.

A collapse back onto the hard stone floor.

Another cough.

Drip.

Another blink.

A few restless moments.

"Wh…where…?"

Another moment of observation of his surroundings.

A… sudden doubt…

In himself?

In others?

…In his very existence?

He willed himself to clear his mind of distraction, and get a grip on his surroundings.

A large, expansive cave.

A large, expansive, empty cave.

Well, almost empty.

Two bodies.

One old – much older than the other.

The younger body was strange – it felt foreign, yet all too familiar.

A puddle to his right. He willed this body to shift and twist under the weight of the other, to get a better look.

Another blink.

A red symbol, shimmering in the dark, dimly-lit cave, reflecting off the pool of water.

Love.