Disclaimer: I've literally run out of funny disclaimers. I don't even know what I own anymore. But it's probably not Naruto or World of Warcraft, or at least Wikipedia occasionally tells me.
Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!
Benedictus awoke, truly afraid for the first time in many years.
He was awash in cold sweat, and his mind was still haunted by a lingering nightmare that wouldn't release its grip. And there was a feeling in his heart, which chilled him beyond everything he had ever experienced. Something was here in the castle, something familiar, and yet different. It was so agonizingly familiar that it frustrated him as much as terrified him. It was awful; a monstrous chakra that felt a putrid swamp.
And yet it was familiar.
It was something nobody had thought of. Nobody had thought it was possible; but, then again, the dead did have a history of returning to life. He hurriedly pulled on his robe, and left his room, hobbling as fast as he could towards the awful feeling.
He wished it were a dream. He wished he would awake, but as he grew closer and closer, he knew it had to be true, no matter how inconceivable he had imagined. So true, that he stumbled and fell forward, and could not get up for a few minutes as his body shook with silent terror and his face flushed with grief. Had he been any younger, he would have shed tears, but those were long dried, and so he could only shake and sob, and wonder and worry.
Why now?
And why her?
"W-who are you?"
Kira's question was spoken only just above a whisper. She was looking at the woman, looking at her face as if she'd seen it somewhere before. She had. But she couldn't place it. The woman's hair was familiar, and her eyes were colored in a familiar way to someone she knew or once knew; but her sneer was not familiar, nor her posture, nor her clothing, nor the look in her eyes. Kira couldn't say for sure what the woman's eyes contained. It was different every time she blinked. Sadness, hatred, amusement, joy, disgust, despair, all those and more flitted within the hollow, violet orbs. Each of them seemed to morph her smile as well—it could be beautiful and sweet or mean and vicious without her so much as twitching.
"Who am I?" the woman said, as if appalled that the girl had to ask such a question. "Lady Demetria, of course."
Kira's eyes grew wide, and she stumbled back, struck dumb. Lady Demetria? The one who had ordered the death of her father? Here? Now? And why did she look so familiar, if he had never even heard of her until then, and had certainly never seen anything beyond the Scarlet Monastery? The woman then returned her gaze up, to the stained glass window, and clucked her tongue. "How disgusting a picture it is, don't you think? A man does not deserve to be elevated to such a position, hmm?" She shook her head and laughed a little. "Oh my, oh my." She swept around again, and looked at Kira, her eyes glinting. "I'd much rather you were there, child. You're quite beautiful."
When Kira didn't answer, she frowned. "No answer? How mean. You should answer those that address you, especially if it is praising. You should—"
"Who the hell are you?" Sakura suddenly snapped, stepping forwards. "Why are you here?" Tsuwabuki growled, rising up on her hackles, her long tail swishing violently back and forth.
The woman blinked, looking offended. Her face then contorted in an anger that looked almost petulant, and she cried, "How rude! Shut your mouth, shinobi girl, and let me finish."
Sakura opened her mouth, presumably to speak, but didn't. Her eyes suddenly grew wide, and she clutched her throat, making motions with her mouth, but not saying anything. She looked fearfully at Kira once, and then back to Lady Demetria, who was smiling in vicious triumph at the girl's distress. Tsuwabuki's growling had also stopped. The fox stood motionless, save for her eyes, which moved around wildly. Lady Demetria flicked her hair back, and returned her flowing gaze to Kira. "I do not like people who interrupt. She must be a poor listener, despite how cute she is. And I don't like dogs." She smiled nastily at Tsuwabuki. "Though this one has a pretty string attached to it. I wonder where it leads?" She made a scissors-like gesture with her hands.
Then, she walked towards Kira in sultry strides, holding herself upright, like a queen. Her violet eyes remained fixed on Kira, so she couldn't move or speak. She was both awed and terrified by this woman, who reminded her so much of somebody.
The woman broke her gaze, and looked at Sakura. "I came here on a whim. I enjoy the forest, but the city is boring and dirty, and the people disgusting beyond measure. Especially recently, there seem to be a lot of monsters plaguing this place, with their filthy customs and presences." She shook her head. "You're a very strange human."
"Who are you?" Kira asked again.
"Why do you keep saying that?" Lady Demetria asked, amused. "I have told you."
"Then you are the one that…killed my father?"
The woman glanced behind her, at the window again. "In a way, I suppose I did."
"Why?"
Lady Demetria turned back, frowning a moment and looking quite puzzled, and then showing Kira a smile full of purest joy and innocence.
"Well…I don't quite remember. I suppose…because I felt like it."
"Felt like it…?" Kira whispered. She was rigid, and stared at the woman with blank eyes.
"Oh indeed. I'm quite glad I did, as well. So much has happened since then…and I have enjoyed nearly every moment of it! It seems I had a bit of help, in the end, but my servant did do the deed. He described to me in the most wondrous detail—ah!" She clutched her breast, and pretended to swoon. "Amazing. Simply amazing."
Sakura stared at the woman in horror. She glanced at Kira, and became even more frightened. The girl's face became a blank canvas, as if her entire personality had been wiped from her. Having just been the target of Kira's most intense burst of anger, the contrast was striking, and terrifying.
"So…" Kira finally spoke. She began to breath quickly, her face beginning to color. Sakura for some reason felt a spike of relief.
Kira stared Demetria dead in the eye, her own glistening with tears.
"You killed my father on a whim!"
