Chapter 9: The Keystone

Naruto and his companions left Wutai as quickly as possible, heading back into the winding mountains and bridges to where they had hidden their plane. They moved briskly out of the village. They were keen to get back to the cove where they had hidden the broken down plane. The Turks had already moved on, and that meant that if they didn't get a move on, they would fall further behind the Shinra. They desperately needed to catch up to the Shinra again if they were ever going to find out where the Temple of the Ancients was.

They still had no idea where this elusive temple was. Even Aeris, who was an Ancient by birth, had no idea where it was. In fact, she had barely even heard of it, except maybe in passing tales told by her mother before her untimely death. All that seemed to exist of the temple were legends and rumours. But the Shinra seemed to believe it existed, so their one hope lied in following them.

Yuffie had stopped thanking Naruto as they entered the mountains, crossing the long wooden bridges towards the cove. The mountain of Da-Chao was fading fast behind them, fading quickly behind the setting sun, which was now beginning to slide fast across the horizon. It would surely be dark by the time they reached the cove.

The others had replaced some of their weapons, since the Weapon Store allowed them to purchase some new weapons once Yuffie was back in their gang. Tifa had accessorised her fighting gloves by tipping the knuckles with hard studded diamonds – perfect for delivering cutting blows. Barret had been drawn to a chainsaw accessory for his gun-arm, attaching it to the front just above the gun-barrel. Vincent had even upgraded his gun to a Shortbarrel, selling the old one as payment. Cloud was probably the only one who did not change his weapon. He didn't really feel able to part with his large Buster Sword. It almost had sentimental value, and he didn't feel right in giving it up just like that.

They strolled quickly through the darkening mountains, keeping their voices low as they discussed where they should head. Aeris suggested maybe they head back to Rocket Town and ask around there, but Cid assured her that there was no one in Rocket Town who would know anything about the Temple of the Ancients. Nanaki suggested they visit Cosmo Canyon again, and ask Bugenhagen if he knew the whereabouts of the temple – if it existed. Barret suggested they go to Nibelheim and force information out of the actors there, but Cloud and Tifa quickly dismissed that idea. They didn't want to go back there if they could help it.

After much argument and discussion, they finally reached the cove where the Tiny Bronco was hidden. It was still secure at the top of the beach, the ocean surf moving in gently across the sand. As they had predicted it was almost completely dark, the mountains casting dark shadows across the beach. They could see the ocean and the lands ahead of them, but it was a strain. So they wasted no time pulling the plane back into the water, where they all climbed on and set off into the ocean.

The sky became considerably darker as they set off on their little 'boat'. The Tiny Bronco hummed quietly in the water as they sailed away from the mountains, the propellers turning and throwing up bubbles of spray onto the group. As they reached the deeper parts of the ocean they turned the engine onto full power, and sailed as quickly as they could across the ocean. They wanted to get to Cosmo Canyon before it was too dark for them to see where they were going.

They had little hope of reaching Cosmo Canyon before nighttime really set in. In fact, once Wutai slipped behind them, the sky was black and dotted with stars. All they could see was the faint grey of the ocean waves as they tilted over the edge of the plane, and the faint outline of land in the distance.

It took them an hour to reach the continent again, and another half an hour to reach the plain of rocks and grass where the mountains of Cosmo Canyon stood tall in the night. Small lights on the front of the Tiny Bronco showed them the land just ahead of them, and up in the distance they could see the fiery lights of Cosmo Canyon, standing silently like a beacon.

Unfortunately they could not get close enough to disembark. The Tiny Bronco's lights enabled them to see a few metres in front of them, but they were not able to show them the deadly rocks that lay beneath the surface of the ocean. The river was the same. Their buggy had been able to cross the river with ease, but the plane was nowhere near equipped to handle the unseen battering from jagged rocks. Cid was not prepared to let his precious plane become any more damaged than it already was, so it was impossible for them to land at Cosmo Canyon that night.

"It's no good," said Cloud, as he looked around at the others. "We'll have to think of something else. We can't risk sinking the plane." He narrowed his eyes. He could barely see their faces in the night, their bodies' darkened silhouettes. They could see him though – the Mako glow in his eyes shimmered faintly even in the night. He sighed. "I think we should just head to the nearest inn and try coming back when it's light. I doubt the Shinra will do much at night."

"Good idea," agreed Naruto who was freezing his ass off and wanted to sleep in a bed.

The others all muttered amongst themselves. The nearest inn was probably a good few miles away, or even on the other side of the continent! Before anyone could grumble Cid turned back to his controls and slowly turned the plane away from the shore. It turned steadily, the engine continuing to hum soothingly as they began to sail out into the ocean again.

They tried to sleep as the plane drifted along. Naruto took the first watch, sitting next to the controls where Cid was piloting. The air pilot refused to let anyone else handle his precious plane, even if it meant staying up all night. The others all curled up as best they could on the back of the plane. At first it seemed an impossible task to sleep in such a small space, but pretty soon the sound of Barret's loud snoring filled the nighttime air.

They followed the coast slowly around the continent, Cid manoeuvring the plane so that they stayed a safe distance from the cliffs to avoid being caught by the rocks. The ocean was calm and peaceful, and as Cid leaned over to look into the water he could see the dark silhouettes of fish swimming beneath the surface. Seeing them made Cid's stomach rumble, but he couldn't risk letting go of the plane so he could catch one with his spear. So he suffered with his hunger, and continued to steer. At least until Naruto handed him a packet of chips saying it was the last one in his pocket. It wasn't a complete lie. It was the last one in his scroll. Naruto took out his phone and selected a song called Fake Wings by Yuki Kajiura from .hack/SIGN Original Soundtrack 1. The gentle melody floated out across the plane.

Gongaga passed them by – faint, flickering lights between the close huddle of trees keeping warm in the night. As they turned the corner of the continent and slowly headed north, a chill northern wind hit them and made Naruto shiver despite the long cloak he had on.

