Disclaimer: A limerick:

A limerick proper is hard to make

With such limited knowledge I take

And still end this little rhyme

By saying that I'm,

Not the owner of Naruto or Warcraft, for God's sake!

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

--------------------------------

It began to rain.

Naruto and his group left the sweltering heat of the cavern, and were met by the falling of a heavy but warm rain, which when it struck their flesh in little plopping sounds, they found to be quite cool. Anything would be, one might feel, after being in a place comparable to the fiery Underworld itself. It was a refreshing rain, which washed the soot and blood from their bodies as they exited Hell and returned to the living world.

Yet, as Naruto stood there, letting the rain cleanse his body of his own as well as draconic blood, he couldn't help but feel that it was fitting. For despite their victory, it seemed that there was nothing to rejoice over. Though Onyxia was dead, nothing had come of it. He felt as if the world was not celebrating her death, but indeed, crying for it—as if it, too, had lost one of its children.

The rain was warm, like tears.

"So it's over, huh?" said Kaine. His fur was matted with rain, and parts of it remained stained with blood. He would continually glance back towards the gaping maw of the cavern, as if afraid that Onyxia would emerge any moment and exact her terrible revenge. But he didn't sound afraid, only confused. Indeed, he was wondering why he did not feel like whooping for joy, or taunting the now perished dragon that had killed so many. It didn't feel appropriate, and that was something that he was unfamiliar with.

"Aye, lad," muttered Undrig, glancing about him. He looked ready to collapse, but did not if only to show the rest of the group that he was capable of doing anything they could. The rain made pinging noises as it struck his armor, dented and scorched. He felt strange, disconnected—he felt like he should be celebrating, but because no one else was, he was not able to free himself from the shock. And Onyxia's final words, and the look of peace on her dead face, remained engraved in his mind, like a fresh epitaph.

The ground around the cavern was still littered with the fallen bodies of dragonspawn, now drenched in rain. Their faces retained looks of animalistic fury; the primal hate that had driven them to massacre thousands of innocent people. There was no peace in their looks.

"Time to head back, yeah?" Fen said. His hair hung down into his face, soaked in rain, like lifeless snakes growing from his skull. He recognized the somber mood, and for that reason kept his normal enthusiasm down, but he found it incomprehensible. He could not fathom why they would not at least acknowledge their victory over the Black Dragonflight. They had won, and Onyxia had lost; and more to the point, they had all survived. What wasn't there to celebrate? He glanced around, and noticed that nobody seemed to share his feelings.

"Yes," said Shandris. She looked about. "Where's the tro—Gen'rash?"

Naruto suddenly noticed that the mohawked giant was not there.

"Where'd he go?" asked Neera, perking up a little. She looked beautiful with the rain cascading down her body, washing away what was left of the soot and grim that had gathered upon her during the battle. But her eyes were troubled, and her face lowered, as if in mourning. She had been most silent since the battle had ended. During their return to the world above, she had not spoken a word, or even made a sound. It was truly her first major victory, but she could not shake Onyxia's dying words from her head. The pain with which the dragon had released in her last moments had been unbearable. But only half of her felt this—the other half urged her to remember the many women and children who had perished due to Onyxia's malicious attack. The result was an entirely neutral feeling—one that she did not like. So she stayed quiet as she attempted to sort out her feelings.

"Back into the cavern, about halfway up," Linkizzle said.

"He needed to do something," said Rurizzle. "Or at least that's what he told us." Water dribbled from both their goggles as they spoke. They had yet to remove them, as if ignorant of their presence. The two elder gnomes felt no joy in their victory, either. But unlike the younger group, they knew exactly why. Though she had deserved her fate, they new that Onyxia could not truly be blamed for her cruelty. After all, she was simply revenging herself for the deaths of her many children, at the hands of the humans. They felt her death necessary, but nothing to lord over. The death of a dragon was a terrible thing—even if it was a creature like Onyxia.

"Here he comes," rumbled Golbarn, staring back towards the mouth, where a figure shrouded in darkness had appeared. When he stepped out of the cave, into the rain, they saw it to be Gen'rash, covered in slick, black blood. He was carrying something over his shoulder, large and obviously heavy, for he slouched a great deal, and took a while in reaching them. It resembled a great black cloak, and could cover most of his body had he not folded it over twice. But it was unmistakably a great section of Onyxia's skin.

"Why did you do that?" asked Neera softly, staring at the hide without any discernible emotion.

"Dragonhide be rare," the troll said calmly. "And she id givin' it up, girl. Ah no' thief."

"How can you tell?" said Linkizzle, frowning. The gnome and his brother were standing, and had glared affixed upon their faces. "She's dead, and you probably took it from her body!"

"Aye," the troll retorted, simply. "But it come off easily, and she be at peace—her body no longer hers. Her spirit be free, returnin' to de eahtha, from wer' it came."

