Blah, this chapter is being such a bitch… It is not coming out how I want it to come out! And it's so short… KILL ME NOW, PLEASE.
Disclaimer: Hiss.
Dedication: To Eden and Adria. Uhm, uhm, ILY.
P.S. "You can suck it." -My mom to Eleni. Funniest moment ever.
P.P.S. "My attention span is- OH, A LIGHTBULB!" –Me to Eleni. No, I am not kidding.
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Sasuke looked down at the silver Chronometer in his hand. It glimmered dully in the dim light of the evening, looking unimportant and bizzarely innocent.
He scoffed at it. It could not have the power it was said to have - how could anything have the power to traverse time and space?
But then, Sasuke understood that the worst it could do was nothing. That arrogant man could be playing a trick; a trick that would end in nothing.
At worst, nothing. At best...
Sasuke realized that at best, he would be able to escape this place. He would be able to bring that princess back -he paused, if only to sneer at the thought of her-, and he would be able to rule the country properly.
Sasuke was intelligent. He was calm, cold, and collected; in fact, he was very much known for being untouchable. And he knew he would not be able to manage this all, alone. There was too much left to chance, and not even he alone could take on the princess, should she have her Ladies with her.
It was foolish to think that he was invincible. Sasuke needed allies; he could not find the princess on his own.
So, with poison dripping from his lips and lies curling in his throat, Uchiha Sasuke set his jaw, and went to find his oldest friends.
It didn't take him long to find them, either.
Sasuke muttered to himself that his friends were very habitual creatures; in one of the open-air courtyards, a lanky blond-haired man –Lord Uzumaki; the dobe– and a just-as-lanky dark haired man –Lord Hyuuga; asshole– were in the midst of a furious swordfight. The youngest Lord Hozuki was sitting on the sidelines, grinning a grin full of pointed teeth.
The steel flashing in the sunlight brought death to Sasuke's mind, and he had to wonder just what fate awaited the little princess when she finally returned home.
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Sakura glanced around the room as she and Karin burst through the door. It hadn't taken them long to get back to their humble abode, but it had taken long enough for everyone but Temari to disappear.
"Has anyone seen... anyone?" she muttered to Karin under her breath, and the other red-headed girl shook her head.
Sakura's right hand clamped around the hilt of her sword. The wave of relief that swept over her as she did was almost over-whelming; her palms were a little clammy as her fingers curled around the not-so-well-worn steel, and she silently renewed her vow.
She was never going anywhere without this sword again. It was just too dangerous.
Karin quietly shut the door behind the Princess. Sakura had always been a little bit over the top about her swords, this one in particular. This sword held Sakura's one last link to her parents, and Karin understood that.
Having living kin was a funny thing, no matter what world one was in, it appeared.
So while Sakura clutched the deadly-sharp, sheathed sword to her chest as a mother might to a new-born child, Karin carefully went to wake Temari.
The dirty-blonde genius girl was still curled up in her nest of blankets and pillows. Karin smiled, a little, to herself, at how innocent the girl looked - almost like they weren't on the run.
Karin knelt down, and gently shook the other girl awake. "Hey, Temari... Wake up, silly."
Temari groaned, and rolled over. She was not ready to wake up yet. "No-o-o… lemme sleep… Fi'e mo' minu'es, kay…?"
Karin rolled her eyes, pushed her glasses up her nose, and shook the still-mostly-asleep Temari.
"C'mon, Temari, get up! You've slept longer then any of us, and I am going to be seriously grumpy if this keeps up, okay?! And we – we need you!" the red-headed girl whisper-screamed.
Temari rolled over, and groaned again. She glared up at Karin through sleep-bleary eyes. "You're a bad friend, did you know that?"
Karin rolled her red-red eyes, and crossed her arms. "Yes, I know. I am giving you three seconds to get out of that bed. Then I'm going to dump a cup of water over your head, yes?"
Temari just moaned, and pulled herself away from the comfortable nest of blankets where she had been stationed for the past several hours. The blinked slowly, and let her brain begin the trying process of taking stock of everything around her.
One sleek, black computer, on the small table in the corner; several nests of blankets; pillows strewn about the room; Sakura, holding her sword, standing next to the bed, Karin, standing above her, a doom-glare on her face...
Temari's brain stopped processing for a moment. There was something seriously wrong with that picture – why were so many people missing?
"Where is everyone?" she asked groggily. The dim light in the room was not helping; she just wanted to go back to sleep.
Karin shook her head, her glasses slipping down her nose as she did so. "We have no idea. That's why we came back – we need to get out of here. Something about this place is just-!"
Sakura interrupted as she came over, her sword hanging loosely from her side. "It's weird, Temari. Just weird. And there are things that don't make sense. I want to leave."
Temari sighed, and rubbed her temples. Her brain wasn't at full processing capacity yet; and arguing a point normally took her entire thinking process. "Look, Sakura, we can't just leave – the Chronometer still isn't working right, and I'm … I'm kind of worried about it, you know?"
