All right here's the promised chapter two! It's shorter than the last one, but yeah…

Thank you soooo much, TheBlackCat01! Your review made my day! :D

Disclaimer! I do not own Naruto, Dilbert, Phineas and Ferb, Time Warner Cable, or anything else I may have missed. I DO, however, own the three OC's and some graphite! That counts for something, right?

Chapter Two! You Can't Survive by Your Wits Alone

xXxColette's POVxXx

"C'mon, Italy!" I called out to my friend who was just standing there dumbly. She probably thought I was running just for the sake of it. Well, I do enjoy running, but mostly it was just so I could straighten out my thoughts.

You see, I think the best when I run; the adrenaline clears my mind and I can run to the edge of forever without stopping due to my long legs. The clear from running wasn't coming, though. Instead I could only feel what I assumed was my chakra fizzing in the bottom stomach.

What I assumed to be the chakra felt like the warmth you get in your stomach that makes you want to do an embarrassing happy dance. I furrowed my brows. This was not what I had imagined chakra to be. I was expecting a raw sort of power like what adrenaline gives you as opposed to this light, fluffy feeling.

Fluffy…

That wasn't the first thing that came to mind when thinking of ninjas.

But back to reality, or what I assumed was reality. You see, I've never had a good sense of reality, and I often suffered from hallucinations when I was younger. I have a bit too vivid of an imagination to say the least.

Oh me and tangents!

Back on track! I was running through this forest at a relatively quick pace. I realized all the screaming from earlier might attract some unwanted attention from bandits or –dare I say it?- pedophiles! I squinted, trying to make out some shapes with the moonlight.

The trees were huge and the thick summer canopy let little moonlight sift through. A light breeze brushed my face while the full moon hung behind me. The rosary beating against my chest and my feet pounding on the dirt finally gave me the rhythm to zone out to.

I furrowed my brow in frustration. I couldn't entirely zone out as I usually do. I kept noticing things that I normally wouldn't -even in daylight- like a rustle in the bushes or an owl gliding above me or the presence a couple of yards behind me.

I turned around to see Italy struggling to keep up due to her shorter legs. She called out, "Hey, wait up!"

I rolled my eyes and slowed down a bit. Italy was really the only one I would "wait up" for when I'm running. She caught up in a couple of seconds and asked, "What's with you running off like that?"

I shrugged, not in the best mood. My running doesn't appreciate being disturbed –not even by my almost sister. Italy picked up on my bad mood, knowing very well how I feel about my running.

We just sort of ran in a comfortable silence for a while, neither of us talkative by nature. Besides, I could only focus on my chakra. It felt fluffy as it did before but it was like there was more of it. The more I honed in on it, the more I could feel a distant crackle in it. It was almost like a stormy cloud or white noise…

I was almost one with my chakra by the time Italy decided to ruin it by speaking, "Um, Colette, why are we running?"

I stopped abruptly. I was pretty sure we'd been running for half an hour or so, so there was no real reason to continue because of our earlier shrieks. I shook my head, trying to get rid of my bad mood, "I dunno, Italy-chan, I dunno."

Italy just snorted irritably and sat on a nearby rock. It was still for a long time until I decided to sit beside Italy. She had her hands over her face so I couldn't read her emotions too well. At the very least she seemed upset or confused. She sighed heavily. "This is all going too weird."

I smiled. Italy had a much tighter grip and more tenacious on reality than I did. Though that isn't saying anything since I barely have a grip on it to begin with and the one I do have sure as hell ain't tenacious… I could only guess Italy, the control freak she is, must be thoroughly annoyed by this situation. Come to think of it, civilization was nowhere to be seen and we had about zero experience with the great outdoors. It might be a bit of a problem…

"Well, shit," I said vaguely, leaning back on the rock to look up at the stars. They really were gorgeous tonight in this foreign but familiar world.

Italy turned to look at me, light catching in her eyes, "You're too easy-going for your own good."

"Yep," Little did I know how true that would be in the future.

I guess I had drifted off because the sunshine was waking me up. I opened my eyes to see a cheery forest. So not a dream after all, I thought, stretching. I was not particularly bothered by my whole world changing; I'm too easy-going for that.

I looked over to see Italy still asleep and curled on a ball on the ground. I groaned slightly, realizing I forgot supper last night.

That wasn't the real problem, though. No the real mystery was where Phoebe was. Wait, she came with us, right? Oh, well…

I started my regular morning yoga routine to get out any kinks in my muscles from sleep. This was another one of these things that usually let me zone out, but of course, my chakra was there to ruin the moment. It was buzzing about in my stomach, but it felt like there was even more in there than last night.

Downward facing dog… Upward facing dog… Warrior's pose…

I went through all these poses and more before I finally saw Italy stir. "Mornin' sunshine!" I chirped.

