Disclaimer: Ich besitze nicht Naruto oder Welt von Warcraft

Extra Disclaimer: I don't own Fenritt. His character belongs to MuhiTatsu.

Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!

Hello.

That's quite an odd way to start a story, is it not? Rather than "Once upon a time…" or "In a land far, far away," it's "Hello". Sounds more like I am greeting an audience than writing an epic story. Perhaps I am….

But, I digress.

Do not look away. You might be wondering what exactly is happening at this moment. You might be wondering why you are not being bedazzled by tales of a certain blond haired young man (who I know quite well), but instead are listening to an unknown person narrate rather meaningless drivel to you. It is simple. I am being driven to, by the whim of a much higher force (though I'll admit I rather enjoy it. I am a writer after all). Do not worry, all shall be explained in time, and I will limit myself to only breaking the fourth wall once or so a chapter (I am entitled to, I think). Now, on to introductions; it is high time that this story began once more.

I am Fenritt, Fen to my friends, however. When I speak of friends, I am actually speaking of a single person; he is the only person whom I think I have the right to call friend (or at least, at one point). But I shall introduce him later.

I am a Forsaken; that is to say, I was once human, but due to the ravenous affects of a terrifying plague, I became something else. I died, but did not stay dead. I became undead. After dying, I joined the faction led by the Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, the Banshee Queen, and became what is known as one of the Forsaken: the undead that have returned to consciousness.

Last but not least, I am a writer. I always have been; it was a dream of mine, even before I died, to write a story that will be told for generations. I did not want to make one up, but I'll admit I had made no great strides in setting out into the world in order to find that story.

I am here to bring to you the beginning of that story. I am here to tell you of the experiences I had when a young human, whose name I am quite sure you all know, came to into my world, and changed it as drastically as the day that I died. I am here to tell you of the beginning (for me; the beginning of the story for you was about forty chapters ago…whoops… sorry) of the greatest story that I have ever had the privilege to tell.

But, before I get to that, I must tell you of my background. It would not do for you to drive blindly into this. Before this story begins, let me tell you of mine. It is not nearly as glorious, nor as long (I am sure that some readers have heaved a deep sigh by now…again forgive me), but I hope it will serve to inform you as to why I am here, and why this is happening.

I was born in a small village in Western Lordaeron, now called the Western Plaguelands. I grew up there, and so did I die there. My life was no more interesting than that of a gargoyle's—I watched, and I waited, but I did nothing. I took no action, and though I longed for it, I (and I'll be frank with you) was terrified of the world. It was a mundane existence, but my fear of the world kept me closed within the town of my birth and the surrounding area. It was one of my defining character faults, I'd like to think.

I grew up, and married a rather plain woman named Margaret (I think, it may have been May, or even Madeleine; her face and memory to me are now so distant), and we had two children, a boy and a girl, named Raki and Susie (again, I am unsure). To make a living, I worked in a small store, and wrote poems and short stories in my free time, sending them to various newspapers in Stormwind. Few were published, and even fewer received any attention at all. I do not know why; I was told by many of my friends and colleagues that they were quite interesting. Perhaps it was the timing, or perhaps it was simply a sign that the pen, however mighty, would never measure up to the sword that dominated the era. With two great wars under our belts, we humans must have lost our interest in words and literature. Who knows?

But my quaint existence did not last. No, for one day the sky turned dark; the sun was blotted out, and a hazy mist fell over the entire land. No one knew quite what to make of it. And then, I remember, came the strangest feeling. It came over all of us. It was a tingling, followed by a painful headache, and then a maddening itch that overcame our entire beings. By that time, we all knew that something was wrong. I remember seeing my two children and wife desperately try to stop the itching; they even went as far as to use my wife's cheese grater to rip their skin off. Sickened? I was too.

Then came the cold.

The horrible, biting, soul freezing, heart-stopping cold; it was unlike anything you can imagine. It permeated every cell in my body. It froze everything within me, within all of us; yet the land remained rich with flora and fauna, and the air was as warm as ever. The cold was inside of us, and it has been from that moment.

I don't remember anything after that. I had become one of them. I had become a Scourge. I only remember a hunger that could not be satiated. I do not (thankfully) remember what I did to satisfy this hunger, but I know that whatever I did must have been horrible. It continued like this for years.

And then I awoke.

It was strange. It was not like coming out of a deep sleep, even though that is what it is called, "awaking." It felt like returning to your mind, after you have been daydreaming. I felt as if nothing had passed, but instead of finding myself in my house, I found myself in a forest, and standing over me was one of the most beautiful creatures that I had ever seen.

"Get up," she had ordered. I had done so, hearing my nearly exposed bones crack and grind as I moved. It sickened me, but I found that I could not retch.

The woman did said something; she told me who she was; Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, self-proclaimed Queen of the Banshees and my new leader. She told me what I now was, and what I would be doing. I was surprised, as any would be, but she didn't care. She told me everything straight-faced, and minced no words. I was now undead, and I had just been freed from the control of the one who had done this to me: A creature called the Lich King. I would now work for her, and would obey her and her every command, or she would destroy me.

At the time, I was disoriented. I had no idea what to feel, just that something had just changed. Had I been in the right mind, I may have taken up her offer of destruction; for it was later, standing on the shore of a lake and staring into my reflection, that I discovered what I had truly become.

A monster.

A perversion of humanity.

But I also realized, later, that I was of no use to this strange, beautiful woman. I told her as much, and fully expected to be killed (well, destroyed) on the spot.

She didn't, however, kill me. She directed me to another of my kind (it sickened me when I heard those words spoken), a former mage named Kokiri, whom she ordered to take me on as an apprentice. He did, and from that moment on, I learned the craft that made me useful to Sylvanas.

And the years passed.

I grew strong in the use of the techniques taught by Kokiri, and I fought alongside Sylvanas as she launched her tirade against the dreadlords of Lordaeron (a group of nasty demons, one of which now serves Sylvanas faithfully, by the name of Varimathras), and the capture of the place that is now my home: The Undercity.

I did grieved at one point for my lost family; they had once meant so much to me. But for some reason, it felt like they were a part of a life that was never mine. The man; the undecided, fearful man who wanted to live a rich and full life but was too scared to do something about it, too scared to face the world and all its horrors, was gone. He was not I. He was not the Fenritt that I was. Their faces faded in time, and even now I can only remember snatches of what they were really like. Their names even elude me now. But it does not sadden me. That Fenritt is dead, and a new one remains.

I saw many things in that time, and when the wars had ended, and the Undercity was now our home, I finally got the chance to live my dream.

Sylvanas made me an ambassador to the other creatures of the Horde, of which she had recently joined. She believed that I would be the best suited (though I think she did it, in retrospect, to simply get me out of her hair; I had become quite confident over the years, and that confidence brought out the lyrical sarcasm and wit that you are now familiar with).

But, because I was oh-so-important, she assigned to me a bodyguard; a rogue by the name of Myrdraxxis: the one who has since become my best friend.

