CHAPTER 3- FATEFUL NIGHT: CLASH OF HEROES

3 YEARS LATER SWORDHAVEN AT NIGHT

We find a shadowy figure lingering in the rooftops on one of the buildings near the castle of Swordhaven. As we get a closer look we find the shadow figure to be our dark hero Naruto. He had changed so much yet remained the same after 3 years with Sepulchure's hellish training. Because of it, he became even stronger. He was much taller now, at an impressive 5'8" and had a body that balanced speed, agility, weight, and power (think Bruce Lee). He still wore the same clothes he had back, but the only difference was now he had the mark of the Shadowscythe behind his chest plate in black ink.

His hair grew longer in which he had to make a tail in the back of his neck that reached two inches below the top of his spine. The black tips now reached half his hair after so much usage of dark magic from Sepulchure. He now carried two new swords with him with the two old ones attached magnetically on the back of his armor. The two new swords were actually two identical katanas.

Both blades were dark as night and if you looked closely at the swords, you can see thin red serpentine dragon at both blades. The length of the blade reached four feet. The guard was rectangular and the handle was cylindrical. At the end of the handle, there was a white skull of a dragon with a red ruby in its mouth. Both swords were a work of art. And what made them special to Naruto was that he hand crafted it himself. Both were sheathed in black scabbards and both were rested on the left side of his waist.

It took a lot of doom metal, magic enhancing, along with blood and sweat to make them. The two swords were could be mixed with elemental magic. He could add fire, lightning, wind, ice, and darkness in the blades. Earth, water, and light could not be added to his blade. Earth was made for blunt force not suitable for a sword (but he was starting the idea of making either a hammer or mace for it), water was flowing and more on defensive than offensive, and light was way out of his reach. He named the two swords as Dark Star and Shadow Slayer, and apparently he's the only one who could tell who is who.

Why was he in the home of his master's greatest enemy?

Apparently, Sepulchure thought of many ways for his incoming invasion to go on smoother. And the best one he had involved one of King Alteon's daughters. Naruto had one simple yet hard task; kidnap one of Alteon's three princesses. If Sepulchure used them against his old rival, chances are he would drop his defenses letting the invading of undead to enter unopposed.

The mission sounded simple, but he knew it wasn't going to be easy especially with the guards around and he dreaded to come face to face with King Alteon himself. As strong as he was, he was in no way strong enough to fight someone who was on par with his master.

So he had to use the shadows to hide himself. He saw that the two guards were slacking off in their gate watching duties. Naruto saw the chance to sneak behind the guards. When he was behind both of them, he grabbed both their heads and slammed both at each other knocking them to lala land. As they fell, Naruto dragged both to a nearby bush and hid the bodies of the two knights. Now he had to think of a way to get inside.

Seeing as asking those inside to lower the bridge was not a good idea. He was looking for anything to help and saw the two spears that the two guards dropped. A light bulb lighted on his head. As he finished his plan he put it in to action. He threw on spear in to the walls of the castle and stabbed the other in an odd angle. Checking to see if it was secure, he used it as a spring boards. He jumped high enough to grab the other spear and he spun on it like a gymnast. After having enough momentum, he catapulted himself on the top of the wall under a window. He raised his head to check if anyone would spot him.

When he looked up, he could barely hold the nose bleed that was sure to come. Apparently, he launched himself to Princess Brittany's room. But what made him almost fall was the fact that she had just came out of the shower and only had a towel that barely held her bust and didn't hide the curves she had. (did I forget to mention that Naruto is one huge pervert in this fic)

'Damn, those are definitely a D cup. Bigger than Gravelyn's own C' he thought with a big blush on his face. And to both his pleasure and horror, she began to change. she opened her closet and threw her towel off. Luckily or unluckily (depends on how you look at it) the closet door blocked his view of her. As she came out, she only had on a pair of blue matching bra and panties that almost made him giggle in a perverted manner had he not been able to control himself. She then dried her hair with the towel unknowingly giving Naruto a very good show. She grabbed some lotion and rubbed it on her arms, legs, and (to Naruto's glee) on her chest. He used all of his will not to make a sound and alert the princess. Naruto could not look away no matter how hard he fought his urges. A hardened warrior he may be, but he was still a teen with hormones in him.