Aeris slept softly as the plane sailed along. She was huddled up close to Nanaki, using the warmth of his fur as a blanket to keep her warm. The hound didn't notice the chill wind passing through his fur, but when a sudden strong gust blew across the bare skin of the Ancient's arms, she woke and slowly lifted her head. We're still sailing, she thought silently to herself. She looked at Nanaki, watching as his tail twitched sleepily across the edge of the plane. The tail flickered over Barret's face as he slept. Barret's face twitched, and he pushed the tail aside, turning over and continuing to snore.

Aeris smiled. Everyone looked so peaceful. She couldn't think of anything better than this moment – all of them lying together peacefully underneath the stars. If only their situation wasn't so pressing, then they could all sit and enjoy this moment. She looked a little further along the plane and saw Naruto, staring out silently into the ocean of stars. Aeris laid her head gently on Nanaki's breathing chest, and continued to watch him.

After a few minutes Aeris turned her gaze back to the north. The plane passed an embankment and opened up to reveal the next part of the continent. A bright glow caught Aeris's eye and she slowly sat up, pushing her brown hair out of her eyes.

Naruto saw it, too. It was not exactly hard to miss, for it was so bright and surrounded by many lights of numerous colours that someone would have to be blind to miss it. They were the lights of the Gold Saucer, shining brightly in the middle of the continent. The lights flared up into the sky, moving like dancers across the stars. Even from this distance they could hear the faint sounds of screams, coming from the amusement park's thrilling roller coasters and other games.

Naruto, sensing that someone was watching him, turned to look at Aeris. The young woman was looking back at him with a happy smile on her face. Despite the troubles that had occurred last time they visited the Gold Saucer, the park had been an exciting place to visit. It was also where they had picked up Cait Sith, the somewhat-bad-at-fortune-telling-machine. The cat was curled up on the top of his magical Mog, using his megaphone as a pillow. Naruto smiled back and turned away from Aeris; looking at the Gold Saucer and wondering if they could rest there.

As he was looking out, something flickered and caught his eye. He looked back toward Aeris, and gazed at the cliffs that were lowering steadily beside them. At first he saw nothing, and wondered if he had just imagined seeing something. He was about to turn away again, when the movement came again. Naruto narrowed his eyes, straining to see through the darkness.

There it was again, a small light shining amidst the darkness. Naruto stared, wondering if maybe the night was just playing tricks on him. He rubbed his eyes, pushing back his own fatigue, and looked out again. The light was still there, faint but definitely visible, shining out from a patch of darkness. At first Naruto thought that it was a monster, until he realised that it was a simple electric light, coming from a small building that stood close to the edge of the small cliff.

"Cid, stop," Naruto ordered as he snapped his phone shut. Cid did as he was told and brought the plane slowly to a stop in the middle of the ocean. Naruto carefully stood up on the plane, causing it to rock gently beneath his feet.

The rocking caused the others to wake, Cait almost falling off his Mog and into the water. Nanaki caught him just in time, catching him in his jaws and lifting him back onto the Mog. Barret, annoyed at being woken up, snapped rudely at Naruto in his usual, course language. Naruto ignored Barret and pointed out at the light. Slowly everyone turned to look, and stared at the light.

"What place is that?" asked Tifa, once they had all agreed that the light did belong to some sort of building.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. His eyes were heavy and his legs aching, desperate to move somewhere other than across the edge of the plane. "Does it matter?" he asked, rather snappishly. "The point is it's a place to stop." He looked down at Cid. "Can we land here?"

Cid looked up from his controls. "I ain't no sailor!" he snapped back. He was tired, too. All Naruto could see of Cid was the glowing orange light of his cigarette, which moved up and down as he spoke. It was becoming impossibly hard for them to see anything. "Don't worry," Cid assured him, calming his tone. "I'll set ya down on the beach further up."

He turned the engine down to half power, and carefully steered the plane towards the thin river that separated the Corel and Forest Plains. Naruto sat back down on the plane as it moved, feeling it rock precariously as he stood. Thankfully there were no rocks for them to fear on this side of the continent, and pretty soon the soft, sandy banks of the beach appeared alongside them. Cid pulled the plane slowly towards the beach before turning off the engine, letting it float forward on its own momentum before he jumped out and began to pull the plane onto the shore.

When the plane was secure, Cid took out his cigarette out of his mouth and threw it onto the floor. "There ain't no need for all of us to go," he said, pulling his cigarette packet out from behind his goggles. "I'm gonna stay here and look after the Tiny Bronco. You investigate if you want. I'm gonna wait right here."

"Ok. Cloud, Nanaki, Gaara, come with me," said Naruto. With their small party set Naruto, Cloud, Nanaki and Gaara left the Tiny Bronco behind and headed out towards the source of the light. The others, exhausted after a long day of hiking and fighting, clambered back onto the Tiny Bronco to wait for their return. The hut was visible from where they had landed, no more than a five-minute brisk walk in the darkness. They sat on the plane and peered out into the darkness, waiting for their friends to return.

They reached the hut. It looked to be nothing more than a hut, since it was built from simple wood that was dark from years of weathering, but still standing. Naruto figured it was an emergency store, built for travellers who needed to stop and get supplies, or simply to hide from monsters. The door was ajar, so Naruto peered inside.

It was a shop. As he looked in his eyes fell on many shelves and cases that were full of weapons, armour and other handy supplies. The shopkeeper was standing at the bottom of the stairs just beyond the door, sweeping at the floor vigorously with a strong, twig brush.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Naruto waved his hand down to Nanaki, who was standing beside the door with his claws flexed, ready to fight if necessary. Seeing the signal Nanaki nodded and settled back on his haunches. He would wait for Naruto, Cloud and Gaara outside the shop until he was needed. He yawned loudly and settled down on his paws, his eyes gazing up as Naruto, Cloud and Gaara walked past him and entered the shop. Then he closed his eyes, keeping one ear alert for their return.

The sudden change from dark to light hurt their eyes as they entered the shop. Cloud blinked while Naruto shielded his eyes with his arm, straining to adjust them so he could see what was ahead of him. Gaara didn't do anything. The door swung slowly shut behind them, and as it clicked closed the shopkeeper suddenly became aware of their presence and turned in surprise. He stared at the two in surprise, surprised that there would be customers out at this time of the night.

