Disclaimer: For the Last Time, I do not own Naruto or World of Warcraft or any of the characters that they contain, though I have made my own and that's the important thing. Now, which part of this isn't true?
Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!
It took less than fifteen minutes for Naruto and Kira to arrive in Benedictus' room, where Sakura and a handful of soldiers stood, awaiting them anxiously. When Sakura had finished telling them the news, only Naruto stood back, shaken to his soul.
"Dead?" he blurted. "Mega Fuzzy-Brows is dead?"
"Yes. I've looked it over a dozen times, it definitely says what I think it says."
"Who?" Naruto said, suddenly furious. His eyes darkened, almost reddened, and the air seemed to heat up with his anger. "Who would…?"
"It doesn't say," said Sakura. "Though we can guess. We have to get there as soon as we can, they need reinforcements."
"I'll call Matthias," said Naruto, digging around in his jacket. "He'll get us there quickly."
Benedictus suddenly cleared his throat. Naruto ignored it, but Sakura turned to look at him.
"I would not act so rashly," said Benedictus. "They seem to be doing this against better judgment. I would advise you not to make the same mistake."
"Shut it, old man," Naruto snapped. "This is our problem."
Kira blinked at Naruto, and then looked back at Benedictus. The old man's eyes were dark.
"He's right Naruto," said Kira, calmly. "Call Matthias, but please calm down. This isn't the time to act foolishly." She held her ground, even when he cast his hardened eyes on her. But they softened quickly, and he gave a nod, falling silent. He fished out the small device that would contact Matthias and activated it, and then went and sat down.
Sakura just shook her head, her eyes still wide, but said nothing. She went and sat by Naruto, and the room fell uneasily silent. Everyone watched the two shinobi as they comprehended their friend's death, and Kira of all of them wanted to do something, but still had no idea what. In the end she went and sat on Naruto's other side, simply watching him and Sakura. The two shinobi showed no emotion other than astonishment, which faded into brooding, emotionless silence.
"I'm sorry," Kira finally said, her eyes falling to the floor in front of her.
Naruto shrugged, but didn't answer. Sakura didn't even move.
The day didn't last, and most of it was spent like this, simply sitting there in Benedictus' room, in absolute silence. Nobody spoke, and every movement went unnoticed, until Kira put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, and left it there.
Matthias responded quicker than they had imagined he would. He arrived that night, just as the sun plunged beneath the fiery horizon, touching down just outside the gates of the city, where the zeppelin tower lay.
But the first person who greeted them when they went up the gangplank to the familiar zeppelin was not who they imagined, either. Rather than the overly competitive captain of the Hindenborough, it was their teacher, Hatake Kakashi. Matthias had apparently been making an unsavory delivery of unsavory objects to one of Southshore's brothels when he had discovered news of the attack. Kakashi had informed of what had happened, and then had expressed a desire to return to Stormwind as soon as possible, after leaving two Kage Bunshin to oversee the town's recovery and sending a dog to inform Yamato and Sai of what had happened. They had then made full haste back to Stormwind, just passing the Wetlands when Matthias had received Naruto's summon.
The news created no change in Kakashi's condition, even for those who knew him. There was but a slight widening of his visible eye, followed by a curt nod, but he made no move to leave the zeppelin.
Kira, Tyrande and a group of soldiers saw them off.
"I'll stay," said Kira, standing on the deck in her final meeting with Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. "I'll try and meet with the dwarves, once they have retrieved their new king, and I'll send more messages to Thrall, and try and see if I can get more out of that Akatsuki member."
"Don't overwork yourself," Naruto warned.
She smiled. "Come back safe, okay?"
Naruto grinned. "Promise."
They stood awkwardly, and then Kira stepped forward and hugged him. He fell into the embrace a little more easily than usual, which Sakura noticed, but would not mention later. Tyrande hugged him as well.
"It seems our times together are always so short," she said.
Naruto gave a little shrug. "Guess so, but you know, we'll probably be seeing each other more and more, you know, especially with what is happening. You stay safe, okay?"
"I shall, but you must take more care; I have a bad feeling of what might happen, and if you are about to face what I think you might, then you'll need much more than simple strength and a little guile. You might be facing a beast older than time, if that is truly whom is responsible for your friend's death."
Naruto's eyes grew hard, and his mouth curved into a vicious grin.
"Doesn't matter. The bastard's gonna fall, no matter what."
Tucked within a small canyon at the foot of the mountains that separated the Badlands from the Burning Steppes, which was more like an indentation in said mountains rather than a proper canyon, the outpost of Kargath was inhabited by only ten rough-looking orc soldiers who were rather unfriendly, as the first thing they did when his group arrived was fire at them. While not uncommon, it was a bit strange given Kira and Naruto's recent alliance. Stranger still was that after Shikamaru's group had managed to disable the attackers in an efficient and unviolent manner, the orcs had backed off and hadn't gone near them since, not even to spit at them or insult them; they just avoided them like one avoided lepers. The orcs had let them into the city and had even taken a message that Shikamaru had written by wyvern to Stormwind. Otherwise they just grumbled and ignored them, which was certainly not in character with the ferocity they seemed to be capable of, and their apparent indifference to the standing alliance.
Their leader was an ancient, battle-scarred orc named Lorog, with tusks as long as a troll's growing from his mouth, which hung open enough for a near-constant stream of drool to dribble out, making it not only difficult to converse with him, but difficult to stand in his presence without feeling a humor quite unaccustomed to the present situation. The orc was dangerous though, or appeared to be, yet he accepted Shikamaru's group in after hearing their story with very little resistance, and no more hostility than he seemed to show the rest of his comrades.
The visitors intrigued the residents of Kargath as much as terrified them. Their first reaction had been, of course, to attack, but not because of a hatred for humans and dwarves—they certainly had them, for most of them were veterans of the last war and had been sent to Kargath merely because they were either too old to function in a standing army or had been involved in "questionable activities" a few two many times for Thrall's comfort. Kargath had become place to send those that weren't meant to see much action, especially since Thrall's attention was more often than not on the other side of the world.
Their reason for letting Shikamaru's group in was as the state of the outpost seemed to suggest—boredom.
Everyone's first impression was that the place stunk. Rotten meat littered the ground before the walled entrance, some nothing more than black and green piles sprouting miniature forests, others still attracting flies which added a chilling buzz to the entire area. Because the creatures that existed in the Badlands that were good enough to eat were all the size of horse-drawn carriages or larger, and the number of residents was so startlingly low, and while they were so bored they had grown so lazy that they did not even bother to exercise proper refrigeration techniques suitable for the climate, they simply left excess meat on the borders of the outpost, using it to attract hungry predators and scavengers so that they could have nice targets to practice their aim on. On the plus side, they were one of the richest outposts in the former Horde, due to the trading agreement they had with a local tribe of ogres, whom they sold the skins to.
"Thank you," Shikamaru said, four days after they had arrived, after the meal had been served, in the single large hut that occupied the center of the outpost, closest to the cliff walls. Surrounding it were a few other shacks, mostly used for weapon storage and grain supplies, though some were empty, or had fallen into a state of disrepair that none of the soldiers could fix, for they simply couldn't be bothered.
The orc leader, Lorog, grunted, "Fer what?"
"Letting us stay here."
"Thought it best not ta' interfere."
Shikamaru frowned. "Interfere with what?"