We of course, did not start out that way. Myrdraxxis, you must understand, is not the most social of people. He is silent, as befitting of his chosen profession, and very stern. He is extremely loyal (as am I) to Lady Sylvanas, though his devotion is to a much greater degree. In his mind, what she says goes. It borders on zeal (but do not call it that, for he will think I am associating him with the Crusaders).

And he is wise. He is battle-hardened, and even before he died he was an extremely skilled assassin for the Alliance. He'd fought in the last few wars, and met his end when the Scourge attacked Stratholme. He, like me, owes his awakening to Sylvanas herself. We were among the first to be awoken, making us (in my opinion) quite special.

At first, the most he ever spoke to me were a few choice, and usually rather caustic words that made me, a rather talkative person, fall as silent as the dead (that simile had to be used). But that didn't stop me. While he seemed content (that word is misplaced, to be sure) to keep me at arms distance, I wished for at least someone to converse with. For some reason, I was not well liked among my kind. Perhaps it is my optimistic, and borderline human attitude that causes so many people to dislike me in an instant. Perhaps I remind them of how they used to be; it seems that many now can no longer bear to be reminded of their pasts.

My personality caused a stir among the other races as well, though not in such a bad way. They found my wit (at least I'd like to think) fresh, and far cry from others of my kind. They had always had a wariness of us, and no matter how friendly I was, I would always feel it. They did not hate us; no, they feared us. But fear, as one knows, is only a small step away from hate. Perhaps it was why I was made ambassador: to show them we can be trusted.

Slowly, however, Myrdraxxis and I became friends. It was never spoken between us, but more and more we found ourselves together outside of our missions. Perhaps he had come to find my wit to be amusing, or perhaps he felt the same that I did. Perhaps he wanted a friend, or at least a companion, as much as I did.

But that abruptly ended. It was when Sylvanas, without any warning, decided suddenly to break off from the Horde.

I was shocked, not only because I would no longer get to travel the world, but because it seemed to me entirely unnecessary. Both Myrdraxxis and I, who were constant confidantes of the Banshee Queen, were never told why she had done it. I believe she gave Thrall the reason that it was the Scarlet Crusade, but I did not believe her; nor do I think Thrall did, either. But he accepted it, and thus we were alone once more.

I cannot say that others did not find this satisfactory. Some had protested the original decision, and now that we would no longer have to deal with smelly cows or crass trolls or drunken orcs, we would be much better off. I protested, of course; I was furious that Sylvanas would not simply accept Thrall's help, but it made no difference. Sylvanas' word was law, and that was that.

Out of a job, I began to join Myrdraxxis on his little missions; they were anything from carrying a package, to assassinating an influential member of the town council of Hillsbrad—a small farming village that possess and intense hate for our kind, and spend quite a bit of their time trying to destroy us. They are worse, even, than Southshore-- the tiny colony of Stormwind humans who live nearby. They don't get along, thankfully, or Tarren Mill, our town in that area of Lordaeron, would be sunk.

Nevertheless, though I was no longer able to pursue my dream, I was relatively content. I kept myself busy, and as the years passed, I grew more comfortable with the situation. I was still angry with Sylvanas, but I could not despise her. She was my savior, and always would be.

Years passed like this, and nothing changed.

That is, of course until the time of this story.

It was on a day, as Myrdraxxis and I were returning from a delivery to Tarren Mill (I believe it was some spider venom that the Royal Apothecary Society had been needing, along with some foreign ingredients that were being smuggled in by a well-known air pirate named Matthias Hindenborough), that this story begins.

For Myr and I, at least.

"We're making good time, aren't we?"

"I suppose."

"Suppose? Can you be any vaguer?"

"Perhaps."

"I thought so. I really have come to enjoy these little talks we have, Myr'; they are really illuminating, and I really feel like I am getting to know you. We should do them more often, hmmm?"

"We should. Now do one thing?"

"What's that?"

"Shut up."

Fenritt slouched into silence, crossing his arms in front of his emaciated chest. If he had had lips, he would have stuck them out and pouted. Instead all he could do was hunch forwards even more than he already was, and scrunch his pale blue face up in a most horrible way. He looked more like a specter of death than a mock-pouting mage. He brushed a lock of his greasy, teal-colored hair from his face, and then looked up into the depressingly dreary sky.

"I miss the sun."

Myrdraxxis said nothing. He walked a little ways ahead of Fen on the dusty, deserted road leading away from Hillsbrad. His wild, black hair was ruffled slightly by the breeze, but he did not bat it out of the two glowing dots that had become his eyes. The dark forest, dreary forest of Silverpine loomed ahead of them, its massive evergreen trees stretching high into the heavens, so thick with needles that it was almost impossible to see anything through them. Numerous smaller trees, as well as thick miniature forests of bushes and shrubs created a wall between them and the confines of the forest, and though only entrance was a large opening for the road to go through. An eerie mist had settled down upon the land, making the path ahead of them seem all the more ominous.

Though he did not speak it, Myrdraxxis agreed with his partner. There were some times when, even for someone like him, it could be a most welcome friend.

Unfortunately, it rarely shined in this place at all. In addition to the thick, dark clouds (that almost never rained), there was layer of the foulest smog that covered the sky of the area, blocking the sun's rays. The smog was the byproduct of the Undead Plague sent by the Lich King. It had resided there since the plague had been released. It grew thicker and thicker as one got closer and closer to the Plaguelands.

Upon entering the forest, the two stopped for the briefest of moments. Silverpine was a notorious place for bandits and assassins—normally comprised of little bands of Dalaran wizards, who came seeking natural supplies within the wood from their sealed city near the edge of Lordamere Lake. Neither of the two Forsaken wished to be ambushed by the fools, so they played the cautious card and waited a bit. They sniffed the air a few times, too. Their sense of smell, while not much better than a human's, was sensitive to certain kinds of flesh. Human flesh was the easiest for them to detect.

Aside from a few lingering smells, neither discovered any humans in the area, so they moved on.

Fen remained silent. He didn't feel like bothering Myrdraxxis with any stories he had made up, so he just looked around, and enjoyed the scenery (though there was not much to enjoy).

"Geez, that guy wasn't anything like I imagine him to be," Fen said, out of the blue.

Myrdraxxis raised an eyebrow. "You mean Hindenborough?"

Fen nodded. "Yeah; I expected him to be a rough and tough pirate guy, you know, with an eye patch and everything. But he was kind of like a little kid…he even challenged you to a drinking contest of some sort, didn't he?"

Myrdraxxis nodded. "Until I told him that it is impossible for me to get drunk, and therefore he would die before I even felt the slightest of buzzes. He is a fool."

"Lady Sylvie seems to like him."

"She hates him; she is merely entertained by him, and benefits from his jobs, nothing more. And don't call her Sylvie, she is the Dark Lady, or Lady Sylvanas, to you and I."

Fenritt grinned, lapsing into silence once more. That was a common occurrence between the two. Fen loved thinking of pet names for Lady Sylvanas, and Myrdraxxis would always correct him. Neither had any intention of stopping, either.

"I dunno, he still seemed kinda cool, for a human, anyways. Maybe next time I can—"

"Stop."

