Konnichi wa!

I reposted this chapter. Because the lines in between the scenes didn't show. XP

Well this chapter is pretty cool, I guess. Chains of Power aren't actually SHOWN, but they ARE mentioned…

I have decided that there WILL be an epilogue as well, so… yeah:D Four chapters!

AH! -dies-

I'm SO sorry everyone! I know I haven't updated in FOREVER! was just being a bitch and it wouldn't let me update my stories! WAAAAAAAAAAAAH! -cries-\

-recovers-

And it SNOWED! In Texas, in APRIL, it SNOWED! GOD IS TOTALLY TELLING US SOMETHING! NEVER HAS IT SNOWED IN TEXAS IN APRIL BEFORE – IT'S AMAZING!

But unfortunately, it made my romance muse's – Gaara in the Ninja Centerfold form – sand freeze over and fall to the ground. She was hiding out in the bathroom for six hours until the temperature went back up.

But that was after Jiraiya and Kakashi and Kankuro snapped her. THOSE pictures are probably all over the internet by now.

So now I just have my angst and gore muse – Naruto – working for me, because he is like a portable radiator and Gaara is no longer talking to me.

Yeah – she's pissed. I'm the one who told those three that her sand freezes over and falls when it snows, after all. -.-;;

I hope you like it you guys!

Link two everyone!

Shackled in Chains

Link Two – Chains of Power

Kakashi and Sakura still didn't have a clue.

It had been two years since Naruto had discovered Sasuke. Tsunade had refused to speak to him on the subject, and Naruto was forced to visit Sasuke in secret – in the cover of night. Kakashi and Sakura hadn't been notified – for some reason, Naruto wanted to keep the knowledge of Sasuke's imprisonment to himself. He wanted to deal with it on his own. He still managed to fulfill his regular missions, and he was on his way to becoming an Anbu officer, and as far as he knew, Tsunade had no clue that he was still visiting Sasuke. But more often than not, however, Sasuke would use his abilities to draw Naruto into sleep, and talk with him in the realm of dreams.

That's where they were now. Naruto could see Sasuke – the other was sitting on a stool of gray clouds as a fog rolled about his legs, and Naruto rested on a warm boulder, surrounded by wildflowers in a meadow.

They were separated by a huge wall of glass.

Naruto raised his hand and set it on the clear object that – in reality is so easily shattered – but in dreams was as hard as diamond.

"So there's no way to break this?" He asked for the umpteenth time since he had first made contact with Sasuke in the realm of dreams.

Sasuke smiled softly and daintily shook his head, his long black curls waving slightly with the movement.

"No. That shows quite clearly the boundary we share. Telekinetic abilities are powerful, surely, but they can only do so much – they are still bound by the rules of the earth. If there are boundaries between us in the real world, then those boundaries are reflected in the world of dreams."

Sasuke's voice was soft and oh so elegant. Naruto vigorously shook his head.

"No! This is MY dream! I should be able to do ANYTHING I want here!"

Sasuke surveyed him, sympathy and understanding and hurt reflecting in his narrowed eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

"I understand your frustration Naruto, but there is no way around it. Perhaps if I was awake, there wouldn't be this glass. But right now, my Chakra is creating a shield to cut me off from the rest of the world, and that includes the world of dreams. It's only my will alone that allows me to talk to you."

Naruto's hand slid down the glass as he glared at a pink daisy nearby.

"And… your body is completely out of your control – Tsunade said that."

Sasuke gave him a soft, wry smile.

"As I had said before – she is right. My Chakra has burned away every nerve in my body – it's completely out of my reach. I can't even move my own eyelids anymore. My survival instinct alone is what's keeping my heart beating. Without it, I would die. My brain has no connection with the rest of my body – my Chakra is running all of my internal organs. Its chain of power is intense."

Naruto's glare on the little pink daisy intensified.

"But that makes no sense! If you have no connection with the rest of your body, how come you're HERE? In front of me? Sitting? Shifting? Talk–?"

Naruto's jaw snapped shut. It was then he realized that Sasuke's lips hadn't opened once during the entire conversation.

Sasuke surveyed him silently for a moment and then his shoulders slumped. He looked down at the hands in his lap.

"This version of me… is a creation my mind made – a creation from my own chains of power. It has nothing to do with my body. This is something my mind created for you to interact with and understand – something it made for you to see."

"Seeing isn't enough," Naruto blurted out, both hands on the glass in front of him as he rested his forehead against the surface, eyebrows furrowed. "Seeing you only makes it worse! I want to be able to BE with you, Sasuke!" He raised his head and looked up at the other, who was staring – pleasantly shocked – at the blonde. "This fucking glass in between us only makes me feel like we're farther apart than we ever were! We might be merely feet – hell – INCHES away from each other here, but in reality we're miles apart! THIS ISN'T FAIR!" Naruto cried out, his eyes beginning to burn. "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS!"

"But I have to, Naruto." The blonde's eyes widened and he raised his head, staring up at the other. Sasuke's head was cocked at him, the black orbs sparkling with unshed, understanding and sympathetic tears. "I must. My isolation is what's keeping you – all of Konoha – alive. If I awaken I really WILL unintentionally kill hundreds – Tsunade knows it, and that's why she put me where she did. She had no other choice. The chains of HER power only stretch so far."