As quick as Kira's explosion, Lady Demetria acted by touching Kira on the face. Sakura would have gasped, but could make no sound, though she was visibly stunned by the woman's speed. Kira went rigid, and the anger melted into fear. Anyone's would, no matter how great, at the sight of Demetria's face, and her eyes.
"My dear girl…" she said slowly, caressing Kira's face. "I do not act on whims. I act on feelings. I would not kill you, for example," she stopped her finger on Kira's temple, and leaned forwards even more, until her lips were right against Kira's shivering white skin, "on a whim. It would take a powerful feeling to move me to that point." She planted a kiss, and then leaned to Kira's ear, and without whispering, said, "I just happen to have such feelings frequently. Far more frequently than any other."
Lady Demetria pulled away, and rounded on Sakura. "You're in a much better position for me than the others. I might take you."
Sakura stepped back, alarmed at the address, and readied herself to fight. Lady Demetria laughed, and shook her head in a cascade of gold. "I don't feel like fighting here. So put those away, little shinobi."
"Who are you?"
Lady Demetria once again turned, and looked at Kira, who had regained her anger and now trembled with it. "Are you stup—"
She stopped and turned suddenly. The doors burst open, and Benedictus swept into the room, along with Kylia. His wizened features were pained, and he didn't so much as stride as hobble in. He looked at Kira, and then Lady Demetria, and went rigid halfway between the door and Kira.
But Kylia did not follow, and stood by the door. She stood looking at the woman in confusion, and then a sudden look of recognition, and her face blossomed into a bright smile; then, half a second later, it shattered instantly into pure horror. She stumbled back afraid, unable to speak or cry, and looking as if she were suffocating. For his part, Benedictus stood firmly, but could not ward off his own despair from his voice or face.
"Demi…" he whispered.
And it hit Kira.
Her eyes. Her hair. Her face. Her voice, grace, and poise; even her smell, like roses. It all was she. She knew this woman.
Demi Wrynn.
Her mother.
It struck her with Tsunadean force, and made Kira stumble as Kylia had. She felt a crushing weight on her chest, and then her head, and she felt as if she was going to faint. She couldn't keep her eyes off Lady Demetria's—or Demi's—eyes, which she had seen so many times in the mirror—the eyes she had inherited.
'She had eyes that I'd always admired. So serene that each one seemed like heaven.' Her father had told her that so often. He had worshipped those eyes. Loved them with every bit of himself, until the day he had died, no doubt; seen them every day since her death.
She'd been a child of four when she had last seen her mother. After months of waiting, one day her father had come to her, that very morning smiling and telling her that she'd be back soon, that night telling her in the softest voice a man like him could muster, merely minutes from tears himself.
"I'm so sorry, Kira. She won't come back. She's dead."
Dead.
So why was she here?
Why was she standing and smirking at her, scaring Kylia out of her wits and making Benedictus show every weakness in his old body all at once? How could she be here? How could she be covered in that bloody imprint—the mark of the Crusade, the exact opposite of everything she should have stood for? What was going on?
"I have no idea what you are talking about. I am Lady Demetria," she said, tilting her head to the side as she inspected the new arrivals. "You must be Archbishop Benedictus. How delightful—I've been waiting for you."
The old man stared at her. "Have you? Why?"
"To see the face of the man that my servant despises. That's all. You're quite a bit older than I thought you might be." She grinned like a naughty child, and turned almost as if performing a pirouette, to face Sakura again. She suddenly appeared right next to the girl, who jumped back, and by reflex, threw a punch at Lady Demetria.
The woman laughed and avoided it, grabbing the girl roughly by the arm. Somehow it went limp in her grasp, becoming just a leathery sack of bones. Sakura made a pained look, and pulled away enough to kick at the woman's knee. Demetria again avoided it, letting it crash into the ground with explosive power, sending a shockwave through the entire room and likely awakening the whole castle. Tsuwabuki's statuesque form toppled onto her side, her eyes quivering from the vibration. Dislodging her foot from the ruined floor, Sakura turned and found herself facing Lady Demetria's curious and annoyed face—it was not a mixture between the two, but she seemed to vacillate between both emotions in rapid succession.
"Amazing power," she said. "Your usefulness has increased tenfold. I cannot wait to get you back."
Sakura made a snarling face, and tried to speak. Demetria, amused, snapped her fingers, and Sakura found that she could once again make sounds. She spat a string of unladylike curses at the woman, who just laughed, and spun in her flighty way again, to face Kira and Benedictus. Sakura glanced at her arm, and placed a healing hand on it. But feeling did not return.
Benedictus walked slowly forwards, shielding Kira from the woman's gaze, and the woman from Kira's.
"I do not know why you have come here," he said. "I do not know why you have chosen that form, monster. But whatever it is, you shall not leave here tonight."
"Big words, old man," Demetria said, smiling. "And amusing as well. But I shall be leaving, whether you like it or not. But I'm angry," and here her eyes glowed like embers, and her smile became a snarl, "that you do not seem to find my body pleasing. I take great pride in it," she smiled, and grabbed her breasts. "Especially these."
"Why have you come?"
"To have a bit of fun, and do something that needs to be done," she said. "And perhaps to teach your little group a lesson. In the near future, at least."
Benedictus rarely lost his temper, but at this point, seeing someone use his greatest pupil's form and voice in such a disgusting way, he could no longer take it. "Remove yourself from that form, you disgusting wretch!" he roared. He clasped his hands together but once, and reared back, sucking in a huge breath. He released from it a maelstrom of golden flames, which lit the room as bright as day.