"Spoils of war," said Golbarn, calmly. He stood by Naruto, drenched in rain, the blood from his earlier wounds slowly leaking away in red trickles down his arms and back. His hair was wild and drenched, and no longer tied back by its strip of leather. He saw no fault in Gen'rash's actions. It was a preferable action, especially for slaying something that might provide such rich materials. Though, in a way, he could see why they would be offended. It was hard now, with her final words ringing in his ears, to classify Onyxia as a beast anymore.

"He is right," said Shandris. The elf woman's face was smooth as hardened clay. It was perfectly calm, and she held herself high, all the dignity that she had ever held still present in her features. She weathered the rain without moving. "Dragonhide is one of the most durable substances in the world. It should come in very useful in the future, whatever it is made into." She then glanced at Naruto, wanting to know his thoughts on the matter.

The blonde had been silent this whole time. But, at her look, he shrugged and said, "I don't care." He then crossed his arms, and looked back at the cave. "But there is something I'd like to do before we go. I hated that stupid dragon bitch for what she did," his fiery voice returned for a brief moment in his saying of this, "but she's dead and gone now." His voice lowered at this, and the rest of the words were soft. "She's paid for her deeds, so we can't bear anything towards her anymore. And besides, the people of Stormwind played a part in this as well. I don't know what she was like before her children died, even if she was bad, nobody deserves what she got." He glanced around.

"I can only say this 'cause I've now got one, but it seems to me like family is important for everyone. She was a bitch and a monster, but she was a mother, too. I don't know what it would feel like…but I can't think of anything worse." He thought then of the hateful stares of the villagers of Konoha—the stares filled with frozen rage, or hot, slowly simmering hate trapped beneath a mixture of fear and the desire to stay true to their morals; the stares of those who had lost their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers or mothers, and all the rest, to the attack of the Kyuubi. The source of those glares had been the very same inner pain that Onyxia had felt: a pain of loss greater than they could handle, and one that in order to escape, they had to focus and redirect it onto another medium. The villagers had chosen Naruto, and Onyxia had chosen Stormwind. He could not sympathize with it, but he could understand it. And he could forgive it, too, now that she was dead.

"So instead of just standing here, we need to do something about it."

"Such as?" said Myrdraxxis, quite suddenly and unexpectedly. He stood crouched on a clear patch of ground, the drain dribbling down his body and through the numerous crevices in his face and body. Water poured from his eye sockets, yet it did not look like he was crying; and the rain blurred his yellow pupils, like searchlights in the distant darkness obscured by rain. He looked quite frightening, Death given form, so much so that Neera inched away from the Forsaken a little after he spoke.

"We're gonna seal that cavern. We're gonna give them all a proper burial, okay?"

"Of course," said Shandris, showing emotion for the first time with a tiny smile.

"Yeah," said Kaine, deciding that would be fine, and would probably help him through the confusion he now felt. "Let's do it."

"Okay," said Neera, her voice regaining some of its former lightness.

"Whatever," said Fen, giving an agreeable nod, while Myrdraxxis said, "Fine," a second after him.

"Aye, sounds fine," said Undrig.

"Okay," the gnomes chorused. It was a simple agreement; each culture held respect for the dead (some more than others), and could recognize the truth in Naruto's words to some degree. Though his conviction sent them to work with gusto, they would have done it anyways.

Naruto nodded at their answers, and they went to work. It took them but minutes, using Naruto's Kage Bunshin, to drag or carry the bodies of the fallen dragonspawn into the mouth of the cave. The black drake was more difficult to move, but in the end, they were able to drag it in with all the rest. When they had finished, Naruto glanced at Kaine, and asked him to move to the left of the cavern mouth, while he moved to the right.

For a moment, Naruto bowed his head, as if in prayer. A vision flashed across his mind—the dead citizens of Stormwind, Eliza and her father's bodies, everything he had seen when he had returned to Stormwind. He promised them that he would return, and be there for their burial as well. But they could rest easy now, for they had been avenged, and now their family members still living would be safe.

With that, he thrust a hand into the side of the mountain. He cried, "Doton: Tsuchidaigeki!" and caused the earth surrounding his hand to explode. Cracks, great and small, blinked into existence in every direction from where Naruto had released the jutsu, and continued to grow wider and thicker with each second. At the same time, Kaine, knowing what to do, smashed the mountain wall with his wartotem. It created an echoing boom, which combined with Naruto's jutsu and from the inside out destroyed the cavern entrance completely. The force traveled through, tearing the rocks free in a single jarring second, and sending them crashing to the ground. The dragonic entrance of the cavern collapsed a thunderous crash, sealing its entrance forever.

When it was done, Naruto and Kaine returned to their friends. None of them glanced back, and simply turned and walked away, back towards the forest and the swamp. They had completed their mission—and never again would they have to return to this place.

Tremors suddenly began to streak through the earth beneath their feet, and with a symphony of distant muffled booms and great thundering roars, of rock being pummeled to dust and magma spewing out at high pressures into a monstrous cavern, Azeroth reclaimed Onyxia, back to the place that her kind had been birthed from. The earth had accepted their offering of a final resting place for the dragon.