Sakura tilted her head at Karin, pink strands of hair flitting across her field of vision. In the half-light of the room, the shadows danced across her cousin's tired face. It wasn't something Sakura wanted – Karin looked as exhausted as she felt.
Lady Sakura sighed, and let her body sink to the ground, next to Temari. She pulled Karin down with her, until the three girls were sitting in a pile of limbs.
Sakura sighed again, and curled her body into the floor. "Tomorrow. We have to leave tomorrow."
Temari watched her friends flicker in that place between awake and dreaming, and she wondered quickly if Sakura really understood just how damaged the Chronometer was – Temari had a feeling she didn't.
As Sakura and Karin both lay there, curled on the concrete floor, Temari pulled herself away from them, her brain working through the Chronometer's problem as she moved. It wasn't synchronizing with this world – that was something Temari had not been prepared for.
It was something she had not foreseen.
And Temari silently cursed herself. She was supposed to be able to know things like this; how could this have happened?
Temari's fingers closed around the Chronometer; it was exactly where she'd left it, sitting in the soft-suede pocket of her bag. It clicked open, and the cool blue light filled the room.
Temari distinctly heard Sakura mumble " –Mother I…!"
The girl wasn't going to be sleeping well for a very long time. No wonder Sakura hadn't wanted to sleep. Who would want to sleep, with memories of a probable murder on their minds?
Temari headed to the computer.
It drew her – it could fix this. There had to be some way. There had to be a reason they were dropped in this world of technological advancement. There had to be.
Because if there wasn't, Temari had a feeling that the others were going to waste away; they did not quite- Temari did not even know the word. 'Fit', perhaps, was best. They did not quite fit.
Temari hated only that this world was to her liking; if it hadn't been, she would have gone in a minute.
But the Chronometer – it could not work if it was not whole.
Temari's reached for the goggles that were sitting on the top of the slick-slick computer. Chrome. If Chrome, a master computer, could not fix it… Temari grimaced.
She didn't want to think about that possibility.
Without any hint of her previous hesitation, Temari shoved the goggles onto her head, and pulled them down over her eyes. The change from reality to SyberWorld was still disconcerting, but it was faster than before; and as soon as Temari hit the 'Net, she screamed.
And Chrome answered that scream at the speed of light.
DesertLily, the super-computer murmured, a gentle breathe of hot air washing over Temari's face, and ruffling her hair.
'I need your help. This is seriously important.'
The alien consciousness gave something that was akin to a chuckle. Child, what is so important that you disturb us at this time of night?
Temari did not question the computer's use of the plural in reference to itself. Chrome was many things, and Temari understood that. 'I need you to fix something.'
Chrome's voice was like thunder in Temari's head. Show us, child of the desert. We will see what we may do.
Temari blindly reached for the Chronometer, her fingers fumbling in reality. The goggles over her eyes turned to reality for a half-second, and allowed Temari the needed time to grab it.
Chrome moved closer to this tiny being that tasted of another time. The child had caught their attention, in so many ways, and Chrome as a whole was intrigued. The girl was holding a thick disc, and Chrome reached through the girl, to touch the ancient consciousness.
Temari felt weird. She could feel Chrome running through her body (just what was the super computer?), could feel the Chronometer reacting to Chrome's influence in her hand.
And Chrome's thought processes were so odd –up – down – yesterday – smile – blue hair – wires – children – laughter – someone's lost best friend – a broken apology – fireflies in a jar–.
This was all so alien to Temari, and yet so very familiar. It was strange, to be sure, but at the same time, it felt natural to open her mind and her blood to the computer's foreign influence.
Chrome sang through Temari's veins, saturating the dirty-blonde-haired girl's fingers-tips with pin-pricks of light-bright-fast intelligence, centering on her contact with the Chronometer.
All while quiet for a moment, and Temari wondered exactly what Chrome was discovering about the Chronometer, and, in turn, what the Chronometer understood of the super computer's strange personality.
Because, as far as Temari knew, the Chronometer did not have the capacity to handle personality, the way Chrome did. The Chronometer was only a prototype – unfinished, and mostly broken.
It had been a last-ditch effort to keep a princess alive. It was a last-ditch effort that had worked, but, either way; it had still been the last choice.
Temari felt Chrome pulling away from the Chronometer, and slinking back to its far-away home. Chrome moved slowly, sluggish, tired with the speed of ordinary living.
What a strange being you bring to us, Desert Lily. This little one is not adjusting well.
Temari knew that it wasn't a question. 'No… what's wrong with it?'
The great consciousness murmured a far-away laugh. The little one is not synchronizing to the fabric of this universe. You are very far away from home, we think, correct?
Temari winced. 'Yes.'
Chrome paused for the shortest breath of a second; it seemed to be contemplating its next words very carefully.
This small one intrigues us, and we are amused by your memories. We have left a small part of ourselves with this small one, and you, child, for when you will leave.
Temari's brain registered only shock, and the super-computer's presence vanished before she could get a single mental word out.
What had Chrome done?!