'Holy Flash'
Sakura immediately bolted, grabbing Tsuwabuki's solid form, as the flames swept over Demetria, engulfing her in a huge, swirling dome of golden fire. Curiously, she felt no heat from them, only a nearly blinding light. Yet the fire quickly consumed the rest of the table, until there was nothing left, not even ashes. Benedictus stood firm, his eyes casting clear hatred upon the blaze. The firelight made him look like a demon, his face thin and grim, but his eyes glowing.
Kira looked at Benedictus' back in a daze. She couldn't believe what was happening. Could he be right? Could Lady Demetria just be playing a trick on them? If she was a priestess, it would easy to do such a thing. So had she just come in that form, to trick them, to put them off guard? She felt anger rising in her again, ashamed that she had believed such an obvious trick. This woman wasn't her mother. It couldn't be. Her mother had died long ago, defending the world against the Scourge. She was with her father now.
She stepped forwards, making for Benedictus' side.
"Stop."
She did, looking at him. "What?"
"Stay there, Kira."
"Afraid she might be harmed, old man?"
Kira went still, as the flames died away, and Lady Demetria stood, perfectly unharmed. Black, tar-like sludge dribbled from her body, into a pool at her feet, which never seemed to get any larger. It sunk into the shadows on the floor, and Kira realized that it had been the shadows—somehow leaping to protect her form. Demetria was smiling and laughing, but it looked more like she was snarling and growling. She whipped her head back, and ran a hand through her hair, licking her lips.
"It will take more than that," she said.
Indeed, Sakura thought. She appeared, and drilled her fist into the woman's kidneys, hurtling her across the room and into the wall. Demetria's eyes bulged, and blood exploded from her mouth, showering the ground and dribbling down her neck and over her breasts. Demetria was silent for a moment, hacking and spluttering, before she began to snarl.
"You whore," she said, wiping her chin.
"Takes one to know one," Sakura muttered, breathless. She flexed her arms, the one Demetria had immobilized still feeling stiff. It would be fine in a moment, however. She looked over at Tsuwabuki, who was slowly rising, and beginning to growl again.
Demetria coughed, vomiting more blood onto the ground, before standing up. Kira couldn't look at the image of her mother, stained all in red like that. But once again, Benedictus shielded the scene from her eyes, as if sensing her thoughts. He probably had been, too.
"I'll have to end this, then, hmm?" Demetria said, coldly. "You're in for a real treat, shinobi girl, when we return, I'll give you that."
Return? Sakura thought.
"You too, little princess." Demetria smiled at Kira, and even though she couldn't see it, Kira backed away.
The pool of shadow leapt up around Demetria, now mixed with blood and covered her like a skin, conforming to every feature of her body, until she was nothing but a black outline with a pair of intense violet eyes.
'Shadowform'
Her speed was as great as before, and now her body blended into the darkness. Sakura thrust up her hands in defense when the woman charged, but she could not see Demetria's fist—her entire body had blended into one form, a solid mass of shadow, so that when Demetria struck, Sakura was unable to block. It slammed into her stomach, sending something akin to an electric shock through her, and her entire body suddenly went limp. She hit the ground with a painful yelp, not numb, but still unable to move. A second blow, this one to her head, knocked her senseless, but unconscious. It sent waves of pain through her head, and down into her body—far more than she should have felt. Two more kicks slammed into her stomach, and she heard Demetria's vicious laughing from above. Tears came to her eyes, as she tried to move, tried to escape the pain.
Tsuwabuki, stumbling from the stiffness in her limbs, bounded across the room and enclosed her teeth around the woman's shoulder. Demetria gasped in pain as the fox viciously tore outwards; but she laughed when Tsuwabuki, puzzled, did not taste blood. In fact, she tasted nothing at all, and suddenly found her mouth empty. Demetria seemed to fade from existence, and the portion that Tsuwabuki had bitten reformed. She then swept forward, and kicked Tsuwabuki in the stomach, but the fox avoided it and bit her again. Yet still she tasted nothing, having bitten only a bit of the shadowy exterior of her enemy.
Benedictus swept his hands together again, and after a few seals, clapped them together. A bright burst of light erupted from his body, illuminating the room once more, and ripping the shadowy cloak from Demetria's form. She whirled, abandoning Tsuwabuki with a burst of speed, and then attempted to kick Benedictus. But the old man sneered, and her kick was deflected by a burst of golden light, which surrounded Benedictus in a bubble.
A ring of golden chakra then appeared around Benedictus' arm, and he thrust it forward.
'Light's Halo'
Demetria laughed, summoning a golden shield all her own. But the ring, to her shock, slammed through the bubble, shattering it, and smashing into her gut. There was a brilliant flash, and golden light streamed from inside the halo, ejected Demetria off her feet and slamming her through the wall below the stained glass window. The castle shook once more, which Benedictus hoped was for the final time. Why wasn't anyone coming?
Demetria screamed awfully, ripping herself from the rubble, her stomach covered in blood and her dress nearly torn to shreds. Benedictus could not imagine the pain she was feeling, seeing the amount of blood dribbling onto the floor. She writhed and twitched, and glared at him with an ever increasing menagerie of emotions—amusement, fury, hate, pleasure, pain, and despair, her eyes changing with every blink. She ran forwards again, more an animal now than a priestess.
Tsuwabuki ran to meet her. Sucking in a huge breath, the fox discharged a howling blast of air pressure at the charging woman. She avoided it with a surprisingly limber leap, and viciously slapped the fox's muzzle when she landed and Tsuwabuki attempted to bite her. Tsuwabuki dropped, paralyzed, feeling the shock of something that was not pain, feeling something filthy enter her body.
'Holy Strike'
Blades made of dazzling yellow light shot from Benedictus' fingers, slicing into Demetria's form. But she didn't seem to care, laughing even when the blades slammed into her chest and neck—which wasn't possible. Her form then melted away, into air, stunning the old man.
An illusion of that magnitude, he thought—how did she create it so swiftly? Benedictus glanced frantically in every direction. Kira stood stock still behind him, and Kylia now stood by her, daggers drawn, breathing heavily with fear. Sakura laid on the ground near the ruins of the table, limp as death, her eyes wide open and full of pain. Tsuwabuki whimpered.
"Slow, old man."
Benedictus felt a jab in his side. It was like a spark of electricity, but he felt it was far more sinister. He half-turned, and saw Demetria walk slowly away. He tried to move towards her, but found himself unable to. His body wouldn't move.
"I won't kill you, old man," she said. "Don't ask me why, girl," she added, grinning at Kira, who stared at her in horror from behind Kylia. "I just don't feel like it, today. But I'll treat you to a nice show, instead." She raised a hand, and snapped her fingers.
Four simultaneous cracks shredded the silence, and Benedictus felt more pain that he had ever imagined. Both of his legs and arms snapped in two, and he felt into a heap on the ground, roaring in agony.
Kira screamed, and made to run for him. Kylia swung at Demetria with her blades, but the woman dodged and slapped her in the side of the head, sending her lifeless to the ground. Demetria snagged Kira by the shoulder, and pulled her around, and close, as if embracing her.
Kira could feel the sticky blood on her back, and the sweet smell of Demetria's breath. The woman leaned in close, and whispered to her.
"You have no idea, little princess, what's in store for you."
The world vanished before her, and for a moment, all Kira could see was red.
Whatever happened next, she didn't remember.
When they became visible, Naruto swore he had walked into one of his childhood nightmares.
They were more than what he had expected. They were not simply rotting cadavers: stinking of decay and rot; their innards half-eaten and spilling from their stomachs dragging beneath their feet and leaving a trail of slimy gore in their wakes; their mouths open and gaping and moaning endlessly and terribly; their hands covered in layers of blood from the countless victims they had torn apart; shambling forwards with as much purpose as a hungry wolf; and what remained of their eyes vacant, staring, and dead.
They were much more than that.
Their movements were jerky, but unnaturally swift, and they slouched instead of remaining rigid as death. They made all manner of sounds other than moans—gnashing their teeth, clicking their huge, bony talons, gurgling up blood mixed with green, and sometimes far more. Some wore the tattered remnants of their last garb, and others were completely naked, and still others had not even their naked flesh, and wore only muscle and bone.
But it was their eyes that most differed.
Not simply vacant and pure white, they were like mirrors, and showed to Naruto himself, distorted by hate and contagion. He saw himself moaning and snarling in their eyes, against the background of putrid brown fog.
He almost screamed. But Yamato shook him out of it, grabbing him roughly by the shoulder.
"Focus!" he snapped. "We need to keep them off!"
Naruto shook his head roughly, not thinking. He crouched low, making a hand seal.
'Kage Bunshin no jutsu'
A wall of Naruto clones appeared around them, blocking the advance of the walking horrors. They pushed the Scourge back with forceful shoves, while two more gathered up Hisari. Yamato glanced at Fen.
"Which way?"
Fen pointed to his left, into the fog. Yamato nodded, and made a few seals. Coiling vines exploded from the earth, hurtling a group of Scourge into the air, and forming a large pathway for them to rush through. They moved just in time, for the Scourge began to react to their resistance. They abandoned their slow, shambling motions and grew fast and furious. They swiped at the clones, dispelling them in great bursts with their misshapen claws, tearing at imaginary flesh with everything the plague had given them for their need to consume. They spilled into the wooden pathway that Yamato had created, from both sides.
Ahead, Naruto drew his short sword, and cut the first creature that met him in two. It felt so easy—the blade traveled through the flesh as easily as it would air, splattering green blood across the ground and makeshift walls. His clones hung back, and Naruto cut his way through two more Scourge, each one as easy as the first. They died still reaching for him, making clawing motions at his body as they fell, more or less decapitated. But more appeared, flooding the end of the pathway, fighting each other to get through first.
Sai ran beside Naruto, drawing a kunai and throwing it at the crowd of Scourge. It struck one in the face, and the explosive note attached immediately activated, blowing clear the end of the path. They reached the end, running into open plains over a heap of ichor, liquefied flesh and scorched bone. Yamato briefly turned at the end, making sure not to slip, and clapped his hands together once more. Between the wooden walls, large spikes shot from the ground, impaling the Scourge within. Ichor was flung into the air in a disgusting shower, but Naruto and the others were already swiftly moving into the distance, in the direction Fen had indicated. But their movement was hampered. Whether by the sounds made by the dying Scourge, or simply the group's very presence, the fleshless monsters continued to appear. They charged like starving wolves, biting and snapping and moaning, completely relentless in their pursuit.
They won't stop, Yamato remembered. They won't stop because they're essentially eating machines. They don't tire and are always hungry, and show no mercy, because they're little more than immortal animals with unending appetites. He ran faster, up to Fen, who was at the very back.