"Hey, Colette," Italy mumbled, yawning. "Ugh, I'm hungry," Italy whined. She got up and walked around a bit. "So we really are in this world," she said, not really to me in specific.

I brushed out my hair, humming happily before a thought crossed my mind, "Hey, where's Phoebe?"

"I have no idea," Italy said, looking through her purse for something or other. "I hope she gets here soon, though; she might know where the hell we are."

As if on cue, a wild Phoebe tumbled through a random bush with a bunny dangling limply from her jaws. "Oh there you are, Phoebe!" I smiled at the dog. "We were just talking about you!"

Phoebe dropped the rabbit and grunted, "I heard."

Italy's eyes widened, not yet used to her dog's talking, but that could be expected of someone who hasn't suffered from hallucinations her whole life. I just laughed, "Oh, Phoebe! Did you get breakfast for us?"

"Yeah," Phoebe said. I feel the irritation coming off from the dog in waves.

"Aw! Who's a good girl?" I tested my luck by crouched in front of the dog and patted her head, taking the rabbit. I'm not the world's greatest outdoorsman but I can sure as hell cook!

"Don't patronize me," Phoebe growled. I shrugged and backed away from the dog. If Phoebe could talk, I assumed she would be like Donkey or at least chipper, but not so grumpy. It must have been a façade or something 'cause I'm pretty good at picking up on emotions, even in animals.

"Yo, Italy, do you have a lighter in your purse?" I asked.

Italy blinked slowly, confused at the random question, "Um, no."

"Well," I laughed reaching into my purse. "good thing I have one, then!"

Italy and Phoebe sweatdropped, this being an anime and all. I shrugged and cooked the poor little bunny.

After our pathetic excuse for breakfast was done, we decided that a group meeting was in order. Well, Phoebe said we should, and I decided it was better not to cross this new Phoebe.

Phoebe sat on the rock all prim and proper-like, looking like she had never set foot outside in her whole life. Italy and I were sitting on the surprisingly comfortable ground, quite a bit more disheveled than Phoebe but clean thanks to a nearby stream.

"So," I started, focusing on Phoebe.

"So," Italy added sagely.

"Alright," Phoebe said, "You two are a bit familiar with this world, which I suppose is an advantage, but you will, obviously, have to keep some information secure so as not to screw up the balance and such. I know you two are smart enough to figure that much out for yourselves."

Italy, impatient as always, pressed, "Can you just get on with this?"

I glared at Italy, a bit wary of the family dog at the moment.

"Sorry, sorry," Italy laughed, noticing my glare.

Phoebe cleared he throat, "Ah-hem! I'll make this quick for you, Italy-chan. As I was saying, you can't survive by your wits alone, but your abilities in fighting are passable. You could single-handedly take on a couple of genin or perhaps a pathetic chunin or two. If you two work together, you might be able to take down a relatively dumb jonin if luck's on your side. I stress the might, though. Anyway, your taijutsu, speed, and stamina are definitely above average. I'm guessing you both are quite smart, too. However, all other abilities are nearly nonexistent."

Italy huffed, "Are you taking this somewhere anytime soon?"

"Italy," I warned.

Phoebe continued, eyes dangerous slits, "I was going to say that I could help you train the skills that don't exist in your world, but if you'd rather die…"

"Okay, sorry! Jashin!" Italy grumbled.

"Good," Phoebe continued. "Well, as I said, I will train you two so Jashin gets his blood," Phoebe looked away from us as if she was embarrassed, and her voice became softer. "and, well, I don't really like people that much, but you two and Kimberly are… different. I want to make sure nothing happens to either of you because I just… I don't think I could live with myself if that happened." Phoebe's gaze snapped back to us, a fire in them I didn't think any dog could have. "I will train you two so that no unnecessary harm befalls on you. Sounds good?"

The wind blew the leaves about in the dramatic way they always do when important shit happens in Naruto. Italy and I nodded enthusiastically, ready our whole lives to learn real ninja arts.

Phoebe brought us to a nearby clearing that had a beautiful, clear stream bisecting it. "Alright, ladies," she announced, harsh edge back in her voice. "The first jutsu I shall teach you is the clone jutsu. This is one of the basic jutsus taught at the Academy."

Phoebe flicked her tail a bit and two large hands were projected above her. "Now you two know of hand seals, but I doubt you know how to properly utilize them."

Italy and I both mumbled, "No."

"I thought so," Phoebe mumbled something inaudible under her breath. I assumed it was something about how difficult this would be judging by her personality thus far. "Okay, today I will not teach you of all the hand seals today. Today I will just teach those you need for this jutsu."

The hands above Phoebe formed a hand seal. The two hands grasped each other. Two fingers on the left hand pointed up with the right thumb. "This is the first seal for the jutsu. It's called Ram. Try it."