Fen did, and looked at his partner with a frown. "What is it?"

Myrdraxxis's twin glowing eyes shifted in his direction. "I smell human."

Fenritt sniffed the air as well. He did too.

"We should stop soon, Naruto, it's getting dark."

Naruto stopped, and turned to look in Kira's direction. The girl was sitting on a log a few feet behind him, Kylia by her side. They had been walking for only an hour, but Kira was right, it was getting darker than normal, and the blonde guessed that night would be upon them soon.

And in a creepy forest to boot.

"Alright," said Naruto, taking a seat on the same log. He dropped his backpack onto the ground behind him, and stretched. Tsuwabuki padded up next to him, taking a seat by his feet. All four of the group then yawned, simultaneously; it had been a long day for them; a long couple of days, rather.

Their flight back to Orgrimmar (both to deliver Thrall's beer, as well as Gen'rash, Golbarn and Kaine) had set the tone for the rest of the journey across the sea. The members of Matthias Hindenborough's crew were among the strangest people any of them had ever met; and Matthias himself was no exception. The captain of the zeppelin had spent the time he hadn't been directing his crew to their tasks to challenge Naruto to inane and startlingly random games that Naruto was quite sure the man made up as he went along. Because neither liked to lose, and whatever game they were playing usually had vaguely defined rules, they usually ended with a colossal shouting match that drew the amused attention of the entire crew.

When not doing that, Naruto had spent what little time he had remaining with his friends. While it had been short, it had been meaningful; by the time they had reached Orgrimmar, all of them had said goodbye in their own ways.

Golbarn had said nothing, predictably, and, after departing the zeppelin (aptly named The Hindenborough) he'd said nothing more than it would be much more peaceful with the blonde gone. But Naruto knew he didn't mean it. For though he didn't speak it, his eyes showed Naruto what he had really meant to say.

"Bother someone else for a change; but it'll be boring without you."

Naruto had expected nothing less of Golbarn. He grinned at the orc's back, and though he couldn't see it, he knew that Golbarn was smiling too.

Kaine had made a big show of things, and had dragged Naruto off the zeppelin and around Orgrimmar saying goodbye to everyone that Naruto had already said goodbye to before he had left for the Darkmoone Faire. At the end, he'd parted with something befitting him, as well.

"Next time you come here, Naruto, I'm going to kick your ass, okay? You'd better not slack off! Because I'm going to get my grandfather to teach me, so when you get back, I'm gonna be way stronger than you!"

He'd left before he had given Naruto a chance to answer. Though Naruto suspected that the tauren was aware of how he was going to respond, anyways. He'd just waved after the tauren, smiling widely.

Gen'rash had said little too (though not for lack of trying); he'd given Naruto a bright grin, a bow, and an extremely hard to follow goodbye; and that was that. He'd then turned to Kira, the person whom he had spent much more time with, and instead of bowing or smiling, he had hugged the girl, showing Naruto just how small Kira really was. It had left her dazed, and not at little embarrassed; it had given Naruto a bit to tease her about afterwards.

They did not stay much longer than that; Thrall came to see them off (or more likely check if his beer was intact) as had all of the people whom Naruto had met and made friends with in the city. They all watched him, as he, Kira and Kylia looked over the railing of the Hindenborough and down at them. He saw many cheering and waving to him, others just smiling, and still others just looking at him; he even heard the familiar bellow of "ELROY MENKINS" as the zeppelin took the sky. But no matter how they looked at him, all of it touched the blonde. They were all Naruto's precious people now.

And so they had flown away from the great city of the orcs, and away from those they had come to respect. Naruto's heart was full of emotion as he watched the shoreline slowly disappear, and when he could see it no more, he had turned away, towards the direction of their destination. Their journey now continued, and Naruto was heading back to the continent that he had first arrived on.

The flight had taken some time. They passed most of it doing their own things. Kira practiced the new jutsu that she had learned from Gen'rash; Kylia practiced her aim using her daggers (below deck, of course); and Naruto spent his time alternating between practicing his Tetra-Elemental style, developing techniques with Tsuwabuki, and practicing with his sword (which he had been neglecting slightly in the past few months).

Hindenborough proved himself to be an apt pilot, though on more than one occasion, he went out of his way to impress his guests with an insane flying maneuver that usually had Kylia running for the railing. He'd even taken them dangerously low to the sea, allowing them to witness some of the more bizarre creatures that inhabited it. Kira complained about this, of course, so to distract the man Naruto agreed more often to his strange challenges. By the end of the trip, they had a rivalry that might have compared to Kakashi and Gai's; except that both participants were as eager as the fuzzy-browed jounin.

The skies had soon darkened, and the sea below them had turned an almost putrid green. They soon spotted land in the distance, a place that Matthias called Hillsbrad. It was where he was going to be dropping them off, after his delivery of course.

"Why not just drop us off first?" Kira had said.

"Already late enough as it is. 'Sides, It won' look as suspicious if I head up the coast a little ways after I deliver the stuff. I trade with both Southshore an' Tarren Mill, ye see, so I can jus be under the guise o' delivering stuff in that direction. Don' worry, they won' spot ye, or smell ye. They know that humans be on this ship. Just lay low, and in a while, we'll leave and drop you off further up the coast, nearer ta' Silverpine."

Kira had accepted it. She couldn't afford to argue, really. It wasn't her ship, and she had no right to say anything about how it was flown. Though she didn't exactly trust Matthias, she did trust Thrall.

The Hindenborough had come to rest a little ways away from the ruined burg that Tarren Mill had become. It looked like a ghost town from Naruto's point of view; the houses looked old and worn, there was little light being emanated, and even littler sound. When Matthias had stepped off the zeppelin, however, he had been greeted by a large group of some of the most horrid looking creatures that Naruto had ever seen.

They were, in effect, human corpses, that walked, talked, and apparently even laughed (at least when talking to Matthias). Their flesh was in the process of decay; it was either a pale blue, a deep white, or a waxy gray, and much of it hung off their bones like wrinkled clothing. They hunched over, the flesh on their backs so decayed that their spinal cords were in plain view. Their eyes and faces were in some cases the most intact part of their body, but in others the most disfigured. He saw some with normal human ones, albeit extremely pale, and with strange glowing yellow eyes. But others were missing those glows, and even missing parts of their faces. He saw some missing lower jaws (and yet he could still hear them speaking, to his shock) noses, ears, and some just had deep, black sockets for eyes. Their hands were more like claws, and few of them wore boots, or any sort of footwear at all. But what was amazing was that despite the exposed bone in their joints, they walked with as much fluidity and proficiency as a normal human did.

The oddest thing about them, however, was their hair. It came in all shapes and colors, and the majority of it defied gravity in some way. It either stuck up in long, bright green spikes or a Mohawk, but could also hang low across their faces, greasy, stringy and black.

From the ship, Naruto, Tsuwabuki, Kira, and Kylia had all watched in fascination at the creatures. It was clear that even Kira had never seen such creatures in her life. They were both disturbing, and at the same time, incredibly interesting to watch. They spoke in a guttural, fierce-sounding language that Matthias would later identify as Gutterspeak—a language that Sylvanas herself had created. It was a derivation of one of the High Elf languages, seeing as how Sylvanas had once been one.

They spoke to Matthias for a while, and eventually led him away from the Hindenborough, until he was out of sight. The rest of the crew had then begun unloading a bunch of foul-smelling (to Naruto and Tsuwabuki that is) boxes and passing them to several Forsaken that had stayed behind. Naruto and others lay low the entire time, and Naruto noticed the oddest thing. Aside from the smell of the cargo, and the natural smells of the world around them, he couldn't smell anything else. There was no hint of the rotten, moldy smell of decayed flesh, or the musty smell of old bones, or anything really.

The Forsaken had no smell.

Tsuwabuki confirmed this for him. The fox hadn't caught a whiff of the undead villagers since they had landed. The two of them puzzled about this the rest of the time. Kira just watched them; rather like an artist observing her subject. She watched the way they walked; the way they spoke; the subtle differences in their eyes and noses (what ones that had them, anyways) and essentially everything about them. It was as if she guessed that by observing them, she could somehow better associate with them.

Finally, Matthias returned, grinning as usual. By that time the cargo had all been unloaded, and the rest of Matthias' crew was already on deck, eager to leave. And leave they did, with Matthias casting a final cheery wave over his shoulder as he stepped onto the zeppelin, which then began to rise slowly into the air, away from the waving undead below them.

He turned to Naruto, and said, "We'll be headin' down the coast now. Yeh'll be let off nearer to Silverpine, sound good?"

Naruto nodded. "What was the cargo?" he asked, blinking curiously at the captain.

Matthias shrugged. "Bit of what it always is. Some hard ta' find roots, plants and flowers that grow only in other parts o' the world. Some rare animal parts: spider venom sacks, hydra humours, naga spines; that sort o' thing. The Royal Apothecary Society—the group o' alchemists an' healers that Sylvanas keeps around for whatever reason, badger me about gettin' more o' the stuff every time I come. Dunno what they're gonna do with it all, but it must be somethin' important; that stuff ain't cheap, or easy to find, ye know."

His question answered, Naruto turned to head back to the railing—a favorite hangout of his. Not five seconds after he had turned his back and started walking did Kira zip over and begin to badger the competitive captain with a hundred questions about the Forsaken and their culture. She only knew what little Benedictus had told her: that they were undead, and they were ruled by a vicious snake (a woman). Now that she had seen them, she wanted to know everything about them; from what they ate, to how their bodies worked, and even what holidays they celebrated. Matthias did his best to answer what he could, but it did little to satiate the girl's sudden burst of enthusiasm to learn all about the Forsaken.

For Naruto himself, he was less interested in how they lived, as how he was going to talk to them. Everything he had gotten from Thrall, Vol'jin, Cairn, Kaine and the others in Orgrimmar had been that the Forsaken were among the most hateful of the races in Azeroth. They had a right to be, of course, seeing as how they were no longer human. He wondered if they'd even listen to Kira and him.

He shook his head, annoyed. He'd get them to listen. He'd done it before, hadn't he?

Of course, there was also another thing on his mind, which was much more pressing for the blonde.

'What kind of ramen do they have?' he wondered. It occurred to him that he didn't have the faintest idea what the Forsaken ate. Bugs? Dogs? He even got a creepy thought that they might enjoy the taste of human flesh. No way; they'd been human once, so why would they?

It occurred to him that he might have to go with out ramen (or some equivalent) until he got the elves.

Now that was a scary thought.

A little while later, Matthias brought the ship down, and he landed it on the shore nearby an extremely foreboding-looking forest: Silverpine. He grinned at the three travelers, and one fox, as they got their things together. They then stood before him, and he shook their hands, bowing his head as he did each.

"I wish the best o' luck to ye all. Naruto," said Matthias, clapping Naruto on the shoulder. "I have somethin' for yeh, before ye leave." He took something from his coat, and handed it to Naruto. It was one of the oddest contraptions Naruto had ever seen.

It was a rectangular box, about the size of a crabapple. It was a metallic grey, and had some strange symbols on its side. On one of the faces was a small red button. The face opposite that had a small red light, which was unlit. On the face between those two was a set of small holes. Naruto looked over the object a few times, confused. "What is it?" he asked.

Matthias grinned. "Dunno what its called, somethin' strange in Goblish, though. I got it on a trip to the Undermine, a couple years back. It's part of a pair. Yeh press the red button, speak into those holes, and then release the button. Wherever the other half is, it records what ye say, an' so I'll be able to communicate with ye from long distances. Ye manage to survive this, then gimme a call, and if I have the time, I may be able to cart ye to wherever ye be needin' ta go. Sound good?"

Naruto stared at the box again. "So they're like long distance walkie-talkies?" the blonde said.

Matthias blinked. "Eh? What're those?"

Naruto opened his mouth, before thinking better about it. He didn't quite want to give the man a rundown on basic ninja reconnaissance technology, so he just waved the man's question off, and stuffed the box into his pocket. He grinned. "Thanks! I'll be sure to use it."

Matthias nodded to him, and then grasped Naruto's hand one final time. He gave it a fierce shake, and said, "Yeh're a fine opponent. I never thought I'd find such a young rival. I hope that ye are able to accomplish what ye set out to do." Then he smiled at the blonde, showing his bright, shiny teeth.

Naruto grinned back, "Thanks, old man." He had never stopped calling Matthias that, much to the youthful captain's chagrin.

Kira smiled at the interaction between the two. It once again made her realize that Naruto was the best choice for a person to accompany her. He had the ability to make friends of anyone. She realized that it was something that benefited both parties. Naruto received more and more friends, and those he made friends with were inspired by the blonde's personality. It was no wonder that he would be able to make a friend out of a smuggler like Matthias.

She then noticed, with a blink and a slight fracture in her smile, that neither had let go of the other's hand. She also noticed that both of their smiles had become obviously forced, and had beads of sweat forming on their brows.

"Best o' luck…" said Matthias, his hand starting to shake slightly from the strain.

"You too…" Naruto said, wondering how much more his arm could take. He didn't look it, but Matthias Hindenborough was actually rather strong.

They stood there a full ten minutes, by the end of which the crew had started taking bets on who would give up first. At this point, Kira had been forced to her wit's end, and so she introduced a factor that made both release their grips at once.

One of Kylia's daggers.

Finally, the four travelers stood on the soft, wet sand of the shore, as The Hindenborough floated into the sky. They all waved at it (Naruto with his good arm) until it had disappeared into the skies. Then they had set off towards the forest.

Now, an hour later, the three were resting. Naruto wasn't particularly tired, but he agreed with Kira in that traveling at night, especially in such a frightening place, was probably not the best of ideas. Naruto was confident that he could take on anything that showed up, but his experiences in this world had instilled within him a tad more caution. He built a small fire, not to cook anything, merely to give them light and some warmth. Nobody said anything for a while; they just stared into the fire, yawning occasionally. Finally, Kira broke the silence with a question.

