Chapter 10: Lazarus

The cave was dark, lit only by torches placed at intervals around its walls. The statue in the center towered over the men who stood below it, waiting. Footsteps echoed through the tunnel leading to the cavern, and another man entered. He carried a body in his arms, which he set down at the statue's feet.

"Are you sure this is going to work, yeah?" the one who carried the body asked.

There was a nod from another figure, taller and broader than all the rest. "The Nibi has powers that allow it to bring a soul back from the Other Side. All that is needed is a body for the soul to inhabit."

"But this body is artificial. Didn't it require a biological core to bind the soul to it, even in life?" This question came from yet another of the shadowy figures. The darkness of the cave masked the blue tint of his skin and the gills on his face.

"That's what that is for," said a fourth man, pointing to a second body that lay on the ground. The dim light of the torches caught the man's crimson eyes, making him look even more unsettling than he normally did. "It used to be a Mist ANBU. It will provide the necessary bit of biological material."

A fifth man stepped forward. His face was entirely obscured by an orange mask with a swirling pattern upon it. "Does this mean I can't be in the Akatsuki anymore?" he asked plaintively.

"No, Tobi-san," the man who had brought in the body reassured him. "Much as it pains me to admit this, you can still take Orochimaru's place, yeah."

The orange-masked man knelt by the side of the dead ANBU, green medical chakra glinting around his hand. With a chakra scalpel, he cut open the corpse's chest and removed the heart, placing it into a cavity within the chest of the other body.

"Very well," said a deep voice from even further back in the shadows. "Hidan-san, the rest is up to you."

Another figure stepped forward, silver head bowed as if in prayer. He faced the statue, and lifted one hand out towards it. A ring on one of his fingers shone with a light that had nothing to do with the torches on the walls, and one of the statue's nine eyes slid open with a creak.

"Hey. Hey! Listen up, you overgrown housecat!"

"How dare you speak to me like that, puny mortal!"

"Mortal? Seriously, you must be blinder than Itachi-san. Take a closer look, baka."

"Hmm…not mortal, after all. But still, only a human. Why are you disturbing me?"

"Because one of my dumbass comrades got himself killed, and we need you to bring him back."

"And why should I do that?"

"Hey, I don't wear this goddamn ring because it looks pretty, seriously. It gives me control over your power, and you have to do what I say."

"If I ever get free from here…"

"Yes, yes, if you ever get free from here, you'll tear me limb from limb and kill me in the most agonizingly painful way possible. You've said that before. Except, you know, I can't die, so you'd be wasting your effort. Now will you just stop bitching and do your damn job?"

"…Very well."

He opened his eyes and saw darkness. He was confused. This place was certainly too dark and cold to be Heaven. But the lack of terrible pain suggested that it wasn't Hell, either. He could sense that there were figures clustered around him, but he could only make out vague outlines in the dim light. He blinked his eyes, twitched his fingers, wiggled his toes. Everything seemed to be in perfect working order. How is this possible?

Then a blond head thrust itself into his field of vision, and a deafeningly loud voice shouted in his ear, "Welcome back, Sasori-danna!"

A/N: Well, here it is: the last chapter and the end of "Brotherhood of the Red Moon." I read somewhere that one of the powers of the Nibi in Japanese legend is that it had the ability to raise the dead. Then I thought, "Hey, the Akatsuki just captured the Nibi jinchuuriki, and they have a deceased member…hmm…" I don't really expect anything like this to happen in the manga, but it would be awesome if it did. I sort of assumed that each member would get control of the bijuu he'd captured himself, hence Hidan being in control of the Nibi.

I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope you all had fun reading it. Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed!