Hey guys, long time no see. Thank you Kittywithfangs for reviewing, it was just what I needed to start posting again. I have been working on the story so I have a few chapters saved up. I know it's no excuse but this story is a lot longer than I originally intended and I think the idea of finishing it intimidates me. I've seen too many epic stories (not that I'm saying that mine is epic, just epic length) falter at the end to not be a little nervous. Also, the ending I had in mind was flexible to incorporate the revelations in the recent manga so I've been trying to incorporate that stuff. I hope you enjoy the chapter. The next one will be out next week. Sorry again.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

I stared in shock at the scene unfolding in front of me. Tobi was in the process of fighting Kakashi, Sam, Sai, Sakura and Yamato. On the fringes of the fight masked Anbu, waited for openings and took turns providing distraction and support. Overall it was like a group of hyenas wearing down a lion but this lion wasn't tiring. He leapt, parried and struck by turn, moving faster than should be humanly possible. Some attacks he didn't dodge, simply allowing the kunai or tanto to pass right through him. No matter what the Konoha nin did, they couldn't seem to corral Tobi long enough to do any damage; he materialised and dematerialised far too quickly.

"Now!" yelled Kakashi

Everything seemed to slow down. Tobi dodged a punch by Sakura that would have taken his head off just as Sai swept in from the other side. The Uchiha dodged again and put his back towards the wall and the barrier that covered it. There was the chirping sound of a chidori and Sam appeared in a puff of smoke right in front of the Uchiha. I think I screamed then, sure that Sam was about to die. Sam raised his hands and (without touching him) knocked Tobi ten feet backwards into the wall. The wall which had been just a regular stone barrier before crackled and spat like an offended cat, releasing power in a rush. I recognized the effect from my unfortunate experiences of being locked up both in Ame and Konoha. The wall was covered in some kind of barrier jutsu.

Before the masked man could recover, Kakashi leapt over Sam and shoved his lightening coated hand through his chest.

For a long silent second, I thought it was over; everyone was so still. I'm not sure I even breathed but...but something was wrong. Kakashi reacted as the thought formed in my head. There was a sound like a rip and the air around Tobi exploded. Debris from the wall flew through the masked man as Kakashi jumped backwards.

"Sam!" he yelled

Sam swung his arms upwards towards the blast and sent the chunks of rock blasting back towards Tobi and away from the Konoha nin. A wave of dust rolled away from the impact to cover the area in a thick choking fog. Standing where I was, the dust didn't reach me but I could hear the sounds of fighting; the metal twang of kunai hitting kunai, screams and meaty thumps.

"Is that all you have? Is Konoha nothing without the Senju clan!?" There was a solid smack and one of the Anbu flew out of the settling dust to land bloody and clearly dead not five feet from me.

Suddenly, a blast of flame rushed outwards from the dust. I flung myself towards the ground just as I felt the wave of heat roar over me. By the time it passed I felt more than a little scorched. Thinking of Sam and the others I forced myself to my feet. The field was now on fire all to way to the far treeline where some of the ninja had clearly fled. Many had not been so fortunate; their blackened bodies littered the field and stank of roasted meat. Standing in the midst of the carnage was a triumphant Madara whose clothes smoked gently.

I must have made some kind of sound or else he noticed my unconscious backwards step because he turned and looked right at me. I took another step backward and quickly moved right, away from the barrier (the charge it was giving off put my hair on end).

"Hello Erica, I hear you've been keeping secrets." He said as he slowly walked towards me, seeming unconcerned about the remaining ninja

I began walking backwards as calmly as I could while trying to keep both him and the other ninja in sight. Silently I prayed that none of the blackened husks were anyone I knew. Had Kakashi and Sakura been strong enough to keep Sam safe?

'You're not paying attention to me! Isn't Erica chan happy to see Tobi?!" asked Tobi as he launched himself at me.

I shrieked and fell backwards only to have him grab me in a hug and spin me around by my shoulders.

"Put me down!" I yelled

"But Tobi has soo much to tell Erica chan!"

He set me down next to the wall "But first Erica san needs to bring down the barrier so Tobi can meet up with leader-sama." His voice changed to Madara's "We have much to discuss."

"The barrier?" I said turning to look at the wall and then back to him "I can't take down the barrier. How the hell would I do that? I can't even get close to it, it's dangerous." I say quickly. I glanced behind him to the now empty treeline and then back up to his chin.

"Not as dangerous as I am and don't even think that they can rescue you." he gestured to the ninja eyeing us from near the treeline "They can't lay a finger on me." He said with a chuckle

"I don't know anything about barriers. How am I supposed to take this one down?"

I could practically feel him smile. "It's a good thing I know more than you, then. All you need to do is reach out with your power and pull, that's all. If you take enough energy, the barrier should come down."

"Pull? Wait, how do you know I can absorb chakra?"

"You'd be surprise how much I know about your ability Erica, much more than Konoha at any rate. If they had any idea of what you can really do, you'd never have seen the outside of a Konoha prison cell. I'll be happy to tell you everything there is to know when you take down this barrier."

"And if I can't?"

"The force will kill you. If I suspect you of trying to deceive me, I will do it myself and find another way out of the Leaf village." He replied

I felt my fear spike and my heart stop in my chest. I glanced at the wall (and its invisible protective coat) and then back at the man who had killed more than ten people with less effort than it took me to eat an ice cream cone.

I flicked a glance up and it was over. His eye, sharingan red caught mine and held it. I saw my death in that moment. It was as real and as sudden as Hikari's had been. It hurt so much I fell to my knees. I looked up at Tobi...Madara or whoever he was. I was really getting tired of the different names.

"Bring down the barrier." He commanded

Panting, I nodded and forced myself to my feet, to focus.

"It's for the best; no one here can kill me. The village will fall to tsukiyomi but not today."

I grit my teeth and forced myself to ignore his words and the uncertainty that I felt. Instead, I focused on the feel of my power as it lay coiled inside me. Gathering and compressing my chakra, I estimated the distance. With a hiss, I released it. I felt it pass through the space in front of me faster and easier than ever before.

It collided with Madara and stopped. I felt it grasping, sending tendrils searching for an opening to his body, to his power but finding none.

"Foolish, foolish, girl," He said, all but laughing at me "I told you. I know what you are even better than you do. Bring down the barrier and I will teach you what these fools can never comprehend."

My chakra snapped back into me with an almost physical force. "Fuck you." I said

This time he did laugh.

And done. See you next Monday or Tuesday. Review?