"Do you think Sylvanas will let us in?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. I haven't heard much saying that she will. Everybody so far has been rather wary about her. What do you think?"

Kira thought a moment. "I don't know. I think that if we explain we are messengers from Thrall, it would give us a much better chance than if we were to simply say we were humans who needed to speak to her. But…I fervently hope that she at least will hear us speak."

Naruto nodded in agreement. It was all they could do at this point. Hope.

'I'm hungry,' said Tsuwabuki, nudging Naruto's pack. 'I won't eat anything in this place, it all smells rotten. Give me some meat.'

Naruto glared at her, but dug into his pack anyways. He was rather hungry as well. He didn't have the supplies to make his favorite meal, but the dried meat, bread and other traveling essentials had been given to them back in Orgrimmar would be suitable for now. Finally locating the bag of dried meat, he reached in, and was about to grab a piece, when he heard a twig snap behind him. Following this, Naruto felt a sudden presence so close that though he couldn't smell, hear or see a thing, he knew it was there. It brought the hairs on the back of his neck to attention, and he was able to duck and roll out of the way before a large, curved dagger could slice him in two.

Naruto landed on his feet a yard away, his hand immediately going for Magni's Pride. But before he could pull it out, the presence was upon him again, in the form of a tall, white-faced, black-haired Forsaken with glowing yellow eyes, no lips, and wielding a pair of large, black daggers. He was dressed in a black shirt with long flaring sleeves, covered by a red and black tabard; ripped black pants, black leather boots, and black leather gloves.

The Forsaken moved as fluidly and swiftly as a shinobi might, striking Naruto in the middle with a kick, which the blonde absorbed with a swift Kongou. Startled by Naruto's stability, the Forsaken leapt back, only to have Naruto shoot forwards after him, driving the hilt of his now drawn sword into the Forsaken's gut. However not possessing much air in his lungs to be knocked out, the Forsaken recovered swiftly, and parried Naruto's follow-up sword strike with his dagger.

The two danced across the campsite like this, exchanging blows in rapid succession, but neither was able to hit the other properly. Finally disengaging him, Naruto leapt backwards, forming a familiar seal.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" he cried. Two clones popped into existence next to him, and his undead opponent's glowing yellow eyes grew larger, in obvious surprise. All three Narutos now came at him, the original delivering a downward slash at the Forsaken's head while the clones struck out with kicks to both of his sides.

The Forsaken parried the sword strike with one dagger, and sunk his other into the clone on Naruto's right's foot. He then attempted to shift his weight to the side, to avoid the other clone's kick, but it swiftly changed the angle of its attack, and struck him in the middle. Knocked off his feet, the Forsaken struck a tree trunk behind him, causing him to elicit a gurgle of pain. The Forsaken raised his weapons in defense when he saw that Naruto was going to press the attack, but was unprepared for a very sudden burst of supernatural speed from the shinobi. Using the Kazaashi, Naruto appeared right in front of the Forsaken, delivering a lightning-fast right hook to his jaw, still clutching his sword. The Forsaken was thrown by the power of the punch, but managed to remain standing when he landed a few yards away.

Naruto readied to attack again, but a voice stopped him cold.

"Oi, kid, you'd better stop that, or else the little one right here might suddenly find herself without a head to speak of…or with."

Naruto turned at once, meeting the empty black sockets of another Forsaken, this one dressed in dark green open front robes with silvery lining; he had long, stringy, teal-colored hair, and was holding a small dagger to Kira's throat. Though his words had been light hearted, his face was anything but. He had a fierce look on his face, despite not having lips to scowl. Though he had no eyes, Naruto could tell he was looking at the other Forsaken.

Kira's eyes were wide, in both fright and pain. Kylia lay behind her unmoving. She seemed conscious, but was bound by some hidden force, preventing her from coming to her misress's aid.

But the sight of the dagger at Kira's throat ignited a tremendous anger in Naruto. Before he had even realized it, he felt the Kyuubi's chakra seeping through his tenketsu and surrounding him with a plume of fiery orange chakra, his vision sharpening, and his need to rip the Forsaken that was trying to hurt his friend apart grew exponentially.

"Let her go."

Naruto said the words with such force that they could have smashed through stone. His grip on his sword was so tight that if the hilt hadn't been made of the finest materials in the world, it might have shattered. At the slightest of moves, he would attack.

"KILL THEM'

The Kyuubi had made itself known again, after months of remaining silent. Naruto bent his knees, ready to follow the orders, but Tsuwabuki stopped him.

'Don't. He's up to something. Calm down, Naruto!'

The shinobi did stop, and his spirit beast's words reverberated through him as if they were the echoes from a mighty gong. The rage vanished, abruptly, and the demon chakra drained away as swiftly as water. The whole process left Naruto feeling light-headed, and bereft of feeling for a moment.

When he finally gathered his wits, the situation hadn't changed. The Forsaken still held a weapon to Kira's throat, and the other one was still staring warily at the blonde. His yellow eyes were glowing even more intensely now, and the one holding Kira socket's were as round as saucers.

"What the hell…?" the Forsaken with teal hair said.

"S-stop!"

Kira's gurgled cry, in Orcish, brought the attention of the two Forsaken to her at once. The one holding her pulled the dagger away, his pale brows knitted together in confusion.

"Did you just speak Orcish?" he said in the same language.

"Y-yes! W-we are…emissaries f-from Thrall!"

At this, the Forsaken let her go completely, and she stumbled forwards, coughing. The Forsaken looked at her, with a look that could only be surprise, before he quickly composed himself.

"Prove it."

Massaging her throat, Kira pointed behind her at Naruto. "His clothes," she wheezed.

The Forsaken face sagged into a frown (as he had no lips), and he looked past her at Naruto's clothes; the dark, flaring pants of a Shadowhunter, brown leather boots, white shirt, and a black and orange jacket that Thrall had given to Naruto, with the symbol of the Frostwolves sewn over Naruto's heart. It was given (the symbol, that is; the jacket was still from the gnomes) to all those who completed the Tetra-Elemental training; technically, Naruto hadn't, but it had been enough for Thrall.

The skin round the Forsaken's eyes grew taught with surprise, and he said, "What the hell…?"

His partner walked over, his eyes never leaving Naruto or Kira, and he smacked the other Forsaken in the head.

"Idiot," he said. "You'd be dead if she had been bluffing."

The other Forsaken sunk a little in a pout (which gave Naruto the heebie-jeebies just watching) and muttered an apology. He quickly recovered, then, and said, "Wait a minute…why would humans be emissaries from Thrall? Who the hell are you people?"

Kira looked at them warily for a moment. Then, she answered.

"It'll take a while to explain…but please, it's the truth!"

"I know," said the Forsaken. "I'd recognize that symbol anywhere."

"So explain," the yellow-eyed Forsaken said.

Kira gulped at the undead's tone, and squeaked, her eyes darting at Kylia, "Could you release my friend first?"