But tears still fell from the sky, long after they had departed.

-----------------------------------

Matthias smiled a brighter smile than he had ever managed to conjure when he saw Naruto and his friends walking towards the zeppelin. They were soaked from the rain (which had stopped falling a few minutes before they had arrived), and covered from head to foot in mud and slime from the swamp they had just traveled through. All of them had recovered from the confusion that had possessed them after Onyxia's death—perhaps it was the swamp air, or the life that had buzzed around them as they walked through that had brought them back into reality.

Linkizzle and Rurizzle were busy asking Gen'rash what he was considering turning the dragonhide into. The troll would just give them a toothy grin and say "it gonna be sometin' speciale."

Myrdraxxis trailed behind the group, given a wide berth by everyone save Neera, who had chosen him as her current object of fascination. She was firing questions so rapidly at the Forsaken ("What's it like to have no eyes?" or "How do you breathe if your lungs don't work?" to name a few) while he silently bore all of it, and occasionally answered with a snappish, sullen word or two that had no effect in getting Neera to leave. Fen, who trailed a little ways in front of him, beside Naruto and Kaine, couldn't stop laughing.

Undrig was tiredly tramping alongside Shandris, who was continually asking him if he were alright. He would always flush and answer yes, embarrassed that he was showing weakness in front of a lady. Golbarn stood on her other side, and whenever Shandris wasn't talking to Undrig, she would discuss things with the orc—mostly history of the orcs, something she was finding herself increasingly interested in.

"Oi!" roared Matthias, stepping off the zeppelin onto the muddy ground. "Admit I was a bit worried, lad! I thought the tea I just made was goin' to go cold afore ye got back!"

Naruto puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. "That's what you've been doing while we were gone, idiot? Were you even worried about our safety?"

Matthias opened his mouth, then closed it, and thought a moment. "'Course I did, lad! Without you around, things might've gotten a bit boring! I was worried whether or not I'd be able to find someone as fun to challenge as you!"

"Bastard!"

The crew secretly watched in amusement as the blonde launched himself at their captain, and chased him up on board. They began to chuckle, along with the rest, when Matthias, still running, began to chastise the boy for getting mud all over his deck.

"Hey, lad! You get the deck any dirtier, I'm gonna make you clean it!" Matthias shouted.

Naruto snickered in childish amusement, and to annoy the captain further, began to kick his feet, flinging mud in every direction. Matthias gave a cry of dismay, and lunged at the blonde, who danced away, and the chase began anew, reversed this time.

"They're like children," Golbarn rumbled, sighing, as the rest of the group gathered down by the zeppelin.

"One of them is, you forget," said Shandris, chuckling.

"Let's get this show on the road, I'm hungry, wet, tired, and hurting pretty bad here!" bellowed Kaine, with a look of bullish annoyance, to Undrig, as the dwarf slowly ambled up the walkway to the zeppelin.

"Stop complaining, yet great lump!" muttered Undrig. "I was covered in fire fur a coupla' seconds, so don't complain!"

"I can complain all I want!" the tauren retorted, glaring with a petulance that did not at all befit his appearance, as he started up the ramp after the grouchy dwarf.

"I remembered tauren as being a lot calmer, don't you?" said Fen, turning back to Myrdraxxis.

The Forsaken did not respond, for he had not heard the question. Neera was still talking, behind him, and was tapping him on the shoulder and asking him whether or not he ate human flesh. Fen, upon seeing his look, immediately stepped out of the way, for the look on Myrdraxxis' face was akin to the glare of a once sleeping wolf awakened by an annoying, hyperactive cub—only thousand times more hellish. Fen swore that Myrdraxxis' eyes had changed red, and any moment he would round on the elf girl and show her just how far he was willing to go to make her stop talking.

Golbarn grunted to himself as he walked behind the chattering night elf.

"And I thought the brat couldn't be more annoying."

Behind him, Shandris smiled, and said, "She's young. She's never met a Forsaken before, let alone one that will not injure her. Were you not curious when—" Shandris suddenly stopped, and glanced to the side, where something flashed—a deep black, in the corner of her eye. It was so swift, and so dark, that she nearly panicked. Her hand went to her Sentinel's blade, by her side, as she whirled to face the distant swamp behind her.

But there was nothing.

There were nothing but ruined houses, half-trapped in mud; pools of water from the recent rain, glittering in the setting sun; their own footprints, deeply imprinted into the sodden earth; and the distant, lively swamp—whose sounds could now be heard, buzzing and chirping, adding a whole new life to the graveyard of Theramore. Nothing moving, nothing black—perhaps it had been a trick of the light? She could sense nothing: no chakra tickling her mind, even the slightest bit; or movement, on the earth or in the sky.

"What's wrong?" Golbarn said, now behind her.