"Huh?" he asked. He rubbed his eyes and blinked as though he was dreaming, wondering if he wasn't just seeing things. Clearly he didn't get much business. When he realised he wasn't dreaming, he set his brush down by the stairs and walked over to Naruto, Cloud and Gaara. "Oh, another customer. You sure picked an out of the way place, but… But if it's the 'Keystone' you're looking for, you're too late. Don't have it."

Finally Naruto's eyes adjusted to the light, and he could see the shopkeeper clearly. "Uhh… Keystone?" he asked, tilting his head. He had never heard of the item before. He glanced at Cloud, who shrugged, and then walked off to one side of the shop to examine some of the items.

Again the shop owner seemed surprised and scratched his head in bewilderment. "What? You didn't come here for that?" he asked. Naruto shook his head in reply. The shop owner tried to explain, keeping one eye on Naruto as he set about examining a pair of katanas at the back of the shop. "The 'Keystone' is the key that unlocks the gate to a very old temple somewhere. You're not going to believe your ears, but I heard it was the Temple of the Ancients!"

That statement caught all three of them off guard, and they all almost staggered back in shock. "The Temple of the Ancients…" Naruto muttered quietly to himself, thinking hard. Could it really be possible that out of all the places they could have stopped, they had stumbled on the one place that knew something about the Temple of the Ancients? It certainly appeared so.

The shop owner looked at Naruto. He saw the young man's serious expression and laughed loudly. "Don't take it seriously!" he advised. "It's just a legend!"

Naruto caught Cloud's gaze, and knew what he was thinking. The shop owner clearly didn't believe in the Temple of the Ancients, but he was different. The Shinra were heading there, which meant that Sephiroth was heading there as well. "Where is the Keystone?" he asked curiously.

The shop owner seemed to hesitate for a second, an anxious look in his eyes. "I sold it already," he replied finally. He scratched the back of his head, and looked rather sheepishly at Naruto. "Yeah well, to tell the truth, I didn't want to sell it but… That guy had a way about him that made you feel like it may not be a good idea NOT to sell it to him…"

Hearing that, Cloud's first thought was that he was talking about Sephiroth. He quickly changed his mind, because he realised that Sephiroth was not the type of person to wait to be sold an item that he wanted. Especially if it was something as obviously important as the Keystone. No, Sephiroth would simply have killed the shop owner the moment he entered the shop, and then, with the owner lying in a pool of his own blood, Sephiroth would have taken the Keystone for his own.

Looking at Naruto, he saw him mouth the word 'Shinra' silently. Cloud shook his head. It wouldn't have been the Shinra either. Like Sephiroth, if the Shinra wanted something, they would not wait around and bargain. They would take it, by force if necessary. Just as Palmer was prepared to steal the Tiny Bronco if Cid did not give it up willingly to the Shinra. So if the Shinra didn't buy it…

"Who did you sell it to?" Naruto asked, out of ideas.

"The manager of the Gold Saucer," the shop owner replied. He didn't notice Naruto sigh with relief under his breath, and carried on talking. "Think his name was 'Dio'. Said he was going to put it in his museum, then he took off out of here."

That was all the information that Naruto needed. He nodded his head at Cloud, who nodded politely to the shop owner and then headed for the door. He opened the door, letting a cold breeze blow through the door. Nanaki opened his eyes and looked up at him as he and Gaara came out. Naruto was about to follow Gaara, when he suddenly stopped and looked back at the shop owner, another question in his mind.

"Where is the Temple?" he asked, just out of curiosity. He didn't really expect an answer, but it didn't hurt just to ask.

As Naruto expected, the shop owner rolled his eyes at Naruto. "Come on… it's only a legend," he insisted. He found it hard to believe that Naruto was taking the legend so seriously, since half the time legends turned out not to be true. "But if it were true, that sure would be something, huh? Now that you mention it, I have heard of something called Ultimate Destruction Magic that was supposed to be hidden somewhere in the Temple of the Ancients."

"Ultimate Destruction Magic…?" Naruto repeated. Somehow those words left a dark feeling in the pit of his stomach, and sent a faint chill down his spine, but it could have been the wind and his hunger. He shook his head, and quickly headed out of the door, leaving the shop owner's desperate protest behind him.

"Come on! I told you not to take it seriously!"

It was very strange, sitting in the air cab, watching the ground pass by far beneath them. When they last used the air cab they had been a party of eight. Now they were a party of thirteen as Kyuubi and Nibi were out, and it was a bit of a squash fitting everyone into the cab. Somehow they had managed it, and now they were traveling briskly through the air towards the Gold Saucer once again.

It felt like such a long time since they had first come across the amusement park. In truth it hadn't been more than a few days since they had encountered the park, but with everything that had happened to them it felt much longer than that. A few days felt more like weeks, and months since they left Midgar.

Like before, Aeris and Tifa pressed themselves firmly against the windows of the cab and peered out at the ground rushing by slowly beneath them. The land looked very different at night. It appeared strange and mysterious, with an air of omniscience that left them feeling a little chilled. They blamed it on the fact that they couldn't see much of the ground in the shadows, and the desert was almost invisible.

Around them the others all sat silently, waiting patiently for the air cab to arrive at the Gold Saucer. No one was particularly chatty. They were all feeling worn out, exhausted, and not in the mood for any talking. Yuffie was curled up on the seat with her knees at her chest, her head resting against Cait Sith's Mog body.

Vincent was sat in the far corner of the cab, peering out of the window as they approached the Gold Saucer. The enigmatic man had not said a word from the moment they had stepped into the cab, taking his seat by the window before anyone could stop him. He had his arms folded, head low in thought, and his red eyes glancing at the lights sweeping across the Gold Saucer.

He was thinking about their journey so far, or, rather, his journey since he joined Naruto and his companions. He had left the cold comfort of his Nibelheim prison in the hope that he would come across Sephiroth and, more importantly, Hojo of the Shinra. So far he had encountered neither of the two, and was beginning to wonder whether he would ever find them. Naruto and the others seemed more intent on finding Sephiroth, but it was Hojo that Vincent wanted to find. Lucrecia… And then there was his offer to go with Naruto after the whole ordeal was over. He thought that maybe he could start a new life. If Naruto could do it then so could he.

Vincent was broken from his thoughts when the air cab gave a sudden, soft jolt. He looked up as the bright lights surrounding the cab became dark, suggesting that they had entered the tunnel leading to the Gold Saucer's entrance. The cab shuddered again as it touched the ground, and the cables outside squeaked loudly as the cab slowed. Seconds later they were back in the light again, and the cab was now perfectly still.

"Here at last," Aeris muttered, pulling herself away from the window. She brushed herself off, sighing as she realised that her clothes had a few faint stains of dirt that she couldn't brush off. She then picked up her staff from the floor. It seemed much heavier in her tired hands, and she longed to put it down for good.

They disembarked from the cab, Cait Sith first, and stepped into the Gold Saucer station. It was just as they remembered it, with the man dressed as a baby chick plodding around in his big, heavy suit, and the woman waiting at the entrance to greet visitors. She seemed surprised to see visitors arriving at such a late time, but she still managed to greet them with a genuine smile.

"Welcome to the Gold Saucer," she said cheerfully. Cid bowed his head to the young woman, amazed that someone could still be so cheerful so late at night.

Leaving the others at the entrance to sort out the verification of the lifetime pass, Naruto walked through the main entrance and stood in the main Station. Even from down here he could still hear the music and cries of delight from the floors above. It reminded him of their first visit, when they entered the Gold Saucer for the first time. The last time he almost had ended up being arrested for the murder and assault on several Gold Saucer staff and customers. They hadn't been at fault, but still, memories like that were not the kind you expected to get from an amusement park.

Naruto stopped in the middle of the Station and looked up at the large virtual map on the wall. According to the map all the attractions were open, but there was no mention of a museum anywhere. Naruto gazed slowly over the map, trying to decide which place would be a most likely spot for Dio to hold his museum.

"The Battle Square is the most likely place to look." Naruto jumped and turned as Cait walked up and stood beside him. The cat put down his megaphone and sat on the Mog's head, letting his tiny red boots tap against the Mog's forehead. He lifted up his crown and scratched his head. "Feels weird bein' back here."

Naruto nodded in agreement, but said nothing. He looked back at the map, gazing at the icon that represented the Battle Square. Cait was probably right – if Dio was going to hold a museum of special artefacts, the Battle Square was the most likely location.

It suddenly occurred to Naruto that Cait never did find the answer to his fortune telling. Cait initially joined their party for the sole purpose of finding the answer to a rather bizarre fortune reading he had given when reading Naruto's fortune for the third time. Naruto had asked Cait about his fortune and had given the rather lengthy answer:

'The road to your true ambition is long and hard, but faith in your friends and you will persevere. The trials ahead will seem impossible but you have the power to overcome all obstacles. And as you, Heavens Champion, strides forward, you will conquer the true darkness that lies beyond the line of reason, logic and truth. And remember to always believe in yourself and others.'

Naruto turned to Cait, about to ask about the fortune reading but the cat was already moving, heading towards the transport pipe that led to the Gold Saucer's Battle Square. Before Naruto could say anything the Mog jumped in, and he zipped towards the Battle Square. The others walked in just as the cat disappeared down the shoot, and looked at Naruto expectantly. Naruto grinned, and headed for the pipe.

As Cait had told them, Dio held his museum in the Battle Square. It was no surprise really, considering what he kept in his collection. The group had missed the museum on their first visit – they had been too preoccupied trying not to get blamed for the horrific murders. The doors to the museum were always left open, allowing visitors to enter and admire Dio's collection.

Dio's collection was truly a sight to see. He had a vast collection of trinkets from various places, most of which they had never seen before. There were goblets and giant clocks, spears and a mask known as 'Chisa's Mask', and even a portrait of Dio himself at the back of the room. The Keystone was at the far end of the museum. It had been placed on an altar at the end of the room, and kept on a velvet cushion inside a protective glass case; it was visible for all to see. It didn't look particularly fancy, but the peculiar markings that covered its surface told them that it was no ordinary item, and left no doubt in their minds that it was the Keystone.

Naruto stepped up to the case, forced to stop by a red cord that stopped everyone from getting too close to any of the items. He peered inside. "Jackpot," he confirmed, reading a small piece of card in front of the Keystone that said 'Keystone'. 'What a surprise,' Naruto thought. Everyone crowded around him to look.

They were all so absorbed in staring at the peculiar Keystone that they never heard Dio enter the museum and stand behind them. He had come to close the museum for the night, as well as to admire his collection one more time before he turned in. When he saw Naruto and the others there he smiled, recognising Naruto, and walked up behind them.

"Heh, heh, heh," he laughed. Everyone jumped up and spun around, their hearts skipping a beat in surprise, even though they hadn't done anything wrong. Dio grinned at the surprise he had caused, and looked at Naruto. "Long time no see, my boy." He glanced past Naruto to see what they were all admiring, and saw that they were looking at the Keystone. "Hmm? You like that, huh?"

Naruto glanced back at the Keystone and nodded. On its own it was a rather strange but beautiful object. Although its markings were indecipherable, it left quite an impression on the human mind. Out of all of them, Aeris had been the only one who did not jump when Dio came in. She was too transfixed looking at the Keystone, her green eyes wide as she gazed upon it. Naruto glanced at her for a second, before pointing to the Keystone.

"Can you let me borrow this?" he asked.

Dio laughed again. "Heh, heh, heh. Sorry, but it's not for rent," he said, his laughter fading and his voice sounding rather firm. He saw the disappointed look in Naruto's eyes and folded his eyes, thinking. An idea suddenly came to him and he smiled. "Hmm," he said, looking at Naruto. "Since you've been good to me in the past, I'll let you have it on one condition."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Well spit it out,"

"Heh, heh, heh," Dio laughed, nodding his head. He slapped his large hand against his bare chest, creating a loud echo around the museum hall. Then he pointed at Naruto firmly with his forefinger. "Entertain me!"

Cloud glanced at the others. They nodded. "What'd you want me to do?" he asked.

Dio's eyes lit up in delight, and he rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Hoo-boy! Heh, heh, heh." The look in his eyes made Naruto a little worried, wondering what he had just signed up for. Seeing the anxious gaze, Dio shook his head. "It's not something that's really difficult," he assured the young man. "This is the Battle Arena. Show me your fighting skills. Just you, my boy." He put his large hand on Naruto's shoulder and looked firmly into his eyes. "I'm expecting a good fight!"

In turn Naruto grinned.

While Naruto was in the waiting room, preparing himself for the battles ahead, Dio led Cloud and the other companions through the side doors and up to the balcony that overlooked the Battle Arena. Dio had prepared excellent seats for them, and they could see the entire arena. Dio sat in his own personal box at the other side of the balcony, and did not join them.

Yuffie was anxious as she sat in her seat, her hands fidgeting nervously. She had heard many stories about the Gold Saucer's Battle Square, a lot of them not exactly favourable. Dio used real monsters in his fights. There were often reports of people being seriously injured in these fights. There had been no deaths, but that didn't make her feel any better. There was no way she could help Cloud if he got into trouble either, since thick glass barriers separated the balcony from the arena. All she could do was sit and watch and hope.

Dio explained that the rules of the Battle Square were very simple. You have to win, he had said to Naruto, before leading the others off. That was stating the obvious. The Battle Square fights were made up of eight rounds – a single fighter against a selection of different, powerful monsters. With each round the fighter wins, a limitation is placed on them in the next round. These limitations ranged from status effects like blindness, to the removal of their materia, or, even, their weapons. They were allowed to fight in any way that they could, and could quit at any time. Dio assured Naruto that he didn't have to win all eight fights, but he had to go as far as he could. Naruto agreed.

He didn't have to wait long for his turn in the arena. The Battle Square was quiet at this time at night, and the entrant before him hadn't lasted even two rounds in the arena. The man came out, panting and sweating, his feeble-looking sword broken in two. Naruto watched as he staggered out. A loud screech came from inside the arena, and Naruto turned as two of Dio's strong guards tried to push a bird-like creature back through the caged doors at the other end of the arena. Naruto grinned.

The call then came for him to enter the Battle Arena. Naruto swallowed again, surprised to find a lump in his throat from his anxiety. He raised his hand behind him and clasped it firmly around the hilt of his sword. He remembered Tifa's warning before he left them, echoing in the back of his mind. 'Don't put yourself at risk – come out if it gets too hard.' Naruto ran through the doors into the arena.

There was a chorus of loud cheers as he ran out. Naruto gazed upwards as he ran across a short wooden bridge. He saw the others behind the barrier, looking down at him. Yuffie was on her feet, jumping and cheering, with Cid beside her. The others all sat solemnly. He turned back to the arena. The large wooden gates of the monster arena were already open, revealing the dark shadows that clouded his sight from seeing which monsters would appear first. He soon saw darkened figures begin to emerge from the shadows inside the gate, and he drew his sword and held it ready. He tried to drown out the noise of the small crowd watching him up in the gallery. He needed to focus all his attention on the monsters that came out of the doors.

The first monsters stepped out of the doorway and into the light of the arena. Not recognizing it Naruto pressed the SCAN future on his watch. Like when scanning Nanaki the metal disk unfolded from the watch and displayed the info.

Name: Dual Horn

Type: Bull Monster

Class: B

Description: A muscular beast like, oversized bull with the face of a hound. It runs on all fours, with swollen muscles underneath its furry skin. Its mouth is large and always open, revealing a strong set of teeth it uses to bite its enemies. Its most lethal weapon, its horns, rise out of the sides of its head. Two long, thick, pointed horns, used to impale its prey.

'Ready Kyuubi?'

'Ready!'

"Lets play," grinned Naruto, excited with the chance to test himself properly.

There were two Dual Horns here, and Naruto had to kill them both. The two beasts stomped out of the doors and onto the wooden arena floor. The floor shook with each step they took. Naruto summoned his sword, his blue eyes fixed on the two monsters. He got out his phone and selected the song "Mortal Combat Theme" (AN: You knew it was coming!)

One of the Dual horns looked at him, glancing at him through tiny eyes barely visible through the muscles of its face. It growled deep within its throat, before suddenly charging at Naruto.

Naruto barely had time to react. He had not expected the monster's sudden attack, and before he could realize what was happening the monster was right in front of him, its two horns lowered for a deadly strike. Seeing the flash of yellow from the horns Naruto hurriedly leapt to his right out of the way. He made it out of the way, but felt the creature's body scrape past his back. That had been close.

Naruto stopped at the edge of the arena and turned to look at the Dual Horn, still charging past as it tried to slow and stop. It let out a grunt of anger as it realised it had not struck its prey, but it could not turn and attack again until it had stopped, the size of the arena preventing it from running around. Naruto sighed briefly. He heard a second, louder grunt come from right behind him, and Naruto spun around. The second Dual Horn was standing right behind him!

Swiftly Naruto jumped up into the air, narrowly missing the monster's sharp horns as they were thrust forward where he stood. Naruto landed on the monster's head, but did not remain there for long. He leapt up into the air again, throwing his sword into the ground behind him, before twisting his body around so that he was flying backwards through the air, facing the Dual Horn's back. There was a gasp from the crowd.

Naruto landed on top of the sword with perfect balance. With a few hand signs later he breathed in and brought his right thumb and forefinger together but not before saying, "Fire Release: Grand Fireball no Jutsu!"

Naruto blew out a huge mass of fire at the unsuspecting monster. The monster lifted its head and gave out an almighty cry of pain and anguish as the intense heat of the flames burnt through the flesh of its back. It crumpled onto the floor, roaring in anguish.

He stopped to look at the monster, lying on its stomach, claws digging into the wood, pathetically trying to crawl on its two front legs. Flames licked steadily across the back of the monster's body. Naruto felt sorry for it.

Making up his mind, Naruto ran forward with his blade raised towards the monster. As he neared he swung it in front of him, thrusting the wide blade forward with all his might, and the monster was silenced forever. Naruto withdrew his sword, the blade stained black with the monster's blood. There was no need for it to suffer. As he withdrew the blade there was a loud cheer of excitement from the crowd above. Before Naruto could look up, the first Dual Horn was charging towards him, and he turned to strike.

The crowd gave another gasp as Naruto's blade connected with the sharp horns of the Dual Horn. They had watched a number of people fight in the Battle Arena, most of them amateurs wanting to show off. This was the first fight they had seen where the fighter was a skilled professional, and made them sit on the edge of their seats.

Aeris was silent as she watched the battle, her stomach turning in disgust. She thought it absolutely terrible that Dio would bring live monsters into the arena and have them fight for other people's pleasure. When the other people had cheered at the Dual Horn's death, she had felt sorrow, feeling its life being snuffed out. She was happy that Naruto had been merciful, giving it a swift end instead of letting the flames consume it. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes, wishing the battles would end quickly.

The crowd cheered again as Naruto dealt the killing blow to the remaining Dual Horn, his blade piercing the thick flesh of its chest and going straight through to its heart. The monster slumped forward, and Naruto had to quickly withdraw his blade. He stepped back away from the dead monster, glad that it was over and he could progress to the next round.

While the bodies of the two dead Dual Horns were removed (much to Aeris's relief), Naruto walked over to one side of the arena. There was a small slot machine embedded in the wall that Dio informed him would assign his handicap for the second round. Dio had also warned that the handicaps would be either damaging or favorable depending on the result. Naruto held his breath and pulled the lever.

The first slot began to spin round rapidly, so fast that Naruto was unable to see the options spin by. As he watched the slot began to slow down, and Naruto held his breath as he waited to see the result. Eventually the slot stopped, and Naruto opened his eyes.

The slot had stopped, and written on the panel in front of him was the word 'Cure'. A small hatch opened up in the side of the wall and a faint green mist swept out. Naruto closed his eyes and sighed with relief as a cooling wave washed over him. He felt the fatigue of lack of sleep, hunger and exhaustion get pushed back, and his body felt temporarily refreshed as it would after a good night's rest. The mist swept around him and then faded, and Naruto turned back to the arena to see his next opponent.

Naruto watched as they were hauled out, kept still by thick metal chains to keep them from flying off until it was time. Naruto's next opponents were a pair of dragons. They were medium-sized dragons that walked on their hind legs, their front arms shorter than their legs. Their wings were made of thin leather that made them very agile flyers, using their agility for their attacks rather than their claws. The claws were merely to grip onto prey, holding them still while the dragons attacked them with their sharp teeth. Beady dragon eyes glared out from the dragons' long snouts, letting out a painful screech as they struggled to break free of the chains.

With his sword lowered by his side, Naruto stepped back onto the arena floor. He stopped just inside the red circle that designated the starting point for the fights, and looked over at the two dragons. They were both about twice the size of Naruto, fully grown by the look of them. The two dragons screeched loudly as they glared round at the arena, their wings flapping wildly, desperate to break free of the strong chains that kept them from flying away.

One of the dragons tried its hardest to fly forward, thrusting its head forward and flapping its leathery wings mightily. The two guards holding onto the chains struggled to hold onto it, barely able to keep the dragon down. Realising it couldn't get free the dragon turns its head completely around and snapped its jaws at the guards, trying to bite his hands off. The guard jumped back, startled, but did not let go of the chain.

Dio, who was still watching the fight from the safety of his own private box, stood up and waved his hand down to the guards, signalling the dragons release. The guards hurriedly began to unlock the chains, moving quickly since the dragons were becoming angrier at their captivity.

Eventually the last chain was unlocked, and the two dragons shook themselves free of their shackles. The guards fled as the dragons flapped their wings and rose up into the air, flying up as high as the balcony where the crowd gasped and awed at their majesty. They may not have been like the dragons of legend, but they were still amazing creatures to look at.

On the ground, Naruto too, was awed by the majestic flight of the two dragons. In awe of their slender, sleek bodies and perfectly detailed scales, and the way their tongues licked out of their mouths to taste the air. Naruto shook his head and steadied his sword. This was no time to be in awe over dragons. He pulled out his phone and selected a different song called "Strong and Strike by Toshiro Masuda from Naruto Original Soundtrack I"

He pulled himself together just in time too, for as the two doors of the monster arena slammed shut, the two dragons both turned in the air and began to dive down. Heading straight for Naruto.

The two dragons dropped from the sky, one after the other, folding their wings by their sides to give them more speed. Horrific screeches of delight escaped their throats, their eyes bright in their desire to kill. As they screeched they opened their jaws wide, their teeth glinting like sparkling razors in the artificial light of the arena. Through their dim vision that was their only weakness, they could see the darkened, blurred shape of the human that was their prey.

The lead dragon reached the human first. The monster, seeing its prey get closer, drew back its head, preparing to thrust it forward in a quick and deadly assault. It neared. When the monster was close enough it thrust its head forward and snapped its jaws with all its might. It longed to savour the taste of living flesh in its mouth—the sweet taste of fresh blood trickling down its throat.

But the human saw the dragon approaching and was prepared for its attack. One of the many strange balls attached to his armour and weaponry was glowing faintly, its energy steadily building up. When the dragon lunged for him, the human quickly jumped up into the air. He missed the lethal snap of the jaws and sailed harmlessly over the creature's back. The dragon, realising its prey had escaped him, screeched and pulled its body upwards, swerving away from the floor to avoid crashing into the floor of the arena.

The human had proved to be a tougher opponent than the dragons had first anticipated. The more intelligent predators of the monster world, the dragons had judged the human to be an easy target for them. But the marks of that miscalculation were evident on their bodies—deep bleeding scars on their wings and snouts, oozing layers of thick, black blood across their skin. The human was formidable, that was certain.

