Last time we watched as Irma and Martin searched for Luffy and his fellow pirates. The found them, they being chased by an angry mob. After helping Luffy and the others get away from the mob, Luffy told Irma that he and his friends are more than happy to help fight Nerissa and Pai-Mey. They then left for Candracar. On with the show!

Chapter 8: The Mirror

"What's taking you so long?" Will said out loud, "Why don't you attack?" "Who's she talking to?" asked Jaden. He, Will and Matt were on one of the many balconies adorning The Temple. "My guess," said Matt, "Nerissa." "Now why would she do that?" asked Jaden. "I don't know," answered Matt.

"You've had plenty of time to gloat and enjoy having the crystal back," said Will out loud, "Why don't you just come here and finish it? Why make us wait? Unless, you want us to wait, to keep us on edge." "Uh Will," said Jaden, "I don't think it's a good sign to be talking to yourself."

"I guess I'm more tired than I thought," said Will, "If I'm talking to myself." "You hate her," said Jaden, "Nerissa I mean, you hate her for what she's done." "I used to," said Will, "But I've learned since then that hate can easily get out of control." "She's right," said Matt, "Nerissa used me against Will by turning me into a creature that fed on hate. I nearly killed that which is precious to me, all because of blind hate."

"How did you break free of Nerissa's control?" asked Jaden. "A mixture of love," said Matt, "Compassion, and good old fashion rock'n'roll." "What I feel towards Nerissa now," said Will, "Is pity. I pity her because she lost so much of her humanity to her greed, her lust for power. She can only express herself by inflicting pain, misery and suffering on those around her. It'd be easy to hate her, but it'd be human to pity her. When I get the Heart of Candracar back, and I will get it back, I have every intention of showing compassion and mercy to her."

"What about Pai-Mey," said Jaden, "Are you going to show mercy to her?" "Now that," said Matt, "Is truly a horse of a different color." "Pai-Mey is a convicted criminal," said Will, "When this is over, assuming she's still alive, we're taking her back to her home world to finish her punishment."

"I've been wondering," said Matt, "Tell me Jaden, just what did you do to save Will's life?" "Oh, that," said Jaden, "Well, what happened was that when I was 9 and she was 8, we were crossing a street, at a crosswalk, when this car came out of nowhere. It nearly hit Will, but I pulled her out of the way just in time."

"Just in time nothing," said Will, "If you were a second slower, I would have been road-kill." "Why did that car try to run you over?" asked Matt. "I don't know," said Will, "and I guess I'll never know, the guy was never caught." Just then Taranee and Cornelia ran out onto the balcony. "Will!" exclaimed Taranee, Irma and Hay Lin are back!" "And they both brought help," said Cornelia, "Lots of it!"

Will, Matt and Jaden ran back into the main hall of the Temple where Hay Lin, Irma, Martin and Eric were with Naruto and his group, along with Luffy and his group. Both groups were enjoying the reunion. Sakura was the first to see Will. "Hey," said the pinked haired ninja "Are you alright?" "Considering the circumstances," said Will, "I think I'm doing okay."

"So you're Will's cousin," said Naruto to Jaden, "I haven't known her that long, but she's an incredible person, believe it!" "I should believe it," said Jaden, "I've known her since I was seven."

"That's an impressive looking fan on your back," said Zolo to Temari, "I hope to see it in action." "If what Naruto said about this Pai-Mey Matoya is true," said Temari, "Then you'll see it soon."

"So let me get this straight so I'll understand it," said Caleb to Neji and Hinata, "Your dad," he pointed toward Hinata, "And his dad," he pointed at Neji, "Were twin brothers." "Correct," said Neji. "I sometimes get confused who's father is whom," said Hinata.

"When this is over," said Luffy to Hay Lin, "I'll have Sanji cook a 21 course feast." "I'm sure my Grandma can help at the family restaurant," said Hay Lin. "I don't care where the feast is," said Naruto, "As long as there's ramen." "When this is over," said Saske, "You can drown yourself in ramen if you desire." Just then The Oracle and Tibor entered the room. "Forgive us for interrupting the reunion," said The Oracle, "But Tibor has found the mirror."