"Nothing," Shandris said, softly and immediately. There had been nothing, she told herself. She nodded, and turned back to the zeppelin. In the midst of her spin, however, she felt a prickling in her mind, and stopped. She was facing the sea, where in the distance, she could see a tiny island. It was but a forest of darkness from what she could see, shadowed by the bright orange sun as it sunk beneath the waves. She stared at it awhile, and felt nothing more. She then walked up the ramp, and though it lurked still within her mind, a uneasy presence, she paid no more heed to it then.

"Up we go, then!" shouted Matthias, his and Naruto's chase finally ended, with Naruto sitting on the deck gasping for breath, having depleted far more energy in the past day than Matthias had in the past week. The captain surged with excitement—their mission had been a success, Naruto wasn't dead, and he'd be getting paid, quite handsomely, very soon!

The crew set to work, and in moments, the zeppelin began to steadily rise from the ground. Naruto crawled to the railing, and peered over the edge, as he often did.

Theramore shrunk until it was no bigger than a dinner plate, surrounded by miles of sea, and next to a great green land that seemed brighter than ever. He smiled, feeling that the spirit of life would soon return to the dead town.

And knowing that when it did, humans would not be the only ones to return.

But even as he watched, and the zeppelin rose into the clouds, he could not feel a pair of eyes upon him—staring from the green undergrowth of the swamp: two ashen orbs, pale as bone, staring wide, and seeing all.

----------------------------------------

"They've returned," said Benedictus, with a curious casualness, to Kira from his bed, where he sat with piles of stacked papers that told him in the dullest way what was wrong with Stormwind.

Kira, who had just entered with room with Kylia in tow, stopped suddenly and looked at him in confusion.

"What?"

"They're back," the old man repeated, now looking at her. "I received a messenger not five minutes ago, just before you came in. The zeppelin has just landed, a little ways outside the city limits. It seems that they were successful. Good news, isn't it?" Benedictus did not express once ounce of joy or pleasure all the while he spoke; it was as if he was simply informing her, patiently and calmly, that she had left the kettle boiling, or something to that effect.

Kira's eyes widened, and a great smile spread across her face. "Really?" she cried, excited. "They did it? Is anybody…?"

"My dear, I have been confined to this bed since I awoke—and if you would like to tell me just how I could find out without getting up, and hobbling halfway across the city to meet them, I am all ears." Now, he was smiling a tiny smile, filled with good humor and tainted with a light sarcasm.

With a hot glare in his direction, Kira spun around at once, and again with Kylia at her heels, she rushed from the room, excitement in every movement. When she had gone, Benedictus rolled his eyes, before glancing back down, in distaste, at his papers. 'Perhaps,' he thought, 'that choice would have been better.'

Kira rushed across the street in front of the infirmary—now far less filled, so much so that it seemed almost empty in comparison to just three or four days prior. In that time, the medicines and medical expertise of the elves and Forsaken had cured most people of their afflictions and wounds. What remained were either those who had nowhere else to go, or those who could not be healed so quickly. In time, they would be moved to the larger infirmary that was currently in construction, thanks to the architects of the dwarves, the laboring of the orcs, and the supplies of the tauren and trolls. Kira had seen it two days ago, and already it was beginning to take shape—only a few more weeks would be required to complete it.

She and Kylia turned a street, and ran down it until they reached the great square that she gave her almost daily speeches in. It was already a hive of activity, where the other races of the New Alliance met to discuss matters involving the restoration of the city, but also to socialize in general. She saw all manner of peoples as she ran through: a crowd of orcs who were in vociferous (yet good-natured) debate with some humans over how the construction of a certain house should go; a pair of trolls talking to a group of elves about the handling and cutting of the wood their race had brought from Stranglethorn, which if treated well, could last far longer than any other wood in the world; some dwarves talking to two Forsaken who were delivering a cartload of medicines—presumably giving directions; a group of tauren standing before a tiny gnome, who was pouring over blueprints of some structure or another and carefully dictating plans to his awaiting workforce; some humans shaking hands with a few other races, and making simple chat with them, or praising them for a job well done; to Kira, no sight could be greater.

"Everything's going well," Kylia said behind her; the quiet girl had a soft smile on her face, her happiness knowing no bounds for her mistress. Her stutter had long disappeared. She did not know when it had left—but she suspected somehow, that Naruto had something to do with it.

"Yes," said Kira, her smile so wide, and her eyes filled with tears of emotion.

They ran through winding streets—no longer covered in the bodies of the dead, which had all been gathered and set apart. They were to be buried much later, when the portion of citizens in the care of the Argent Dawn had returned. They would be able to identify the bodies far easier that way—and Kira wanted her people to all be together, when they finally sent the dead on their way to the afterlife.

The streets had been cleared of debris too, and were now populated again—this time by orcs, dwarves, elves, trolls, Forsaken, tauren and gnomes, as well as humans. Shops were being rebuilt, and people were working together to accomplish such in great earnest. No human was without a job—to recreate their homes and lives, they would accept the help of these others. That is not to say that they fully trusted them; but they would learn to.