Naruto turned his attention to the second dragon. It was approaching him fast. Its jaws were open so wide that Naruto could see right down into its throat—the hungry red flesh that longed to taste his blood and flesh sliding down its throat. Naruto drew his sword back, the blade beginning to flicker in electric light.

When it was ready, Naruto swung his blade forward. The sword missed the dragon by a mile, but the built-up electricity fired from the blade in a single ball of electric light. The dragon only realised what was happening when the ball flew straight into its open mouth.

The dragon drew back, shrieking piercingly as the electricity licked the inside of its mouth. The sparks crackled across its teeth and pained its soft flesh. Instead of human blood trickling down its throat, its own blood flowed freely inside its mouth. Its body writhed and shuddered in agony, convulsing as the electricity travelled further into its body. As the sparks reached its heart, the dragon gave one last dying screech and began to fall.

A cheer erupted from the crowd above. Yuffie was out of her chair, jumping up and down and cheering in delight at the thrill of the battle. She yelled at Naruto, but he couldn't hear her above the cheering. The crowd had doubled in size since the start of the battle—the crowd drawn to the Battle Arena after hearing of a spectacular battle going on. Most of the seats were filled now, filled with awestruck spectators.

Naruto reached the arena wall as the dragon crashed onto the floor. A pole stuck out of the side of the wall, and Naruto quickly grabbed onto it to stop him falling. Steadying himself on its thin surface his eyes scanned the arena, searching for the remaining dragon.

"Above you, Naruto!"

Naruto looked up at the sound of Tifa's yell. The dragon was above him, diving down from the ceiling at tremendous speed. There was not enough time for him to use the Lightning materia. The dragon was much too close. Instead Naruto leapt from the bar towards the ground.

He jumped just in time. A split second after he leapt from the wall, the dragon landed right where he had been standing. The dragon had reared its body back at the last second, bring its claws forward to catch Naruto and hold him still. But Naruto had escaped from its grasp, instead digging into cold metal and solid rock. The dragon tightened its claws furiously, before it too pushed itself away from the wall and continued to dive after Naruto.

Naruto landed on the arena floor, not noticing that the dragon had landed right behind him. Before Naruto could even think about turning or moving the dragon shoved him in the middle of his back with his snout. Losing his balance, Naruto toppled over and tumbled onto the floor. His sword clanked onto the floor beside him. A sharp pain struck his leg and Naruto cried out. A dark shadow fell over him.

In its moment of triumph, the dragon lifted its head and roared gloriously to the crowd. The piercing levels of its screech made the glass barriers of the balcony shudder violently, so much so that Dio feared they would shatter. It was piercing, even to the crowd, who covered their ears and winced at the sound. The dragon ended its roar and lowered its head, its narrow eyes falling upon Naruto.

Glancing over his shoulder, Naruto saw the dragon standing over him. Its right foot was on the back of his lower leg, the sharp claws cutting through the fabric of his trousers and into his skin. He could feel its breath—hot and thick with the stench of dead flesh—brush against his skin. Naruto slowly moved his hand towards the handle of his sword, just within arm's reach.

The dragon lunged.

Naruto swiped his sword.

Aeris leapt from her seat.

Silence fell upon the arena. There was not a single sound—not a breath, not a cough, not even a blink. Not even Yuffie, standing on her chair with her shuriken cradled loosely in her arms, made a sound. Aeris was pressed against the glass, her palms spread across them, her eyes wide as she gazed into the arena.

Tifa let out a small gasp.

In the centre of the arena stood the dragon, caught in mid-lunge, motionless. Its head was frozen in the middle of that lunge, its jaws wide and its teeth glaring, but the dragon's eyes had forever lost their vicious sparkle. Its arms were spread wide but unable to move. Not even its clawed fingers were able to twitch. Lodged in the middle of its chest was the blade of Naruto's sword, with black blood oozing steadily down the side of the blade.

Slowly, carefully, Naruto withdrew the blade from the dragon's chest. The blood stuck to the blade as he drew it out, seeming like black glue that stretched disgustingly across the metal. When the blade was free Naruto pushed himself back and stood up, his leg coming free easily from the dragon's slackened grasp. He raised his sword and quickly flicked it, sending all the blood on the sword to the floor.

The dragon remained frozen for a few seconds more, its lifeless eyes glaring emptily at Naruto. Then, finally, it began to fall. Its arms fell limp. Its winged crumpled up like paper against its body. Its head fell forward. The dragon landed on the arena floor at Naruto's feet, its tongue lolling limply out of its mouth.

At that moment the silence broke and the crowd erupted into cheer. Barret was out of his seat now, jumping up and cheering along with Yuffie and Cid. Nanaki nodded his head slowly, impressed by the battle. Tifa, clapping gently, turned to look at Cait Sith. She was surprised to find that the cat was no longer sat beside her, and the balcony door was open.

As the bodies of the two dragons were removed from the arena, Aeris sank back into her seat, her head low. Through the thick folds of her fringe she peered down at Naruto. Eyes closed and sword lowered, he was breathing heavily. She watched as he headed for the slot machine, to determine the handicap for the next round.

Yes… she realised. There were still more rounds to go.

By the time the eighth round came to an end, Naruto's body was tired. He had had enough. He couldn't go on anymore—not right then. The far doors opened and the men began to drag away the body of the giant bird beast he had just killed. Naruto turned his head and looked up at Dio, his eyes saying the words that he just could not form in his mouth right then.

Dio nodded, understanding the look in the young man's eyes, and rose to his feet. He waved one large, muscle-bound hand at the men below. They nodded back and bowed slightly. The fight was officially over.

Naruto retreated from the scorching arena, slipping back into the cool air of the waiting room. The doors shut loudly behind him, cutting off the ecstatic cheers of the crowd. Once he was alone he let himself fall back against the doors and slid slowly to the ground. Sweat dripped profusely down his cheeks. His hands itched underneath his gloves, so he pulled them off and rubbed his hands across his face.

Naruto sat in the silence of the waiting room a few minutes more, waiting for the crowds outside to disperse. After those few minutes his breathing had returned to normal, and the beating of his heart had slowed back into its normal rhythm. He had closed his eyes, letting his head roll back against the cold door, gazing into the darkness. He almost fell asleep, to his surprise, until he remembered that the others would be waiting for him outside, eager to claim their prize.