"Now?"
Fen glared at him, or at least tried to. "Keep going, there's a big forest up ahead, and the chapel is at the very back, in a small clearing in the mountains at the back of it. We're lucky," he looked back, where some shadows were still visible in the distance, and occasionally growing closer, but never vanishing entirely. "These are the weakest kind. Little more than rotting cadavers that eat everything they come across. That's why we avoided the towns—that's where the big ones go, them and their nasty abomination puppets. We won't meet any of them until Stratholme."
Yamato nodded.
Up ahead, Naruto led the group towards the side, avoiding a pack of Scourge rushing towards them. He avoided even glancing at them, not wanting to see those eyes again. But they were everywhere. They could barely travel a few minutes before meeting another lone ghoul or a pack of voracious zombies.
"Avoid them," Yamato said, appearing beside Naruto again. "We can't afford to fight, not now, especially when we need to get her to safety."
Naruto nodded irritably. "I know."
They reached a forest before long, exactly as Fen had said. The Scourge grew less frequent here, but traces of their existence—whether sounds or animal carcasses stripped of meat—always remained. The fog grew thicker and the trees and brush more defined. Naruto pulled up his mask a bit more, as they ran past a large patch of mushrooms.
"Oi! They're going to follow us, right? What if we bring a bunch of them to this chapel place?" Naruto shouted back to Fen.
Surprisingly, Myrdraxxis answered first. "That won't be a problem."
Naruto looked back, and saw that the rogue had pulled a small vile from one of his many satchels. It was filled with a green, goopy liquid that was familiar to Naruto. "The slime stuff that doesn't smell, right?" He grinned. Myrdraxxis threw him the vial, and produced more, giving them to Yamato and Sai.
"Drink them," he said. Naruto twisted up his face in slight horror at the thought. "It does not taste like anything, brat. It will take affect immediately and will stop your body from producing its musk. You will not smell of anything for as long as it lasts." Naruto looked at the vial again, still frowning, but after seeing Yamato and Sai down theirs without trouble, he uncorked it and drained it all in a single gulp. Myrdraxxis was right—it didn't taste like anything, and had a goopy texture to it. Nothing happened after that—only that the Scourge sounds grew more distant as they ran, and their encounters with new ones dropped considerably.
Finally, all they could hear were the patter of their own feet. They slowed, but only just, wanting to reach the chapel as fast as they could.
"It should be up ahead," Fen said, after a while. "Just a few more minutes, it'll be at the top of a hill near the mountains."
"And how far is Stratholme, from here?" Yamato asked.
"Two day's travel, probably. That's assuming we haven't been discovered yet."
"By what? The lich you talked about?"
"As stupid as they are, those ghouls have a connection to their master; he may figure it out that we're here at some point, which means we're going to have to make this visit as short as possible, and head to Stratholme in the most direct way we can. I wanted to do that in the first place, anyways. These guys here have had a history of conversing with the Crusade."
Yamato's eyes narrowed. "Can we trust them?"
"Probably as much as any other of the Argent Dawn. They're a bit too friendly with everybody, though."
They soon emerged from the forest, at the foot of a tall hill that took them straight up to the mountains. At the top of the hill Naruto saw a large, white building sailing a grey and gold flag. They hurried towards the top, seeing that it was surrounded by two pits filled with sharpened wooden poles, and then further protected by a large wooden fence, which broke in center with a gate. A large group of Argent soldiers stood before the gate, weapons drawn, their faces hidden by silver helmets. They all stood perfectly straight and still, even as Naruto and the others drew nearer.
"Halt," one called, when they reached the top of the hill.
They stopped. Yamato bowed immediately.
"We are not enemies. We've come for refuge, and a doctor. Can you provide us with such?" he asked demurely, though his eyes remained constantly fixed on the soldiers.
"We can," another said. "But you must be checked first, and cleaned. Even if you are fine now, we know not if you have contracted the Undead Plague. We do not want it brought among us here."
"Fair enough. However, you must treat this one right away." Yamato gestured to Naruto, and his clones carried Hisari up to the soldiers.
"What's wrong?"
"Mana withdrawal," said Fen. "She hasn't had a chance to recuperate since we arrived. She needs help right away. You don't need to worry about her—her kind can't acquire the Plague."
"You need not inform us of what we already know, Forsaken. Very well." The middle one gestured to two others, who relieved the clones of their burden and ran back towards the chapel with hurried steps. The clones then vanished, scattering the ground with yellowish spores that they had collected en route.
Two other soldiers then broke off and led the rest in the same direction. They walked past three of the long ditches, entering the innermost area where the building was, along with a healthy number of tents and smaller buildings, all of which belched a steady stream of smoke into the air, and smelt of either food or metal. One soldier broke away at this point, heading towards the chapel, where the other one led them behind it and into a small patch of trees, where an even larger tent had been set up. An old man with a nearly skeletal face dressed in grey robes walked out to meet them, smiling.
"They must be sterilized and checked for Plague," the soldier said.
The old man nodded a few times, still smiling. "Of course, of course. Please enter, and take off your clothes. The Forsaken may proceed through to the washing rooms, and give yourselves a good scrub. If you lose any flesh or body parts, please clean it up, will you?"
"Crap," muttered Fen. "I was hoping to save that…"
"It is just flesh," Myrdraxxis said.
"Yeah, but I've had fond times with it…it'll be like losing a part of myself."
"That's because you will be."
"Oh…right."