Kira finally reached the massive main gates of the city—they lay agape, displaying the outside world to the crowd of peoples who had gathered to watch it. Twelve figures were currently walking through it, and by the time Kira and Kylia had made their way to the front of the crowd, they had stopped.

"Mornin', Kira-chan!" Naruto said, waving to the young princess.

They were all there—even Matthias Hindenborough; each looked like having gone two or three rounds of wrestling with a wild boar in a puddle of mud, yet emerging victorious nonetheless. Looking like this, they radiated the aura of victory, so powerfully that the sun behind them seemed to wrap around them with its life-giving light, illuminating the invisible aura. Her body moved quite instinctively—and only because he was the closest did Kira suddenly throw herself at Naruto, wrapping him in a powerful hug. Naruto stumbled back from the force, his arms hanging limply by his side in shock of the sudden action. But he could not stay in such shock for long, because he now new what to do. He lifted his arms, and returned the hug. Kira seemed to sink towards him, and to his surprise—it felt nice.

"You're back," she said, quite unnecessarily, voice muffled by his jacket.

"Yep."

"And what about…?"

"Gone," Naruto said, his voice slightly softer. "She won't be bothering this place anymore, I guarantee you that."

"Good," Kira said, seeming to relax in his arms. A weight had lifted from her heart—now Stormwind could truly be restored, and no shadow would remain cast over it.

"Ahem," a voice behind them said, as Shandris took a step forwards, smiling calmly. Finally noticing exactly where she was, Kira suddenly pulled back, her cheeks the color of warm blood. She hung her head a little, not meeting Naruto's eyes, while a few of Naruto's friends chuckled. Matthias gave the boy a wink and a raised thumb. Linkizzle and Rurizzle snickered into their hands, making an obvious show of it. Gen'rash was smiling a toothy grin. Undrig grinned wryly from behind his smoky black beard. Neera had a sly look on her face. Fen was tittering behind a hand, making himself as absurd as possible. Golbarn and Myrdraxxis remained indifferent, in staunch refusal to even acknowledge the teenagers' embarrassing scene. Naruto rubbed the back of his head, blushing intensely. Some of the onlookers gave catcalls and a variety of whoops, which made the scene all the more hilarious and, indeed, cliché.

"I-it's good to have you all back," Kira said, attempting to compose herself and looking as royal as possible. She gave them all a nod and a bow. "And I thank all of you, with everything that I have, for the service you have done this city."

Accompanying her words, the crowd behind began to cheer and applaud. The majority of them would not find out until later what exactly they were applauding for, but the sincerity in Kira's voice drove them to honor the group anyways.

The cheers rang throughout the city long after the crowd had departed—and as they returned to Kira and Benedictus' base of operations, they noticed the mark change in the atmosphere of the city. A life had returned to it—one briefly thought lost in wake of Onyxia's attack.

The phoenix that had arisen was growing up once again. And it was in everyone's thoughts what it would look like when it had matured.

"What happens now?" asked Naruto, as they walked through the main square, heading towards the infirmary.

"We wait for things to change," said Kira. "We wait and we work hard—this alliance has to be built on trust and camaraderie; something that does not form so quickly, especially with such prejudices impeding it." But she was smiling. "But I believe that we won't have to wait long." She looked around as she walked, and seemed to smile even wider. "This city has already become the center for the New Alliance—and I know that by the time that it is complete, and the Stormwind has returned and even increased the former greatness it possessed; then nobody, not even the Lich King, will be able to stop us." She finished, by glancing at him. In her eyes, there were more words, which she seemed too embarrassed to say.

'And I hope that you will be with us, every step of the way.'

"Oi," said Linkizzle, suddenly. "Didn't we have something to tell Naruto, bro?"

"That we did!" said Rurizzle, smacking his little fist into his little palm. "But what was it?"

Naruto glanced back at them, frowning. He was immediately remind of their earlier words on the zeppelin, and felt the familiar need to know surge up. Had they stalled any longer, he might have gone to his knees and begged.

"Well," said Linkizzle, with a large, smug smile on his face. "Think back…"

"…A long time ago, when you first arrived at Ironforge…" said Rurizzle.

"…and you met our brother, little Furnizzle."

"And you made friends with said sibling…"

"…to the point where you promised him something."

Naruto frowned, cocking his head slightly to the side. He did remember the promise they had made, and when he voiced this to the two, they seemed delighted.

"Now," said Linkizzle, "think back…"

"…to the day you left Ironforge," said Rurizzle.

"…when our dear little Furn' saw you off."

Again Naruto thought. He remembered vaguely what had taken place, but the words they had exchanged were lost to time and the fallibility of human memory.

"Well," said Linkizzle, "think of…"

"…the words he said," said Rurizzle. "Do you remember?"

Naruto thought a moment, then shook his head.

"Well," said Linkizzle, "his words…"

"…typical of our baby brother, telling people things that he himself…" said Rurizzle.