The anger faded from Naruto's eyes, and he slumped, feeling absolutely helpless.

"But there HAS to be a way…" he breathed. "There just HAS to be."

Sasuke didn't say a word for a moment.

"Perhaps – but you'll have to be the one to find it. With all my telekinetic power, I can't control my own Chakra – the chains around me are as strong as I am weak."

"But maybe we can find a way!" Naruto exclaimed. "Some sort of Jutsu or something –"

"Naruto, I'm going to be very truthful with you," Sasuke cut him off calmly, his black eyes gazing at the blonde with a strange, all-knowing intensity. "There is NO Jutsu that could handle the sheer AMOUNT of Chakra my body is capable of producing. Even if you attempted such a thing, the most powerful Jutsu would break in about five minutes – there is no way."

Naruto merely looked up at him. Sasuke gave him a small, grim smile.

"It's okay, Naruto. I'm fine here. I just wanted to speak to you again – I just wanted to hear you again – that's all. I'm perfectly fine with my isolation. As long as I can talk with you, I'll be fine."

"But how?" Naruto managed to ask. "How can talking to me make everything all right?"

A small smile appeared on Sasuke's lips.

"Because your voice saved me, Naruto."

"Kyuubi?"

"What is it, kittling?"

"What Sasuke said… is it true?"

"Ah – aye, kittling. He speaks truth. He can't control his own body anymore."

"Because of the sheer amounts of Chakra in his system, right?"

"That's right."

"Kyuubi… you're powerful. Can't YOU of all people or demons do SOMETHING to help Sasuke?"

"How do you suggest I help him, kittling? He said it himself – there's no Jutsu that can take the levels of Chakra he possesses."

"Maybe not a Jutsu humans can perform, but what about one only a demon can do? YOUR Chakra levels are nearly limitless too Kyuubi – there must be some way you can suppress all that Chakra of his."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Kyuubi?"

"Aye, kittling – there might be a way. The Uchiha's Chakra is only like that because he used it up so much in the past, and now his body can't revert back to its original production rate, right?"

"Right."

"Well… I HAVE heard of a Jutsu we demons can use. It requires an intense amount of Chakra on both sides, but that shouldn't be a problem for me or the Uchiha – the chains of power HE possesses are nearly as limitless as mine. The Jutsu involves a sacrifice, however – a person willing to possibly give up their own mental state in order to let the other regain control over their body and their Chakra production. It's a forbidden Jutsu, because it's so dangerous."

"'Give up their own mental state'? What does that mean?"

"Well, it's hard to explain – but I'll attempt. In order to let a person regain control of their body, the sacrifice must use their own mental capabilities and chains of power to suppress the other's Chakra using their own long enough to let the other take control again. Unfortunately, the other's Chakra will retaliate, and if there's a lot of it, then it's going to be an extremely hard fight – a battle of wills, if you will."

"And I'm the sacrifice?"

"If you want to be, kittling. You ARE the closest to the Uchiha brat, but if you don't win the fight, or if the Uchiha doesn't take control in time, you WILL be mentally scarred for life. The backlash from the chains of power would be incredible – you might never be able to compromise a single coherent thought again."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Kittling?"

"Let me think about it, Kyuubi."

"Naruto?"

He looked up to see his pink-haired teammate looking at him worriedly. He waved her concern off.

"Don't look so worried, Sakura-chan! I'm fine!"

His aura turned dark again as soon as her back turned to him.

I wish.

He left Anbu training early, and Kakashi was wise not to comment.

I wonder what's going on inside his head. The Jounin thought.

Naruto went straight to his apartment, and then he stared at the doorknob for a few moments, his fingers automatically groping in his pocket for the keys, but his mind was elsewhere.

A sacrifice…

He weighed the odds as he stood outside his door.

If I do it, and I lose, then I become mentally retarded and my chances of becoming Hokage – or even a ninja for that matter – will be zip. I'll be stupid until the day I die! However… I DO have Kyuubi on my side – we COULD win. I could also wait until I become Hokage and THEN try to get him out, but Tsunade STILL has at least five more years to go, damn her, and I can't WAIT that long to get him out! He's already been in there for NINE YEARS!

Even right then he ached for the raven. It had been years since he had seen the other's face – even the battle at the Valley of End was better compared to this emptiness Naruto was feeling now. At least the Sasuke he had seen that day was real – at least he could touch THAT Sasuke – at least that Sasuke hadn't been on another side of a glass that didn't want to break – at least that was Sasuke's TRUE face…

His fingers had found the keys, but he didn't pull them out of his pocket. He stared at the doorknob for a few more seconds.

"Save me, Naruto…" the urgent cry from two years back floated across his mind, and his eyes narrowed.

He whirled and bolted to the Hokage dungeons.

"KYUUBI!"

"Yes, kittling?"

"I'm ready!"

End Link Two – Chains of Power

Kyah! I'm excited:D :D :D :D

I hope you all enjoyed it!

And, because I'm considerate, if you celebrate it, happy Easter holiday!

Me… I really don't care for it that much. Thank God for Jesus and everything, but going to Church is worthless if you always fall asleep in the middle of it.

Church is never interesting for me, what can I say?

Please review!

Ja ne!

DDB