The mirror turned out to be that, a mirror. It was a round hand mirror without a handle, roughly a foot in diameter. The actual mirror was an eight-inch circle, covered by a hinged metal clasp, the like Will had never seen before. Incasing the mirror was another metal she had never seen before. This one has strange symbols etched into it around the mirror circle. As Will held the mirror in her hands, she saw only two words she could actually read, but she didn't know what they mean; eldt durin."

"The words mean 'in truth: power," said Tibor, "Or as near a translation as can be made." "Understandably true," said The Oracle, "The truth can be a powerful weapon, if one knows how to use it wisely." "What do I do now?" asked Will. "Unclasp the mirror," said The Oracle, "And simply look into the mirror. Instead of your reflection, you shall see every negative action you have done in your life; every lie you've told to others, every lie you told to yourself, every time you acted wrongly and so on."

"That doesn't sound too bad," said Will, "I'm still young, and so I haven't done much negative actions." "A wise statement," said The Oracle, "But I must warn you Will, people have been driven mad by what they have seen in the mirror, for not only does the mirror reveal the negative, it also reveals the positive. In summery, this mirror shall reveal to you who you truly are. Some people are not prepared to learn such knowledge."

"Is anybody ever ready to know that kind of information?" asked Will as she unclasped the hinge. "Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Matt. "It has to be done," said Will, "If someone doesn't first look into the mirror before showing it to someone else, then it won't work, or, at least that's how I think that's how it works." "You are correct," said Tibor, "She must be allowed to look into the mirror before showing it to Nerissa."

"In that case," said Naruto as he shook Will's hand, "Good luck." "Same here," said Luffy as he shook Will's hand. Will then spent the next several minutes shaking hands and being wished luck. Finally, with no one else to wish her well, she opened the metal hinge, and looked into the polished metal that was the mirror.

Nothing happened for several minutes as Will gazed into the mirror. "How do we know its working?" asked Taranee. "Have patience;" said The Oracle, "As we speak, her life so far is being replayed for her. Due to Will's youth, it shouldn't be much longer."

Just then something totally unexpected happened: Will closed the hinge, but she didn't secure the clasp. Walking to a nearby corner of the walls, she carefully placed the mirror on the floor, and sat down, a glazed and dazed look in her eyes. "Will?" asked Matt, "Are you alright?" "How was it?" asked Jaden. "What did you see?" asked Hay Lin.

Will was unresponsive; she just sat there, staring off into space. "What's wrong with her?" asked Matt, "What did that mirror do to her?" "Will has seen who she really is," said The Oracle, "She has seen her entire life up until now, everything that has happened to her. The experience was too much for her to handle all at once."

"And you didn't warn her!" raged Matt, "You didn't tell her that she'd go all catatonic?" "I warned her that to look into the mirror was to invite madness," said The Oracle, "We should consider it lucky that Will isn't a raving lunatic by now. An hour, maybe two and she'll recover from her experience.

"And what if Will doesn't recover after two hours," said Taranee, "What if she's like this for the rest of her life? What then?" "I think we've got a bigger problem," said Cornelia, "The enemy is here!" At that everyone ran to the balcony. Sure enough, of in the distance, Pai-Mey and Nerissa were approaching the Temple.

"What now?" asked Martin, "They'll be here in less than fifteen minutes!" Naruto stared out towards the enemy, glaring at what he thought was Pai-Mey Matoya. "If they find Will in this condition," said Naruto, "They'll kill her for sure. So here's the plan; we're going down outside, and we're going to hold them off."

"What do you mean 'hold them off'?" asked Luffy. "I meant exactly what I said," said Naruto, "Your crew and my friends are going to stall the enemy for time." "I see what you're planning," said Caleb, "Keep Nerissa and Pai-Mey busy so Will can have the time to recover."

"Right in one, believe it!" exclaimed Naruto. He then faced his fellow Shinobi, "It's all or nothing now, so if there's anyone who doesn't want to fight, now's the time to say so." Nobody said anything. "Then let's go out there and get them!" exclaimed Naruto.

"What do you want us to do?" asked Irma. "Just stay with Will," said Luffy, "And keep her safe." Meanwhile Hay Lin and Rock Lee were having an emotional moment. "Do me a favor," said Hay In, "Don't die." "The thought never crossed my mind," said Rock Lee. They kissed, and he joined the others as they headed outside.

The end of chapter 8. Next time Naruto, Luffy and their crews confront Nerissa and Pai-Mey. See you next time!