"So…you were sent by Thrall, who wants to make an alliance with the other races of Azeroth, to help repair his relations with us and start some with them?" said Fen later. The group was huddled around a roaring fire, the Forsaken on one side, the humans and fox on the other. Kylia had a dagger in her hands, and was looking warily at the Forsaken with teal hair, Fenritt (Fen for short). It had been he who had used some sort of paralyzing jutsu to stun her (Arcane Freeze, he had called it). Predictably, she wasn't not at all happy with the one who had put a dagger to her mistress's neck.

"Yes," said Kira, trying to seem at ease. No matter how she kept telling herself that they wouldn't hurt her, and that they were just a different type of creature, she could not help but glance at the rotten flesh around the two Forsaken's mouths, their strange eyes (or lack thereof), and notice their general disposition. It wasn't frightening so much as offsetting. She had never been this close to something that resembled rotten, moving, corpses so much before.

"And you want to meet with Lady Sylvanas so that you could discuss this?" Fen continued, raising an eyebrow populated by only a few sparse hairs.

Kira nodded.

Fen grinned crookedly, "That sounds like the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Kira blinked, looking crestfallen, but Naruto came to her defense, "Oi! You rotten bag of bones, it's true!" he cried.

Fen raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Hey hey hey, don't worry. It sounds stupid, but I didn't say I didn't believe it. Tell you the truth, I've been waiting for something like this to happen."

Kira blinked. "You have?"

Fen nodded. "Don't worry yourself. Myr' and I were already on our way back to the Undercity. We'll take you along, since if you came alone…well…I won't go into detail, since this is still a T-rated story."

The three humans blinked. "Huh?" said Kira.

Fen grinned, and waved it off. "Just don't worry about it. But we need to be back soon, so you'll have to start moving now."

Kira hastened to agree, and soon they had doused the fire and were following the two Forsaken through the dark woods. Fen remained in back, just a little ways behind Kira, while Myrdraxxis, his partner, remained up front, standing a little ways in front of Naruto.

"Oi," the blonde said, staring hard at Myrdraxxis's back. It had suddenly occurred to him that their formation was a little sketchy. It felt like they were prisoners. "This seems a little too much like you've captured us, and are taking us back to be killed or imprisoned or something."

Myrdraxxis did not turn. "You sound smarter than you look."

Naruto growled in fury. "Shut up! I'm talkin' about the formation you've got us in. It feels like if we try to run away, you'll either one of you will be in the perfect position to attack us."

Again, Myrdraxxis did not turn. "So you'd rather that your little friend be in the back, where she'd be easy pickings for the denizens of the forest? We can arrange that. I do not care whether we make it back with the three of you intact. It is either this way, or we leave you here."

Naruto twitched. He hadn't thought of that. Undeterred, he muttered, "Stupid rotten-guy."

"Your ability to think up insults astounds me. I have not heard that one before, believe me." The sarcasm oozed from Myrdraxxis's mouth like honey.

Naruto twitched again.

In the back, Fen grinned. "I like your friend; he's the only one who can get a witty retort out of Myr' other than myself."

Kira nodded, smiling weakly.

Why, you ask, did I decide to take them? Easy. This was my chance. It was, I had hoped, the chance that I could return to my former job, and be able to fulfill the dream that I had always had. If there was any chance that Sylvanas would rejoin the Horde, I felt that this would be it. These kids had to be something special if Thrall had even considered using them as messengers.

I met with Thrall loads of times back when I was ambassador. I know how he thinks. He isn't the type to just send in people, especially to Lady Sylvie, who he knows will fail. He isn't cruel enough to just send in walking bags of meat, not caring if they lived or died. He isn't like that. So these three humans must have been something if they not only had gained Thrall's trust enough to deliver such an important message, but had received his training as well. I saw how the boy moved—that was the Kazaashi, the Wind style. I've seen it in action hundreds of times.

Call it selfish, but these kids were my chance to start following my dream again. I knew that Myrdraxxis did not approve of my decision; I don't know why he went along with it, though. Perhaps he longed for the old days, as well?

Another reason why I decided to lead them is because of the boy. Not only did the kid possess power enough to match, probably even surpass, Myrdraxxis, but he had that strange power that appeared when I had captured the girl. I'll admit, it was one of the first times I'd felt fear since I died. I knew there was something about that boy. Whether it was good or bad, I wouldn't know until later.

Nevertheless, I would show them in. If they had tried to get in by themselves… I stand by what I said. The boy had it right, too. They were technically our prisoners, at least until we explained the situation. If they hadn't been, then our orders were to kill them on sight, and if their bodies were salvageable, take them back for food for the Abominations that guarded the city. Those guys eat at least their weight in animal parts everyday. Disgusting.

They traveled for two days, at a slow, methodical pace. Surprisingly, it took only a little time for the three humans to get over their initial uneasiness. This was mostly due to Fen's cheery nature—he filled the silences with and almost endless stream of chatter, and soon it was hard to not converse with him as they walked. Naruto found a kindred spirit in the upbeat undead, and the two talked almost the entire time about various things, mostly about their individual experiences in the world, their likes and dislikes, and things that Fen believed would annoy Myrdraxxis.

The surly Forsaken said little to the other members of the party—usually just a growl or a word in Gutterspeak to Fen, or to retort to one of Naruto's jibes. The blonde had taken to calling him "Myrdrasshole", which Naruto believed was one of his cleverest nicknames to date. His demeanor was one of a brooding genius, something that Naruto was quite familiar with. Therefore, he wasted no time in gloating over his almost victory, which appeared to be a sore spot for Myrdraxxis.

During these times when Naruto was bothering Myrdraxxis, or just silent, Kira would make small talk with Fen, asking him about what the Undercity was like, and what they needed to expect. He was happy to explain, in the most flowery and expressive of languages, all about his home and what they were likely going to have to go through.

One particular time, Naruto brought up a question that had been bothering him for some time. Falling back and settling next to the Forsaken mage, Naruto asked, "How come you guys don't smell?"

Fenritt blinked. Or at least tried to, but he really didn't have any eyelids to blink, so he paused mid-stride, and looked at the blonde with raised eyebrows. "You wound me. I smell quite a bit. You just can't smell what I smell like, because I smell like nothing. And you can't smell nothing very well, unless you are nothing…I think."

Naruto sweat-dropped. This guy was even weirder than he was.

Fen grinned. "Well, to answer your question, I don't smell because of a little invention by the Royal Apothecary Society. You see, when we were first awakened, we smelled like any other corpse would—bad. But after a while, Sylvanas got tired of the smell, as did many of us, so she had the Apothecaries whip up a little potion that would eliminate that. They did, but unfortunately it didn't last. It needed to be constantly reapplied, or after a while we'd just smell again.

"But they had an epiphany—the Undercity creates tons of waste by-products, due to all of the experiments and things that are going on down there, and the fact that everything is powered by chemicals. It comes in this nasty green goop, which used to be harmful to everyone but us. Sylvanas saw a couple of things that could be changed about this. So after eliminating the toxicity of the slime with another couple of concoctions, she added the deodorizing potion into it, effectively turning it into a river of that keep everything from smelling.

"She then built machines that could be used to harness the slime, and thereby create electricity to power the Undercity, and thus allow us to not only breath…which we do, by the way, but saved us tons of time and power. The slime is constantly recycled, so we essentially never run out of power. Neat huh?"