"…can't really do by himself…"

"..were thus (or so he has told us): 'I ask you…'"

"'…from the bottom of my heart…'"

"'…to help my people, Naruto.'"

"'If you do…'"

"'…I will do everything in my power…'"

"'…to help you find a way back…'"

"'…to your world.'"

Naruto, as if frozen by a Gorgon's glare, had stopped and was looking wide-eyed at the gnomes, who continued on as if he had no reaction.

"And you'll never guess," said Linkizzle, "what he has done."

"Never," said Rurizzle, "guess that he has, with the help of so many of our colleagues…"

"…including High Tinker Mekkatorque himself…"

"…indeed, devised a way for you to return…"

"…to the very world of your origin."

By now, the entire group had stopped—standing just outside the entrance to the infirmary. They were all looking at Naruto, who was white as a ghost, and the two grinning gnomes, who having finished their exciting news, were waiting for Naruto's inevitable reaction. It came but seconds later, in the form of a metaphorical explosion.

"WHAT!"

And, in that anticlimactic moment, Naruto found out he was going home.

----------------------------

"How is everything?" asked Furnizzle: the younger brother of the Rizzles, with his pitch-dark hair and clear green eyes, He was glancing at the goggled, white-bearded High Tinker Mekkatorque, who stood beside him on a raised platform that allowed him to reach the higher parts of the massive rectangular column of metal he stood before, and apply the blow-torch to it. It was one of six such structures, surrounding a single metal platform about twenty feet in diameter. The columns arched at their zeniths, curving until they almost met in the center, forming something like a cage over the entire structure. The platform had the emblem of the gnomes painted upon it, and there were was a large panel sitting next to it, glittering with all sorts of buttons and knobs whose purpose only the gnomes could know. The columns shined with their recent polishing, as did the platform. The design was almost flawless in appearance—in stark contrast to the usual gnomish way of doing things. The entire structure was sleek and metallic—not clunky or geometrical, as many of their inventions tended to be. The amount of detail and refinement that had been put in clearly meant it a very important project, by almost any standards.

"Well enough," said Mekkatorque, pulling the torch away and turning it. "There isn't much more we can do, other than wait for now."

"The other team, do you think they arrived alright?"

"Of course, of course," said Mekkatorque, waving away the younger gnome's doubts, despite having quite a few of his own. "It is unlikely that they arrived anywhere other than the world the boy did—after all, the medium we used, the one that transported Naruto here, likely has a definite connection to his world. I have no doubt they arrived—I just hope they arrived somewhere safe, and not in the middle of a lake, or even a city. It wouldn't do to have to build the other end of the transporter there."

"Yes," said Furnizzle, feeling slightly relieved at the other gnome's words. Then, in his squeaky voice, he asked, "I just hope they were able to find food, and shelter. Considering how long it took us to build this," he gestured all around him. "Do you think they are close to finishing?"

"I would conjecture so," the other gnome said. "They have had almost a month, so far. Taking into consideration the food gathering and the number of people we sent, the amount of time to build, as well as the necessary calibrations that must be performed upon the device, I would say that at the most, a month or so more—again, that is given the fact that they run into no unnecessary troubles in their term in that place. It is a shame that the boy isn't here—I'm told that he can use his summons to communicate with the other world. That way, we might be able to get definite confirmation of their whereabouts."

"Do you truly believe they are alright?" Furnizzle said again, looking troubled around him."

"Of course," said Mekkatorque, glancing at him. "If there is one thing I learned from the brat, it is faith."

----------------------------------

"How much longer, do you reckon?" said a pink-haired gnome with bright blue eyes, and a nose a little too pointed, named Gimmi.

"I don't know," said a gnome with bright green hair and wearing tinted red goggles, who carried quite an expanse of weight around his middle, named Tiggle. "A couple of weeks, maybe even a few months—its difficult to work under these conditions."

"Too true," said another, a female whose hair was blue and whose face was red boiled red by the touch of the sun, named Anni. "I don't know how anyone could stand this—its just our luck that we ended up in the middle of the desert, huh?"

"It's fortunate though," said another, also female, with coal-black hair and wide brown eyes and a squashed little nose, named Karenia. "That we were able to find that city, and purchase food and supplies. Else we would have died long before. There's also the fact that not many people will find it. The desert, though open, is the perfect place to hide such an important device. We're lucky that it didn't appear in the middle of a city or a river or something."

"I suppose we should be thankful for the little things, right?" said Gimmi, smiling a little.

"If you could call those things little, then yes," said Tiggle, rolling his eyes beneath his goggles.

They were all dressed from nearly head to foot in cloaks, which obscured their bodies and gave them protection of the wild sun of the desert. They were crowded around the device that they had all helped build in Ironforge—a transporter device which would allow one to travel through space in whatever dimension it was calibrated to. They had no real name for it yet, but several working titles: The Dimensiotron, the Instant Spatial Relocation Device (ISRD), or simply The Device (merely to keep it simple). They would decide on the name when, and if, they returned to Ironforge. For, their device was only half built—not for lack of materials, merely time and working conditions. The desert, where heavy toil was extremely taxing in any situation, and the sun made it almost impossible to truly think, was impeding their process a great deal. That was not to say that they wouldn't be able to complete it.