"All of you," the orc said, tearing a piece of meat from a thick chunk of what was probably a cross-section of a thunder lizard's leg. "You came in here lookin' pretty fierce, I'll tell you, brat. Never seen somethin' like that in a human. Also, you got a smell about you."
"Smell?"
"You been in the burning lands," the orc growled. "And don't think for a moment that we didn't hear what was happening, didn't dread it with everything we had. Been a long time coming, that war."
"You knew of it?"
"Course," Lorog said. "It's all we know about 'round here."
"How come Lord Thrall, or any other members of the alliance, did not warn us of the additional dangers?"
"He didn' know. We don't tell everythin' to the Warchief, you know. He'd want to get involved, 'specially after Blackhand's attack a couple years back. We thought it a better idea not to get 'im involved, if you see what I mean. We're bored, true, but not stupid, nor suicidal, you hear?" He took a long draught from the tankard he had, made from the horn of an ogre. "But you guys, you had somethin' in your eyes, and I could feel somethin' about you that made me think twice about trying to take you on, too. Especially when you told me to send those messages. You got somethin' in mind, and I don' want any part o' it. Just do what ye need to do and leave us be."
That seemed to be the general consensus of Kargath's residents. Even the dogs they kept whimpered when one of the humans passed, the lingering smell of dragon and the deep darkness of Molten Core clinging to them, a stigma to the bored yet cautious residents of the little outpost.
They dealt with it, of course, and waited, recovering, planning. They spent most of the time clustered in one of the empty storage sheds from when Kargath had been a more prosperous outpost, using whatever knowledge Undrig and Thauraan had of the Blackrock Mountains to plan an attack on the Spire, where Nefarian undoubtedly lay.
"I want to go," Thauraan said, for the fifth time that day. "I want—"
"You have to realize," said Shikamaru, softly, "that you'll be no help, Thauraan."
"Yes, but…"
"The best thing you can do," Shikamaru said, "is stay here, and wait for the dwarves to come get you. That's where you're needed now."
"But…!"
"Keep in mind, you'll be helping us as well," said Asuma, leaning against the dusty wood wall, smoking a makeshift cigarette that he had lifted off one of the soldiers. "Not everything is right in Ironforge. There's somebody who betrayed your grandfather in it, and we need you to find out whom."
"How?" Thauraan pressed.
Asuma shrugged. Shikamaru grinned at him. "We're sure you'll find a way."
Though not completely convinced, Thauraan stopped asking, falling into a deep silence while the others talked of the way they could attack.
"We should wait until the others get here before deciding anything," said Ino. "Sakura'll have a handful of ideas as well, and so might Kakashi-sensei."
"You do realize that Kakashi will contest this decision, don't you?" Asuma said.
"You'll need to—" Shikamaru began, but stopped when Asuma shook his head, taking a long drag before he answered.
"No, that'll be your job."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not entirely convinced myself on this issue. It's stupid, Shikamaru, and you know it."
Shikamaru winced inwardly, but showed nothing outwardly. The others were looking at him, probably wondering if he did actually know it.
"Maybe," said Shikamaru. "But that doesn't mean we're not going to do it. Asuma-sensei, you have to feel something for this, I mean, Gai was—"
"Gai died to save you all," said Asuma. "Where's the sense in going to your deaths? If you look at it like a game of shogi, Shikamaru, you have to admit it's like sending a handful of pawns to checkmate a king in the middle of your opponent's board, when they have nearly all the pieces protecting it. It's more often than not, impossible. Beforehand, I doubt you would have even considered this plan. So tell me, what's changed?"
Shikamaru had no answer. He remained silent.
Neji had joined their discussion only recently, his eyes having taken time to heal. But using the stocked herbs and her own knowledge of medical ninjutsu, Ino had managed to repair the damage done by healing the burns on Neji's expansive retina, which luckily would have only blocked his forward vision. He was grateful, but in his typical fashion, did not make it known. He recommended scouting missions before they did anything, a point Shikamaru took to heart, even if he had no idea how to exercise it. The Burning Steppes were completely gone; Nefarian's battle had torn them apart, leaving nothing but a hole and miles of rubble and destruction. All that remained would be the Blackrock Mountains themselves, and the Spire.
"The red one worries me," Undrig growled. "Dunno wha' tha' was doin' there."
"The red dragon we saw?" Shikamaru said. "What about it?"
"Reds and Blacks don't mix," said Undrig. "The Black Dragonfligh' 'ave always been the Red Dragonfligh's biggest enemy, an' I don' know how the Blacks managed to get that Red one there. He was dangerous, to be sure, you could feel 'is power, couldn' ye?"
"But he let us live," Shikamaru said.
"Confuses me too, but I don' think we should coun' on that again. He'll be our enemy, probably as bad as Nefarian."
"Why were they enemies?" Neji spoke up from the corner. His eyes were closed, still sensitive to light, but he still gave the impression that he was looking right at you.
"Stories say Deathwing, Nefarian's ol' father, betrayed the Dragonflights and attempted ta' control them. Dunno why, or how, but that made them enemies of all the Dragonflights, specially the Red, 'cause they're the leaders o' the rest. Deathwing's gone now, but his kids 'ave been causin' trouble for this world since—you heard about the attack by Rend an' his orcs? Dragons were involved wit that, probably the Black Flight. There's somethin' wrong wit them, tha's for sure. 'Is sister, Onyxia, is the dragon that Naruto an' I fought way back. Somethin' was wrong with her too, but I'd say something worse is wrong wit' Nefarian. Onyxia we nearly didn' beat, so I dunno how we're gonna stand a chance agains' Nefarian when he's still got a bunch o' his flight and a Red on his side too."
Shikamaru nodded, but said nothing in response. "We'll wait and see. The others should be arriving any day now."
But the dwarves came first.
The cold night had set in when they came, the sounds of their tanks interrupting the still beauty of the desert night with an unnatural rumble that did not suit the clear air. The residents of Kargath were in arms by the time they were visible, descending into the canyon in a flood of headlights and grinding gears and bursting engines and hissing steam, stopping just at the outset of outpost, before the wall of decaying animal parts. Even not in motion, their tanks made enough noise to seem as if they came from all around, echoing off the canyon walls, belching smoke and shuddering until the engines exploded into silence. Hatches on top of each tank made metallic clangs as they opened, and dwarves hefted themselves out, clad all in black chain armor and wielding a wide variety of weapons, most notably their trademark rifles with long sights and wide barrels. By the time they had got into a line, the very picture of military precision and discipline, Shikamaru and the others were standing at the gate, waiting to meet them, as nonchalant as a gang of school bullies facing a group of weaker students attempting a feeble rebellion.
"Stand fast," a dwarf ordered Shikamaru, as he made to move forward. "Dinna think about movin' again."
Shikamaru stopped. "Fine," he said. "We're the shinobi sent to retrieve your new king. My name is Nara Shikamaru."
"An' you know me," Undrig said, somewhere behind him.
Evidently, the lead dwarf did. "Undrig? Tha' you?"
"Aye," said Undrig. "Lower ye weapons, ye got no enemies 'ere."
"Those orcs behind ye say diff'rent," the dwarf said. His soldiers had their rifles trained on them now, where they peaked out from between the bone ornaments adorning the small wooden wall that enclosed the outpost. They had crossbows trained on the dwarves as well, and appeared excited now, their eyes glowing in the light of the headlights.
"They'll cause you no harm," said Shikamaru, "they—"
"Quiet, 'uman," the dwarf snapped. "Where are they? Lady Moira an' her son?"
Shikamaru went quiet. "The message I sent detailed nothing of Lady Moira. She did not return with us."
Silence greeted him. He heard several audible clicks, noticing movement in the flood of headlights behind the dwarves, mere shadows now. They were preparing their weapons.
"Did those orcs—"
"Stop."
It was not Undrig this time, but Thauraan. The little dwarf now stood by Shikamaru's side, standing as tall as he could and glaring with as much force as his little eyes could muster. The dwarves held off, some even lowered their weapons. There was something of Magni and Moira in the boy's eyes and glare, they must have seen, even if his looks took after his father.
"If I am to be your king, you will not harm anyone here. They have not only rescued me from death, but they," he motioned to the orcs of Kargath, "have housed us and given us food and rest so that we might be able to greet you here today. My mother is dead, along with my father, by Ragnaros' hand, and the Dark Iron Empire now lies throneless, as does yours." He'd prepared the speech beforehand, with some help from Shikamaru and Ino. "So lower your weapons, please, and I will go with you now, to the beginnings of my new kingdom."
There was no point in staying, Shikamaru had said. The dwarves would probably just come and take him away, without deigning to linger, and Shikamaru thought that was best, even if Thauraan didn't.
The dwarves glanced at each other, taking in the small dwarf that stood before them. He was only a child, yet he spoke with a cold fire that reminded them of Moira, and there was a strange wisdom in his words and eyes, like their former king. It was not long before the Dwarven soldiers had lowered their weapons, and returned to the tanks to start them up. Only the leader remained, stepping forwards. He looked at Shikamaru.
"Thank you."
"No problem," said Shikamaru, with a careless shrug. "It was our mission. We're shinobi."
"I remember," the dwarf grinned, "one o' ye greatly impressed His Highness King Magni a few years back; gave 'im one of the finest blades I've evah seen."
"That'd be Naruto," said Shikamaru.
"Heh," the dwarf grinned. "Thought you knew 'im. 'e was a great kid, loads o' fun—kept us all on our toes when 'e was there, an' I'm glad he found a way ta' get back. Wish I could see 'im again, see if 'e's learned a thing or two with the sword that I taught 'im to use."
Shikamaru blinked. "You…?"
"Undrig!" the dwarf called. "You staying 'ere?"
"I am, sir," Undrig said.
"Why?"
"To help mah friends, sir."
"Good." The dwarf nodded to Thauraan, who remained at Shikamaru's side. "Then if ye will, Your Highness, follow me to my tank, we'll be on our way. Is nobody else comin'?"
"No," said Shikamaru. "We'll all stay here, for now. We're supposed to meet someone."
"The kid?"
"The same."
The dwarf winked. "Tell 'im Berlyiro sends 'is highest regards, and a wish to meet 'im in the pub when we next 'ave the chance. Been waitin' a damn long time to see that boy again!"
Shikamaru smiled back, and gave him a small bow. "I will." He turned to Thauraan, who stood staring up at him, as if expecting something. "Good luck," he said, simply.
"I'll do my best."
"That's all he would've wanted."
Thauraan smiled, turned, and walked away with Berlyiro, never once looking back at the small group of shinobi that stood, half shrouded in darkness as they always had been. He decided as he descended into the cramped interior of the tank that he would see them again, and would eventually shed some light on them.
He had never had any friends, but he knew exactly what they were, as he left them there, in the cold night, awaiting the vengeance of a man whom Thauraan would make sure went down in history.
Blackrock Spire screamed with the sounds of the darkest celebration in history, fiercer and more terrifying than anything a human mind, even those not right, even those of the illusionists of the Darkmoone Faire, could conjure. The mountain shook with wrath and a passion that it could not contain, oozing roars and snarls and the scraping of claws against rock and the crashes of rocks being dusted, crushed by a ferocity of movement so wild that it made a tornado the epitome of order.
Yet it rang with life, something that it had not done for years.
At its highest point, there was near silence, save for the wind, and the low growls of one dragon, highest of them all.
Nefarian was wracked pain, pain so fierce that a god could not have suffered it for long without going mad. Across his left side, just under his wing, a monstrous gash had been torn, straight through his scales, straight through flesh and nearly cracking bone. It was without a doubt the worst wound he had ever suffered in battle, even worse than that inflicted by his former enemy, Vaelastrasz, in his first meeting with the fool so many years ago. It was pain; unearthly pain, seemingly amplified by the hissing blood that emerged from it, dissolving the rock where it touched on his chamber's floor. He snarled in pain, but also in a fierce, triumphant delight.
He couldn't believe how good he felt; pride burned through his veins like a forest fire, infecting every bit of his body that had feeling in it, and he reveled in it. He was strongest, strongest of them all, and this proved it! He was a god! No, more than that, he was a dragon, a Black dragon, greater than his father, greater than his sister and mother, greater than all before him. Who else could have destroyed an elemental, the creator of fire, the servant of the Old Gods now sealed or dead? Who else?
No one!
He felt it deep within him, and feeling a urge to see it again, he gave a coughing heave, discharging the minimal contents of his stomach; something heavy and black struck the ground, creating a spider-web of cracks around where it lay. He grinned at it, staring at the polished black runes upon it, the intricate detailed words that spelled out the Firelord's fate. It radiated hellish heat, but it was warm to Nefarian, almost joyful. If he appreciated the little things in life, it would be like a summer's day, when the sun was high and bright and everything lives in light.
But he was disgusted by such flowery rhetoric, such natural poetry. There was nothing nice about the natural world, nothing beautiful. Artifice was so much more interesting, so much more substantial.
But his mind moved swiftly past that. He listened to the sound of his children, celebrating throughout the Spire in that vicious orgy where they reveled in their power, dancing alongside their brethren as they consumed the pleasure of a battle won. But Pride was far too human a vice for him to revel in for long. He would let them continue, but he could no longer; after all, his father had too much, and look where he had ended up.
He was already thinking, his mind dampening the pain with his cunning thoughts as always; Ragnaros was dead, but that was only the first step. His Chromatic Flight had worked brilliantly, and that meant that he had a potential army at his disposal, always. He could simply conjure one up, just like his enemy. But unlike his enemy's—former enemy's—army, his would be strong, invincible, even.
But what then?
The idea of ruling a human world bored him. Ruling a world in itself bored him. What would be the point? The feeling of dominance had already passed now, replaced with a fierce regret, even an annoyance, as if burdened unnecessarily. Perhaps this was what a god felt like—but having the weight of a world on his shoulders was not something he was accustomed to. In fact, he didn't want it, he didn't want a group of puny humans to rule over, in all of their disgusting variations, and nor did he want a world to govern, to control as he saw fit, because that would be boring, stupid, pointless. He would be but another dictator, another creature, another god to be worshipped. As much as the idea of a god appealed to him, gods were always replaced. The Old Gods had been by the Titans, and they had been replaced by reason, and maybe something would come after that, if these creatures were allowed to continue their course.
Pain bit at him once again, surging forth like waves preceding a typhoon. He roared, thrashing on the stone floor, his claws raking huge grooves in them. But it wasn't comparable; it was painful, too true, but he could deal with pain. He never went anywhere without it. Pain was something that the Black Dragonflight was consumed by, something that they shared completely. Far from those of the Red, who supposedly controlled the divine flames, they could not imagine what such flames could truly do, how much pain they could truly cause. Nefarian's whole life had been measured by pain; from the moment of his birth, to as he lay wracked with the first wound he had suffered in ages along his side, caused by the bastard human who had stayed behind to insure his companions were free.
Nefarian did not hate the pain he felt; he had been born with it, he knew not what else there was besides it. In some respects he loved it, because it brought forth such poetry, such wordplay; pain, as a word, was beautiful in itself. He loved the taste of it, the sound of it, it rung eternally; echoing each time it was spoken, lingering like a sickness, dreadful as darkness, and wonderful, magical even…
'Wherever I Fly Is Hell; Myself Am Hell…'
The words were not his own; they had been first spoken by his father, whose rhetoric was incomparably weak to Nefarian's; Nefarian loathed that it had been his father who had produced such poetry, a line that was never far from Nefarian's thoughts, a line that he based his entire existence upon. But his father had been a fool, and Nefarian had proved it.
The words were no longer his hated father's, but his, and his alone.
He let out a triumphant blast of wrathful, wild sound, which silenced the Spire in seconds; it echoed with hatred as lingering and constant as the sun of a scorched desert, it was wild, unbelievable, and glorious to Nefarian. Hate was one other word he so enjoyed, because it was always there, always a constant companion to the pain. Not hate of the pain, but of everything that did not have it.
So perhaps that was what he should do?
Why rule a world, when you could bring it the same pain you always felt? Why dominate when you could teach?
Nefarian began to feel joy beyond anything he had felt before. His children had begun again in earnest in their celebration, feeling their father's wild emotions spread throughout the Spire, and then the whole of Blackrock; beneath it, in the Depths, the Dark Iron Dwarves quaked in fear of their new master, perhaps worse than the old one.
Yes, Nefarian thought, spreading out his wings, standing on all four feet despite the pain that slammed into his side with each movement; that is what he'd do.
Pain.
Pain for all.
Hell for all.
They arrived the next day when the sun was high, the sound of their zeppelin roaring in the silence of the dusty canyon where Kargath lay. Shikamaru and his group had sequestered themselves in the empty storage shed they had taken over for the majority of the morning, but ran out to greet them. For a few moments their zeppelin was only a nameless sound in the air, echoing across the vast expanse of the canyon, before it finally emerged, swooping over the outpost and then turning back, probably to let them off at the entrance to the canyon that Shikamaru's group had used several days previously to enter the same way. This time, Kargath's sentinels had their fears allayed before they were totally pressed into action (something that they were grateful for); they still hung idly by, ready to combat any threat that was equivalent to an attack by a few half-starved furry predators, and no more. Shikamaru and the others waited at the entrance to the outpost, their faces more suited to stone ornaments decorating a castle wall.
Naruto made his presence known first, with a bellow that was as loud as the zeppelin's engine, and echoed just as fiercely.
"OI! YOU GUYS THERE?"
Though annoyed that Naruto hadn't waited until he could at least see them to avoid unnecessary speech, Shikamaru responded anyways.
"YES!"
Naruto appeared a second later, landing nigh soundlessly a few meters before him from the top of the canyon wall beside them. Haruno Sakura and Hatake Kakashi arrived seconds later in the same fashion, but already Naruto was striding up to Shikamaru. His face was worry, anger, and pain all mixed. Shikamaru knew exactly what was to come next.
"What happened?" Naruto said immediately.
"Hello, Naruto," Shikamaru said, with a nod. "Sakura, Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto curtailed his second attempt to get an answer out of Shikamaru, simply staring with barely suppressed emotion into his eyes; it hurt to look, or stand still, in the face of such eyes, so Shikamaru nodded and said. "Let's head to someplace, while not more comfortable, certainly better suited to discussing such an important question." He nodded and they all went back to the storage shed; Naruto did not even spare glances at the orcs who glared at him from all sides, while Sakura and Kakashi dealt out polite nods to everyone they managed to make eye contact with.
Inside the dusty, cramped shed, after everyone had managed to pull up a seat, Shikamaru began without any further prompting; starting with the mission details, what had happened at each point during it, and ended with what they had done so far in the aftermath. He spoke each word calmly, clearly, concisely, as if he had rehearsed it. When he had finished, he merely stared at Kakashi, as if daring him to find a counter-argument.
Kakashi had several, but he did not voice them immediately. "Very well," he merely said. He saw that both Sakura and Naruto were too deep in thought to voice their thoughts. "We have news as well, and you're going to want to pay particular attention, Asuma, as a large amount of it concerns you."
Asuma looked alert. "In what…no. Kakashi, don't tell me—"
"Kurenai is safe and sound, as is her child," Kakashi said, calmly.
Everyone reeled from the news, and the storage was a war zone of startled exclamations and clamoring for answers, mostly from Asuma's three former genin. Kakashi stopped it with a wave of his hand, though Asuma's probably contributed more, allowing Kakashi to explain everything. He added, with Naruto and Sakura's help, what they had accomplished in Hillsbrad.
By the end, Asuma was restless; he kept glancing towards the door, as if wondering how long it would take to get back to Stormwind based on how far away the door was.
"I can't stay here," he said, finally. "I have to go back."
Shikamaru whipped his head towards his teacher. "What? Asuma-sensei, you can't—"
"I can, Shikamaru, and I will; I refuse to let Kurenai go through this alone, and I…well…" he shrugged. "I just have to. I don't expect you to understand."
"Nobody's going to stop you," said Kakashi. "Matthias plans on going back later tonight, after we have discussed actually what, and if, this is going to happen or not."
"It is," said Shikamaru, calmly. "Whether you approve of it or not."
"That hardly has anything to do with it," said Kakashi. "I'll disapprove of it either way. Question is, is it anything but the extraordinarily stupid decision that I think it is?"
"Yes."
"Explain, then, please." Kakashi sat back, his face never changing, though the action made Shikamaru feel a prickling of anger, as if Kakashi was smiling smugly in his face.
"Well," said Shikamaru, thinking a bit, "why do we have to explain this to you? Are you the Hokage?"
"No," Kakashi said, his eyebrow raising. "Fancy that. Well, let's just say I'm the 'objective observer' of this conversation. You're not explaining this to Hatake Kakashi, but merely an unbiased opinion who will make an informed and emotionless decision."
"That's hardly true," said Shikamaru.
"Oh?"
"That you're unbiased. Unless I'm mistaken, Gai was your best friend."
Kakashi shrugged. "How does that factor into this in any way, Shikamaru-kun?" For some reason, suffix sounded derogatory, and Shikamaru felt another spike of anger.
"That is, in fact, the entire basis of this, actually," Shikamaru said.
"Oh? So you're basing your decision on how you feel, is that it?"
"Yes, actually."
Kakashi nodded a few times. The room had fallen dead silent, where everyone was staring at the two of them. Shikamaru, still not used to the attention a leader brought, flushed a little and sat back, though steeled himself when Kakashi had no apparent reaction, not even in his glimmering black eye.
"Then, let me get this straight," said Kakashi, quietly. "Your decision to stay behind and eliminate Gai's killer is based purely on emotion, which even in the context of our society, is an utterly stupid and pointless reason for doing anything other than having sex or eating dinner. Now, factor into that the fact that we as shinobi pride ourselves on being able to make decisions where emotion shouldnever be a factor, where it's written into one of our very laws as shinobi, and what do you have, Shikamaru-kun?" Kakashi's voice was deadly silent by the end, each word a breath in itself; his visible eye was narrowed into dart of black and white that his other eye surely would have matched if it could be seen.
Shikamaru didn't answer.
"You have, then," Kakashi then said, "a monumentally stupid reason for having wasted all of our precious time including Matthias and the residents of this little outpost, as well as their resources and probably their patience. There is a country—which we have contracted to aid in any way we can, in danger from a dozen enemies at once, one that doesn't need yet another enemy if you should fail in this, and does indeed need at least a few of the people in this room in order to properly function. You have also a break in exactly what it means to be a shinobi, Shikamaru-kun. You are failing to uphold your duty, and have yet failed to brief your contractor on the details of the mission, other than a few lines and a secret message. I cannot think of a reason why this little revenge plot should work, Shikamaru-kun, and you have yet to tell me, either."
Shikamaru swallowed. "I would have thought that obvious, Kakashi-san." The lack of thesensei might have been an ego-bruiser in another situation, but neither party noticed it in this case. "We're doing this because Gai would've wanted us to."
"He would've wanted to get yourselves killed? No, actually, he wouldn't, Shikamaru-kun, and I can say that definitely as one of Gai's friends of more than a dozen years."
"No." Neji now spoke. "He would've wanted us to think for ourselves, regardless of shinobi laws and practices, Kakashi-san, and I can say that as one of Gai's students, of which you have never been." Neji's voice was just as deadly soft as Kakashi's.
"I'm sure," said Kakashi, "that Gai would've wanted you to think logically for yourselves, rather than emotionally."
"And I'm sure," now Lee spoke, "that Gai-sensei would rather us uphold our own moral decisions, our own beliefs, than yours or the collective majority of the shinobi people who would be in your place. I'm sure he would've had told you the same thing and expected you to help us if he had been here, and one of us had died."
"What do you base this on?"
"Just a feeling," said Lee, smiling faintly. "Just a feeling, Kakashi-san."
"And what are your beliefs? That Gai deserves to have his killer destroyed? He was never of the belief that revenge does anything but cause more damage."
"Yes," said Lee. "But perhaps we are."
Kakashi sighed, and glanced around the room. He saw looks of approval on everyone's faces, save two—Naruto and Sakura, who remained as closed in thought as before. They had undoubtedly heard all that had transpired since, but they were still thinking, perhaps for an answer, perhaps to understand the situation further, though he couldn't imagine what Naruto would be thinking about for so long. He was usually the first to jump in on such conversations, the first to try to convince Kakashi of a decision they had made. In fact, his Ninpo was so close to Gai's that he should be arguing in place of Shikamaru.
"Regardless, then," said Kakashi, finally, "of whether or not Gai would have wanted this, I am still not convinced how this is beneficial in any way, other than for the practice of revenge."
Shikamaru shrugged. "There shouldn't be much more to it, than that, Kakashi-sensei. That's our entire reason for staying here, and it would be stupid to have any other reason regardless, when the result is the same, don't you think?"
It's like talking to children, the older shinobi thought. Again.
"No," he said. "I think a better reason is necessary. What do you think separates us from missing-nin, Shikamaru?"
"The fact that we don't kill our own comrades?"
"The fact that we obey orders."
Shikamaru shook his head. "That's wrong, Kakashi-san."
"How s—"
"Kakashi-sensei."
Now he speaks, Kakashi thought. His eyes slid to Naruto, who sat just one person to his left, perched on one of the empty crates they had used as seats. There was a glimmer in his eyes, like polished sapphires set before a roaring flame, and the beginnings of a smirk tugged at his lips, threatening to blossom in the course of his speech.
"Yes, Naruto?"
"This isn't a better reason, but I'm gonna say it anyways. I don't remember much of what you tell me, truth be told."
Kakashi blinked. He almost felt hurt.
"There's only one thing that's really stuck in my mind, you know, and it's not how to do some jutsu or one of your lame excuses for coming late every day, even though you did have some pretty good ones, but it was something you told me on the second day after we'd met, just after we'd beaten your stupid bell-test." He paused, watching Kakashi for a reaction, though he got none.
"It was, 'Shinobi who don't obey the rules are trash, but shinobi who don't protect their friends are lower than trash.'"
"I do recall saying that," Kakashi said, calmly.
"So what changed, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Nothing. I just believe that—"
"So what if Gai-sensei's dead?" Naruto said. "How should that be any different? Is he not your friend anymore?"
Kakashi was silent, feeling as chastised as a child, though looking anything but.
"Gai-sensei gave his life to save all of them," Naruto said. "But does that mean that his death was useless if they go back and die fighting the same person who killed Gai, after they did it on his own teachings? I don't think so. Just doesn't make any sense, if they're doing something he taught them to do. He was your friend, too, Kakashi-sensei so you have to admit that Mega Fuzzy-Brows would've gone along with them, if any one of them had died. Another thing, Kakashi-sensei—we're not tools."
Naruto's face was open and determined, and Kakashi's shut completely, his black eye a black wall between the world and his thoughts.
"We're not tools," Naruto said again, "we're people. We're shinobi. Neither of those are like tools so it's stupid to call us them. We can make decisions and think for ourselves and I like it better when I have the freedom to do that instead of being labeled a tool to be used, Kakashi-sensei. And we're not normal people—they'd probably die if they went into battle like this, but we're not normal, Kakashi-sensei, we'reshinobi! If these guys are confident they can kick this fucking dragon's ass, then why the hell are you contesting it?" He sat back, his argument finished.
"We're fuckingshinobi, Kakashi-sensei. Not tools, not even normal humans. We're shinobi."
Sakura cleared her throat. "And you're forgetting something else, Kakashi-sensei. There is a perfectly logical reason to go and fight, even if everyone is refusing to acknowledge it. These dragons have demonstrated before that they will destroy anything in their paths to get what they want. They attacked Stormwind once, and Orgrimmar, unless I'm mistaking Naruto's stories. In this battle, they've demonstrated that they're not even above fighting those they consider equals, and dominating them, destroying them. If this leader, Nefarian, is allowed to live, Kakashi-sensei, what would happen is that they'd likely raise another army and continue to spread their dominion, taking over, destroying and eliminating everything that crossed their paths. They are as much a threat as the Lich King and Akatsuki, and probably even more immediate."
Kakashi nodded, leaning back. "I suppose."
"Secondly, Kakashi-sensei, is that they are likely trying to recover from this past battle. They are going to be weak. What better time is there to attack?"
Kakashi stared at his pink-haired student for a long time, noticing a certain smugness in her eyes that she obviously wasn't bothering to hide. Mixed in with the grief she undoubtedly felt for Gai, the rage at his death, and a number of other things that always went on in his smartest student's mind, there was now a triumph at having delivered exactly what he had wanted, just after he had stopped wanting it.
He sighed.
"Well," he said. "Though it goes against our history and our laws and everything that I've ever been taught, it looks like I can't win. It appears that we'll have to do this." His smile was faint, almost invisible through the skin-tight mask. It then fell. "But you're wrong when you think that Gai would've wanted you to do this. Gai cared for you all more than you can imagine, and he would've gladly sacrificed his life to see that you keep yours to ensure that the future is changed."
Shikamaru shrugged. "If we continued on the way our ancestors had taught, we would've just become simple mercenaries, Kakashi-sensei. We're not mercenaries, hitmen or anything like that. We're shinobi, as Naruto says—and we're the future. Gai-sensei did believe it needed change, so why wait for the future, when we can begin the changes now?"
Kakashi shrugged. "Naruto, send a message back to Stormwind using Tsuwabuki, and another tell them to pass another on to Tsunade-sama. If we survive this, we probably won't have heard the last of this."
Nobody smiled or cheered, of course. They sat back, several of them sighing. This was not something joyous, something to cheer for. Because this battle they had always expected to win, and now they had moved onto the battle that there was such a small chance of surviving that a bath in lava seemed to have a higher survival rate. For some, they were not one step closer to winning, but one step closer to their doom.
"All that leaves then," said Sakura, "is a plan of action. What are we going to do, and do we even know if we can do it?"
"We only know the general location of the target," said Shikamaru. "And that's the Blackrock Spire."
"Which is?" said Kakashi.
"The tallest mount'n in the Blackrock range," said Undrig. "You'll recognize it when we show it to ye."
"A general location is good," said Neji. "That is all I need; once we are within range, I can locate it as best I can. What is most dangerous is entering, and getting past its remaining forces, which are doubtlessly more numerous than we are prepared for."
"True," said Shikamaru. "We have discussed a few plans, but none seem safe, or feasible. A direct entry would be foolish, as would an attempt to climb the mountain—that would simply tire us, and the majority of it is sheer cliff, as I recall. Do you have any ideas?"
"No," said Kakashi.
"What's the point of making a plan now?" Naruto said.
"While making plans at the last second works for you, it isn't a good idea in such a case as this, Naruto," said Kakashi.
"I didn't mean that," said Naruto. "We don't even know the first thing about this place, so why the hell are we just sitting around, speculating and saying a bunch of general stuff that we already know? Let's get there and then figure out what to do, using Neji's eyes."
"It's a good idea," said Shikamaru. "But even when we find out where to go, that still leaves only two ways of entering, both of which I do not like. These are not ordinary humans we face, and thus I doubt the same techniques can be employed to fool them."
"How do you figure?" Naruto said.
"Their sense of smell and their sixth sense seem to be much higher than humans; we were quickly found out in all the confusion in the Molten Core, probably because we were humans amongst the smell of dust and metal and fire. We have distinctive smells, and henge is not complicated enough to change smell. I've been around Kiba long enough to know that."
"Okay," said Naruto. "So we climb."
"As I said before, that will just—"
"Not if we just go halfway, or something," said Naruto. "There has to be more than one entrance, and if it's a mountain, it'll give us time to rest—there'r plenty of ledges to just rest on, wouldn't you say? I bet they're too happy they've won to care about a couple of people on the outside wall."
"We've had plenty of time to rest," said Shikamaru. "Any longer will just lessen the advantage we have—his forces are wounded, and so is he, probably."
Naruto frowned, crossing his arms, and sat back. "Well, we're not going to get anywhere just sitting here. We should probably just get going, and decide for ourselves when we get there. There might be another way, who knows?"
"Hey," Sakura suddenly asked. "Could we fly to the top?" She was looking at Naruto.
The blonde boy blinked, frowned, cocked his head to the side a few times as his face screwed up in intense concentration, and then he broke out in a brilliant smile, and said
simply, "Yep!"
Everyone sighed.
"You're the one who usually points out the obvious, Naruto," Shikamaru said.
"Occam's Razor, eh, Ms. Forehead?" said Ino, grinning.
"Shut up, Ino-pig."
"This is what genius brings, I suppose," said Kakashi, with a sigh. "We'll leave tomorrow. Everyone better get some rest, say some prayers and do whatever you need to do before we head out, as there's a good chance we won't be getting back."
Everyone was silent.
"Are you really leaving?" Shikamaru said, calmly.
Asuma nodded. He and Shikamaru were walking up the narrow gulch that led up to where the zeppelin had been parked, where Matthias and his crew were amusing themselves by playing a game of football, their shouts ringing through the canyon long before they were visible.
"Asuma-sensei…"
"I told her not to get involved, if anything happened," said Asuma, calmly. "Yet she did. She could've died, if what Sakura told me is true." He had spoken to Sakura afterwards, getting exactly Kurenai's prognosis. It hadn't changed his mind.
"But she didn't, and her child is fine…"
"Shikamaru, I don't know if I can explain it any better than I already have. It's just something that I feel I have to do."
"But do you? You know yourself that you were be an incredible asset to this mission, Asuma-sensei, you—"
"This isn't a mission, Shikamaru, it's still just revenge, though now you're operating under the idea that you'll be doing the world a favor. While that might be true, that's still no excuse, even if Kakashi relented." He flicked his cigarette away, and retrieved a new one; he'd been rolling them all day, after one of the orcs had shown him how using some dry leaves instead of proper paper, which was scarce in the desert. He then turned to look at Shikamaru, his face entirely composed. "You wouldn't be questioning me if you knew exactly what this meant to me."
Shikamaru went silent, sighing a little. "I am glad she's safe, Asuma-sensei, but what can you do for her right now?"
"I can not die."
"Yes, but…"
"I would like to see my child grow up, or at least seen him or her born, Shikamaru. I hold no illusions that I might die before then, but doing it for revenge is stupid, as stupid as she was when she tried to defend a princess she hardly knew when she was fucking pregnant. It would be a meaningless death, at least in my eyes, because I would have had the choice to back out."
"So you weren't convinced back there?"
"What Naruto said was all true; what Sakura said was true. I feel bad that I am not going with you to avenge Gai's death—he was an important friend to me. But he wouldn't begrudge me going back to be with my family. He would've encouraged it. I feel like shit doing it, but that isn't going to stop me." He sighed. "And don't get me wrong, Shikamaru, I care about you and the rest. I don't want any of you to die, and if any of you do, I will never be able to forgive myself. I'm frustrated out of my mind, but I still can't do it. It would be a mistake to stay; I probably wouldn't even be at my best. I'd be distracted all the time."
"If that's the case, then why are you still a shinobi, Asuma-sensei? Kurenai-sensei is not going to be joining you for a while; if you're a shinobi, you'll be away from her all the time—why should you be any less distracted?"
"But she won't be in a hospital bed forever, Shikamaru, and she won't have always just been assaulted by a group of shinobi probably ten times stronger than I'll ever be. She won't always be pregnant. That's my point, Shikamaru—she needs me now, and I need her; I need to see her safe, if even just for a while."
Shikamaru sighed again, and fell silent. Asuma stared forwards for a while, and neither spoke until the end of the canyon became visible, the inflated top of the zeppelin just visible.
"I don't blame you," Shikamaru finally said. "I suppose it makes sense, in a way; he's just like we are, isn't he?"
"Might be a she," Asuma said. "But yes."
"The future."
"The future."
Shikamaru threw him a little half-smile. "I suppose this is a way of revenge as well, isn't it?"
"Bringing another one of us into the world, yeah, I suppose it is in some way." Asuma smiled back, in the same way.
"Fine," said Shikamaru. They stood at the top of the canyon, watching as Matthias scored a goal and let loose a whoop of joy, while half of his crew cheered and the other half hung their heads and mechanically lined up to shake each other's hands for a hard fought victory. A few had quickly detached themselves, rushing back to the zeppelin to begin preparing it for flight.
"But," Shikamaru said. "Give me your trench-knives."
Asuma glanced at him. "Think you can use them properly?"
"I have time to figure them out."
Asuma unhooked a pair of knuckle-dusters from his belt, each one possessing a four inch blade at the end. Before he handed them to Shikamaru, he dug around in his pouch for something else, and then produced a pair of cigarettes.
"What're those for?"