It was neat, and Kira was fascinated by it.

Naruto was less so, but he now knew that he'd have to be even more cautious. These guys didn't smell at all, and that meant that if they were really sneaky, like Myrdraxxis, they could get the drop on him and Tsuwabuki. It wasn't at all comforting for the blonde to realize this.

Soon they let Silverpine, and entered a plain, with dying grass, and a perpetually darkened sky. They were taken to a long road, tucked in a small valley a just a little ways outside of the forest. They traveled along it for a day, encountering no one.

As they walked, Naruto saw that on the right side of the valley, at the top of the hill, there was a large wall. It stretched on for the entire time they walked, and Kira explained that it was the walls to the city of Lordaeron, where Prince Arthas—the servant of the Lich King—had been born in. Fen said that the wall didn't do much anymore. It was a meager defense compared to the layers of dirt and rock that protected the Undercity.

They finally reached a crossroads, one of which led up the valley, towards a towering gate; one led left, and there was a sign that had "Brill" written in faded golden letters; the final one led straight, towards the Plaguelands that had once been the kingdom of Lordaeron.

Fen and Myrdraxxis led them up the huge hill towards the gate, which was deserted.

"We don't need defense up here…wouldn't make much sense considering all the defenses we have down there," Fen explained.

Inside the gate, there was nothing. They saw piles of stones, ruined fountains, broken down buildings while creeping vines crawling up the side. They saw signs that once advertised wares for shops lying upon the ground, rotten and faded. They saw the remnants of a once bustling city, a prosperous place the many people had lived in. Now it was nothing. It was dead, and everyone within it was too.

It took them only a few minutes to reach Lordaeron keep, which in its state, looked nothing like Castle Stormwind. Kira imagined that it had once looked just as, if not more, impressive than her own home. Now it was a ruin. It made her heart ache to think that.

They walked through into the entrance hall through a large hole in the stone. The doors were covered in vines, and rusted shut. No one even bothered with them anymore. The entrance hall had the same appearance of everything else—long gone, a remnant of a once great civilization. They walked past many vein encrusted statues of old kings and rulers of the castle, now all dead and buried.

At the end of the entrance hall, through a gate that was missing its doors, they came upon the throne room. It was circular, and seemed to be in better shape the all the rest, but a thick layer of dust covered it all, making Naruto and Tsuwabuki sneeze. Fen led them down a side passage, near the throne. Kira did not take her eyes off it. She had heard stories of the once proud kingdom. The King of Lordaeron had once sat there. Her heart ached again, and she was glad when she could no longer see it.

They passed into another, circular room, one that had many passages that branched out into different parts of the castle. Myrdraxxis led them down the one directly across from where they entered, down a long flight of stairs.

At the end of these stairs, Naruto glimpsed two horrendously grotesque beasts, standing on either side of a large door with a strange white symbol on it. Kira nearly screamed when she saw them, but Fen stopped her. It wouldn't do to have them attacking before they could explain.

Myrdraxxis walked forwards, and nodded to one of the creatures. It appeared to be a morbidly obese, and incredibly tall, humanoid that looked to be a patchwork of different color skins. Stitches lined its entire body, even around the arms at the shoulders, and feet at the thighs. Both were the roughly same pale blue that Myrdraxxis and Fen were (several parts differed in shade). Their mouths were gaping maws of mismatched, crooked teeth; their eyes were both different colors and sizes; they both had huge holes in their stomachs, where one could view the entirety of their digestive systems, which hung out, threatening to fall at any moment. Both had extra arms sewn on their backs, and they held huge meat hooks, which hung from long chains. Putrid green clouds of smoke hovered around them, rising like steam from their corpulent bodies.

The three humans and the fox stared in a mixture of horror and fascination at the beasts. They were disgusted by the appearance, but the stupid grins on both their faces stopped the three from feeling any sort of fear whatsoever. They didn't smell, either, which helped too.

"We have prisoners," said Myrdraxxis, coldly.

One of the abominations looked at Myrdraxxis, then back at the three humans and a fox.

"That all Myr' say after not see Grunde for many days? Grunde crushed."

Fen stepped forwards, grinning. "Long time no see, Grunde. But Myr's right, we've gotta hurry. Sylvie" Myrdraxxis set him a hard glare, which made him cough and correct himself, "I mean, Lady Sylvanas, would like to here our report as soon as we get in."

Grunde nodded, a green tongue lolling from his mouth. "Okay. Can Grunde eat puppy? Grunde not have puppy for long time…"

Tsuwabuki twitched, growling in a low voice, "I'll rip that thing's throat out if it tries to eat me."

Fen didn't here this, just shook his head. "Nah, she's a prisoner too. Wouldn't do to eat our prisoners, huh?"

Grunde pouted. "Okay, Grunde let you in."

The door at once shot upwards, revealing a large, circular room. The group walked in, and just after Kylia walked in, the door slammed shut. Kylia leapt forwards, shocked, and was so off-balance that seconds later, when the room suddenly sped downwards, she fell flat onto her face.

Everyone nearly followed her example from the sudden jolt, and then they were speeding downwards, so quickly that Naruto almost felt weightless. He grinned. It was a rather cool feeling, almost like he was flying again.

The elevator stopped suddenly, making everyone stumble again, and a door exactly like the one above shot open. Myrdraxxis and Fenritt immediately walked through, the others following dazedly. They passed another set of abominations, which just glared at them as they passed, and after walking down a twisting pathway, they came to the very heart of the Undercity.

And what a sight it was.

It was a huge, circular room—so huge that it must have been at least a mile or two in total distance. It was made of dark stone and metal, with a greenish glow in between; evidently they had found more use for slime than just power. They stood in the middle of a bustling street, which circled the room, along with many shops and passages that led into other parts of the city. The shops all had signs hanging down in front of him, and their owners stood outside, bellowing their wares in Gutterspeak in their attempts to attract customers. The "street" was filled with undead; all busy with their daily lives. Naruto saw them shopping at stores, sitting at tables in restaurants, and just walking along enjoying their own company. All in all, it was not unlike that of what went on around Konoha or Orgrimmar. It was stranger, to be sure, but in the very essence of it, it differed very little. They were all so caught up in their lives that they barely noticed the three humans that had just entered.

In the center of the room was a large, immensely thick column, which had many pathways stretching from the street that they were standing on, to small circular platforms that surrounded the column. There were more shops on these platforms.

Below them there was another level: a large stone platform where the column stood, and four large passageways that led away from the room. Surrounding the platform was a river of bright green sludge. It flowed quickly, but not quite a rushing river, and its consistency was that of blood.

After a moment of staring (for Naruto, Kira, Kylia and Tsuwabuki, that is) Fen beckoned them follow. They entered the street, and began weaving through the throngs of Forsaken. Oddly enough, they paid little attention to them. A passing glance here, a quick yet interested stare there, but otherwise they were largely unnoticed. This made Kira a little nervous, so she asked Fen in a low voice why they weren't reacting to them.