They'd just need a bit of time.

"Hope Lord Mekkatorque and Furnizzle can keep themselves busy while we're gone. They'll probably get really worked up about it," said Anni.

"Maybe Furnizzle, but Lord Mekkatorque will probably keep a level head, if only to keep that greenhorn's pants on," said Karenia.

"After all, he'll have infinite patience where that kid is concerned."

"Which one?"

"The human boy—Uzumaki Naruto."

-----------------------------

"We haven't heard from Naruto in a while, have we?" said Sakura, glancing at her master from her position, crouched near a low table in Tsunade's private quarters, where dozens of scrolls were laid out; depicting painstakingly drawn diagrams of the chakra highways of a man, or line after line of difficult theory on chakra manipulation and medic-nin studies. Tsunade sat prostrate upon a large, comfortable leather chair near a massive window, and was gazing out it until Sakura spoke.

"Nope," said Tsunade, unconcernedly.

"You're not worried?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not particularly. Are you?"

Sakura gave a slight shrug. "No more than normal, I suppose. But after his last message…"

Tsunade shook her head. "Don't worry about it. The little brat is probably doing his best to get by the problem that the new seal presents him. Would you expect him to do anything less?"

"Of course not," said Sakura. "And I suppose you're right…besides, I have a good feeling."

"About what?"

"That he'll be back soon. I don't know how, but I can almost feel it."

Tsunade glanced at the girl, showing no emotion, before giving a small half-second smile, gone in a blink, which Sakura could make no meaning of. The Hokage then shrugged, and leaned back again, staring out the window.

"Well, when he does return, there's going to be someone here to meet him."

Sakura frowned at the woman, her eyes asking what her mouth would soon say.

"A new teacher; part-time, at least, to help him get some control over this new hurdle of his. Kakashi came up with it. It'll make you that much closer to getting the Uchiha boy back."

Sakura's eyes followed her teacher's outside, where the sky was blue as a freshly painted canvas, with a gleaming sun whose presence gave Sakura a hope that she had not felt for some time. She could already hear his voice, shrill and loud, echoing throughout the city. It brought a warm, pretty smile to her face.

But even as she heard his words, she saw another face—one shrouded in black, with a pair of eyes that struck fear into her whenever she saw them, in dreams or in reality. Eyes too, shrouded, whose intentions she could not, or perhaps would not, contemplate.

-----------------------------

"Orochimaru-sama," a voice said, cold like a dagger of ice, yet sweet as a cane of candy. In the candlelight, which reflected off his gleaming spectacles, Kabuto prostrated himself before a figure whose face was only barely lit. His skin was pallid and slimy-looking, as if it was covered in scales so fine that no human high could see them. His hair was limp and black. It was a mantle of darkness on his long, well-shaped head and covering his face, which while well-formed—with high cheekbones and unblemished skin—was still thoroughly disgusting to gaze upon, as if a snake's head was set upon a man's body.

A figure whose eyes were the color of gold, but shaped like a snake's, and which reflected a murderous lust within that would terrify most men.

"What is it, Kabuto?" the man hissed, his voice—high in pitch and with a tone of boredom, slithering from his mouth like a serpent.

"It's Sasuke-sama," Kabuto continued, pushing up the round spectacles on his face, and brushing some of his silver-white hair from his eyes. His mouth—normally twisted into a cruel, sadistic smile that completely reflected his inner nature (despite the ease with which he could assume other roles), was set into a straight line. He didn't dare cross Orochimaru.

"What about Sasuke-kun?"

"He has been demanding that you teach him another jutsu," he pushed his glasses up again, for they had once again slipped down when he quickly ducked his head to avoid Orochimaru's eyes. "Despite all I have told him—that you are busy, he seems to be growing rather irritable."

"Let him," the other man said, softly, his lips curling into a smile. "The stronger he is, Kabuto, the more fit he will be when he becomes my container." Orochimaru gestured behind Kabuto, to a wall of drawers with many labels upon them. "Choose something he might like—a new earth jutsu, or a powerful water jutsu, perhaps? Tell him I will join him later, if he has not figure it out by then. He is a smart boy—and driven, as well. I have never seen a more willing student than he. And his personality quite stimulating, too."

Kabuto nearly laughed, but instead gave a calm smile. "Personality? I was under the impression, my lord, that you had already driven that from him?"

Orochimaru laughed softly, each burst of sound like a hundred snakes hissing horribly. "Indeed—I thought you would have had the sense of humor to enjoy that jest, Kabuto. After all—it will give him the ability, should it ever happen, to defeat his brother."

"About Akatsuki," said Kabuto, again pushing his glasses up. "Do you know when they intend to strike?"