Italy and I tried making the seal. I did a bit better than her as I got it on the first try. Phoebe helped Italy position her fingers right while I practiced making Ram more quickly. Within five minutes we both had it committed to memory.

The hands above Phoebe shifted to the next seal in the jutsu. The two hands' fingers were interlaced and they made a sort of block. Phoebe said, "This is the second seal, Snake. Please note that this is often used in earth jutsus so if you see it, expect an earth style attack."

Italy and I both got the seal instantly, since it was a simpler, less complicated hand seal than Ram. Snake, too, was now committed to my memory.

The hands again shifted to form the next seal. The thumb and index fingers pointed up on both hands while the rest of the fingers were laced together. It looked like a Ram-Snake hybrid to me. Phoebe announced, "This is the third and final hand seal for the clone jutsu. It's called Tiger and is usually used in fire element manipulation, FYI."

I got this seal before Italy. I guess I made the connection of the apparent cross between Ram and Snake or was just better than her. For the sake of my ego, I'm going with the second. I committed Tiger to memory in a few minutes. I knew ¼ of the hand seals now! Hooray!

"Alright, ladies," Phoebe said. "Now we've got to put this all together. You will perform one hand seal after the other to create illusions of yourself. Don't expect it to work on your first try. Don't even expect it to work on your thirty-first try, seeing as you have no prior training. Now you will just let the hand seals maneuver your chakra; you don't have to think about that part. Your body will do it subconsciously like how it conducts homeostasis. While you're doing this just focus on your chakra and try to focus on moving a small piece of it away from your body. Get it? Got it? Good! GO!"

I formed the hand seals quickly one after another while trying to focus on and move my chakra. It was a hell of a lot harder than I expected! As I expected, though, nothing happened on my first go.

I tried a good couple of dozen times. By the twenty-something-eth attempt, I didn't even have to think about making the hand seals for the jutsu. They had by then been etched into my brain. With no longer needing to focus so much on the hand seals, I put more effort into moving/ controlling/ whatever my chakra. The only problem really was that I had no idea how to move my chakra.

I tried focusing on it and visualizing an orb of blue move away from a much larger orb. When I got the fluffy feeling in my stomach to twitch slightly, my heart nearly leapt out of my throat. Over the course of the many attempts, I managed to get a clump of chakra from the rest of it. At least I think I did… I worked with this piece moving it further away from the rest.

On my 53rd attempt I was close to giving up, but I knew I wouldn't 'till I got results. I'm tenacious like that. And 'lo and behold, Jashin decided to bless the number 53!

Okay! I thought. Attempt number 53! Alright little bit of chakra, to the left, to the left! Ram-Snake-Tiger! I heard a tiny poof and to my left was an embarrassing replica of me. It was worse than Naruto's clone at his genin exam, but hey a clone's a clone and beggars can't be choosers and other cliché shit like that.

My eyes widened in surprise and I jumped up cheering childishly with very unchildish vocabulary, "Yeah! I made a clone, bitches! Suck my metaphorical dick!"

Italy sighed dejectedly, hopefully jealous of my accomplishment . It took her 72 attempts to make her first clone whereas I could already make a decent one that didn't look like shit! Yeah, I thought, I'm better than you, Italy.

Of course you are Colette, of course you are.

Fun Fact: Colette plays the saxophone and piano. Italy sings. I have more of these random quirks on the profiles I wrote up for them that I'll put up throughout the story!

Anyways, this chapter wasn't really that funny to me and it wasn't quite as long as the first chapter, but I wanted for this chapter to be mostly about building up the OCs' personalities and to hint at their abilities for the future. Phoebe's was mentioned some in the last chapter and I hinted a bit on Colette's in this one. It was really subtle and just a sentence or two, but if you can guess it, kudos to you! Next chapter will start to hint some at Italy's. The fun of guessing their element is gone though… :(

Okay, the stuff about chakra was more or less my interpretation of what it would be like. I always wondered how ninjas knew that their chakra was running out and stuff. I'll try to add some action and sacrificing next chapter.

Sorry for the mood-swingyness of the chapter and all. There are a couple of random references in the chapter. I'll give you a virtual scone if you can guess any of them. *cough*lookatthedisclaimer*cough*

Alright, I'll try to get some canon characters in here soon, but I still haven't decided what part of the plot line/ what village I'm going to have the troop of Oc's barge in on. If you have any preferences you can tell me. Sadly, this probably won't happen for a couple of chapters. On the up side, though, I have nothing much to do so the updates will be as frequent as I can manage. I might even get chapter 3 up later today.

Okay, so reviews make me excited and such, so I'll update sooner even if it's just one word or an emoticon! Constructive criticism is very much welcome and appreciated. And flames? I eat those for breakfast! Not really, that's disgusting.

'Kay! Love ya guys! I'll update ASAP!