What happened next was easily one of the most embarrassing points of Naruto's young life. Not only did he have to stand naked next to his teammate and team-leader, but he had to let a scary old man look at him all over, and even touch him in places that only a select few, and none of them male, he'd ever want to be touched. He also had to ward off Sai's looks of what the boy assured him was appreciation, but Naruto wasn't going to take any chances. Finally, the old man pronounced them all healthy and uninfected, which Naruto guessed could have taken as little time as using a jutsu like the Crusade would, but kept silent. He quickly scrubbed himself clean in the bath tent, which was little more than a hole in the ground filled with hot water and various scented oils that cleaned and left them smelling fresh and fragrant (which soon faded into nothingness again, thanks to the Forsaken slime). After getting out, the old man presented them with their clothes, which had been similarly cleaned. The old man bowed them out of the tent, where the soldier waited like a statue, seeming never to have moved.
"Milord has requested your presence."
Naruto unconsciously tensed at the name. "Who?"
"Lord Maxwell Tyrosus, who governs the Dawn in this area of the world. He is eager to listen to your no doubt wondrous tale of being in such a place as this, without any apparent reason, in the company of two Forsaken and a Sin'dorei."
"It's a pretty good reason," Naruto muttered. The man didn't answer, and led them around and through the great doors into the chapel. Inside was surprisingly dull in comparison to its exterior—it was composed mostly of dark wood, with no ornaments, icons or even statues other than hangings depicting the golden sun of the Argent Dawn. It was almost bare of furniture, save for a single table in the middle, laden with papers and books and surrounded by three large men, all dressed in grey. One immediately turned—he was nearly bald, with had a hard, weathered face with only one deep grey, arresting eye and a scruffy silver beard. He gave the soldier a nod, and the man left swiftly. The man then regarded all of them in turn, but settled his gaze finally on Yamato.
"I am Maxwell Tyrosus. You lead this group, I presume?"
"I am acting captain, yes," said Yamato, calmly.
"I know not your dialect, nor your manner of dress. I think perhaps you might be one of the other worlders that were recently discovered—am I correct?" He waved to the other two men, both hefty and huge—obviously officers of a sort—and they exited as well. Yamato found himself quite impressed by the man's command. Every word seemed laden with it—it sounded harsh, but Yamato knew it necessary in such a place.
"You are," Yamato said. "Our reason for coming is—"
"I care not," the man said, with a wave. "I know you are not up to foul play. I was merely curious. And we are not so unorganized that we would not hear of your entrance several days prior. From what our intelligence has dictated that you created quite a stir at Tyr's Hand."
"So we did. You don't seem happy," Yamato said, noticing the man's deepening frown.
"I am, and yet not. I am in that any disturbance to disrupt the Crusade from the wickedness is a good thing, but I am not in that their retaliation will be furious and swift. They will not let you go that easily. Nor will the see our hospitality of you as anything less than an act of war."
"I thought you guys were okay with them…" Naruto said, remembering what Fen had said.
"Once," the man said, shooting his sharp gaze at Naruto now, "a long time ago, we did indeed have open negotiations with them. That stopped around ten years ago, when we discovered the worst of their wrongdoings. A powerful priestess and her ward helped us expose one of the most…disgusting secrets of the Crusade, so much that we have cut all ties with them, now and forever."
Naruto frowned. "What secret?"
"Perhaps another time, child. Now I am not in the mood, and there is still much to be discussed." He seized Yamato again with his eye. "If you have not returned by now to Tirisfal, then no doubt your mission had encountered a considerable obstacle. From your direction of travel, I can only guess your destination is Stratholme."
"You're quite correct," said Yamato, intensifying his own stare to match Maxwell's. He assumed even some of the ghoulish look that he had once tormented Naruto with.
Maxwell smiled, very slightly, but it was enough to change his look and tone dramatically.
"You will not be ready to leave for some time—I can guess three days at least. There is much you need to know about Stratholme before you even consider entering its walls, all of which I shall be happy to inform you of. You shall be provided with all necessary supplies to survive the trip should you take extreme caution, and are skilled enough in battle. You shall have all the room you need to practice, sleep and eat, and we will take good care of your fallen friend. She is," he said, as Naruto opened his mouth, "at this moment receiving infusions of mana elixir, which will restore her to her natural state in at least a day."
Naruto sighed in audible relief, which surprised Fen, though he had no way of conveying it to anyone else.
Naruto grinned at the man, "Thanks."
"It is nothing."
"It's more than that," Yamato said, his voice clipped. "I find it hard to believe that you are doing it out of the kindness of your heart. What do you want us to do, on our expedition?"
The man regarded Yamato with another, wider smile. He seemed pleased. "You're quite sharp, young man. I'm quite pleased. My request is simple in words, but far more complex in performance. I seek only the death of one of the Crusaders lodged within their sanctum—just one."
Yamato's eyes narrowed. "Who?"
"He is called the Grand Crusader—but his name is Dathrohan. I want him dead, with some proof of his death brought back for evidence."
Fen snorted. "Are you serious?" He shook his head, beginning to laugh silently. "Are you fucking serious, Lord Tyrosus?"
"Quite, Forsaken," Maxwell retorted, sharply. "You think it in jest?"
"There have been two people who've bested me in the use of sarcasm and irony—I thought maybe you were a third." Fen shrugged. "You might as well ask us to destroy the Scarlet Crusade itself—as we'll likely have to do that just to get to that man."