"No," said Orochimaru stiffly. "But it doesn't matter. We've had this conversation—we will deal with it as it comes, Kabuto. Are you worried?"

"Of course not," said Kabuto, smiling. "I was actually looking forwards to seeing my old master, Sasori, again. Figuratively, of course."

Orochimaru nodded. "Go, Kabuto. You would not wish to keep Sasuke-kun waiting. You know how cranky he gets, don't you?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

--------------------------------

The cavern was black.

Not dimly lit, or even dark. It was completely shrouded in blackness—as if it had swallowed the night sky above, and now refused to let it go. There were no stars above, and no bright moon. It was a world of darkness.

"This makes the second time in what, nearly two years, since we have met…yeah," the voice was deep and powerful, but light and almost cheerful, and came from a figure that blended in perfectly with darkness enshrouding him.

"I hate these meetings," said another voice, like rocks tumbling to the earth, the words were so heavy. The man spoke with boredom in his voice—suggesting a man who was not easily entertained.

"It was necessary," another voice said, this one softer, but filled with command and strength. Of the two who had spoken, this man was clearly the stronger. "We had to gather once more before we begin fulfilling our goal."

"I can't wait," snapped a voice, irritated and loud—suggesting a brash character, but tinged with cruelty—suggesting a man with a fiery, murderous personality. "I haven't killed anything for a while—it's not even the time of year for fasting!"

"Shut up, moron," said another voice, deep and thunderous, yet possessing a covetous tone—suggesting a man who was severely greedy, and terribly vicious. "I can't believe I was partnered with you."

"Hey, shut up Ka—"

"Quiet, both of you," said the commanding voice, and both fell silent.

"Heh, so what did you really call us hear for? To plan?" said another voice, powerful and cocky, but polite and cultured—suggesting a man of great strength, but of cultured personality.

"To assign you your duties," the commanding voice said. "To assign you your jinchuuriki."

"Already?" began the brash, cruel voice. "But we don't even know where all of them are! Besides, how the hell are we going to get that Kyuubi jinchuuriki, anyways? He's in a freakin' capitol city!"

"That doesn't matter," said the commanding voice. "We know where he is."

"Target located and identified." This voice was soft and polite, no emotion weighing the words down—suggesting a man who did not feel what was there.

"He'd just killed the dragon bitch," snarled another voice, picking up immediately where the previous had left off. It was snarling and wicked, like a monster's. Each word was like a bite—suggesting a man, perhaps not all there, who loved to kill. "He was with a bunch of the Outraces."

"That place is fun," said the brash voice. "The trees there are fun to cut down."

"Shut up, moron," the covetous voice said.

"You shut up, bastard!"

"Quiet!" the commanding voice snapped again. They fell silent. "We have a lot to plan—our goals won't fall into place so easily."

"If he was with the Outraces," another voice said—again, this one was soft, yet unlike the emotionless voice, possessed an almost feminine quality to it. His words were spoken factually, and instead of not possessing emotion, it was withheld—suggesting a man who was in complete control of himself. "Then have our fears been confirmed?"

"We have nothing to fear," the commanding voice said. "This new alliance is just another obstacle in our goals—come the time, we will simply need to destroy it."

"And Orochimaru?"

"Fast is approaching the time when his threat will become negligible. We are growing stronger by the day, and once we have the bijuu in our possession, there won't be a single force—in either world, that can stop us.

"We will defeat any enemies in our path—whether it is Orochimaru and his little tool, Konoha, this new Alliance, The Lich King or the Burning Legion—we shall destroy them all, and achieve what we set out to do.

"Akatsuki will triumph over all. Now we must begin our preparations."

--------------------------

A wind blew. There was not a sound upon it, and nothing moved.

A figure stood in a mausoleum of ice, before a monstrous palace of black ice, willing the wind to blow around it—lightly in moments, but swiftly and powerfully in others.

It listened to the world surrounding it—from the peaks of Stonetalon to the tropics of Stranglethorn. It listened in every city, every street-corner, every house and every room. It listened to everything, and took what it needed.

"On, on, you go," it said. "Dance for us, work for us! We will watch you, for now, little ones. But there will come a time when we face you—and already, our bones tingle with delight, in the knowledge that we might fight you."

It laughed, like a god of death, and made even the ice shiver in revulsion from it.

The Lich King laughed, and the world grew ever darker.

------------------------------

Fin.

Or at least, this part is.

How'd you like it? I had to give you some previews for the next part, which will be coming out next week. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, and continue reading for the next part!

Just a question—should I create a new story, or just keep adding chapters onto this one? I think I should just do the new story, but I'll ask you guys first.

Hope you enjoyed it, and see you next week with the beginning of

PART TWO OF: The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!

-----------------------------------

My vote rests with a new story.

Also, I'm a firm Kira/Naruto supporter right now. GG is gonna have to do something spectacular to wrest that away if he rests with Naru/Saku…

-Noz