"Easy, 'cause you're prisoners. We get them all the time—you'll just be used for experiments or chopped up for abomination feed to them. There isn't really anything for them to notice that isn't everyday."

Kira gulped, and nodded weakly. She really hoped, at this point, that Sylvanas would be understanding.

They went down one of the walkways that led to the column, and then down another to the bottom floor. They went over a bridge, and into a dark tunnel—the former sewers of Lordaeron, cleaned (relatively) and fit for walking. They walked along the dank and musty passageway for some time, encountering only a few people, covered by hoods and quickening their pace when the group got near them.

Finally, they turned down a different, smaller passage, and eventually came to another river of slime, and another street. This river was larger than the previous, and moved much faster. It made sounds befitting a river of slime as it sloshed against the sides of the canal, and Naruto was almost mesmerized by it as they crossed over it on another bridge.

"You can watch it for hours and never get bored," grinned Fen.

On the other side of the bridge, there was a large, looming gate, which was open. Standing on either sides of the gate were not abominations, but Forsaken. They wore the same tabard as Myrdraxxis, black and red, and wore red hoods that obscured their faces.

Myrdraxxis saluted them. "We must speak with Lady Sylvanas. These are emissaries from Lord Thrall, of the Horde."

One of them came forwards, returned the salute, before looking at the group. This one had lips, and so he was able to show his obvious distaste for the three humans and the fox. His eyes were bright orange, making him look quite frightening.

"How do you know?" he asked.

Myrdraxxis looked at Fenritt, waiting for him to answer. Fen nodded, and explained why he thought so, and their reasons for being there.

The Royal Deathguard's expression did not change when he had heard the full story. But he trusted Fen and Myrdraxxis quite a bit. Everyone did. They were among the Banshee Queen's first, and favorite, loyal warriors. He gave a nod, letting them pass, but glared at them the entire time they were visible.

They passed through four more sets of Royal Deathguards, each set showing in some way, their disgust for the group of humans. It made Kira gulp. She was not used to such obvious scorn. Naruto weathered it, as did Kylia, and so they stood in front of her, shielding her from the hate. Naruto met their glares as they passed.

Finally, they came to a titanic, circular room. Royal Deathguards stood every few feet along the walls of the room, a huge raised platform, surrounded by four thick columns. A large chandelier hung over the center of the platform, illuminated by an otherworldly light. Upon this platform, in the very center, sitting upon a big stone throne, was the Queen of the Banshee, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner.

Myrdraxxis, upon sighting his queen, fell into a bow. Fen did too, but at a much slower, almost leisurely pace. Kira quickly followed, as did Kylia, but Naruto and Tsuwabuki remained standing. He had gone through this with the last rulers as well. He bowed for no one.

The woman upon the throne looked at Naruto with stark white eyes that Naruto could see nothing within. She was not blind, because Naruto could feel her gaze upon him. She was dressed in a simple black robe, tied at the waist around a perfectly formed and curved body. She had full breasts, long legs, a thin waist, and her skin was a grayish color. She had long, pointed ears, and wore a hood that covered her silvery white hair. On her lips, which were black as night, there was an amused, yet sardonic smile.

She was beautiful…or may have once been.

Her beauty seemed perverted, perhaps even false. She seemed to wear it as a mask, to cover something that she did not want anyone to see. It was different from Tsunade-baba's beauty in that Tsunade simply hid her true form because she was vain. Sylvanas did not have a true form to hide; she had something unseen that she did not want to express. Something deep and dark.

Naruto stood staring at her, sizing her up, and perhaps she was doing the same for him.

Finally, she waved her hand, and said simply. "Arise, Myrdraxxis, Fenritt. Tell me who the disrespectful little human is."

Her voice was beautiful too, but once again, it seemed to be a perversion of the beauty it may have once held.

Myrdraxxis shot a look back at Naruto, which the blonde couldn't decipher. He backed away, letting Fen stand up and speak.

"He, and the girls, and the fox I think, are messengers from Thrall, My lady," said Fen. "They've come to tell you of what Thrall wishes to do."

Sylvanas raised an eyebrow, and then her smile widened a little.

"What he wishes to do? Then tell me…you have caught my interest."

Fen nodded, and backed away too. Kira rose, looking at Naruto for comfort, and the blonde nodded. She stepped forward, and began to speak. She spoke of what Thrall, and she and Naruto wanted; she spoke a little of the experiences in the past, of how many they now had who were willing to join them. She even spoke of her heritage.

Her words made Fen and Myrdraxxis blink (figuratively). It did not sound like Thrall wanted this, or that he had come up with it. It sounded like the dreams of a young girl, who simply wanted to make the world a better place. It was not the same as what she had told them, not really, but the fact that the blonde had been able to win over Thrall, Vol'jin and Cairn still spoke volumes of his ability. It may not have been what Thrall had originally wanted, but it was good enough for Fen.

At the end, when Kira spoke her final plea that Sylvanas help them, the Banshee Queen was still silent. During the course of the explanation her face had not changed, but her milky eyes had. There was a sudden gleam in them, but only for a few seconds.

Then, she laughed.

Yes…the laugh.

That sweet, melodic sound that makes my still and silent heart give a few sputters before retiring again. It makes me smile every time I hear it, and it fills me with a courage that only the laugh of one sweetheart can bring.

Did I just write that? This isn't a romance. Forgive me.

The laugh…

I am the only one who has ever felt good when hearing that laugh. For it is a laugh that the enemies of Sylvanas do not want to hear. It spells doom for all those who hear it.

That laugh may be a weapon in itself.

When she stopped laughing, she looked at Naruto; not at Kira, Kylia, Tsuwabuki, or even Myrdraxxis or Fenritt. Her eyes were filled with that gleam again, and this time it didn't go away.

And with a single, simple word, she crushed Kira's dream, smashing it to the ground beneath her iron boot.

"No."

The end…of the chapter.

Not much to say this time, although I do apologize for both the lateness, and the lack of action in the chapter. Well, they can't all be filled to the brim with fighting, huh? This one is going to be a bit more passive, but still packed with action. Don't worry, I just have to set the scene.

I do have a few questions.

Love it? Hate it?

I realize that this is somewhat of a change, what with the narrative from Fenritt, but it though it made the atmosphere, and gave you all a pretty good insight on to the history of the Forsaken, as well as some witty banter that I have been dying to do for some time. It also gave you more information on the characters.

I hope that you guys like it. I did, and I plan to keep adding Fen's little blurbs of dialogue throughout the arc. Tell me what you think. Just don't flame the hell out of me if you hate it.

Myrdraxxis is the name of my character in game, by the way. He's a rogue. Fenritt is Muhi-Tatsu's character in game (the guy who did all the omakes back then), and though he gave me the name, basic personality, and appearance, I've filled in the blanks with back story and such. I hope he is pleased…it is his character, after all.

Finally, Kokiri is my brother's character.

That's all. Sorry for the lateness, I was visiting family all weekend, and only managed to get four or so pages done by Sunday.

Next week—What will Naruto, Kira and the rest do, now that Sylvanas has refused them?

Seeya.

General Grievous