Much to his shock, horror, and delight, she began to do sexy poses on her vanity mirror still in her underwear. "Yup, I look stunning" she said to herself as she continued posing. Poor Naruto had to fight with himself not to make a sound. Finally she took out an elegant dress and put it on. She put some light make-up before leaving her room and closing the door.

Naruto finally climbed up to the room. He was breathing deep and heavily with a bright blush and sweat rolling down like a waterfall. His hands were on his knees as he thought 'I am forever ingraining that in my mind for as long as I live. Reminds me of the time I peeped on Gravelyn, who knew she loved to do belly dancing' this time blood did spill on his nose. Apparently he had more than once took the opportunity to take a peek at what Gravelyn does behind closed doors. He prayed she would never find out.

He looked over the room and whistled at the size. There was a queen sized bed, a big closet, and was very spacious. He came near the bed and found a picture at the bedside table. There was a younger Alteon, Brittany, Victoria, and a woman he had to guess was Queen Lynaria who was holding a small baby in her arms. What really took his attention was Lynaria.

On a closer inspection, he was very unnerved. Why? Because the longer he looks at her, she looked way too similar to Gravelyn. Her hair, eyes, and even face was almost a match for her. He did a little research about the royal family in Swordhaven, and he knew Lynaria died a few years after Gravelyn was born, which brought him a lot of questions he did not mind answering until now. Deciding to ignore it for his assignment, he put the picture back, and went to the door. He checked to see if anyone was around only to find the coast was clear.

He went out of the room and quickly sneaked in the halls and sneaked passed the knights and anyone else. He heard some noise below his level. He looked down below and found the whole family eating dinner. On the one end of the table was the king and guardian of Swordhaven himself, King Alteon, one of the very few who could take on his master head on. He had his sword right next to him. On his right was princess Brittany, the one who gave him a good show earlier. On her right side was the youngest of the family, Princess Tara from what he heard had an unhealthy obsession with dragons or anything dragon related.

Next to Tara was Princess Victoria, who rumors say was actually the great ranger Robina the hood. From her looks alone, he could say those rumors are true. Then on Alteon's left was a guy Naruto did not know of or recognize. He wore royal clothing yet it looked as if it was made for battle. His posture suggests that he was a strong warrior and the fact he sat next to Alteon suggests he is indeed royalty.

He could not make out what they were talking about. He had to be careful at choosing which of the three he should kidnap. He decided to play it safe and take the weakest, which happened to be Tara. Now if only he can plan on how to do it. One of the knights came to the table to address the king. He really wished he could hear them, but he can not risk being spotted yet.

Soon two people arrived that made it all the more difficult. Those two were Rolith, captain of the pactagonal knights, and Artix, one of the strongest paladins. He cursed beneath his breath as more obstacles were put against him.

So thinking fast, he spotted the chandelier at the top of the banquet. So if he cut off the light... Yup he thought of something.

Using a low level fire spell, he melted the chains that held the chandelier which fell to the table shocking everyone and cutting of the majority of the lights enough for Naruto to strike. As quick as lightning, he jumped down and took Tara. Unfortunately, she screamed before he could muffle her, "DADDY HELP ME!". Naruto cursed as he ran with his hostage in one arm. He managed to reach the balcony and jumped just across the moat, the girl in his arms screaming with joy much to his shock.

As he landed on his feet, he began to run like hell to get out of Swordhaven. Behind him, were the knights giving chase. He was nearing the walls that barricaded Swordhaven and the gates to his escape. Unfortunately, his path got blocked by three horses. He looked to find that Artix, Rolith, and the unknown guy with Alteon were staring down at him. "Surrender the princess and you will not be hurt" Rolith commanded.