"He's the leader of them all, right?" Naruto said, recalling what Maya had told him about the Crusade. "You want us to kill him?" As unpredictable and willing to fight as he was, even Naruto knew that was bad idea—not only because of its danger, but because of the time it would likely take. This mission couldn't last much longer.
"You will be entering the sanctum anyways," Maxwell said. "I am simply giving you another objective. There is no doubt that he will be of great importance to your mission anyways. He might have the very plans you seek."
Yamato frowned at the man. "That's a very risky 'might', Tyrosus-dono. And what importance does this man hold to you?"
"He is the leader—the true leader—of the Scarlet Crusade. He does little in governing it as a whole, leaving that to his chosen delegates. He does, however, control all of the Crusaders in Stratholme, and personally wages war on the Scourge that inhabit the city. His destruction will not destroy the Crusade, but it will give us an edge in the grand scheme."
"This seems more personal."
"This man's orders have destroyed thousands of lives, many of which were my own soldiers. I have tried reasoning with him, but to no avail. Therefore, he must die, and the Scarlet Crusade must be saved."
"Saved?"
"We were once a part of them. However, once we realized that things were getting worse, we broke away from them, in an attempt to combat the Scourge on our own terms. Since then, the Crusade has gotten worse, more fanatical, to the point where they now barely seem human in their acts. Dathrohan must die—I am sure he is the cause of it. We may be able to save some of them with his death, and boost our own ranks, which are ever dwindling." Maxwell's face was no longer warm, and carried no smile. The bitter mask of age governed his face, making his silvery eye seem cruel. He settled down in a chair, but kept his eyes fixed on Yamato.
"In truth, we have been planning an operation to do just what I have asked you, but from what our operatives report—you managed to infiltrate Tyr's Hand and escape with little incident. You are powerful and very skilled, and your team is well-organized. You are perfect for this mission. And do not think it will go unrewarded. We will pay any fee you wish."
Yamato sighed. "Give us some time to discuss it. I'm afraid we can't take this lightly."
"Of course," Maxwell said. "Rooms will be provided with you. Perhaps you should sleep."
Yamato nodded, and sighed again. "Yes, perhaps you're right."
"I've set the bones, and have begun to repair them," Tsunade said, calmly. She stood over Benedictus' bed, where the old man lay unconscious, nearly a quadripalegic. Tyrande, and Vol'jin stood a little ways behind her. The troll chieftain was stroking a tusk, frowning, while Tyrande was gazing out the window, at the moon that stretched over the castle.
"But where is Princess Kira?" Captain Eric said, where from where he stood at the door, at perfect attention.
"Who knows? We'll have to ask him when he wakes up," she said.
"Doz' wounds not natural, lady Hokage," Vol'jin said.
"I know," she said. "There's something mixed in with his chakra. I'm not sure what it is yet, either. It's different from every chakra I've ever seen." She glanced up at him. "And I've seen a lot."
"I not know what it be either," the troll said, nodding. "But vicious, an' evil."
Tsunade nodded. There was no better way to describe it. It was like a bit of some demon had been broken off inside him, and wrapped around his legs and arms, and had detonated in such a fine way that it had severed the bones cleanly and quickly—but not painlessly. When they had found him, he had been in agony, and only after a few doses of some of their strongest anesthetic had they been able to put him into a dreamless sleep, so that they could begin work on his bones. She'd set them as best she could, using adhesive chakra to keep them together, while Tyrande had found a potion designed for bone healing (which they apparently did have), and had given it to the old man. He would be apparently find in a few days, but from what Tyrande believed, the damage was more than just physical.
"He is old, but I have heard legends about this man," she had told Tsunade. "No mere broken bones could lay him out for more than an hour or two. I suspect that there was something else that happened to him."
"The amount of blood we found is testament to that," Tsunade said. "Do you know if blood records are kept in this city?"
"I wouldn't imagine so. Only the gnomes possess such technology, and they have yet to implement it anywhere else."
"Damn."
Tsunade stared in annoyance down at the old man, and willed for him to awake. She wanted answers, and she had never been a very patient person. Her student was missing, as was the princess of the place she was supposed to have protected, the girl's handmaiden, and even Naruto's fox. They had a trashed council room—filled with so much blood it could have come from a dozen men, or one. Cairne had remarked when he had first laid eyes on the room, "It seems we'll need a new table."
She now had to wait until the oldest man she'd ever met awoke and told them what had happened, and what they were going to do. As it stood, Stormwind was without both its leaders, and its affairs were entirely in the hands of eight foreigners who had come to speak about an alliance. Captain Eric was doing quite well, all things considered, and had taken appropriate charge of most of the domestic affairs. They had contacted the only other person who had any experience in politics and that was native, a man named Sevenius Coutrend, and hoped that he would be overseeing the dozens of things that needed to be done in this situation, while they watched over the recovery of the current regent.
"How could someone slip in, without eight of the world's strongest people not knowing?" Tsunade muttered to herself. And they, whether it one or many, had to be stronger than Sakura, Benedictus, Kira and Kylia in order to accomplish what they apparently had. Tsunade was usually a braggart when it came to her student, but mostly because it was true. Sakura was powerful, and even then, Benedictus was supposed to have been as well.
"Power is not everything, it seems," Tyrande said lightly. "But things must be handled appropriately here, now. Obviously this meeting is postponed until we find princess Kira, Kylia, and your student. It would do well to offer aid to this place in whatever way we can."