"Missing friends," said Asuma. He handed the four objects over. "Normally I'd tell you that smoking's bad for your health, but I think you have enough self-control for this. One for me, one for Gai. If you don't smoke them, just keep 'em safe, okay?"
Shikamaru glanced up at him. He smiled.
"Sure. Thanks, Asuma-sensei."
Asuma nodded. His gaze lingered on Shikamaru for a while longer, before he turned and trudged away towards the zeppelin, meeting Matthias on the way. He looked back only once, but by that time, Shikamaru had already descended into the canyon.
"Kira's going to be mad at you, I think," Sakura said.
Naruto glanced at her as a rush of warm wind hit him in the face. They sat at the top of the canyon overlooking Kargath, having gotten tired of the smell of the outpost and having nothing else to do. Sakura had suggested that training was probably a bad idea, since it might just tire them out before such a dangerous mission.
"Probably," said Naruto, quietly. He stretched, and sat back. "Are you angry too?"
"You'd know by now if I was angry," said Sakura, rolling her eyes. "I'd have hit you."
"Good point," he said, grinning nervously. "Why do you think that Kira-chan would be angry?"
"Because you're putting yourself in unnecessary danger."
"Yeah, but so are you."
"She probably doesn't care that much about me."
"Doubt that," said Naruto.
She glanced at him. "How do you figure?"
"Kira-chan doesn't have many friends—just me and Kylia. Now you too, so you can be pretty sure that she wants you to come back safe just as much as me. You're pretty important to her, I think."
"Do you know this for a fact?"
Naruto shrugged. "Not really, but I know Kira-chan well enough to know that much. You guys got off on the wrong start, but I think that's changing quickly."
Sakura was quiet for a while, staring across the canyon at the rising slope and the cones of the Redridge Mountains towering above them, and the black clouds that lingered above.
"I suppose so." She glanced at him. "Actually, I know so. You know what she told me?"
"What?"
"That the first time you guys met, you saw her naked."
Naruto turned bright red, and quickly turned away so that Sakura not only didn't catch sight of his red face, but didn't notice the slight trickle of blood from his nose, either.
"Y-yeah."
Sakura adopted a sly smile. "She's grown since, hasn't she?"
"Sakura-chan!"
She grinned. "Sorry, couldn't resist." She turned away, trying to crush the sudden sense of nervousness that now flowed through her. They sat silently like this, each stewing in their own confusion.
Crap, Sakura thought. I've made it awkward. I shouldn't have said that. She stole a glance at Naruto, but still couldn't see his face. A dozen things were floating in her mind about how to handle the situation, but the more she thought about it, the harder she found it was to think of something that wouldn't make the situation more awkward that it already was. She didn't feel like talking about Sasuke now, either, and hoped Naruto didn't bring it up.
"Why do you think he did it?"
Sakura glanced at him again. His face had regained its normal color and he had wiped away all the blood.
"Who?"
"Sasuke."
She sighed. "I don't want to talk about him now."
Naruto blinked, and then nodded. "Right."
"After all of this is over, Naruto. It'd be much easier."
"Yeah," said Naruto, "that's probably true."
"How's your technique going?"
"Great, actually," said Naruto. "I think I've found a way around it. We'll have to see, though, if it'll actually work."
"Mind telling?"
Naruto flashed her a smile. "It's a S-E-C-R-E-T."
She stuck out her tongue. "I surprised you know how to spell it."
"Geez, you sound more and more like Tsunade-baba every day."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No. Just makes me gotta watch what I say more often. I don't want to get ultra-pounded by another one of your super-punches."
They both began to laugh, and continued joking like this, as day slowly faded, and night slowly rose.
The night air was crisp as always, though Lee didn't really mind it. He stood near the entrance to Kargath, going through a series of exercises that Gai had once taught him to calm his mind as well as exercise his body. His movements were fluid, powerful, and quick as bolts released from crossbows. The only sounds he made were brief exhalations and light steps on the sandy rock; he did not even shout as he normally did when practicing kata at the execution of an attack. But then again, those were just practiced until a shinobi could release them same amount of feeling that such a sound brought without sound, and even induce the same amount of fear—with just appearance and spirit.
Gai had always told him that sound was only a force for spirit, a carrier, nothing else. If you could produce the same effect without sound, it was not only more effective in sneak attacks, but it could be far more powerful, far more forceful than a strike motivated by volume. Lee had always had a problem with it, mostly because he liked shouting too much.
But recently, he had resolved to change that.
He went through thekata twice, executing it each time perfectly, but still feeling that he had not yet gotten the breathing down, or his spirit focused. He was about to attempt a third time when he noticed Kakashi. The man was leaning against the closed gate of the outpost, watching him.
"Ah!" Lee said aloud, and bowed to the older man. "I didn't see you, Kakashi-san!"
"That's fine," said Kakashi. "It means I've still got my touch. How are you, Lee?"
Lee gave a nod. "Well, Kakashi-san. And you?"
"Fine," Kakashi said. "But I was asking more specifically how you're feeling in general. About Gai."
"Ah," said Lee. "I couldn't tell you. I do not wish to think about it until after this is all over. I'm afraid I might be useless otherwise." He sighed. "You did not see me on the way back. If it weren't for Shikamaru-kun…"
"It's only understandable," said Kakashi. "That's sort of how I feel right now as well."
"Truly?"
"It's how I deal with all of my friend's deaths," said Kakashi. "At least most of them. I'd rather be useful than show them the despair I truly feel. But there's always time for that later."
"Indeed, Kakashi-sensei."
"After all this is over, I'd like to have a talk with you," said Kakashi.
"About what?"
"Gai, his life, things he probably didn't see fit to tell you or the others. Things that you should know and things that he would've told you."
"Ah. I look forwards to it, then," said Lee, turning away, and resuming his kata.
Kakashi nodded, turned, and vanished.
"We're not using Matthias?" Shikamaru choked.
"Nope," said Naruto scanning the horizon for miles around, at the top of the canyon that housed Kargath, where he and Sakura had been the other day. They stood at the top of a rapid slope that showed the expanse of the Badlands for miles; Naruto hadn't realized they were so big. There was no way anyone would be able to cross them in a few days, or even a week; it was just an endless sea of dirt and dust with lighthouses of rock jutting out every so often. From where they stood, these rocks formed a series of complicated and winding canyons, and it proved that the desert plains that Shikamaru and his group had crossed were only a small part of the Badlands. To their backs was the Redridge Mountains, which separated the Badlands from the Burning Steppes, whose sinful black clouds and steadily rising smoke were just visible over their tops.
"That'd be too dangerous for him," Naruto said.
"Are we going to use one of your toad summons?" Ino said, with a raised eyebrow and a faint note of disgust in her voice.
"Nope."
"Good."
Naruto cast a glance back at her. "Dunno if you'll be saying that soon. Hopefully this'll work, and he won't be as bad as the other one."
"What other one? Who?" said Asuma.
"The other boss," said Naruto. "Of my second summoning contract. The first probably won't want to see me again, or fight another dragon, so I'll try the second. Anyways, hear goes!"
He drew blood with a bite to his thumb, and then began a rush of seals that ended by him clapping his hands to the dusty earth.
'Kuchiyose no jutsu'
In the cloud that exploded from beneath Naruto's feat, there was a piercing shriek like vermin's squeak only far louder, and so high-pitched that it along with the intense rush of a moldy, dusty, ancient stench made everyone drop to their knees, gasping for air and holding their hands to their ears. Nobody could see anything, only feel a sudden lurching beneath them, and a change of the texture of the ground. It became soft, undulating, and most lost their balance; it was like trying to stand on a galloping horse. Whatever it was that they now stood on was moving quickly and obviously did not want them on it's back. It voiced this, quite soon, in a high, shrieking voice like that of an opera singer without melody or rhythm.