The three dropped from their horses and grabbed their weapons. Naruto was looking down at the princess to find her vainly kicking and punching him. He did not even feel anything. "Alright you caught me. I surrender" he raised his arms as he let Tara go. She quickly ran behind a tree.

"Put your weapons on the ground now" Artix commanded. "I have a better idea. How about I put you all to sleep" Naruto slammed his hands down the ground and created an electric field that shocked Artix and Rolith, but the other guy managed to roll out of the way. He quickly engaged Naruto to a one sided sword fight. Naruto dispatched him with haste.

"Before I end you, can you give me your name so I may remember you" he pointed his huge dragon blade at the face of the guy, "Brentan, guardian of Princess Brittany" he sneered, "Too bad you failed" he was about to end him before his instincts told him to look behind.

Sure enough, as he looked behind, he quickly blocked a sword strike that he admit was very strong.

He looked to find a very tanned guy who looked like he came from a pirate ship. (The thing is I'm using my character on AQW as my OC here)

"Man, I have my plate full" Naruto said as he struggled with the new comer. "Didn't expect a kid to be this strong, what's your name boy?" the new guy asked him as they continued their dead lock. Naruto managed to finally push him away. "You know it's rude to ask someone's name without telling yours first" Naruto returned his blade to his back then took his two new katana blades.

"Cheeky brat aren't you. Well if you insist my name is James so what's yours?" he answered as he prepared his sword for a fight. "Oh I've heard about you. You're that vigilante hero that was said to be friends with the other heroes here in Lore. If you wish to know my name, it's Naruto" Naruto charged at James. James was finding it hard to defend against Naruto's onslaught. Naruto had no form nor style making it hard to follow his strikes and they were fast and hard.

Naruto finally managed to get through his defense and knocked his blade away then kicked James in the stomach that knocked him over. Naruto pointed his sword at his face "you're pretty good hero. You lasted longer than I thought, but unfortunately it ain't enough" James closed his eyes and prepared for death, Naruto was about to drive the blade through his skull, but a blast of blue lightning shot him down several feet away.

He looked up to find King Alteon along with a small army of knights behind him. Tara saw her father ran from the tree to Alteon's back. Naruto cursed under his breath as he saw the knights wake up Rolith and Artix further making the mission a failure.

Naruto stood up holding his side since that blast hurts like hell. Alteon then held his sword up front, "Who are you boy? What do you want with my daughter?" he demanded. Naruto chuckled "Wouldn't you like to know". He knew he had no choice but to leave.

"I saw your mark behind your armor. Do you work for Sepulchure?" Alteon asked as the knights grew stiff at the name. Naruto noticed this and smirked, "Appears your knights are afraid of him. Can't blame them, he's a damn slave driver, but a good teacher none the less. Yeah I work and train under him. What's it to ya old man?" he mocked at the end. Alteon was surprised at that, 'Valen actually took an apprentice. This boy must really be something if he gained his attention. He must be approached with caution' he thought before ordering his knights to surround Naruto.

Naruto for his part just smiled making everyone wary of him. Naruto then used shadow step to get out of their vision. Everyone was looking around for him only to find nothing.

"Where did he go?" one knight asked. "Forget it, he's gone. He used shadow step to get escape, he would be out of the gates by then. Get Brentan up and check to see if James, Artix and Rolith are okay then return back to the castle" he ordered as he consoled with his youngest.

Naruto was running from the forest. His mission was a failure because of the interference of that hero. He knew he was going to meet him again when the invasion starts. On the bright side, at least he got a free show, he giggled at that. He did not stop running as soon as he saw the giant dracolich in the sky. Naruto disappeared and reappeared at the entrance of the fortress. He walked in and was greeted by the undead army who bowed before him then stood and did what they were doing.

Naruto then went to the throne room where Sepulchure sat in his full dark glory and by his side was a now older Gravelyn. He bowed before his master and did not want to meet his eyes. "Well Naruto how did your mission go?" he inquired. Gravelyn stood there watching her now personal bodyguard. Ever since Naruto began his training with the DoomKnight, he was assigned to be Gravelyn's guardian and was ordered to put her life first before his, a task he gladly took fully.