Reluctantly Naruto climbed to his feet. He groaned as he moved, feeling the muscles of his thighs ache and burn with fatigue. Those were going to be painful in the morning. He pushed the pain of his aching muscles aside for the moment and headed towards the door, where the others would be waiting for him.

He saw his companions immediately. They were gathered together outside the entrance of Dio's museum, chatting loudly about the fights. Cait was back with them now, and had said nothing about his sudden disappearance. When they saw Naruto come out of the doors they ran over to him. Naruto accepted their congratulations with a warm smile, hoping that the weariness he felt inside wasn't showing on his face.

The string of cheers and congratulations was broken when a large, firm hand gripped Naruto's shoulder. Naruto winced, since the hand had gripped a rather painful bruise that he had picked up during the fights, hidden underneath his shirt. He turned his head and saw Dio standing beside him, a large smile on his deeply tanned face. The man then motioned to the museum, and Naruto and the others followed him through.

They gathered inside the museum again. They watched Dio as he went to the back of the museum, walked over the red cord, and carefully lifted the glass case off the altar. He lifted the Keystone from its velvet cushion and walked back to them. He stopped in front of Naruto.

"Hmm, you did pretty well, young man!" Dio said proudly, patting Naruto on the shoulder again and making him flinch. "Good, it's a promise, so go ahead and take it. I'll give this to you, too."

Dio dropped the Keystone into Naruto's hands. Naruto looked down at it. It was much lighter than he had expected, weighing almost the same as a ball of Materia. It was very smooth to the touch, and also incredibly cold. Whatever extraordinary powers the Keystone held must be buried deep within its surface, within the strange markings that covered its surface.

He looked up to see Dio handing a very odd-looking jacket to Cid. It was more of a vest rather than a jacket, and was made of very small, interlocking circlets of metal to create a firm but flexible shield. This also was extremely light, much to Cid's surprise.

Now that all the gifts had been given out, Dio looked around at the group gathered around him. He smiled. "Well then," he said cheerfully, bringing their attention back to him. "We shall meet again! Heh, heh, heh."

Dio then turned and walked out of the museum, chuckling as he walked out of the door. When he was gone the companions gathered around Naruto to examine the Keystone. All except Cid, who was still staring in bewilderment at the metal vest he was holding in his hands.

"So this is the Keystone?" said Nanaki, leaning in to sniff the stone in Naruto's palms. It did not carry any kind of magical smell—not one that Nanaki recognised. It smelt like a rock, but it also carried a deep smell of something he could not identify.

"Looks like it," said Barret.

Vincent crossed his arms and closed his red eyes. "I would advice that we take it away from here as quickly as possible." When the others turned to look at him, he said, "If this is the key to unlocking the Temple of the Ancients, then the Shinra will also be looking for it. If they discover that it is here…" He let the sentence hang.

Everyone's eyes turned to the Keystone. Vincent was right. It was too dangerous to keep the Keystone here. The Shinra would be hunting for it.

"Let's go."

They left the Battle Square, which was empty now that the crowds had gone. The only people who stayed behind were the desk staff, who had gone back to looking bored now that all the excitement had gone. They waved farewell as the group left.

They walked down the long set of stairs leading to the airlifts, talking about where they should go. It was beginning to get very late indeed, and no one fancied spending the night on the plane. Nanaki suggested they go to Costa del Sol—it was the closest town with a welcoming inn, since they highly doubted the people of North Corel would welcome them.

So it was decided. They would use the plane to travel along the coast to the beaches of Costa del Sol. They would spend the night in the inn there and when morning rose they would begin looking for the Temple of the Ancients.

The companions emerged from the airlifts, landing one after another in Gold Saucer Station. The Station was empty, but to their relief the doors were still open. The Gold Saucer never closed, officially, yet they often closed their gates at a certain time for safety. The others followed Naruto as he walked through the doors, apart from Cait. He stayed behind a brief moment to readjust something on his Mog.

The air cab was still there, standing exactly where they had left it. It stood silently on the tracks, shadowed slightly by the gaping mouth of the Mog tunnel. Inside, the shadows of numerous people could be seen moving around, illuminated by the electric lights that occasionally flickered on and off. Naruto glanced at it, but didn't think anything of it at the time.

The woman was still there. She held a clipboard in her hand now, and was hurriedly looking over notes that she had scribbled down roughly in pencil. She chewed the end of the pencil, concerned. When she heard Naruto and the others move towards her she turned and ran over to them. Her face was creased with worry now, and she could no longer manage her smile.

"Excuse me, sir." Her voice sounded tired and strained as she spoke. Her hair was now a mess underneath the hat, and the end of the pencil had been chewed to ribbons. "The Tram is out of order right now."

"Oh dear, not good!" whined Naruto.

"I'm really sorry!" the woman exclaimed. She bowed down at him, moving so suddenly that her hat nearly fell off her head. She spoke while she bowed, "I'm afraid you won't be able to leave until it's fully repaired."

Naruto sighed. He turned to face the others, and saw that they all looked the same. Weary. Clearly they were not leaving the Gold Saucer that night.

"What's wrong?" piped a voice, the only cheerful voice, from behind them. The others all turned to see Cait Sith bounding happily out of the door towards them. He stopped as he saw their tired, weary faces, surprised at the sudden change.

Then Cait spotted the air cab. He understood immediately. Naruto could have sworn that, for a moment, a smile flickered on the cat's face. But then again, that was probably the exhaustion playing tricks on him. Either way, it didn't really matter. They were all stuck in the Gold Saucer.

"Too bad," the cat said finally. He walked the Mog forward so that he stood beside the group. "It happens, though. I know! Let's stay at the hotel! They know me here. I'll go talk to them." Before anyone could stop him he jumped up, and bounded off through the doors and out of sight.

"Mmmm… Hotel…" said Naruto dreamly. Behind him, the woman bowed again. "I will let you know once the repairs are completed," she said.