"I SMELL HUMANS, HUMANS! WHERE ARE THEY, ARE THEY? COME, COME, HUMANS, AND FACE MY MISTRESS' WRATH, HER WRATH!"
Naruto's voice then exploded into being, somewhere in front of everyone.
"Shut it! It isn't your master!"
"WHAT, WHAT?"
"I said it isn't that old witch! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I summoned you, so stop shaking and get rid of all this smoke, you stupid rat!"
While quite a foolish thing to say while standing on the back of a hostile and immensely large…thing…the creature didn't immediately answer, or kill them. Instead, there was a sudden collective movement—parts of what they were standing on began to rise up, so Chouji and Ino quickly hurried away from the rising wall of black and brown fur they stood on, which quickly came crashing down in a vicious pumping motion that lifted the beast off the ground and into the unstable, rocking air. It also cleared the smoke, and everyone suddenly discovered what they were standing on.
Ino turned green, and began to dance like a child with ants in her pants. "Ew, ew, ew, ew! Naruto, you bastard! If you'd said we were going on something like this I would've taken the toad!"
Naruto stood at the head of the beast, a giant bat, and turned at her shrill cry. He frowned. "Geez, at least is isn't a bug, Ino."
"Bastard!"
The bat was as long as the stadium in Konoha from wing to wing, and probably about half that size from head to the end of its stumpy, triangular tail. Dark fur like the floor of a forest covered its back and wings, and it rose rapidly into the air, away from great plumes of dust kicked up by each flap which would undoubtedly anger the residents of Kargath for a number of hours, but hopefully alleviate them from their eternal boredom.
The creature screeched again; it was unbelievably painful sound, high-pitched enough to shatter glass, and everyone stumbled and cried out with each burst of sound, until Naruto told it to shut up again and listen to him.
"I KNOW YOU, YOU!"the bat wailed. "MY MISTRESS SPOKE OF YOU, YOU! AN ANNOYING BRAT, HUMAN, BUT YOU HAVE HER FAVOR, YES, YES! THEREFORE I WILL LISTEN TO YOU, YOU! BUT ONLY IF I WANT TO, TO!"
"You're going to take us somewhere!" Naruto shouted. "To the top of a mountain, and you're going to drop us there, okay?"
"WHY? WHY?"
"Cause I said so, dammit! Just listen!"
"WHO ARE YOU TO COMMAND ME, ME? I AM LACURAD, FIRST OF MISTRESS SYLVANAS' BATS, FIRST AND GREATEST! YOU ARE A BRAT, A HUMAN, HUMAN!"
"And you're annoying!" said Naruto. "We both have our problems, so just do this and you can go! I signed a goddamn contract and I want it to be goddamn useful, okay?"
"ANNOYING, ANNOYING! WHERE DO I GO, ANNOYING HUMAN?"
Relaxing slightly, Naruto glanced back at Shikamaru. The boy stumblingly made his way over, and told Naruto the general direction of the Blackrock Spire, which Naruto relayed to the bat, who gave another wail, and whipped around, towards the Redridge Mountains, and beyond, the Burning Steppes and the Blackrock Mountains.
"FINE! I WILL GO! ONLY FOR MISTRESS!"
"Good!" Naruto shouted. "Let's go!"
Lacurad's first movement nearly sent Naruto and Shikamaru sailing off the great beast, and made everyone else fall amongst the stinking fur, riddled with its parasites. Around them the air howled as if they were on a fast-moving zeppelin, and the wind whipped by as they rose over the mountains, towards the deep black clouds of the Steppes, towards the endless towering figure of the Spire in the distance, towards Nefarian, towards revenge.
Vaelastrasz the Red, now the Corrupt, writhed in his own chambers, away from his master. He had not been wounded, not at all—those who had tried had quickly failed against his superior flames, against his superior strength and speed and cunning, all traits which he had recently begun to inflate to grandiose proportions in his eyes. He was stronger than any of them, any of those stupid Blacks! But each time he thought that, shame filled him, which he distantly recognized and sought to rid himself of with other thoughts or none at all. But the shame never left him and was never far from his thoughts, always creeping like shadows into everything he experienced and said. He wondered why, but whenever that happened, more shame filled him, and the pain grew worse.
He was not like the Blacks. They had known this pain since their birth, but for him it was only recent; it was unimaginable, torturous, something like a bad dream that would never end. But it didn't hurt his body; he could deal with physical pain, as any dragon could, but this pain was not like that. It was pain of a different sort, like the dull ache of heartbreak stoked until it became a roaring blaze consuming everything within him. It clouded his thoughts and made him think of things that he would never think of, just to distract himself from this constant agony. Death became the center focus of his thoughts, and the more he thought of it the more joy he felt in contemplating other's deaths. And because it was joy, it stemmed the pain within him a little, as if any positive emotion, no matter what brought it on, alleviated the agony that coursed through him. It made him want to kill just to experience that feeling, just to rid himself of that pain if only for a second, like an addict wanting just one last shot of his chosen substance just to escape from the pain of life.
He roared, but it was lost among the dozens of other roars of the celebration that raged around him. It disgusted part of him—the wanton hedonism of these Blacks would have never been present in a court of the Red, but another part of him, a part which was always growing larger, wanted to join in, experience the pleasure of a well-earned victory against an eternal enemy. But it had not quite surpassed the first part, and so they met in the middle, and he stayed where he was, letting the pain consume him.
Distantly, he wondered how it had happened.
Nefarian had once been his enemy; he always had been. Like Deathwing was his consort Alexstrasza's greatest enemy, Nefarian was Vaelstrasz's. He was a monster who, like his father, had perverted the meaning of the draconic race with his constant tampering with life and the gifts given to them by the Titans. He could remember that hate for the black dragon, but it was a distant hate now, replaced by a growing sense of apathy. He didn't care about Nefarian anymore. He just wanted to be rid of this pain, even if it had been created by Nefarian!
He wanted it to end. Nefarian wouldn't kill him, though, and he couldn't bring himself to kill himself. He was coward now, as well as a fool. More shame filled him, and more thoughts of destruction entered his mind, and the pain grew worse, but he quickly pushed them away, seeking another topic to dwell on.
But maybe…
Maybe they could…
He had seen his master's battle, seen how it had ended, watched it from high above when he was supposed to have been destroying Ragnaros' generals. He had been wonderful, had even managed to injure Nefarian and cause the Firelord's fall. If there were more like him, more like them, then perhaps he still had a chance.
He held no hope of rescue; his Flight would not touch Nefarian, too busy with their own problems, and they could not cure what he had. Evil blood flowed in his veins, and you couldn't replace that.
But, he had hope. It was a tiny sliver, far beyond the reach of his corrupted thoughts, but it was hope. A small part of him felt joy in that, and the pain lessened.
He had hope.
They just had to come.
But would they?
He stood, growling to himself.
Yes, he decided, they would.
That looks like it's done. Next chapter is Blackwing Lair! WEEEE! I can't wait. See you guys then!
I'm back, and spent most of the last week writing this. Hopefully it'll be up to standards for you guys!
Seeya soon!
General Grievous
Next chapter: Blackwing Lair