"Yeah," said Tsunade. "Gaara's already returned to his village, to send for back-up. He probably feels as guilty as I do."
"I'm surprised," said Tyrande. "You do not seem to be the type to admit that."
"There's not much you know about me, but I'll grant you that," said Tsunade. "But I brought three full teams of shinobi for more than just protection. I wanted this place safe, and for some reason, that didn't happen."
"Why would they not hear something on their patrols?"
"You got me," Tsunade snapped. "I'm guessing some sort of sound-dampening jutsu, but you'd know better than I. I'm not at all familiar with this place, or it's jutsu."
"That seems plausible. But even so, it must have been a remarkably swift attack, for them to not notice that Sakura was missing. You said that they met up in twenty minute intervals?"
"Yes."
"Then it must have taken under one of those intervals in order for this act to take place. They did not sound the alarm right away, did they?" Tyrande glanced to her right, as Vol'jin gave them both a soft nod, and vanished from the room, off to complete other business.
"They searched for her first, and that's how they found the room." Tsunade looked at Benedictus again, hoping to see some change in his appearance. But he remained the same—grey and limp beneath the pure white sheets.
"We can do nothing but wait," said Tyrande, sighing. She followed the woman's gaze. "As hard as it is, we cannot afford to make a mistake at this point. I have no doubt that this is going to cause many problems for this alliance in the near future, unless we can hold it together. Do you have any way of contacting Naruto?"
Tsunade gruffly shook her head. "The last link with the brat vanished with the fox. Who kidnaps a fox, anyways?"
"She and Naruto have a very special bond. Perhaps her kidnappers were aware of this," Tyrande said. "Bonds can be exploited quite easily, you know."
"Yeah," said Tsunade. She glanced at the elf. "What now?"
"As I said, we wait."
Tsunade sighed. "You're good at that, aren't you?"
"I once did it for ten thousand years," Tyrande said, softly. "A few more days shall not be hard."
Tsunade smirked, looking at the elf's face.
"Liar."
"We're not staying here more than three days. Naruto, I have a job for you."
The blonde looked up at him. They stood a little ways outside the church, having long finished their discussion with Lord Maxwell, and now alone. Sai had gone to bed, and Myrdraxxis and Fen to converse by themselves. Yamato had taken Naruto immediately by the hand, and dragged him outside, much to the boy's annoyance. But seeing the serious look on the man's face, he quieted and listened to what he had to say.
"For the next three days, I want you to train. It's time you put what Kakashi-senpai taught you to use. You haven't had much time to use it in the past week or so, have you?"
Naruto shook his head. "I can't get much past half the leaf. You want me to learn the rest in just a few days?"
"Yes," Yamato said. "I'll help, as you'll need the Kyuubi's chakra. But by the end of these three days, I want you to be able to manipulate wind elemental chakra as skillfully as a master."
Naruto's eyes bulged. "What?"
"I heard you mastered Kage Bunshin in only a few hours. You mastered Rasengan within a week. With the technique that Kakashi-senpai showed you, and by your level of growth, it should literally take you sometime under an hour to do this. With the maximum number of clones, you'll be able to figure it out quickly enough, and by the time we get to Stratholme, I want you to be able to use it functionally in battle." Yamato bent down, staring into his wide eyes. "It seems we'll have to take this mission no matter what. It's going to be incredibly difficult—so much so that I'm not even assured of it's completion. This technique will grant you great power, and once you have mastered it, you'll be a lot more deadly in battle. I've heard you once relied a lot on the Kyuubi. This technique will put you towards a level where you'll be just as effective with or without its chakra. We're still going to be training with that, of course—but that will take more time than we currently have. So we're going to maximize result for time, and get you ready for facing these people. Wind elemental chakra, Naruto, is one of the deadliest for combat. With your current combat style, it'll suit you perfectly."
By the end of Yamato's speech, Naruto felt a pleasant surge of adrenaline—the rush he got whenever he was about to learn something new, to learn something that would put him closer towards his goal. For some reason, his spirits dampened a little at that thought, but it could not keep the smile from his face, or his lips from moving.
"Okay, okay, just teach me it already!"
Yamato nodded, and smiled.
"Fine, let's start."
EDIT: The Argent Dawn were actually an offshoot of the Crusade. This has been changed. Sorry about the mistake; I got mixed up :/
Again, I apologize for the lateness, and the lack of forum. It's exam time again, and I've been studying for the past few days, and trying to work out a system of studying in the day and writing at night. It's worked pretty well.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I've introduced another favorite of mine, Lady Demetria, whose name is from the game, but whose personality is wholly mine. I've had such fun creating her, that I hope you like her (or hate her).
For those who might frown upon me for using the "heroine's parent isn't dead, and is actually evil" card, well, don't. I hope to explore her character much more in the next chapters, though I hope this one made an impression. Of course, it'll become clear why Kira, Benedictus and Kylia were so shocked by her attitude when Kira's mother's personality is fleshed out as well. But I hope you've gotten an inkling from this and past mentions of her about what she's like. Don't worry—more will come. Don't slag me off yet!
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in a week or two, hopefully.
Here's a heads up, as well—in June, I won't be able to update, as I'll be heading to Egypt and Ethiopia. I don't plan to bring my computer to either, and I might not have time to write up anything. But if you don't hear from me for a month, don't worry I'm not dead, just away in (relatively) new lands.
Hope that helps. See you next week, I hope! Expect a shorter chapter, if it does come out, however, since I'll be taking exams.
See you.
General Grievous