"I'm sorry master, but I failed. There was a lot if interference. I am managed to take one of the princesses but many stood in my way before Alteon reached, and I knew I could not stand a chance against him" Naruto bowed his head deeper as if awaiting a punishment for his failure. "Rise Naruto. It could not be helped. That fool placed a lot of guards. It won't matter because soon our invasion shall commence. Your failure isn't really that effecting" he dismissed.

Naruto was surprised at this, he expected at least to get hit once. "Milord?" he asked. "Rest now Naruto. You will need all your strength for next week. Go!" he ordered. Naruto stood up nodded his head and left. Gravelyn looked at her father in confusion. Usually he did not take failure lightly, but he acted as if he did not care at all. "Father, it shocks that you did not punish him?" she asked as her father looked at her.

"Do not question me my daughter. We will need him for our invasion. Punishing him is irrelevant since our plan is almost complete" he explained. Gravelyn nodded her head before leaving the room to find the blonde.

As she left, Sepulchure then took out a picture from his hand. It was a picture of Lynaria before she married Alteon. She was so beautiful and kind. He will not admit but Valen was still there in Sepulchure's form. "I am so sorry my love. I am far too deep in this darkness that I placed myself in. How I have yearned for your touch one last time. Our daughter is what is left for me. I only hope that Naruto could protect her from everything... even me"

His grip tightened. He always had this feeling that something was going to happen and Naruto could be someone who he can trust Gravelyn's life to. He has shown the potential to surpass him the moment he began his training with Dage and Nulgath. Naruto maybe the only one who he can truly rely on at this point. He hoped Naruto could get stronger.

Gravelyn was walking on the hallway looking for Naruto. She found him looking over the balcony as if he was thinking of something or someone. Naruto was too distracted about something before he felt a presence behind him and found Gravelyn standing with her arms folded at her chest. He chuckled at seeing her annoyed expression at something he must have done. "Hey Gravelyn" he greeted her.

Gravelyn frowned. "My father should have punished you. Failure is unacceptable" Naruto just smiled at her adding her annoyance. Then the smile had a bit of perverted aspect, "Well alright" he then got closer to her. Since he was almost a head taller than her, he bent his head until his lips was close to her ears, "You can punish me instead I deserve it after all your highness" he whispered to her. Gravelyn for her part shivered at his warm breath was tickling her. She hated it when he did this. She was supposed to be cold and hard, yet here was a guy who was making her... she did not know what. She'll find a way to fight this off she swore it.

"You're a big pervert" she sneered at him. He chuckled at her ear sending another shiver. Naruto then held her by the waist in a hug as Gravelyn was very shocked. She soon started to shake him off but he held firm yet softly at her. "Unhand me now" she ordered him but he refused. "No. I want to hold you tight" he said as he began to comb his hand in her hair. He started to feel her relax in his hold. Gravelyn cursed him for doing this, her one weakness was him playing with her long hair. She stopped all her struggling as he returned to whisper in her ear, "Gravelyn, I will do everything for you. Not just protect you, but give you everything that is possible for me to give you. If it means my death, I will do it with a smile on my face since I'll be thinking about you" he said to her ear.

Gravelyn did not Know why, but his words comforted her. Her father was always busy. Even as a child her father did not pay attention to her. He was always talking to his generals about plans. He never was there for. Do not get her wrong, she loved her father and would do anything for him, but Naruto was her main support even if she did not admit it. He was always the shoulder for her to lay her head on when he was not busy. Even after training, he would quickly go to her even through exhaustion. She would not say this out loud but she knew she could not live long without him now in her life.

Naruto continued to play with her hair as her head laid on his shoulders. The two did not know they were being watched. Sepulchure looked on at the two. He saw how Gravelyn completely put her guard down to Naruto, something he has not seen her do with him. He was a little jealous of him, seeing her daughter at peace. But he was happy seeing her like this as a father should be.

"Naruto please protect her from all those who wish her harm... including me"